Summary

In this episode of Between Heaven and Earth, Justin Howard and Amy Howard explore the role of confession in the formation of Christian leaders and the health of the church. Drawing from Amy’s doctoral research interviews with pastors and clergy, they uncover a striking pattern: many leaders have never been taught how to confess, live transparently, or process their pain before entering ministry.

The conversation examines how the absence of confessional culture creates isolation, hidden bondage, and emotionally fragmented leadership. Justin and Amy challenge churches to rethink how pastors are formed—not simply through academics and theology, but through healing, spiritual direction, vulnerability, and authentic community. They also share how Encounter Life groups and spiritual direction are helping cultivate spaces where leaders and believers alike can safely know and be known.

Highlights ✨ Many pastors were never taught how to confess or receive confession 🕊️ Confession is essential for healing, freedom, and healthy leadership 💡 Hidden pain and unresolved trauma often shape ministry from the shadows ⚠️ Isolation and silence create deep loneliness for church leaders 🔥 Healthy church culture begins when leaders live honestly and vulnerably 🤝 Spiritual friendship and community are necessary for long-term transformation 🌱 Encounter Life groups help normalize confession and healing in Christian community

Key Insights ✨ Confession is not just about sin management—it is about transformation 🕊️ Leaders cannot guide others into freedom they have not experienced themselves 💡 Seminary training often emphasizes academics while neglecting emotional and spiritual formation ⚠️ Silence and performance culture can keep pastors trapped in loneliness and exile 🔥 Churches become healthier when confession and healing are normalized 🤝 Spiritual direction and safe community help leaders move from survival into wholeness 🌱 God’s desire is not merely forgiven leaders, but healed and integrated people

Summary

In this episode of Between Heaven and Earth, Justin Howard and Amy Howard discuss confession as a powerful pathway to healing, freedom, and restoration. They challenge the idea that confession is only private or “Catholic,” introducing “directed confession” as a biblical practice of bringing hidden sin, shame, and trauma into the light within safe Christian community.

Drawing from personal stories, Scripture, and pastoral experience, they explain how secrecy fuels isolation while honest confession creates space for healing and encounter with the Holy Spirit. The episode also explores the church’s need for healthier cultures of honesty, accountability, and restoration for both leaders and everyday believers.

Highlights ✨ Confession is a pathway to healing and freedom 🕊️ “Directed confession” combines honesty, community, and prayer 💡 Shame loses power when brought into the light ⚠️ Churches often lack safe spaces for honest confession 🔥 Testimonies of freedom can spark revival culture

Key Insights ✨ Confession restores relationship with God and others 🕊️ Healing deepens in trusted Christian community 💡 Trauma and shame both need to be brought into the light 🔥 Freedom becomes contagious when people share their stories

In this episode of Between Heaven and Earth, Justin and Amy Howard talk with Matt Schneider, a former Anglican priest turned missionary in Springfield, Massachusetts. Matt shares his journey from traditional ministry to launching a grassroots disciple-making movement in a highly post-Christian context. He critiques the North American church model as overly centralized and ineffective at producing true disciples, placing unrealistic expectations on pastors while fostering passivity among congregants.

Matt advocates for a return to a New Testament model of shared leadership through the fivefold ministry and emphasizes equipping everyday believers to actively participate in disciple-making. He highlights the importance of relational discipleship, Scripture engagement, and community-based spiritual growth over program-driven church structures. Addressing concerns about decentralization, he argues that empowered, Scripture-rooted communities are better positioned to guard against false teaching than rigid institutional systems.

• 🌍 Called to Springfield, MA, a leading post-Christian city
• 📖 Seminary lacks practical disciple-making training
• ⚖️ Pastors are overburdened in an unsustainable model
• 🔥 Advocates for shared leadership over traditional pastoral roles
• ⚠️ Decentralization can strengthen, not weaken, doctrinal health
• ✨ Vision: equip ordinary believers to multiply disciples

• 🌍 Mission in Hard Places: Prioritizing spiritually resistant regions reflects a missional mindset.
• 📖 Training Gap: Churches lack leaders equipped for relational, reproducible discipleship.
• ⚖️ Broken Model: Centralized leadership creates burnout and passive church cultures.
• 🔥 Rethinking Leadership: Biblical ministry is shared, not centered on one role.
• ⚠️ Truth in Community: Scripture-engaged communities help safeguard sound doctrine.
• ✨ Multiplication Vision: Empowered believers create broader, lasting spiritual impact.

Summary In this episode of Between Heaven and Earth, Justin and Amy Howard describe Lent as a season of fasting, prayer, and repentance that deepens dependence on Jesus. Rooted in the church calendar, Lent invites believers to embrace human frailty, reflect on Christ’s life, and create space for God through simple, intentional practices.

Highlights 🙏 Lent focuses on prayer, fasting, and generosity. 🔥 Ash Wednesday reminds us of mortality and grace. 🌱 Fasting builds dependence on God. 📖 Scripture meditation deepens spiritual growth. 🌿 Simple rhythms make Lent meaningful in daily life.

Key Insights ⏳ The church calendar provides steady spiritual rhythm. 🍽️ Fasting is voluntary weakness that fuels prayer. 🌱 Growth is often unseen but cultivated through discipline. 💡 Practical sacrifices help integrate faith into everyday life.

Conclusion Lent is a grace-filled invitation to repent, pray, and trust God to form deeper spiritual growth through simple, faithful practices.

The Celtic Way of Evangelism

BELAY Affiliate Link Summary Between Heaven and Earth, hosted by Justin and Amy Howard, explores missional hospitality as an everyday practice of joining God where He is already at work. In this episode, they clarify that being missional is not about entertaining or programs, but about generous presence and shared life. Drawing from their early ministry of hosting simple pancake breakfasts in a small apartment, they show that hospitality is rooted in authenticity, not perfection. Through stories of healing and connection, the hosts invite listeners to start small and see their tables as places where God’s kingdom becomes visible.

Highlights 🏠 Missional hospitality is intentional welcome, not entertaining 🥞 Hospitality requires presence, not resources or perfection 💬 Shared life and listening are central to formation 🌱 Small, intentional steps make hospitality accessible 😢 Simple welcome can bring healing and transformation 🍽️ Our tables reflect the Lord’s table and God’s kingdom

Key Insights 🛠️ Shared Mission Over Pastoral Performance: Missional life invites all believers to participate, easing unhealthy pressure on pastors and fostering communal responsibility.

🔍 Joining God at Work: Missional living begins with attentiveness to where God is already moving rather than creating activity for Him.

❤️ Presence Over Presentation: Hospitality is about making room for people as they are, embracing vulnerability and limits.

🌿 Small, Faithful Practice: Hospitality grows through simple, repeated acts of welcome that anyone can offer.

🕊️ The Sacred Table: Everyday meals carry theological meaning as signs of God’s coming kingdom.

Conclusion This episode presents missional hospitality as a simple, faithful way of life rooted in generosity and presence. By starting small and opening their lives to others, listeners are invited to participate in God’s healing work through ordinary, sacred acts of welcome.