Crosswalk Talk: Celebrity Christian Interviews

Anne Wilson is 24 years old, has a K-LOVE Award for Hey Girl, a debut country album called Rebel, a new book by the same name, and no social media on her phone. In 2023 she bought a flip phone, used it for a year, and has not looked back. She is one of the boldest Christian voices in country music right now, and she will tell you that boldness did not come from strategy — it came from watching her five-foot-tall, opinionated mother walk into rooms and say exactly what she believed. Faith in country music, the emptiness Gen Z is finally admitting, and what it means to be a rebel for Jesus: Anne shares why she named her book, album, and lead single all the same thing — because Jesus himself was a rebel who went against the crowd, fixed what was broken, and spoke the truth whether people liked it or not. She also opens up about why she believes phones and social media are quietly destroying her generation, why country music artists are increasingly using collaborations with Christian artists as a safe way to share a faith they have never publicly expressed before, and the surreal moment she sang the national anthem at the Artemis 2 launch — exactly 10 years to the day she first visited NASA as a 14-year-old who wanted to be an astronaut. Highlights Why she named her book, album, and single Rebel and why she believes Jesus himself was the original rebel What it actually looks like to follow Jesus boldly in today's culture beyond just going to church on Sunday How her five-foot-tall, opinionated mother modeled boldness in a way that shaped everything about who Anne is today Why she got rid of social media on her phone in 2023, bought a flip phone for a year, and still has no regrets The Light Phone and why she recommends making your phone do only what a phone actually needs to do Why she believes Gen Z is hitting rock bottom earlier than previous generations and why that is opening the door for Jesus How country artists have used collaborations with her as a safe space to share a faith they have never expressed on their own records Singing the national anthem at Artemis 2 exactly 10 years to the day she first visited NASA as a child who dreamed of space Resources / Links / CTA 🌐 Anne Wilson website: https://www.annewilsonofficial.com 📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annewilsonmusic 📖 Book: Rebel: Following Jesus When the World Walks the Other Way 🎵 Album: Stars 🎤 Stars Tour 🌐 Follow, share, and explore more of Crosswalk Talk 👉 Follow, share, and subscribe for more faith-driven conversations on Lifeaudio Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Leanna Crawford writes songs the way other people write journal entries — because she needs them first. Her sophomore album Thank God, releasing July 26, is the most personal thing she has made, built around gratitude for unanswered prayers, the freedom that comes from forgiveness, and the simple conviction that sitting at the feet of Jesus is better than any to-do list she could ever complete. She did not plan for it to be called Thank God. The songs told her that was the name. Comparison, forgiveness, and what it means to trust God with the nos: Leanna shares the story behind Living Room Floor, inspired by Mary and Martha and her lifelong struggle to simply sit with Jesus instead of earning her way into His presence, and Ask Him Again, born from a week of vulnerability in a writing room when a co-writer showed her a daily reminder on her phone that said exactly what Leanna needed to hear. She also opens up about Revenge, a song she wrote after realizing she was holding unforgiveness in her heart for someone who probably did not even know it, and Her, the Proverbs-inspired anthem for young women she has been wanting to write for years that asks whether two girls can both be fully okay with the gifts God gave them. Highlights Why she did not plan to call the album Thank God and how the songs themselves decided the title Living Room Floor, the Mary and Martha song she wrote because she is a Martha who desperately wants to be a Mary Ask Him Again, the song born from a co-writer's daily phone reminder and Leanna's own season of unanswered prayer How she cried to the demo of Ask Him Again over and over before the album was even finished Revenge, the song about forgiveness she wrote after a phone conversation with a friend helped her realize she was still holding bitterness Her, the comparison song for young women that she has wanted to write for years and has already made audiences cry before its release The season when songwriting became impossible for her and how Still Waters was her first step back to loving it again Indiana football, her husband Cody, and the Cinderella national championship run the whole country ended up cheering for Resources / Links / CTA 🌐 Leanna Crawford website: https://www.leannacrawford.com 📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leannacrawfordmusic 🎵 Album: Thank God 🌐 Follow, share, and explore more of Crosswalk Talk 👉 Follow, share, and subscribe for more faith-driven conversations on Lifeaudio Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Todd Nettleton has spent more than two decades working with Voice of the Martyrs, and he has sat with enough persecuted Christians around the world to know that what happened in a Roman coliseum in 203 AD is still happening today — just in different arenas. On this year's Day of the Christian Martyr, June 29, Voice of the Martyrs is spotlighting Perpetua, a 22-year-old woman from a noble family in ancient Carthage who kept a journal in prison while her father begged her to deny Christ and come home to her nursing baby. She was killed for refusing. Her journal survived nearly 1,800 years. Christian persecution, the courage of the church under fire, and what happens when the government decides it is in charge of your faith: Todd walks through what is happening in China, where unregistered churches are illegal, pastors are forbidden to preach about the Second Coming, and children under 18 are barred from attending services. He also shares what is happening in Northern Nigeria, where Christian homes are specifically targeted while Muslim homes next door are left untouched, and the story of Pauline Ayyad, a widow in the Middle East whose social media post forgiving the men who murdered her husband has been read by millions across the Arab world and changed lives no sermon could reach. Highlights Who Perpetua was, a 22-year-old noble woman with a nursing baby who kept a journal in prison and refused to deny Christ Why her journal may be the earliest surviving example of a woman's writing in history How her father used her infant son as an emotional plea to make her recant, and why she still said no What Christian persecution in China actually looks like, illegal gatherings, state-approved sermons, and children barred from church Why Chinese registered church pastors are forbidden from preaching about the Second Coming How Fulani attackers in Nigeria specifically target Christian farms and homes while leaving Muslim properties untouched The Nigerian pastor who sent his wife and children south to safety and stayed with his flock anyway Pauline Ayyad, the widow whose public forgiveness of her husband's killers reached millions across the Middle East Resources / Links / CTA 🌐 Voice of the Martyrs: https://www.persecution.com 📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vom_usa 🎙️ Voice of the Martyrs Radio: https://www.vomradio.net 📅 Day of the Christian Martyr: June 29 📅 International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church: November 1 🌐 Follow, share, and explore more of Crosswalk Talk 👉 Follow, share, and subscribe for more faith-driven conversations on Lifeaudio Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Bella Taylor Smith was 17 when she got saved at a summer camp during a worship service and realized that singing was not just something she could do — it was what she was made for. Years later, when a Voice Australia application popped up on her computer during Covid lockdowns, she felt the Lord prompting her to apply. She won. And then, rather than chasing the biggest mainstream opportunity that win could have opened, she and her husband moved to Nashville to make Christian music full time. Worship, the local church, and music made for your living room: Bella shares the story behind her new EP For the Home, the companion piece to her earlier project For the House, and why she wanted to make two distinctly different kinds of music — one filled with scripture for the local church, and one intimate and honest enough to fill a home with the Lord's presence. She also tells the genuinely strange story of winning The Voice Australia by watching the pre-recorded finale on her then-boyfriend's parents' couch, the difference between Australian and American food ingredients, and what it means to be a worship leader whose goal is to disappear so the congregation can find Jesus. Highlights Why she felt the Lord prompting her to enter The Voice Australia even though Christian music was always the plan The bizarre Covid finale where all four finalists pre-recorded four different endings and she found out she won watching TV Why she made two separate EPs, For the House for the local church and For the Home for intimate listening How she got saved at 15 at a summer camp worship service and knew immediately that was where she was meant to sing What it has been like to move from Australia, where Christianity is not culturally embedded, to the Christian music world of Nashville Why she believes a worship leader's job is to be as invisible as possible and simply connect people to heaven What her husband's production philosophy of recording with live musicians means for the intimate organic sound of her music Her honest take on Australian versus American food and why high fructose corn syrup is actually banned in Australia Resources / Links / CTA 🌐 Bella Taylor Smith website: https://www.bellataylorsmith.com 📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bella.taylor 🎵 EP: For the Home 🌐 Follow, share, and explore more of Crosswalk Talk 👉 Follow, share, and subscribe for more faith-driven conversations on Lifeaudio Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Bethany Wohrle has been with Bethel Music since she was 17 years old. Her voice is on All Hail King Jesus and Living Hope, songs with tens of millions of streams that have been sung in churches around the world. But when her niece Junie died unexpectedly at 18 months old in February 2023, Bethany nearly didn't show up to the Nashville writing camp she had scheduled for her debut solo album just weeks later. She went anyway, and what happened in those writing rooms was not what she expected. Grief, hope, and a God who is still good even when nothing makes sense: Bethany shares how the songs on her debut album Reason That I Sing, releasing July 10, were born not from a desire to process sadness but from a determination to write hope-filled music because she had seen too much of God's faithfulness to doubt Him now. She talks about the song So Close, written for her sister and brother-in-law as a declaration that God can bring dead things back to life, what it means to be a worship leader whose goal is to be as invisible as possible, and why walking through the hardest season of her life left her more on fire to lead people into worship than she has ever been. Highlights How her niece Junie's unexpected death three years ago became the grief behind nearly every song on this album Why she went to the Nashville writing camp just weeks after the loss and what God did in those rooms Why she refused to write a song about sadness and what she chose to write about instead So Close, the song she wrote for her sister, and the moment they both wept listening to the mastered version together What she believes the role of a worship leader actually is — to be invisible and simply connect the congregation to heaven The woman who had never raised her hands in church and what happened when the whole room lifted them together All Authority, the song on the new album declaring that every fear and worry bows to the King of Kings What she is sensing about the movement of God right now and why she does not want to be left behind what He is doing Resources / Links / CTA 🌐 Bethany Wohrle website: https://bethanywohrle.com 📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bethanywohrle 🎵 Album: Reason That I Sing 🎵 Single: He Is Here 🌐 Bethel Music: https://bethelmusic.com 🌐 Follow, share, and explore more of Crosswalk Talk 👉 Follow, share, and subscribe for more faith-driven conversations on Lifeaudio Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Anike grew up with a Muslim father, a conviction that some of the music she was listening to was wrong, and no idea she would one day be the first female artist signed to Reach Records. She looked up Christian remixes, found Lecrae, convinced her family to let her go to a church summer camp by calling it an internship program, and gave her life to Jesus on day three. Two days later, Lecrae showed up at the camp. She had no idea what God was setting in motion. Christian hip hop, the gospel carried in a beat, and what it means to give God your yes even when it costs you everything: Anike shares how a high school biology project turned into freestyle circles at lunch that turned into a full-time calling, why she carries headphones everywhere so people can listen before they realize they're hearing about Jesus, and what led her to change her name from Wande to Anike as an act of obedience to God. She also talks about the new single Holy Girls, inspired by Proverbs 31, what it felt like to record her entry for the Forrest Frank contest on a camera mic at her relative's house and get selected anyway, and why she believes you don't need the perfect setup for God to use what you have. Highlights How finding Lecrae through a search for Christian remixes became the first domino in her entire journey to faith The summer camp permission slip she got her Muslim father to sign by calling it an internship, and what happened on day three Why she brought headphones to school every day as her non-awkward strategy for evangelism What it cost her to give up a Nigerian family's expectation of becoming a doctor or lawyer to pursue music full time Holy Girls, the Proverbs 31-inspired single celebrating women of God who are unashamed, diligent, and fearless Why she changed her name from Wande to Anike and what God showed her through letting go of a brand she had built Recording her Forrest Frank contest entry on a camera mic at her relative's house and getting selected for the album anyway Her new ebook Song Release 101, giving other artists everything she had to figure out alone about releasing music legally Resources / Links / CTA 🌐 Anike website: https://anike.net 📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anike 🎵 Single: Holy Girls 🎵 Single: Contagious 🎵 Forrest Frank collaboration: Jesus Is Alive 🌐 Reach Records: https://www.reachrecords.com/artists/wande 🌐 Follow, share, and explore more of Crosswalk Talk 👉 Follow, share, and subscribe for more faith-driven conversations on Lifeaudio Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Dr. Thomas Kidd, professor at Midwestern Seminary and author of biographies on Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, and George Whitefield, has spent his career at the intersection of American history and Christian faith. He is one of the most careful historians working on the founding era today, and when he says the debate over whether America was founded as a Christian nation has enough to offend both sides, he means it — and he can explain exactly why. The founders, the First Amendment, and the tens of millions of churchgoers nobody is counting: Dr. Kidd unpacks why the separation of church and state was actually championed most fiercely by evangelical Baptists who were being persecuted by state churches, why Jefferson hosted church services in government buildings while also being the architect of religious liberty, and why Christianity thrives more when the government stays out of it. He also drops a finding from upcoming research that could reframe the entire conversation about American religious decline — congregational surveys are undercounting the total number of churches in America by at least 25%, and the tens of millions of people showing up every Sunday who never get counted are roughly equivalent in size to the entire group of Americans who claim no religion at all. Highlights Why the founding has enough historical evidence to offend both the Christian nation crowd and the strict secularists How Baptist Christians were among the loudest voices for church-state separation because state religion meant persecution Why Jefferson hosted church services in government buildings while also being the great architect of religious liberty What the founders actually believed about Christianity's role — strong cultural influence, but no official legal role How the Great Awakening of the 1740s shaped Patrick Henry's speaking style and the entire patriot movement Why Rosa Parks was chosen specifically because she was a dignified, churchgoing Christian woman — and why that matters The upcoming research showing American churches are undercounted by at least 25% and what that means for the nones narrative Why religiously practicing people consistently outperform non-practicing people on every measure of human flourishing globally Resources / Links / CTA 📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ThomasSKidd 📖 Book: American History Volume Two 📖 Upcoming Book: The Death of Religion? co-authored with Byron Johnson 🌐 Follow, share, and explore more of Crosswalk Talk 👉 Follow, share, and subscribe for more faith-driven conversations on Lifeaudio Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Sam Eaton grew up hiding under tables in kindergarten because he was afraid of the world. His father's alcoholism left deep roots of trauma, and years later, after watching four people in his school community die by suicide, he could no longer stay silent about the pain he had carried alone for years. Sam is the founder of Recklessly Alive, a suicide prevention ministry, and the author of the new book You Can Do This: Daily Affirmations to Live Recklessly Alive. He has spoken at more than 250 events across the country, and he opens up here about his own attempt, what brought him through, and why he believes almost everyone who feels suicidal does not actually want to die. Mental health, the lies depression tells, and what Scripture says to the person who doesn't want to be alive: Sam walks through why suicide at its core is simply pain that has outgrown someone's ability to cope, why talking about it openly makes people more likely to seek help rather than less, and how Job and the Psalms show that this struggle is not new to God and has never been a sign of faith failure. He also shares the one simple daily practice that carried him through the months after his own attempt, why community is essential even when you have to push yourself to show up, and what he wants caregivers to know about how to reach the people they love who are struggling. Highlights Losing four people to suicide in one school community and how that became the turning point that broke his silence Why almost everyone who feels suicidal doesn't actually want to die — they just can't see another way through the pain How social media triples the pressure on young people and why three and a half hours a day doubles the risk for depression The one simple daily practice he used after his own attempt — one small thing a day, photographed as proof that life can get better What Job, Jonah, and the Psalms reveal about God's long familiarity with the pain of not wanting to be alive Why struggling with mental health is not a spiritual failure, and why faith and medicine are meant to work together The police officer video that went viral and what it captures about the power of human connection in a crisis moment What he wants caregivers, parents, and teachers to know about how to reach someone who is struggling without having the perfect words Resources / Links / CTA 🌐 Sam Eaton website and Recklessly Alive: https://www.recklesslyalive.com 📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/recklesslyalive 📖 Book: You Can Do This by Sam Eaton 🆘 If you or someone you know is struggling, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 — call or text 988 🌐 Follow, share, and explore more of Crosswalk Talk 👉 Follow, share, and subscribe for more faith-driven conversations on Lifeaudio Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Kristian Stanfill has been part of Passion Music for over 20 years. He has seen a lot. But what he is witnessing right now among Gen Z, he says, is different. Not hype. Not emotional. Students showing up at Globe Life Field in Arlington at 3am, lining up around the building with their physical Bibles, just to make sure they could get into the room. Forty-five thousand of them. All hungry for the same thing. Repentance, revival, and a generation that wants something durable enough to build a life on: Christian shares what he believes Asbury 2023 cracked open across college campuses in America, why this move of God is marked by confession and holy living rather than spectacle, and what the new Passion album Just That Good is really about — joy from a life that has been genuinely redeemed. He also gives a preview of the upcoming Passion tour with Taya and Levi Lusko, and why none of them are interested in just doing a show. Highlights What Christian has never seen in 20-plus years with Passion, and why this moment feels unmistakably different How the Asbury outpouring in February 2023 stripped back celebrity culture Christianity and got back to the simple heart of faith The image seared into his mind of students lined up around Globe Life Field at 3am, Bibles in hand, just to get in the room Why this generation is not looking for hype but for something real, durable, and honest enough to build a life on What the title track Just That Good is about and where the joy in it comes from What Watch Him Work, What a Worthy Name, and the rest of the album represent for Passion The upcoming tour with Taya and Levi Lusko and why all three of them are going into every city with faith for something fresh Why Christian says leaving his family is only worth it if God is actually going to show up and do something powerful Resources / Links / CTA 🌐 Kristian Stanfill's website: https://www.kristianstanfill.com 📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristianstanfill 🎵 Album: Just That Good 🌐 Follow, share, and explore more of Crosswalk Talk 👉 Follow, share, and subscribe for more faith-driven conversations on Lifeaudio Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Dr. Michael Behe, biochemist and professor at Lehigh University, has spent his career making a case that most scientists would rather not hear. The concept he became famous for, irreducible complexity, argues that the molecular machinery inside living cells is so intricately assembled that removing a single part causes the entire system to collapse. Darwin thought the closer you looked at biology, the simpler it would get. The opposite turned out to be true, and that discovery has never stopped being inconvenient for strict materialism. Science pointing beyond itself, the mind behind the machinery, and what a young generation deserves to know: Dr. Behe walks through why he joined The Story of Everything, how the fine-tuning of the universe and the information embedded in DNA both point insistently toward a designer, and why the mainstream scientific establishment continues to resist conclusions that the evidence increasingly demands. He also shares his go-to argument for God — not from biochemistry, but from the one thing every person already knows they have — a mind — and why that single observation, followed honestly, leads somewhere materialists cannot explain away. Highlights Why irreducible complexity is not going away and why evolutionary biology is still fighting to ignore it How Darwin's assumption that cells were simple blobs of protoplasm turned out to be completely wrong Why the more science advances, the stronger the evidence for purposeful design becomes The fine-tuning argument and why the universe sits on a knife's edge to allow life to exist at all His go-to argument for God, starting not with biochemistry but with the reality of the human mind Why the mainstream media and academic establishment push the science-versus-faith narrative against their own evidence What books like The God Delusion have done to students, and why this film is a direct answer to that Why he believes young people who feel like accidents need to hear that science itself says otherwise Resources / Links / CTA 🌐 Dr. Michael Behe website: https://michaelbehe.com 🎬 The Story of Everything: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13374694 📖 Book: Darwin's Black Box 📖 Book: The Edge of Evolution 🌐 Discovery Institute: https://www.discovery.org 🌐 Follow, share, and explore more of Crosswalk Talk 👉 Follow, share, and subscribe for more faith-driven conversations on Lifeaudio Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.