Followed By Mercy
The Followed By Mercy Podcast
Real Grace, Honest Hope
You might notice a new name and a fresh look, but the heart behind this podcast is the same. After years as the World Evangelism Podcast, I sensed God leading me to a deeper, more personal path centered on His relentless mercy and the kind of honest hope that can reach into every hurting place. That’s why this show is now called Followed By Mercy Podcast. The format may shift, and the tone may be a bit more personal, but my mission hasn’t changed: I still believe the world desperately needs to hear the good news of God’s love in Jesus Christ. You are welcome here if you’ve been with me from the beginning or just found us now.
What if God’s love is more personal, stubborn, and relentless than you ever imagined?
Welcome to The Followed By Mercy Podcast, where we get honest about pain, hope, and the kind of grace that finds you right where you are, five days a week. This isn’t about religious performance or church routines. It’s for anyone who’s ever felt worn out, unseen, or unsure if they belong in the story of God’s love. Every conversation is rooted in this reality: God loves you right now, just as you are, and He isn’t giving up on you.
Here’s what you’ll find in every episode:
Experience God’s Relentless Love
Every show starts by reminding you that the Shepherd knows your name, cares about your story, and isn’t offended by your failures or questions. This is personal—it’s about God’s unwavering affection for you.
Find Your Place in His Heart
Once you grasp how fiercely you’re loved, sharing that love with others doesn’t feel forced. It becomes the most natural thing in the world. Real grace overflows.
Prayer That Changes You
We pray together—not just for the world “out there,” but for the battles and hopes you’re carrying right now. These prayers are honest, rooted in Scripture, and meant for hearts that need a gentle touch from the Shepherd.
Discover Your Unique Role
Whether you’re called to go, give, serve, or show kindness in your corner of the world, God’s mercy meets you where you are. You’re not just a bystander. You are His beloved, invited into the story He’s writing.
When life knocks the wind out of you, this is a place to catch your breath. You’ll hear the encouragement that meets you on your hardest days, and your honest questions will be welcomed. No pretending, no heavy-handed advice—just the reminder that your Shepherd is right there with you, walking every step with you, even when you feel like giving up.
Why does this matter? Because some days, it feels like nobody sees you or cares what you’re going through. But the truth is, you have a Shepherd who never takes His eyes off you, lets you slip through the cracks, and never gives up on you. That kind of love can put you back on your feet, and it might be the hope someone else is waiting to see in you, too.
If you’re longing for more than just religious talk—if you want to know you’re not alone and that God’s mercy is following you all the way home, you’re in the right place. Whether you listen in the car, on a walk, or in a quiet moment, let every episode remind you: God’s mercy is after you right now, ready to bring real grace and honest hope.
Subscribe today and join a community to discover what happens when loved people become loving people. The journey’s just beginning, and there’s a place for you here.
Followed By Mercy
The Power of Presence: Embracing Jesus' Example in Discipleship
Have you ever wondered how the simple act of being present can transform someone's spiritual journey? On today's episode, we explore the profound distinction between "with-ness" and "witness" in discipleship, inspired by Mark 3:14. Jesus didn’t just send the apostles to preach; he chose them to be with him. We unpack how this principle of being genuinely present with those we mentor can create lasting spiritual growth and meaningful relationships. From hiking trips to heartfelt conversations, we examine the importance of shared experiences in nurturing faith.
Reflecting on personal stories from teaching in a Christian school, we confront the limitations of traditional education methods. The goal isn't just to impart knowledge but to model a life of faith and devotion. By genuinely investing in people, we can help them become faithful, praying Christians, whether they serve as Sunday school teachers, ushers, or preachers. Our mission is to support each individual as far as they are willing to go. Join us for an inspiring discussion on the transformative power of intentional, Christ-centered relationships, and learn how to cultivate a mentorship approach that truly reflects Jesus’ example.
Thanks for listening. Find us on YouTube, Substack, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
Well, I'm glad you're back today and I'm glad I had the opportunity to talk to you. And the Bible says in Mark 3, 14, that Jesus chose the apostles that they might be with him. For years I read that verse because I read my Bible through every year I suppose A lot of years I read through twice and I never paid attention to with him. I noticed he chose them to be with him, that he might send them forth to preach. But he said with them and Gunter Kralman made a big deal in a book he wrote about with-ness not wit-ness, but with-ness. Jesus chose him that he might be with him.
W. Austin Gardner:It's funny to go through the Bible and find out how many times Jesus is alone with them. In other words, he's with those guys, he's not alone. So you're choosing some people where you're gonna spend time with them all the time, and that time can't be just frivolous time. That doesn't mean you can't go play handball. That doesn't mean you can't take a hikeball. That doesn't mean you can't take a hike together. But when you sit down after you're doing the hike for a while, you know what you do. You sit down and you go wow, let me say something. God's showing me right now, or you stumble and maybe you know Jesus juked the thing, turn it around and say let me say something to you about some things the Lord's teaching me through all of this. I just want to challenge you to spend all the time you can with people and love them, with them that he might send them forth to preach. So, bluntly speaking, the goal is not a series of lessons. It is to develop a person and train a person to be all that God wants him to be.
W. Austin Gardner:I taught in a Christian school, big Christian school, high school I think we had 250 kids in it, and this was way back in the what, the 70s. And you know there's a curriculum and every week we had to turn in lesson plans and you know, most of the time teachers didn't finish the whole book, but the whole thing was the course is this book? Teach them this book or these books and go through that material, give them a test, give them some homework, give them a grade and we've done our job. But all they did was learn how to repeat to us what we wanted them to say. They didn't learn their lesson, they didn't learn their job, they didn't learn the material. In fact, as you know good and well what most of them said I'll never use this math stuff again. I don't care, I'll just get the test done.
W. Austin Gardner:So you and I got to know that there's more to that than this. So they need to see you crying and praying when things are going wrong. They need to see you begging God for the money you need to do something. They need to see you witnessing to people. They need to be spending time with you and watching you as you train them.
W. Austin Gardner:Now here's the rule You're going to take them along as far as they're willing to go. Now, not everybody's going to be a preacher, and we need to know that, but we ought to train everyone all the way to being a preacher if they want to go. So what you do is you start out with them and you start teaching them. You teach them as much as you can, and so what? They become a regular Christian, they become a faithful Christian. They become a faithful, giving praying Christian a soul winning Christian. They want a faithful, giving praying Christian a soul winning Christian. You know, maybe all of a sudden they break in and they're ready to be a Sunday school helper, maybe they're ready to be an usher or greeter, and then we keep taking them along and some of them will stop and they'll go. You know, I really love teaching the Bible in Sunday school. That's it for me. That's fine. We just take everybody along. We don't handpick a bunch of favors, we love them, and then we'll spend the rest of our time with those who want to go on. And after you get the church going and the ministry flying real good, you'll have so many people you can't do all that. You'll let other people help. You bring them along and you'll take them when they get to that point. So you take everybody as far along as you can take them. You can't make anyone serve God. You can't make anyone serve God. That's not even our goal. It is not our goal to make anyone serve God. It's our goal to help them develop whatever God put in them.
W. Austin Gardner:Now Christian men and women are hungry for godly input and accountability in their lives. People want to grow. They want to talk about it. Their heart burns when you're having a Bible study with them. Their heart burns when you pray with them. They like talking about this stuff. They want to be a spiritual leader. They're looking for someone who would care enough about them and carry them on. They want you to help shape them. They want to have that passion. They want to be doing more for Jesus than other people are doing. Do you understand what I'm telling you? People want to serve God Born again. People have a spark inside of them that says I really want to do this, I really want to do this, and so I'd just like to challenge you to take that as far as you can take it and let God do a work in your life for his honor and his glory. God can use you to help others do more for him than they would have ever done without him. So let's get involved in mentoring men and women for the cause of Jesus Christ.