Peter Wright’s interview in this episode runs the gamut from youth pastor to communications director to recruitment specialist and more. He explains to host Dr. Matt Davis that God has “wired” him to enjoy encouraging people, whether through playing the piano, driving a bus, flying airplanes, or mowing a lawn. Their conversation glides through Peter’s call to youth ministry despite music training and flows on to his call to Maranatha as communications director (overseeing things he disliked) and how the Lord gave him what he pined for—ministry in music.

Then their dialogue settles on recruitment. Peter answers such paramount questions as why he advocates Christian education, why students should attend college even if pursuing a trade, and why Maranatha is a prime choice. They talk percentages—70-80% of Christians attending secular schools denouncing their faith, senior test scores placing MBU in the top 4% nationally with music students in the top 1%, and our CPA-track students making us number one in Wisconsin. Dr. Davis sites studies which show discipline trumps IQ, and Peter concludes the compelling analysis by enumerating college benefits beyond academics.

Here’s a notable episode with guest Mr. John McGarry, who spoke on campus for an informative general assembly. He is the Assistant Special Agent in Charge with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration in the Milwaukee District Office. A deployment with the U.S. Marine Corps to Columbia, South America, aroused his desire to become a DEA agent and facilitated his goal of joining something bigger than himself to give back to this country what his immigrant parents received.

He and host Dr. Matt Davis discuss 9/11 from John’s perspective at Quantico. They talk about leadership as epitomized in the Marine motto (lead by example) and the need for compassion. Then the subject turns to the threats spawned by synthetics drugs, particularly fentanyl. He explains the history, the complexity of the “war on drugs,” and its permeation of all societal levels. John describes the seemingly unachievable mission of using law enforcement to reduce demand in the illegal drug trade when we are the prime consumers. He compares the staggering numbers of drug-related deaths to Al-Qaeda-associated murders. Finally, he articulates that emulating Jesus Christ motivates his perseverance.

This episode’s guest hails from Maranatha’s inception. In fact, he met the Brothers of the Holy Cross who sold the campus to MBU. Dr. Bob Griffin reflects on the early days—transferring from Pillsbury, meeting his wife (plus how a bowl of melted ice cream landed in his lap), and the quandary of what to do after graduation.

Bob defines his mission as willingness to be a servant, and host Dr. Matt Davis prompts him to explain how the Lord employs desires, preparation, and counsel to direct His will. Bob mentions his US Navy chaplaincy that ended before it began and how an inner-city boy pastored a rural church with 13 members, six of whom died within a year.

They discuss unexpected opportunities to advance his education, how the Lord sustained when Bob’s wife developed a terminal condition. Bob recounts poignant financial extremities and how the Lord surprised them, how his wife’s illness triggered new pursuits, and now how the Lord allows continued opportunities to serve despite a stroke. A servant has no will, Bob states. Humility is key, which results in peace.

Delve into this episode as host Dr. Matt Davis and MBU graduate Jonathan Gilliam chat about a range of topics from cross-country running to marriage, from Jonathan’s current camp staff responsibilities to God’s calling. Tapping into his recent graduation, they address his college expectations and what aspects prepared him for life. Jonathan appreciates his extension involvement in a small church and highlights his internship, which challenged him to devote time daily in silent reflection.

When Dr. Davis asks, “What would you tell your younger self as a student, if you had the chance,” Jonathan thoughtful responds, “How to interact with suffering.” Diagnosed with Chron’s disease as a teen and having had potentially fatal complications from it, he judiciously comments that he would not mourn those difficulties or seek immediate release because, he concludes, trials are often the means of growth and sanctification.

In this engaging episode, host Dr. Matt Davis interviews fall meetings guest speaker Pastor Joel Mikkelson, asking why he chose to present messages on the attributes of God. Mentioning the apparent conflict between scarcity as the economic standard for determining value and God’s infinity, Dr. Davis asks the intriguing question, “Then what is God’s value?” They address God’s holiness and how it suggests “boundaries of scarcity.” Then the conversation shifts to Joel’s mission not only to serve faithfully, but also to enjoy serving. Dr. Davis notes that Pastor Mikkelson’s ministry is complex, requiring him to lead, not serve. They talk about the balance of delegating work while continuing to actively participate in it. They evaluate perspectives of ministry in the diverse, “almost hostile environment” of California and Santa Maria’s “de-churched, unchurched” culture and the faulty perception of size as a “benchmark” of faithfulness.

About our guest

Joel Mikkelson [‘01] is pastor of First Baptist Church of Santa Maria, California, and serves on Maranatha’s Board of Resource. Raised in a pastor’s family in Wisconsin, a home which engendered a desire for lifelong service, he attended Maranatha where he met his wife, Kelly. Upon graduation, they joined the staff of Kelly’s home church in Santa Maria where Kelly assumed responsibilities as the finance director and Joel began his “dream job” as children’s pastor. He served in that position for 14 years before becoming the lead pastor. The Mikkelsons have five children. One, a 2025 Maranatha graduate, works for the university, and another is currently a student.

If internship offers experience for one’s resume, what does internship lodging provide? In Ethan Rosen’s case, it led to far more than anticipated, as he narrates on this podcast episode. Ethan could not afford lodging for his sports management internship, so his coach introduced him to a church whose members opened their homes one summer for several weeks each. Thus, Ethan met a seed producer, became enthralled with the business, lived in his home for several years, and eventually acquired the company.

He and host Dr. Matt Davis laugh about former college escapades, tempering it now with a more mature perspective. They observe that the same leadership Ethan exercised with peers as football captain is the same energy needed in business. For now, Ethan asserts, until the Lord directs otherwise, he is gratified glorifying God by caring for employees and providing seed to feed the world.

Podcast listeners may recognize the voice of this episode’s guest—Jim Schneider, executive director of VCY America and host of Crosstalk, a nationwide live call-in program examining issues of concern for Christians. After a brief glimpse at the global scope of his organization, he and host Dr. Matt Davis share common experiences and the challenges of call-in programs.

They examine how VCY’s mission statement guides program choices, and Jim quotes a principle he once heard: What we won them with, we have won them to. Thus, the desired goal directs decisions. He candidly states that VCY is not entertainment, though it has elements of it, which naturally leads them to discuss VCY’s music standards. Jim explains their parameters: music that is theologically correct with “no contradiction between words and rhythm; “music that moves the heart;” traditional, sacred music. Nonetheless, both men acknowledge that change is inevitable, that there must be a balance with change, and that it helps ministries “hold the line” when others do the same.

Guest Ian Ferguson returns for his second visit to the podcast, accompanied this time by business partner Glenn Aldridge of CoSurge CPAs, a firm that provides audit leadership for other CPA businesses nationwide. Host Dr. Matt Davis steers their discussion through narration of their firm’s merger and determination of core values (succinctly stated in an acronym for Surge), posing such questions as what could undermine the ethics of leadership, how they ethically balance client interests, and what makes their work worthwhile.

Both men affirm that “stewardship is about more than resources.” They explain their superior model of work-life balance which sets them apart and how collaboration is possible despite 100% remote interaction through a virtual central office. Most importantly, they stress that they aren’t focused on being the biggest CPA firm, but on taking care of their families. “We want to equip our people to do what God has called them to do whether it’s accounting or something else,” says Mr. Aldridge, a perspective which Dr. Davis asserts is “exactly what Maranatha is all about.”

“It’s not who’s right, but what’s right,” asserts podcast guest Alex Rodriguez. The son of hardworking Cuban parents, Alex attended college on a baseball scholarship, hoping eventually to support his family. A torn rotator cuff abruptly cancelled the scholarship, forcing him to enroll in community college and get the job that began a 41-year relationship with Chick-fil-A.

Regarding Chick-fil-A, Alex explains to host Dr. Matt Davis, “we don’t just serve a chicken sandwich; we serve people,” a motto that identifies why the restaurant is different, and a philosophy closely linked to his mission. Alex recounts working with founder Truett Cathy, the struggles and amazing blessings as an owner-operator, and the joy of serving in a non-profit organization rescuing vulnerable souls from human trafficking and homelessness. Asked what makes him different, he quickly responds, “I know Who I serve.”

This episode’s guest, Mr. Randy Tanis, is closely linked with Maranatha and Watertown, having graduated from MBU and having served as youth pastor at Calvary Baptist Church for 21 years. Originally, Randy came to college to play football, but then “surrendered to stay.” Working with Neighborhood Bible Time for three summers, he was drawn into youth ministry. He and host Dr. Matt Davis reminisce about how that decision remains the platform for his life’s mission despite transitions in positions. Randy explains his determination as a youth pastor to center all youth activities on service, to recruit college students as helpers whom he could also mentor, and now as a camp director, to devote primary attention to preparing his college-aged staff to serve.