Gospel Con Carne

As an adventure-seeker, Tim Shea lived many of his years for the thrill of a challenge. Among those challenges, however, was his use and distribution of drugs. Tim spent years in and out of prison while carrying the destructive weight of a drug addiction, which led to a downward spiral with his health and eventual loss of relationships with his family. With nowhere to turn after losing one of his jobs, Tim found himself homeless on the streets of Austin. He has now been living at Community First! Village for more than three years, recently completed 30 years of parole and will soon be the first person in the United States to live in a 3D-printed home in his new community. Hear Tim's restorative journey of finding home through the relationships he's built at Community First! Village.

From founding one of the largest accounting firms in Austin to becoming the CEO of St. David's Foundation, Earl Maxwell has experienced the benefits of creating long-lasting, relational foundations throughout his career. After spending 31 years as a CPA, Earl answered the call to serve his community by joining and leading the St. David's Foundation team for more than a decade—a team who will surely miss Earl when he retires next month. In addition to creating many valued relationships over the years, Earl has also learned about the importance of reconciliation and, ultimately, letting God become the CEO in his life. We are grateful to end season two of the Gospel Con Carne podcast by sharing a great conversation with an absolutely great man.

A young boy with the dream of one day becoming a rockstar, Lee Espinoza has been in and out of bands and playing his guitar for more than 40 years. The day Lee remembers most from his journey, however, is a July day in 2015 when he lost it all. His car, his home and his hope—all gone. After living on the streets and in shelters, Lee had a hard time adjusting to the place he now calls home in Community First! Village. But even through the trials that life has thrown his way, Lee says he has learned the true meaning of community. Following a recent serious accident and a challenging recovery, Lee believes he was saved by his newfound community and, above-all, by his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

While he's somewhat of a newer face around the Community First! neighborhood, Sherwynn Patton has already touched the lives of so many of our neighbors. As executive director of Life Anew, Sherwynn helps guide individuals who are locked in conflict through a process of restorative justice with intentional conversations that lead to meaningful relationships and life transformation. As a neighborhood full of individuals who were once kicked to the fringe of society and are now learning to do life together in new ways, Community First! Village has become an ideal place for the restorative justice principles to be put into practice. In this episode of the Gospel Con Carne, hear how events in Sherwynn's life have enabled him to recognize the importance of community and its ability to help us grow through conflict.

Everyone has a story to tell, and Community First! neighbor Helen Hopkins is never at a loss when it comes to sharing her next tale. Many of our neighbors here at the Village struggle when trying to reflect on their upbringing, but Helen has an abundance of treasured memories with family and the life she has lived. Hear how Helen spreads her love and faith with other residents in our community and also outward into the world as she strives to live intentionally among her neighbors.

As the leader of The Gathering, a Christ-centered mission at Community First! Village, Matt Freeman (a.k.a the Pastor Dude) is a familiar face with a jovial presence around the neighborhood. Matt spends a good amount of time helping his formerly homeless neighbors through a process of healing and restoration, and often draws upon his own past experiences through the most difficult trials to remind others that he, too, once felt broken and beyond repair. In this episode of the Gospel Con Carne, Matt breaks down the simple truth of the gospel and explains how the path he once found himself on in life—including a turning point moment that involved time in jail and his loss of hope—led to healing you can only find in Jesus Christ.  

While his time on the streets lasted about three years, John "JR" Rogers says he feels like he was homeless most of his life before moving into Community First! Village. Designated as the outcast of his 11 siblings, JR lost the sense of love at an early age and later dealt with his heartache by blowing into a harmonica. JR has experienced his fair share of storms in life, but felt the sharpest loss when his wife of 32 years passed away. This loss pushed JR into a deep depression that eventually left him living on the streets and believing he could no longer trust anyone. It hasn't come easy, but JR has learned to receive and, in turn, provide unconditional love to anyone he encounters as he has a newfound appreciation for what he considers the true meaning of multiplying God's Kingdom. (Editor's Note: JR is the talent behind the harmonica you hear at the beginning and end of the Gospel Con Carne podcast. Thank you for keeping in mind the beauty of the person behind the blues as you listen to his episode.)

As one of the original founding members of the Mobile Loaves & Fishes "six pack," Pat Patterson is a man who exudes selflessness. He even recalls how helping others in need at one point in life just wasn't fulfilling enough—only because it wasn't happening often enough by his servant-hearted terms. This conversation with Pat gives a touching look into his life as he reflects on his childhood on a farm, serving in the army, meeting the love of his life, Bunky, followed by 52 years of marriage and raising six children. When a hurricane struck the Gulf Coast in the early years of the Mobile Loaves & Fishes ministry, Pat realized that God had big plans for the path ahead. So Pat did what Pat does best—he continued to serve, and has been in awe of God's work ever since

A victim of abuse from as far back as she can remember, Penny Hunt first ran away from home when she was only 6-years-old. By the age of 12 she was hopping freight trains across the country -- partly for the adventure, but mostly for survival. At one point in her journey she landed in Austin with nothing more than a mountain bike, two backpacks and $80 in her pocket. Continued neglect and abuse followed, leaving Penny with a complete loss of faith in humanity. Penny, however, has never given up the fight. Today as a neighbor living in Community First! Village, she's doing her best embrace her new community of friends as she recovers from a lifelong journey filled with lots of love and whole lot of loss.