Between Heaven & Earth

Episode 10: The Power of an Encounter Weekend - A Pastor's Experience

Summary
The podcast episode from Between Heaven and Earth features hosts Justin and Amy Howard interviewing Pastor Shea Fitzgibbons from Bethany Church, New Hampshire, about the transformative impact of Encounter Culture Mission Collaborative (ECMC) on his ministry and congregation. Pastor Shea shares his personal journey to pastoral ministry, highlighting the deep challenges of pastoral life, including stress, loneliness, and burnout. He emphasizes the critical need for holistic discipleship that addresses emotional, spiritual, and physical healing while fostering authentic community within the church.
Shea describes his introduction to ECMC events like Encounter God weekends, Encounter Equip trainings, and Encounter Life cohorts, and how these have reshaped his perspective on prayer ministry and healing in a practical, non-weird way suited to his culturally reserved church context. The interview explores common pastoral and congregational concerns around charismatic expressions and the balance of spiritual openness with structure and respect. Shea reveals how these programs promote genuine healing, transparency, and community through practices like confession, prayer ministry, and mutual support. He shares encouraging stories of congregants empowered to bring healing prayer into everyday life and evangelism without formulaic approaches.
The episode also addresses broader cultural and spiritual struggles in churches that reflect the brokenness of society, such as addiction, loneliness, and complacency. The hosts and Pastor Shea urge church leaders and followers to pursue authentic encounters with God’s love and healing power that extend beyond information to embodied transformation and mission. The conversation closes with a hopeful call for churches to foster honest, healing environments where people can bring their pain openly and experience the power of community and the Spirit. The interview highlights ECMC’s role in equipping ordinary believers for ministry and prayer that bridges heaven and earth with practical love and restoration.
Highlights
🙏 Pastor Shea’s journey from engineer to pastor embodies God’s gentle, persistent call to ministry.
💡 ECMC’s holistic discipleship fosters healing that touches the whole person—not just behavior change.
🤝 The importance of authentic community in church for overcoming loneliness and isolation.
🔥 Training in “non-weird” prayer ministry unlocks healing and evangelism accessible to reserved church cultures.
🌿 Encounter Life cohorts support ongoing healing and relational growth beyond weekend events.
💬 Authentic vulnerability and confession in community radically transform church culture and individual healing.
🌍 Healing prayer ministry serves as a natural bridge between meeting practical needs and sharing the gospel.
Key Insights
🙌 Ministry is hard and often isolating, but shared community and honest confession offer needed relief: Pastor Shea candidly discusses the loneliness and stress common among pastors, emphasizing the value of trusted peer groups and prayer teams for mutual support and resilience. This counters the damaging expectation that pastors must always “have it together,” highlighting the importance of vulnerability.
✨ Encounter Culture offers a fresh model of discipleship centered on experiential healing rather than solely informational teaching: Traditional discipleship often relies on knowledge acquisition, but ECMC prioritizes encounters with God’s love that heal deep wounds—physical, emotional, and spiritual—enabling transformation rather than mere behavior modification. This approach better addresses the root causes of struggle and sin in people’s lives.
🔄 Prayer ministry training grounded in relational authenticity and practical technique eases fears of ‘weirdness’ in more reserved church cultures: Many evangelical and conservative congregations worry about charismatic expression disrupting order or alienating attendees. ECMC’s “non-weird” prayer training provides safe, reproducible practices for prayer ministry that empower laypeople to minister healing in ways respectful of their cultural context.
💞 Church culture that invites honesty about sin and brokenness profoundly shifts congregational health: By modeling confession and mutual intercession, churches dismantle the damaging “sin management” mentality that leads to shame and isolation. Instead, a culture of grace strengthens the body as a whole and demonstrates the power of Jesus to heal ongoing struggles transparently.
🌱 Ongoing ministry through groups like Encounter Life sustains growth and deepens community beyond weekend experiences: The 12-week cohorts create safe spaces where people can progress through healing at a realistic pace, holding one another accountable with emotional, spiritual, and relational support—essential for lasting change.
👣 Healing prayer ministry naturally connects evangelism with care, making gospel conversations less forced and more organic: Instead of rehearsed presentations, trained prayer ministers spontaneously meet hurting people’s needs, inviting them to Jesus through demonstrated love and power. This approach aligns well with cultural skepticism toward formulaic evangelism strategies.
🌎 The New England church context challenges the church to embrace authentic spirituality over cultural religiosity: Pastor Shea highlights New Englanders’ preference for genuine, tested faith over superficial religious trends. This regional mindset offers a fertile ground for authentic discipleship and spiritual renewal if ministries are willing to prioritize honesty and practical ministry rooted in real-life experience.
This episode underlines the urgent need for churches to shift from surface-level discipleship and disconnected ministry toward embracing holistic healing, authentic community, and Spirit-led prayer ministries. ECMC’s resources and model serve as exemplars for building vibrant churches where heaven and earth converge in healing and mission.

Episode 9: Reemergence of the Gnostic Heresy: Physical Healing, Sex, and Gender

Summary
In today's episode of “Between Heaven and Earth,” hosted by Justin and Amy, they explore the crucial yet challenging subject of physical healing within Christian faith, especially as practiced and understood in Western evangelical contexts. The hosts aim to provide listeners with a deeper vision of physical healing, moving beyond mere theoretical acceptance to functional, faith-driven practice that aligns with Jesus’ example. The discussion emphasizes that physical healing was a priority in Jesus’ life and ministry, and thus it should be for believers today. However, many Christians struggle to fully embrace supernatural healing due to intellectualism, theological misunderstandings, and cultural influences like Gnosticism—a worldview that devalues the material and physical in favor of the spiritual, often leading to complex issues around gender and the body.
The podcast critiques the prevalent Western Christian tendency to emphasize intellectual knowledge over experiential obedience and faith, which can hinder the practice of healing ministries. It also challenges cessationist views that suggest miraculous gifts, including healing, are no longer necessary in the present age, pointing out the ongoing presence of sickness and suffering as evidence to the contrary. An important theological underpinning for healing is the incarnation of Jesus Christ, whose physical resurrection affirms the intrinsic goodness and eternal significance of the human body and physical matter.
The hosts also address Gnosticism's pervasive cultural and church influence, linking it to contemporary debates on gender and sexuality, specifically how separating “gender” from “sex” has led to confusion, brokenness, and an erosion of biblical anthropology. They argue for a balanced worldview that embraces the physical body as good and meaningful rather than evil or merely a prison for the spirit. Practical steps toward healing include renouncing lies about the body, forgiving oneself and others for past hurts, and actively engaging in prayer and community support. The episode closes with encouragement to embrace a holistic, embodied Christian spirituality that brings heaven and earth together through faith in God’s healing power.
Highlights
✨ Healing is a priority for Jesus and should be for His followers too.
🧠 Western Christianity often emphasizes intellect over obedient, faith-filled action.
🔥 Physical healing requires more than theoretical belief—it demands experiential faith.
💔 Gnosticism, which devalues the physical, deeply influences both culture and church, especially around gender and sexuality.
💪 True healing starts with renouncing lies about the body and embracing God’s goodness in matter.
🙏 Healing involves practical faith steps: forgiveness, prayer, community, and openness to the Spirit.
🌟 Jesus’ incarnation and resurrection affirm the eternal value of the physical body and matter.
Key Insights
✝️ Jesus’ Example Validates Physical Healing as Kingdom Priority: The podcast highlights how Jesus’ life and ministry, heavily marked by physical healing and deliverance, showcase God’s intention for healing as central to the kingdom. If healing mattered to Jesus, it must matter to His followers, as obedience to God means living like Jesus did. This underscores a practical, embodied faith rather than a detached intellectual assent. Many Christians intellectually affirm healing but fail to engage it functionally in the church or personal prayer life.
🧠 Intellectualism as a Barrier to Healing Faith: Western evangelicalism’s strong emphasis on theology, doctrine, and rational study often leads to “theoretical charismaticism,” where believers hold to charismatic doctrines but do not actively practice healing or supernatural gifts. This intellectual dominance fosters paralysis in obedience, where knowledge replaces action and interaction with God’s power. The hosts call for a balance that nurtures both sound theology and courageous faith-in-action.
💔 Gnosticism’s Ongoing Influence Shapes Negative Views of the Body: Gnosticism, a heresy rooted in Platonic dualism, separates spirit and matter, elevating the spiritual as “more real” and disparaging the physical as evil or meaningless. The podcast traces how this worldview infiltrates modern church culture, contributing to confusion over gender and sexuality, particularly the division between “gender” (internal, spiritual) and “sex” (physical body). This theological error fuels cultural issues such as transgender ideology and other distortions and diminishes the biblical affirmation of creation’s goodness.
🙌 Incarnation as the Ultimate Affirmation of Matter’s Goodness: Jesus’ historic incarnation—born fully human and bodily resurrected—definitively affirms that God cares deeply about physical matter and the body. Jesus’ resurrection body and promised resurrection for believers guarantee that matter is not irrelevant or evil but part of God’s eternal plan. This theology forms a foundational basis for Christian belief in physical healing and the ultimate restoration of all creation.
🦋 Practical Steps Toward Healing are Spiritual and Relational: Healing involves renouncing lies about the body (e.g., it’s useless, dangerous, or shameful), forgiving oneself and others for abuses or neglect, and embracing God’s love and healing power through prayer and community support. The hosts emphasize that healing is often a process requiring vulnerability, faith, and communal participation, including receiving prayer, laying on of hands, and anointing with oil.
💡 Healing is Part of Integrating Heaven and Earth: The podcast frames healing as a priestly act of bringing heaven and earth together, repairing the brokenness where God’s kingdom intersects with the present age. It urges Christians to move beyond disappointment and passivity towards hopeful, active participation in God’s restoration work, trusting in the Spirit to teach how to love what Jesus loves—including our bodies and the physical world.
Conclusion
Between Heaven and Earth offers a deeply biblically rooted and pastoral reflection on physical healing that challenges the Western church’s intellectualized Christianity and cultural compromises. It calls for renewed faith in God’s healing power, a rediscovery of the goodness of the physical body, and an embodied discipleship modeled on Jesus’ healing ministry. The podcast underscores the ongoing relevance of supernatural gifts and healing, the necessity of forgiving and correcting faulty beliefs, and the importance of living faith that unites spiritual truths with tangible reality. It challenges listeners to courageously join Jesus in His great project of healing, restoration, and bringing heaven and earth together.

Episode 8: The Longest Distance: Bridging the Gap Between Head and Heart

Summary
In this episode of “Between Heaven and Earth,” hosts Justin and Amy Howard dive deep into the theme of healing the disconnect often experienced between intellectual beliefs and emotional truth—specifically, between one’s head and heart. The discussion centers on the premise that followers of Jesus may often know theological truths but struggle to embody those truths emotionally. Justin and Amy interactively explore this disconnect and frame it as the “head-heart difference,” using personal anecdotes and theological insights. They emphasize the importance of recognizing blocks that hinder spiritual emotional growth and healing, including bad information (misconceptions about God), traumatic experiences that have not been processed, and mal-formed emotional connections. The episode aims to empower listeners to embrace their healing journey, invite God into their emotional struggles, and potentially facilitate healing not only for themselves but also for others. Inviting Jesus, or the concept of love, into painful memories is vital for healing. This approach helps to create a deep emotional bond that acknowledges one’s suffering while offering profound healing.
 
Call to action: Listeners are invited to engage their stories, seek healing counsel, coaching, or spiritual direction through OneLife Group, and participate in upcoming Encounter Culture events designed to support their spiritual and emotional growth.

Episode 7: Can Christians be Demonized?

Summary
In today's episode of “Between Heaven and Earth,” we delve into the debate of oppression vs. possession. Key questions raise the issue of whether Christians can be afflicted by demons, exploring biblical theology and the early church’s views on deliverance. Justin and Amy draw upon personal experiences and scriptural references to argue that while believers are secure in Christ, they are still susceptible to spiritual influences and must actively engage in spiritual disciplines for healing and renewal. The episode promotes a vision of empowering individuals within communities to participate in God’s mission of restoration and healing, emphasizing the need for ongoing discipleship that includes healing and deliverance.
Key Insights
📚 Listeners are directed toward foundational resources for learning about deliverance, such as Neal Lozano’s book “Unbound.”
🗝️ Affliction in Faith: It is argued that although Christians are protected in their relationship with Jesus, they can still experience spiritual affliction similar to how they can sin or encounter physical illness. This understanding is essential for approaching healing in a Christian context, focusing on the reality of ongoing spiritual warfare even among believers.
🤔 Biblical Misinterpretation: Many biblical passages are often cited to support the belief that Christians cannot be demonized. The hosts invite listeners to consider that the context of these scriptures may not outright dismiss the possibility of demonic interaction but rather provide a call to vigilance and active engagement in spiritual disciplines.
🏛️ Historical Context of Deliverance: The podcast draws attention to the practices of the early church regarding deliverance, revealing a time when new converts underwent thorough preparation for baptism, including exorcisms and teaching on the kingdom, emphasizing the ongoing need for deliverance.
⚖️ Possession vs. Oppression: Justin and Amy explore the idea that the terms “possession” and “oppression” may not fully encapsulate the spiritual realities faced by believers. They suggest there’s a spectrum of influence, where individuals may experience varying degrees of demonic influence that affect their spiritual agency and decision-making.
🌍 Valuing Community in Healing: The hosts stress the importance of community in the healing process, not only for accountability but also as a means to love and be loved. They emphasize that true discipleship and healing can’t be achieved in isolation, echoing the biblical call for the body of Christ to coalesce around one another to share in the Divine Life.
💼 Curating Discipleship Models: There’s a critique of modern discipleship models that often overlook the importance of addressing demonic influence and healing in the life of a believer. Instead of solely focusing on theological understanding, the podcast advocates for equipping believers to engage meaningfully in the practice of deliverance as part of their journey of sanctification.
🧠 The Necessity of Therapy and Deliverance: The conversation acknowledges that trauma and emotional wounds often intertwine with demonic influence. This highlights the necessity of integrating spiritual healing practices that address both psychological and spiritual aspects, validating a holistic approach to healing.

Episode 6: Are Generational Curses a Thing?

Summary
“Between Heaven and Earth,” hosted by Justin and Amy Howard, dives into the complex discussions surrounding generational sin and curses, aiming to equip listeners with the understanding needed to navigate these themes Biblically. In their latest episode, they explore the Old and New Testament contexts for generational curses, how these can manifest psychologically and spiritually, and their impact on future generations. The hosts distinguish between biblical references to curses and discuss patterns observed through modern science, notably epigenetics. They emphasize that while individuals are not held accountable for their ancestors’ sins, they do experience the consequences and are called to address and break these patterns in the power of the Holy Spirit. Throughout the episode, Justin and Amy offer listeners practical steps, such as creating a genogram, to identify and confront generational issues, facilitate healing, and cultivate freedom through prayer and community support.
Key Insights
🌱 Epigenetics and Spiritual Sickness: The discussion focuses on the interaction between external stressors (like trauma and sin) and their biological effects, outlining how generational pain can manifest in future generations. This scientific evidence highlights how patterns of behavior and trauma can biologically affect families beyond mere hereditary factors, creating a link between physical health and spiritual brokenness that resonates with biblical teachings.
🔄 Breaking Generational Patterns: A key point made is that individuals can identify and break free from generational curses, affirming the belief that while they are not guilty of ancestral sins, they are responsible for addressing their consequences. This involves active participation in healing and restoration, emphasizing one’s authority in Christ to identify and renounce the power and effects of sin.
🕊️ The Role of Community: The hosts stress the importance of community in the healing journey, suggesting that support from others who have walked similar paths is invaluable. This communal aspect reflects both a biblical principle and practical wisdom, inviting listeners to engage with others in recovery and growth.
⚖️ Understanding God’s Nature: Listeners are prompted to view curses not as expressions of divine wrath but rather as reflections of the consequences of covenant-breaking, and resultant alienation, as outlined in scripture. This perspective emphasizes God’s fundamental character as loving and redemptive rather than punitive.
✝️ Salvation and Continuous Healing: The conversation distinguishes the initial conversion experience (being made righteous) from the ongoing process of sanctification (the journey to wholeness). Salvation doesn’t lead to instant freedom from all past issues; rather, believers are to continuously seek transformation and healing - this is intimacy, real communion with God.
📈 Practical Steps for Freedom: The episode provides tangible steps, such as creating a genogram, to help individuals understand familial patterns of sin and trauma. This method encourages self-reflection and reinforces the importance of recognizing inherited issues that may affect one’s current life.
🔮 Expecting the Unexpected: The hosts emphasize that healing from generational curses is complex and may not follow a predictable path. This unpredictability invites practitioners to remain open to diverse experiences and approaches, trusting the Holy Spirit to guide them through moments of discernment and deliverance.
Overall, the episode is a robust guide for individuals seeking to understand and combat generational curses while firmly rooted in scripture, science, and community support. The Howards’ compassionate and knowledgeable approach encourages listeners to actively engage with their faith, pursue freedom, and bring restoration to their families.
Genogram Worksheet - Christian Healing Ministries
To work through your genogram and find freedom, work with a trained OneLife Spiritual Director

Episode 5: Bringing Heaven to Earth: How Ordinary Believers Can Spark Spiritual Revival

Summary
Today's episode of “Between Heaven and Earth,” hosted by Justin and Amy Howard, is dedicated to exploring the intersection of spiritual healing and community engagement from a Christian perspective. The hosts, who lead a mission agency in New England, aim to empower listeners to understand their role in bringing the spiritual kingdom into the physical world, promoting healing and restoration in everyday life. The current series delves deeply into the concepts of inner healing and deliverance, explaining the foundational ideas of their ministry, including the ‘Kingdom Prayer Ministry training manual’ authored by Amy Howard. The podcast emphasizes the importance of holistic healing that encompasses not just the mind but also the heart and body, recognizing the emotional and physical narratives carried within individuals. Practical initiatives—such as Encounter Weekends and Encounter Life cohorts—are also highlighted as methods for individuals to engage in deeper healing processes. The hosts tackle common misconceptions surrounding inner healing and its proximity to New Age practices, defending its biblical foundations and the significance of understanding how trauma affects faith. Through a blend of personal anecdotes, theological insights, and practical advice, the Howard’s aim to equip listeners with tools for spiritual growth and community connection.
Highlights
🎙️ The podcast hosts explore the role of ordinary believers in God’s restoration project.
🤝 Discusses Encounter Culture Mission Collaborative’s initiatives like Encounter Weekends and Encounter Life.
🧠 Emphasizes the importance of holistic healing that involves the heart and body, not just the mind.
💬 Provides a defense of inner healing against common misconceptions and New Age affiliations.
💡 Shares practical frameworks, such as the ‘Four R’s’ (Repent, Renounce, Release, Receive) for spiritual growth.
🚀 Highlights the significance of engaging the imagination in prayer and spiritual healing.
📖 Discusses the biblical foundations for inner healing and its necessity for overcoming personal trauma.
Key Insights
🌌 Intersection of Healing and Community: The podcast highlights how followers of Christ are called to participate actively in the healing of others, emphasizing that bringing heaven and earth together is not just a spiritual endeavor but deeply interconnected with family and community life. The emphasis on community supports the idea that healing happens within the context of relationships.
👩‍⚕️ Holistic Healing Approach: There’s a growing recognition that healing should address not only the intellectual (mind) aspects of faith but must also engage emotions (heart) and the physical body (strength). The hosts cite contemporary research, such as that by Bessel van der Kolk, demonstrating how trauma is not just a mental event but is stored in the body, urging a more comprehensive understanding of healing.
✝️ Biblical Basis of Inner Healing: The podcast asserts that inner healing isn’t antithetical to Christian faith and references biblical scripture to support its practices. This approach counters skepticism about inner healing and reaffirms its validity through examples such as scriptural grounding found in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, emphasizing the need to dismantle harmful beliefs and experiences with God’s truth.
🧩 The Importance of Imagination in Prayer: The hosts introduce the concept of “imaging prayer,” emphasizing that engaging the imagination can be a powerful tool for healing. The practice involves visualizing personal traumas in the presence of Jesus, allowing individuals to release pain and receive healing in ways that traditional prayer may not sufficiently address. This creative approach reinforces the idea that God can meet us in our imagined realities.
🌍 Cultural Sensitivities and Misunderstandings: Misconceptions about inner healing are discussed, mainly the fear that it resembles New Age practices. The hosts draw distinctions between practices that are inherently good and those that may need to be discarded for their incompatibility with Christian beliefs, thus leading to constructive conversations about integrating modern psychological insights with faith.
🤲 Spiritual Agency and Healing: They underline that spiritual healing is an active choice; individuals need to renounce negative labels and experiences, reflecting a deep understanding of one’s agency during the healing process. This agency emphasizes that God comes through the gate of consent and that one must choose to release their burdens to Him, nurturing a more engaged faith.
⚔️ Addressing Strongholds: The discussion introduces the concept of spiritual strongholds, noting how past traumas create barriers that prevent individuals from experiencing God fully. This point emphasizes a need for inner healing where these strongholds are addressed not only through prayer but via communal support, creating an environment for transformation.
Overall, the podcast creates an enlightening discourse on how everyday believers can engage with deeper facets of their faith through healing practices that intertwine psychological understanding and spiritual truths. By tapping into both community and personal stories, the hosts provide a rich tapestry of ideas that motivate listeners to confront their pain and seek wholeness in their spiritual journeys.

Episode 4: Priests of the Kingdom: Embracing Your Divine Calling to Govern and Cleanse

Summary
In this episode of “Between Heaven and Earth,” hosts Justin and Amy Howard embark on an exploration of the scriptural foundations for healing and deliverance, focusing particularly on the concept of the “priesthood of all believers.” They delve into how this identity has shaped Christian understanding and practice from the time of Adam and Eve through the Reformation and into contemporary life. The discussion highlights God’s original intention for humanity to serve as priests who mediate between heaven and earth, ultimately discussing how this theme reemerges with Jesus and carries forth through the Apostolic church, encouraging listeners to embrace their roles in bringing God’s kingdom into their various spheres of influence. The episode emphasizes the importance of understanding one’s identity in Christ to effectively participate in God’s mission of restoration.
Highlights
🌟 Hosts’ Background: Justin and Amy Howard discuss their roles as church planters, parents, and mission leaders in New England, emphasizing community engagement.
📖 Identity as Priests: The episode highlights the transformative nature of understanding believers as priests, integral to fulfilling God’s purpose on earth.
🔥 Healing and Deliverance Ministry: The Howards stress the connection between one’s identity and the practice of healing and deliverance, suggesting it flows from understanding who we are in Christ.
🔄 Old Testament Foundations: The hosts draw parallels between the calling of Adam and Eve as the first priests and the establishment of the Levitical priesthood in Exodus, highlighting humanity’s inherent priestly roles.
✨ Transformation Through Jesus: Discussion centers on how Jesus redefined the priestly function, making holiness contagious and empowering ordinary people to act as agents of healing and reconciliation.
🙏 Active Participation: The hosts encourage listeners to actively engage with their communities, bringing the healing power of Jesus through prayer, service, and shared faith.
🌍 Global Movement: They highlight the contemporary movements led by ordinary believers to spread the Gospel and establish communities that reflect God’s kingdom on earth.
Key Insights
🌱 Fundamental Human Roles: The foundational understanding of humanity as priests in the Garden of Eden establishes the telos (ultimate purpose) of being in continuous communion with God. Adam and Eve’s role in tending creation illustrates humanity’s calling to govern and sustain the world in alignment with divine order.
💡 Reformation’s Impact on Believers: Martin Luther’s assertion on the “priesthood of all believers” revolutionized Christian thought, emphasizing that every follower of Christ holds the potential to mediate God’s presence, moving away from a strictly professional clergy and allowing grassroots ministries to flourish.
⚡ Cleansing and Authority: The historical responsibilities of the priests—as seen in the Old Testament—reveal that they not only facilitated sacrifices for atonement but also diagnosed spiritual and physical ailments, showing that understanding the source of suffering is crucial to healing.
🔥 Jesus as the Great High Priest: The understanding of Jesus as the great high priest reshapes the nature of priesthood, illustrating how His holiness and authority to heal are now accessible to all believers, who are tasked to continue His mission in their lives.
🌍 Ongoing Mission of Restoration: The mission of restoration is not limited to a select few; it is a collective endeavor where every believer actively participates in mending relationships, advocating healing, and demonstrating God’s love in everyday interactions.
🌊 Transformative Community Building: The podcast stresses the emerging trend where ordinary believers are planting churches and creating communities where the principles of healing, love, and restoration are enacted, countering the thirst for professional-led ministries.
📣 Direction for Contemporary Believers: The Howards challenge listeners to engage effectively in their realms of influence, asserting that understanding one’s identity as a priest enables proactive involvement in bringing heaven and earth together in their day-to-day lives.
Overall, this episode emphasizes the significant and accessible role that all believers play in God’s grand narrative, calling them to live out their identities as priests to bring healing and restoration to a world in need. The conversation weaves biblical theology with practical application, encouraging a transformative lifestyle rooted in Christ’s example and empowerment through the Holy Spirit.

Episode 3: Missional Priesthood: Cleansing the Earth through Confession, Healing, & Exorcism

Summary: 
In this episode of "Between Heaven & Earth,” hosts Justin and Amy Howard discuss the essential role of the priesthood in the spiritual journey of believers, framing their conversation through a biblical lens. As they navigate topics such as the priesthood’s historical context, the relationship between sin and contagion, and the implications of Jesus as the ultimate high priest, they aim to illuminate how followers of Jesus today can embody these principles in their own lives. The Howards explore the challenges of communicating spiritual health in a broken world and advocate for active participation in community confession and healing. Employing a practical model called the Four R’s—Repent, Renounce, Release, and Receive—they provide listeners with actionable steps to engage in directed confession, thereby fostering a vibrant Christian community where believers can support and nurture one another emotionally and spiritually.
 
Highlights
 Hosts Justin and Amy Howard explore the significance of the modern priesthood and its foundations.
 The podcast serves to empower listeners to cultivate their spiritual understanding amidst societal challenges.
 The Four R’s of directed confession: Repent, Renounce, Release, and Receive, are proposed as tools for believers.
 The concept of holiness and contagion is critical in understanding the role of priests from biblical times to today.
 Jesus is presented as the ultimate High Priest, breaking the barriers of shame and sin for all believers.
 Discussion includes the necessity of community and vulnerability for true healing in Christian life.
 The hosts emphasize the priesthood of all believers and the call to practice this ministry in everyday relationships.
Key Insights
 Historical Context of Priesthood: The origins of the priesthood in the Bible serve a dual role: enabling communion with a holy God and facilitating a healthy community. The Levites were tasked with ensuring the land was a habitable space for God’s presence by managing sin and preparing the people spiritually to engage with divinity. This historical lens underlines the ongoing relevance of priestly functions today, as they lay the groundwork for understanding the dynamic between humanity and holiness.
 Sin as Contagion: The discussion centers on the metaphor of sin as contagion, indicating how unaddressed spiritual sickness can affect the collective moral and emotional landscape. The priestly role historically included diagnosing and addressing these issues within the community, highlighting the contemporary need for communal accountability and active engagement in nurturing one another’s spiritual health.
 Jesus as High Priest: Unlike ancient priests who were made unclean through contact with sin and death, Jesus embodies a new paradigm where His holiness is contagious and transformative. This transition emphasizes that believers can now approach God without fear, enhancing the understanding of direct engagement with the divine in personal and communal practices.
 Empowerment through Community Confession: The podcast advocates for community confession to break the cycle of isolation and shame. It emphasizes that believers can support each other through confession and shared vulnerability, ultimately moving toward healing and restoration. This communal aspect of confession is crucial for overcoming feelings of alienation that arise from sin.
 The Four R’s model: Repent, Renounce, Release, and Receive function as practical steps for directed confession. This model is framed not as a mere formula but as an invitation to personally engage with God’s Grace, transforming remorse into tangible actions that promote spiritual growth and healing.
 The Nature of Spiritual Growth: The podcast encourages patience in spiritual development, portraying sanctification as a journey rather than a destination. Engaging in community confession, guided by the Four R’s, shows that spiritual maturity is a shared experience requiring humility, openness, and grace from one another.
 Application Beyond the Individual: The implications of engaging in priestly ministry extend beyond individual practices to foster a healthier church culture. The conversation underscores the call for all believers to actively participate in the process of healing and restoration, reinforcing the idea that spiritual health is communal and interdependent. As believers, they are collectively responsible for embodying the priesthood role within their communities.
Through lively dialogue and thoughtful insights, Justin and Amy Howard’s podcast encourages listeners to embrace their identities as modern-day priests, actively participating in the work of God’s kingdom on earth. They advocate for vulnerability, compassion, and practical tools that empower individuals to navigate the complexities of faith and community in the contemporary world.
 
For more info on the expansion of the early church through exorcism and healing read:
"The Rise of Christianity," by Rodney Stark
"The Patient Ferment of the Early Church," by Alan Kreider
"The Deepest Place," by Curt Thompson
 
 

Episode 2: From Shame to Wholeness: Introducing Directed Confession & its Healing Power

Summary
In this episode of “Between Heaven and Earth,” hosts Justin and Amy Howard, a married couple and parents to six sons, explore the themes of priesthood and spiritual duties as followers of Jesus. They emphasize the ongoing work of restoring communities to bring heaven and earth together, suggesting that listeners engage deeply with the work of God in their lives. The episode introduces the concept of "directed confession,” a vital tool for spiritual and emotional maturity. It explains how confessing one’s sins should not be a solitary act but part of a community process where believers support each other in identifying the roots of their sin and pain. The Howards advocate for a model of confession that fosters spiritual growth and community involvement. Eventually, they unpack the “Four R’s” of directed confession (Repent, Renounce, Release, Receive), emphasizing that healing and transformation come from recognizing sin, taking action through the power of community, and accepting God’s grace and healing. They encourage the practice of directed confession among families and in church communities as a means to break the cycle of shame and foster a culture of support and understanding.
Highlights
🎙️ The hosts, Justin and Amy Howard, inspire listeners to understand the role of priesthood in their lives as they pursue spiritual growth.
💬 The concept of “directed confession” is introduced as a communal tool for addressing sin and shame, rather than an isolated experience.
✝️ Emphasis on the significance of understanding the spiritual duties of priests and how that relates to modern believers.
🌱 The Four R’s of directed confession – Repent, Renounce, Release, Receive – serve as practical steps for spiritual and emotional healing.
🙏 The importance of community support in confession to combat feelings of alienation and shame.
📚 The podcast calls for a re-evaluation of how churches and leaders teach and practice confession, ensuring tools for healing are accessible and understood.
🌟 Encouraging a shift from a culture of “superstar ministry” to one of shared vulnerability and communal growth in faith.
Key Insights
🤝 The Role of Community in Spiritual Healing: Justin and Amy argue that the healing process must happen within a community context where individuals can be seen and supported. By fostering openness, believers can break free from the isolation that sin and shame often perpetuate.
🔄 Four R’s Framework: The framework of Repent, Renounce, Release, and Receive empowers individuals to articulate their struggles, take decisive spiritual actions, and ultimately receive the healing that comes from God. This structured approach encourages believers to engage thoughtfully in their spiritual lives.
⚖️ The Nature of the Priesthood: The concept of priesthood in the modern era transcends traditional roles; every believer participates in a priestly calling, enabling them to mediate and facilitate relational healing among others.
🚨 The Contagion of Holiness and Sin: The hosts discuss the dangerous nature of sin and holiness, where the consequences of God’s holiness were severe, unlike the contagion that occurs today. Jesus’ perfect priesthood redefines this dynamic, allowing believers to access God’s holiness without fear.
🌍 Restoration as a Collective Mission: The mission of bringing heaven and earth together reflects a collective responsibility among believers. By working together and supporting one

Episode 1: The Kingdom is Here: Why Jesus' Message Needs to Take Center Stage

The Kingdom of God is here, and "the Gospel" refers to the good news of this Kingdom—the message that God is making the wrong things right through the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth - critically observed through his ministry of healing and deliverance. While Jesus often spoke about the Kingdom, it rarely makes the top ten of favorite preaching topics in most churches. Why is that? And why is it essential to prioritize the Gospel of the Kingdom as we strive to make disciples? Join us for our inaugural episode to explore these questions and empower you to embody the Kingdom of God.
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Purchase Amy's book: Kingdom Ministry Training Manual
Further Resources discussed:
A Theology of the New Testament, by George Ladd
The Gospel of the Kingdom: Scriptural Studies in the Kingdom of God