Courageous Crossroads

Jeff Johnson
  • 5.0 (9)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Weekly

Welcome to "The Courageous Podcast," where we delve into the inspiring tales of ordinary people who have shown unwavering bravery in the face of challenges. Join us as we explore the multifaceted dimensions of courage and ask our guests, "What's the most courageous thing you've ever done?" Host Jeff Johnson guides these conversations with empathy and curiosity, creating a safe space for guests to share their personal experiences. From daring leaps of faith to small yet powerful acts of bravery, you'll hear stories that resonate with the universal human experience. Through these narratives, we aim to inspire and uplift our listeners, fostering a sense of connection and empowerment. Our guests' stories remind us that bravery is not the absence of fear but the triumph over it. "The Courageous Podcast" is not just about sharing tales of valor; it's about building a community of individuals who find strength in vulnerability and authenticity. Join us as we celebrate the indomitable human spirit, one story of courage at a time. Get ready to be inspired, uplifted, and motivated to embrace your own inner courage, whatever that might look like.

  1. 19h ago

    Hassan John: Standing Strong in the Shadow of Terror

    Send us Fan Mail Pastor Hassan John is a Nigerian Christian leader, humanitarian, apologist, and longtime advocate for persecuted communities across Sub-Saharan Africa. Originally from Jos, Nigeria, Hassan studied Christian apologetics at Oxford and has spent years working among communities affected by terrorism, religious persecution, displacement, and poverty. Today he is based in the United Kingdom and works with the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART), founded by Baroness Caroline Cox, where his work focuses particularly on Nigeria, Sudan, South Sudan, and other vulnerable regions of Africa. In this deeply personal episode of Courageous Crossroads, Hassan joins Jeff to discuss the escalating violence facing Christian communities in Nigeria, the work of rebuilding hope and resilience among people whose villages and livelihoods have been devastated, and the remarkable faith of believers who refuse to surrender even in the face of persecution. Hassan shares stories of Christians standing firm under extraordinary pressure, Muslims encountering the Gospel and embracing Christ, and local churches responding to suffering with prayer, practical assistance, discipleship, and courageous presence. The conversation also explores Christian-Muslim dialogue, the importance of understanding one another’s worldview, and Hassan’s conviction that some of the most meaningful conversations about faith can begin simply by asking a Muslim friend what they believe about Jesus. Through it all, Hassan offers a powerful reminder that when suffering people ask, “Where is God?” Christians must also be willing to ask, “Where is the Church?”—and then have the courage to show up with truth, compassion, prayer, generosity, and the love of Christ. Thank you for listening! We hope you feel inspired and encouraged by our conversation today. If you did, be sure to share this episode with others. Let's stay in touch: Follow us on Instagram @crossroadsapologeticsEmail us at info@crossroadsapologetics.orgVisit our website www.crossroadsapologetics.orgSee you in the next episode! Be blessed!

  2. Sep 16

    From Peanut Butter Days to Purpose: Jenni Catron’s Courageous Journey

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Courageous Crossroads podcast, culture strategist, leadership coach, author, and speaker Jenni Catron joins Jeff to explore courage as “the brave next step.” Jenni recounts the faith-filled decisions that led her from rural Wisconsin to Nashville to pursue a career in Christian music, including moving a thousand miles away without knowing anyone, and later courageous choices to relocate across the country, navigate uncertainty and sacrifice with her husband, and launch her own business. She offers practical encouragement to reconnect with God-given dreams, persevere through loneliness, financial pressure, setbacks, and self-doubt, and take one faithful step at a time. Jenni Catron is the Founder and CEO of The 4Sight Group, a leadership and culture consultancy that helps leaders build healthy, thriving teams, clarify their culture, and accelerate organizational growth through its LeadCulture Framework. With more than two decades of corporate and nonprofit leadership experience—including work in Christian music and multi-site church leadership—Jenni consults, coaches, writes, and speaks nationally to help leaders put their vision into action. She is the author of Culture Matters: A Framework for Helping Your Team Grow, Thrive, and Be Unstoppable, a USA Today national bestseller, as well as The 4 Dimensions of Extraordinary Leadership and Clout. Thank you for listening! We hope you feel inspired and encouraged by our conversation today. If you did, be sure to share this episode with others. Let's stay in touch: Follow us on Instagram @crossroadsapologeticsEmail us at info@crossroadsapologetics.orgVisit our website www.crossroadsapologetics.orgSee you in the next episode! Be blessed!

  3. Sep 2

    Reid Zeising: The Courage to Surrender, Recover, and Rebuild

    Send us Fan Mail Reid Zeising is an entrepreneur, healthcare executive, and founder of Cherokee Funding and Gain Servicing, which now operate together as Gain, an AI-powered healthcare-finance and servicing platform that helps injured people access medical care when they may not be able to pay up front. Born in Detroit and raised internationally in Adelaide, Australia, and Tokyo, Reid developed an early sense that the world was both accessible and full of possibility, eventually studying international economics at the University of Michigan before building a career in investment banking, hedge funds, and entrepreneurship. His professional rise was dramatic, but so was his fall: an aggressive, highly leveraged acquisition collided with the 2008 financial crisis, leaving Reid personally facing roughly $22 million in contingent liabilities. In January 2009, amid that collapse and a growing recognition that alcohol, ego, and self-reliance were destroying his life, Reid walked into an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and began a journey of recovery, accountability, faith, and service that would fundamentally reshape both his life and his leadership. Over the next six years, he repaid every creditor, rebuilt his life, and gradually exchanged what he describes as a self-centered, zero-sum approach to success for one rooted in honesty, abundance, humility, and doing “the next right thing.” Today, Reid leads Gain, a company serving healthcare providers and injured patients across all 50 states, and has been recognized as a Georgia Titan 100 in both 2025 and 2026. In this unusually candid episode of Courageous Crossroads, Reid reflects on failure, addiction, financial collapse, broken relationships, recovery, faith, and the danger of allowing ego to reclaim control. His story leads to a compelling understanding of courage: not the absence of fear, but the willingness to move forward when the outcome is uncertain—to ask for help, surrender the illusion of control, accept the possibility of failure, and take the next right step. As Reid puts it, “Fear and faith are both beliefs in the unknown,” and his encouragement to anyone standing at a crossroads is equally straightforward: be smart, be measured, pray, and then “just do it.” Thank you for listening! We hope you feel inspired and encouraged by our conversation today. If you did, be sure to share this episode with others. Let's stay in touch: Follow us on Instagram @crossroadsapologeticsEmail us at info@crossroadsapologetics.orgVisit our website www.crossroadsapologetics.orgSee you in the next episode! Be blessed!

  4. Aug 19

    Joe Slavens: Values, Decisions, and the Price of Courage

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Courageous Crossroads, Jeff Johnson sits down with longtime friend, business leader, attorney, and entrepreneur Joe Slavens for a thoughtful conversation about courage, values, leadership, and the difficult decisions that shape a meaningful life. Joe challenges conventional definitions of courage, arguing that some of its most important expressions occur when deeply held values come into conflict and a person must discern what matters most, accept the cost, and make a decision rather than simply drift or avoid the issue. He shares candid examples from his own life, including the painful decision to terminate the employment of his best friend and his willingness to walk away from a highly anticipated sale of his family’s bank when the transaction no longer aligned with his values. Along the way, Joe reflects on the importance of wise counsel, purposeful living, family legacy, values-based leadership, and the potential challenges artificial intelligence presents to a society increasingly reluctant to think deeply about what it believes. A lifelong Iowan and University of Iowa graduate, Joe trained as an attorney before joining his family business, Northwest Bank and Trust Company, where he worked alongside his father and eventually led the organization for more than two decades. Following the sale of the bank, he continued his involvement in a number of related businesses and investments, including trust, software, tax and accounting, and real estate ventures. Married to his high school sweetheart, Anne, for more than four decades, Joe is the father of three and grandfather of a growing family, and he views the transmission of enduring values across generations as one of the truest measures of a meaningful legacy. Thank you for listening! We hope you feel inspired and encouraged by our conversation today. If you did, be sure to share this episode with others. Let's stay in touch: Follow us on Instagram @crossroadsapologeticsEmail us at info@crossroadsapologetics.orgVisit our website www.crossroadsapologetics.orgSee you in the next episode! Be blessed!

  5. Aug 12

    Cut the Rope: Patrick Sells on Courage, Faith, and Starting Over

    Send us Fan Mail In this compelling episode of Courageous Crossroads, Jeff sits down with entrepreneur and business leader Patrick Sells for a deeply personal conversation about courage, resilience, faith, success, failure, and what it means to “cut the rope” when God may be calling you toward something more. Patrick, a 35-year-old entrepreneur and intrapreneur living in Dallas, began his career by launching a digital marketing agency before entering the banking and fintech world, where he helped transform a community bank, pioneered an early Bitcoin-related banking product, earned recognition as Digital Banker of the Year, and later helped build a multibillion-dollar business. Yet Patrick’s most courageous decision came at the height of his professional and financial success, when he chose to walk away after realizing that money, power, and achievement were beginning to consume too  much of his heart and identity. What followed was anything but an easy landing: the sudden death of his best friend, tremendous financial pressure, business struggles, addiction, rehab, and a season in which nearly everything he believed about his own resilience was tested. Now sober and rebuilding, Patrick shares with remarkable vulnerability why courage is not about knowing everything will work out, but about acting on conviction despite fear, uncertainty, and the consequences that may follow. His story is an inspiring reminder that sometimes courage means cutting the rope, trusting God, getting knocked down, and still believing that redemption—and the strength to rise again—are possible. Thank you for listening! We hope you feel inspired and encouraged by our conversation today. If you did, be sure to share this episode with others. Let's stay in touch: Follow us on Instagram @crossroadsapologeticsEmail us at info@crossroadsapologetics.orgVisit our website www.crossroadsapologetics.orgSee you in the next episode! Be blessed!

  6. Jul 29

    Phil Suess and the Big Ten Mindset for Life

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Courageous Crossroads, Jeff Johnson sits down with longtime friend and respected business leader Phil Suess for a thoughtful conversation about resilience, leadership, and the courage to step beyond one’s comfort zone. Phil shares how losing his position in a family business at age 59 forced him to confront uncertainty, reject a victim mentality, and envision a new chapter in which his decades of experience could continue serving others. A former University of Iowa quarterback, Phil draws on lessons learned from football, business, marriage, and fatherhood to explain why courage requires focus, personal responsibility, and the ability to see yourself succeeding before the outcome is certain. Raised in the Midwest, Phil earned his business degree from the University of Iowa, built a successful 31-year career in the construction industry, and now applies his leadership experience in a new business role while mentoring others through seasons of professional and personal transition. Thank you for listening! We hope you feel inspired and encouraged by our conversation today. If you did, be sure to share this episode with others. Let's stay in touch: Follow us on Instagram @crossroadsapologeticsEmail us at info@crossroadsapologetics.orgVisit our website www.crossroadsapologetics.orgSee you in the next episode! Be blessed!

  7. Jul 8

    Madeline Dean: One Courageous Choice at a Time

    Send us Fan Mail In this powerful episode of Courageous Crossroads, Jeff Johnson sits down with Madeline Dean for a deeply honest conversation about trauma, addiction, incarceration, recovery, faith, and the ongoing courage it takes to choose change. Madeline shares how early childhood wounds, mental health struggles, and addiction led her through painful seasons, including time in Mitchellville, but also how honesty, mentorship, therapy, spiritual growth, and programs like Change Course helped her begin building a new life one courageous decision at a time. When asked the most courageous thing she has ever done, Madeline answers simply and profoundly: deciding to change. Her story reminds listeners that courage is not always one dramatic moment —it is strength, action, persistence, hope, and faith practiced over and over again in the small, difficult choices of daily life. Madeline Dean is a Change Course graduate, a woman in recovery, a student of personal and spiritual growth, and a passionate advocate for honesty, healing, mental health awareness, addiction recovery, and support for those impacted by incarceration. Through her vulnerability and hard-won wisdom, Madeline offers a compelling testimony of resilience, redemption, and the belief that no one is beyond hope. Thank you for listening! We hope you feel inspired and encouraged by our conversation today. If you did, be sure to share this episode with others. Let's stay in touch: Follow us on Instagram @crossroadsapologeticsEmail us at info@crossroadsapologetics.orgVisit our website www.crossroadsapologetics.orgSee you in the next episode! Be blessed!

  8. Jul 1

    Dr. Whitney and the Courage to Honor God Through Suffering

    Send us Fan Mail In this thoughtful and deeply personal episode of Courageous Crossroads, Jeff Johnson sits down with Dr. Donald S. Whitney to explore biblical courage, spiritual formation, prayer, Scripture meditation, and faithful obedience in the hardest seasons of life. Dr. Whitney defines courage as the willingness to do what God calls us to do despite fear, consequences, or personal cost, and he illustrates that definition through the most courageous season of his own life: caring for his mother through the final years of dementia while seeking to honor her, support his wife, and remain obedient to the Lord. Along the way, he offers practical wisdom on Scripture intake, praying the Bible, meditation, the fear of man, and how the ordinary means of grace sustain believers when life becomes painful and confusing. Dr. Whitney serves as Professor of Biblical Spirituality and the John H. Powell Professor of Pastoral Ministry at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and he is the founder and director of the Center for Biblical Spirituality; after decades of pastoral ministry and seminary teaching, he is widely known for helping Christians pursue godliness through biblical spiritual disciplines. Amazon links to selected books by Dr. Whitney: Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life; Praying the Bible; Family Worship: In the Bible, in History, and in Your Home; Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health; How Can I Be Sure I'm a Christian?: The Satisfying Certainty of Eternal Life; Simplify Your Spiritual Life; Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life Study Guide.  Clickable Amazon Book Links - Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life - Praying the Bible - Family Worship: In the Bible, in History, and in Your Home - Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health - How Can I Be Sure I'm a Christian?: The Satisfying Certainty of Eternal Life - Simplify Your Spiritual Life - Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life Study Guide Source note: Prepared from the Courageous Crossroads interview transcript supplied in this conversation. Amazon inventory and pricing can change over time. Thank you for listening! We hope you feel inspired and encouraged by our conversation today. If you did, be sure to share this episode with others. Let's stay in touch: Follow us on Instagram @crossroadsapologeticsEmail us at info@crossroadsapologetics.orgVisit our website www.crossroadsapologetics.orgSee you in the next episode! Be blessed!

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5
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About

Welcome to "The Courageous Podcast," where we delve into the inspiring tales of ordinary people who have shown unwavering bravery in the face of challenges. Join us as we explore the multifaceted dimensions of courage and ask our guests, "What's the most courageous thing you've ever done?" Host Jeff Johnson guides these conversations with empathy and curiosity, creating a safe space for guests to share their personal experiences. From daring leaps of faith to small yet powerful acts of bravery, you'll hear stories that resonate with the universal human experience. Through these narratives, we aim to inspire and uplift our listeners, fostering a sense of connection and empowerment. Our guests' stories remind us that bravery is not the absence of fear but the triumph over it. "The Courageous Podcast" is not just about sharing tales of valor; it's about building a community of individuals who find strength in vulnerability and authenticity. Join us as we celebrate the indomitable human spirit, one story of courage at a time. Get ready to be inspired, uplifted, and motivated to embrace your own inner courage, whatever that might look like.

Information

  • Creator
    Jeff Johnson
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    119
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Courageous Crossroads
  • Show Website
    Courageous Crossroads