In this episode, Mitch Bakker explores the true nature of perseverance, pushing past the cultural definition of simple grit to uncover what it means to faithfully answer a difficult calling.

We often think of perseverance as surviving a hardship we can't control. But what happens when perseverance requires voluntarily walking away from a perfectly comfortable life? In real life, perseverance is messy, and it comes with overwhelming obstacles that test our patience, our faith, and our sense of direction.

Mitch is joined by his friend Samet Akgul to discuss his incredible journey. Together, they explore Samet’s transition from a journalism student in Turkey to finding Christ, the painful rejection by his family, and his difficult decision to leave a comfortable life in the United States to return to a small church in his home country. Mitch also shares his own ongoing journey of finding purpose through prison ministry.

We hope you’ll join us as we discuss how the most challenging paths often bring the greatest spiritual fulfillment, and how true perseverance is found by answering God's call, even when it costs us everything.

Learn more at MitchBakker.com

Grab a FREE copy Mitch's book, Drawn on Kindle here: https://mitchbakker.com/free

#perseverance #faithjourney #christianity #calling #mitchbakkerpodcast

In this episode, Mitch Bakker explores the tension between our culture's obsession with persistence and the quiet wisdom of knowing when it's time to change course.

We hear a lot about grit and never giving up. But what happens when staying the course costs too much, or when God is gently nudging us down a different road? Navigation isn't just about blindly moving forward; it's about the discernment to know which battles to fight, and recognizing that sometimes, walking away is actually a step toward something better.

Mitch is joined by his friend and former IDA colleague, Jennifer Wammack, to discuss her own journey. Together, they explore the realities of navigating career shifts, the pressures of being a working mom, and how to spot God’s fingerprints even when the map feels entirely unclear.

We hope you’ll join us as we discuss how to treat navigation as a daily practice, how to listen for God's guidance in life's unexpected turns, and how our choices—big, small, and surprising—ultimately shape who we are becoming.

Learn more at MitchBakker.com

Order a copy of Mitch's book, Drawn: https://tinyurl.com/3c9v2e66

#navigation #discernment #christianity #faith #careerjourney #workingmom 

In this brief introduction to the theme of Navigation, Mitch Bakker challenges our culture’s obsession with persistence, grit, and never giving up.

While staying the course is often the right move, there is a quieter, lesser-known wisdom in recognizing when a path is no longer right for us. What if walking away is actually a step toward something better? What if survival sometimes requires retreat?

Join Mitch as he introduces "Navigation"—a central theme from his book, Drawn—and explores the difficult practice of discernment. Life rarely unfolds in a straight line, but through our choices, big and small, we can learn to listen, trust, and follow God’s lead even when the map doesn't make sense.

Learn more at MitchBakker.com

Order a copy of Mitch's book, Drawn: https://tinyurl.com/3c9v2e66

#navigation #discernment #christianity #faith #wisdom 

In this episode Mitch Bakker speaks with Dusty Linsley, who's husband Mark lost his life after donating a kidney to a child in need.

Dusty recounts the incredible story of Mark's sacrificial gift, and then the discovery some time later that his remaining kidney was cancerous. This is a story of loss and grief, yes, but Dusty's remarkable faith in the midst of loss is a testament to God's goodness and the power of Christian community.

This is a story you'll want to come back to again and again as Dusty helps us learn to see God's presence in our own stories, even in the midst of incredible loss and suffering.

May Dusty's anchor of hope encourage you in whatever losses you're facing.

Learn more at https://mitchbakker.com.

Order a copy of Mitch's book, Drawn: https://www.amazon.com/Drawn-Discover-Presence-Struggle-Reflective/dp/B0FPCQTW88/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0.

#griefjourney #loss  #christianity  #hope

In this episode Mitch Bakker begins to explore the idea that God, who is always working for our good, can still speak to us through the losses we experience in life.

Because while we all encounter loss, it rarely comes on schedule. Loss is the great disrupter, pushing us to face life's most important questions whether we feel ready or not.

So if loss is inevitable, how we find meaning within loss? And how to we learn from the example of those who've traveled the path of loss before us?

We hope you'll stick around as we explore how loss shapes us, how God is present in these difficult places in our stories, and how it is that we grow and mature through our struggles.

Learn more at https://mitchbakker.com.

Order a copy of Mitch's book, Drawn: https://www.amazon.com/Drawn-Discover-Presence-Struggle-Reflective/dp/B0FPCQTW88/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0.

#griefjourney #loss  #christianity  #hope 

In this episode Mitch Bakker interviews his friends and colleagues, Peter and Katie, about their decision to adopt six children into their family. It's an amazing story, full of high highs and low lows.

But through it all runs the thread of incredible joy found in choosing not their ideal "happy" life, but of saying "yes" to the life that God had for them.

Listen in as they share from their journey moving from foster care parents, to adoptive parents of six, to now being on the verge of launching children from the home. As Katy shares, from 1 Co 6:10, there is a sense as adoptive parents of being "sorrowful, yet always rejoicing" as each child has their own story and unique challenges and they find a "blend" rather than "balance" in their home life.

We'd love to hear your thoughts, and how Peter and Katy's journey landed with you. Did it help prompt you to reconsider your own story and the place of joy in your life in some new way?

We'll be back soon with an all new theme from Mitch's book, Drawn.

Learn more at mitchbakker.com.

Pick up a copy of Mitch's book, Drawn.

Joy, like faith, feels real when we experience it. We tend to think of joy as something that happens to us—a response to good circumstances, a reward when life goes our way. But that kind of happiness is fragile, tied to the moment, and slips away as quickly as it arrived.

Joy isn’t something we chase, a prize we earn or a feeling we manufacture. But in reality, joy is a by-product—a natural overflow of a life lived in alignment with truth, gratitude, and faith. It arises not from circumstance, but from the quiet assurance that even in the ordinary, the messy, or the painful, life is infused with meaning and hope.

Nehemiah reminds us, “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” This joy isn’t circumstantial—it often comes as a by-product of how we choose to live our lives and perceive our circumstances.  

The stories I share around this theme range from people who chose joy when every reason seemed to point in the opposite direction to seeing joy in moments we too often take for granted (such as the dog laying at your feet). Joy can and should be found in all our seasons: pain, loss, even disappointments. It’s not natural but it is supernatural. 

Mitch Bakker invites us to reflect on joy—not as a fleeting feeling, but as a posture of the heart. A strength that endures in both good times and hard times.

Learn more at mitchbakker.com, and get a copy of Mitch's book, Drawn.

Have you ever felt directionless, like you’re adrift at sea? Everything was going just fine . . . until it wasn’t. Maybe you remember when you made course changes, or maybe you can’t. All you know is your boat is rocking and a long way from shore. Perhaps you’re seeking the peace of still waters but have begun questioning if they exist at all. We’ve all been there—disappointment, heartache, or disillusionment can take a toll on your soul.

No matter how far you may feel from God at this moment, He’s near, closer than your next breath. As we listen attentively to our lives and our stories, we begin to see the reality of God’s presence: from our greatest joys to seasons of deep despair.

 Welcome to the Mitch Baker podcast.

We're currently working our way through my book Drawn, which is a collection of stories from my life and others, and we're learning to see the presence of God more clearly. I'm convinced that as we listen attentively to lives and stories, we'll start to see the reality of God's presence everywhere. Thanks for being along for the ride. Let's begin.

Learn more about my writing and speaking at https://mitchbakker.com.