He walked into church drunk, high, and on his way to his fifth suicide attempt. He raised his hand for Jesus because he was too obliterated to put it back down. And the moment he prayed — boom. Instantly sober for the first time in three years. That was 1973. And David W. Ebel has never stopped since. In Episode 112 of Hear Where You Belong Podcast, host Dea Irby sits down with David — Christian life coach, pastor, evangelist, author, chaplain, grief and trauma counselor, disaster responder, photographer, Salvation Army officer, church planter, and the first Christian master clown recognized by Ringling Brothers professionals in the history of the world. Yes. You read that right. David opens up about growing up with birth defects and chronic pain — bullied, depressed, alcoholic, suicidal — before Barbara the candle shop girl flirted him into church on a Tuesday night in Detroit. He shares the moment a youth pastor supernaturally knew his name, his birth defects, his hemorrhaging ulcer, and his plan to kill himself that Saturday — and said God did not want him to die. He talks about 12 years on the road with the Kids Celebration Circus — 49 youth camps, global ministry, 100 conversions on a New Jersey boardwalk including four rabbis and two Sikh leaders — before his birth defects finally forced him off the road. And the 28,000 square feet of debt-free space God built through a man who had never built anything more than Lincoln Logs. His slogan is the one I want ringing in your ears: God did not send His second cousin Louis to the cross. He sent His best. How dare we offer less? And his parting word — straight from Romans 12:1-2 — is the one that has been his compass for fifty years of faithful, fearless, full-throttle ministry. The greatest distance in the world? Twenty million miles — and seven inches. From the head to the heart. Find David at GodSaysYesPodcast.com — and download his book When the Doctors Say No, God Says Yes FREE when you join his mailing list. 💛 #HearWhereYouBelong, #YouBelong, #DavidWEbel, #WhenTheDoctorsSayNo, #GodSaysYes, #GodSaysYesPodcast, #FirstChristianMasterClown, #RinglingBrothers, #HowDareWeOfferLess, #Romans12, #BornToBeRestored, #RenewRestoreRebuild, #SalvationArmy, #ChristianLifeCoach, #NewEpisode, #ChristianPodcast, #NeverTooFarGone, #FromHeadToHeart, #KidsCelebrationCircus, #BelongingMatters
