Christians SPEAK UP!

oin us this week on Christians SPEAK UP! when Scott talks playoff baseball and Jesus with former Los Angeles Angels player Terry Evans.

Terry Evans was born and raised in Dublin, GA, where he continued to live until he graduated from Trinity Christian School in 2000. He went on to attend Middle Georgia College for two years before being drafted and signing with the St. Louis Cardinals. After five minor league seasons, Terry made his first big league appearance in 2007 with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He played in parts of three Major League seasons with the Angels and eleven full seasons in the minor leagues with St. Louis, Anaheim, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Kansas City. Terry retired after the 2012 season with the Kansas City Royals organization and came on staff with UPI full time October 1st of 2012.

Terry is the chaplain for the Atlanta Braves and currently resides on the north side of Atlanta, in Woodstock, where he leads Bible studies for current and former players around the Atlanta area. Terry also assists international trips to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico with the possibility of leading these trips in the near future.

Terry is married to his wife, Tanner, and they have three sons: Asher, Jude, and Isaac.

Donn Taylor led an Infantry rifle platoon in the Korean War, served with Army aviation in Vietnam, and worked with air reconnaissance in Europe and Asia. Afterwards, he completed a PhD at The University of Texas and taught English literature at two liberal arts colleges. Now retired from college teaching, he writes suspense and mystery fiction as well as literary poetry designed for the ordinary reader. He is a frequent speaker at writers' conferences and study groups. He lives near Houston, TX, where he continues to write fiction, poetry, and essays on ethics and U.S. foreign policy. His latest book is also released through Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolina’s and is called, Lightning on a Quiet Night. Discover more about Donn at www.donntaylor.com.

A veteran attendee of Writers Advance conferences, Mary is an experienced photographer, seeking to capture memories that bring smiles. A 2013 graduate of Christian Communicators Conference, Mary speaks about her own experiences with abuse, leading her to begin her Be A Voice 4 Kids ministry.  She recently shared at the Chosen Chicks for Christ Conference and local church events, with the latest being the guest speaker “What's I Your Purse?” banquet at Faith Temple Baptist Church. With much prayer she followed through with the calling of becoming trained as a facilitator of Stewards of Children through Darkness to Light to help prevent child sexual abuse. She loves to share the Love of the Lord and brings hope to those who hunger for only what can be found through Jesus Christ.

Join us this week on Christian Devotions SPEAK UP! as Scott brings in a friend of the ministry, respected teacher and theologian Israel Wayne.

Israel Wayne is an author and conference speaker who has a passion for defending the Christian faith and promoting a biblical worldview. The author of Homeschooling from a Biblical Worldview and Full-Time Parenting: A Guide to Family-Based Discipleship, Israel is the Director of Family Renewal and site editor for ChristianWorldview.net. He is a homeschooled graduate, father of eight and author of Questions God Asks, which was released in the spring of 2014 by New Leaf Press.

Jesus rarely answered questions He was asked, but instead turned the tables by asking a piercing question of His own. Questions Jesus Asks goes through a broad spectrum of these, dealing with issues like morality, suffering, humility, faith, and much more.

Bob Hostetler is an award-winning writer, editor, pastor, and speaker from southwestern Ohio. His thirty books, which include The Bone Box and American Idols (The Worship of the American Dream), have sold millions of copies. He has co-authored eleven books with Josh McDowell, including the best-selling Right from Wrong (What You Need to Know to Help Youth Make Right Choices), and the award-winning Don't Check Your Brains at the Door. He has won two Gold Medallion Awards, four Ohio Associated Press awards, and an Amy Foundation Award, among others. Bob is a frequent speaker at churches, conferences, and retreats.

Bob was ordained to the ministry in 1980 by The Salvation Army. He and his wife, the lovely Robin, served in The Salvation Army from 1980-1992. In addition to his training for ministry with The Salvation Army, he earned degrees in English Bible from Cincinnati Christian University and English Communications from Bloomfield College.

In 2000, Bob (with his wife) helped to co-found Cobblestone Community Church in Oxford, Ohio. He has served that church in leadership and teaching pastor roles. He has been a disc jockey, pastor, magazine editor, freelance book editor, and (with his wife Robin) a foster parent to ten boys (though not all at once). Bob and Robin have two adult children, Aubrey and Aaron, son-in-law Kevin and daughter-in-law Nina, and grandchildren Miles, Mia, Calleigh, and Ryder.

Join us this week on Christian Devotions SPEAK UP! with a Christmas Singer Jean Watson.

A classically trained singer and violinist, Jean Watson delved into the Christian recording world as a singer/songwriter in 2003. Since that time, her voice and testimony of God's grace and healing have touched thousands of lives around the world. The power of Jean's message comes out of her unique ability to minister and perform with a balance of musical excellence and childlike transparency. God uses Jean to break barriers of the heart through her willingness to share the story of her own weakness and healing. Hearing Jean sing and speak brings an infusion of faith in the love and power of God. Her passion for God is absolutely contagious!

A consummate singer, songwriter, arranger, and violinist, Jean insists on excellence in everything she does. She has recorded six albums to date including her latest CD, Christmas ... Not the Way It Seems, featuring Grammy nominated producer Billy Smiley and guitar virtuoso Phil Keaggy.

Mike Day served over twenty-one years on the SEAL Teams, leading his men into battle. On his final mission in Iraq, Mike's team stacked behind him as he led them into a twelve-by-twelve-foot room of a building suspected of housing a group of deadly Al Qaeda insurgents. Mike was shot twenty-seven times and suffered shrapnel wounds from a grenade that detonated within a few feet of where he was standing. Mike reflected on the incident some seven years later: “It was a miracle that I survived; it's still hard to believe!” He spent a year recovering from his wounds. “The military did an outstanding job of treating my physical wounds; however, the neurological and emotional wounds were more difficult to diagnose and treat.”

Although Mike retired from the Navy in 2010, he continues to lead fellow warriors as a full-time case manager and care advocate. Mike inspires those who may be reluctant to seek assistance with PTSD and/or TBI, through his willingness to speak openly about how to effectively recognize and manage symptoms. He also works to provide his fellow wounded warriors with access to customized brain injury treatment programs that offer a non-pharmacological approach to treating TBI and other neurological issues. “While I am grateful for the VA, there are several organizations that are revolutionizing the treatment of brain injuries; one of them is the Carrick Brain Center.” Current estimates suggest that as many as 300,000 former and current service members have some degree of brain injury. 

Join us this week on Christian Devotions SPEAK UP! as Scott talks football and Jesus with former NFL running back Noah Herron.

Noah Herron played in 27 games, in his 3 year career, with the Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was born on Apr 3, 1982 in Mattawan, MI, where he was a standout football player growing up. He played for Big Ten college Northwestern, where he earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors when he scored 15 touchdowns his Senior season. Noah was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2005 in Round 7 (#244 Overall). Noah’s breakout season came in 2006, when he played all 16 games and averaged 4.1 yards/carry to go along with 29 receptions.
Noah is also known for thwarting an attempted robbery of his home and sharing the love of Christ with all who will hear it.

Join us this week on Christians SPEAK UP! where Scott interviewed the group Undone at a LIVE concert on Memorial Day.

Ricky and April Burke were married in January of 1998. With music in their blood, they began to lead worship at Faith Tabernacle Worship Center in Medon, TN, and from that moment, God sparked a fire unlike anything they’d ever known.

Their son Kevin, who is an autistic savant, began playing the piano in 2009 for the worship team at the age of fourteen. Terry Montgomery, drummer, joined them in 2011.
In October 2012, God called Pastor Ricky and April to open a sister campus called Faith Church in Lexington, TN. Bobby Hughes, bass player,  began to play at their monthly Sunday Night Ignite services in 2014 and in early 2015, they were introduced to John Couch, lead guitar, by way of a mutual friend, Andy K. Avery. The band was complete.

Worship is where the deepest part of you seeks out the deepest part of Him, where you come into the throne room of grace face down, broken, and undone. That is the place where He can start to unravel you and make you new again—hence the name of the group Undone.

Join us this week on Christian Devotions SPEAK UP! when the best clips of the year are ready for you to enjoy. 

Great guests have rewarded our listeners with incites into their ministries, lives and hearts. Some of the clips you will hear come from Comedian Brad Stine, former Lead Singer of Petra John Schlitt, Ex-NFL player Corwin Anthony, Producer and Actor of God's Not Dead David AR White, Worship Leader Don Moen, Performing Artist Jonny Diaz, Radio Host and Author Kim Ketola, Missionary Melody Green, President of the NCFIC Scott Brown, Movie Producer Zena Dell Lowe, Author and Singer Andrew Peterson, Actor Burgess Jenkins and many more! You’ll laugh, be encouraged.