Season 2 Trailer
We have settled into our new studio and are preparing for Season 2 to kickoff on Thursday, March 7. Join us for this quick announcement about adding a new “Healing Stories” format to our podcast feed!
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Tony’s Big Announcement
I don’t make a habit of fraternizing with our Revealing Voices guests, but I made an exception with Susan Lockwood from Episode 20. Not only did we fraternize, but we started dating regularly, became engaged, and on December 20, 2018, got married.
Some might look at my diagnosis and claim that I swept Susan off her feet in a case of mass mania. But it wasn’t that way at all. We are in our mid-50s. We have been single for 7 years and have grown quite confident in our solitude. We don’t desperately need each other to be complete. Instead, we have the desire to share our lives together to enrich them and bring glory to God.
What will this mean for Revealing Voices? On the whole, I believe it will greatly enhance our show. Susan is passionate in the field of correctional education and networks with many persons who overlap with mental health ministry. With her, we can make connections with potential guests who know mental illness inside and out.
Yet, in a few practical ways it will change the nature in which I prepare the program. I will not likely pull all-nighters and send Eric dozens of emails about ways to improve the show. Hopefully, I will also not get lost in a depressive haze where I find it difficult to engage with guests, brainstorm new possibilities, even commit to a date on the calendar.
For some time, I have found great joy delighting in the Lord. Now I am receiving the desires of my heart. I pray my voice of praise inspire others to reveal their own as they wrestle with mental health disorders.
New Home for Studio E
Over the Christmas break, Tony and I moved the podcast equipment from his basement to my basement. Tony is preparing for a move and my Man Cave had plenty of space for the studio.
The episodes will no longer have Briley’s paws striding across the wooden floor. However, at my house, we may get random outbursts from my teenagers.
In other news, Tony and I have decided to change the normal episode frequency to once per month. They will remain primarily interview driven and may be extended to up to an hour long. This will give us more time to also try a second format called “Healing Stories”.
Two of the main reasons for the changes:
- Healing Stories releases will be under 15 minutes. This is a benefit to our listeners who prefer shorter podcasts
- We will have more time for production between episodes and flexibility to release Healing Stories when we identify people who want to share in this new format
The shorter podcasts will be released in the same feed as our normal episodes, but will not be released on a normal schedule.
We will be writing more about our new Healing Stories concept in a blog update later this month.
Episode 21 – Season 1 Finale!
Highlights from guest interviews and whimsical outtakes from the year bookend this episode. Tony and Eric share their highs and lows from the season, as wells as hopes for the future of the podcast.
We thank all of our listeners for your support over the course of 2018. Look for season 2 to start in March 2019.
As we have asked each of our guests, we also encourage you to consider, “What does healing mean to you?”
Episode 20 – Dr. Susan Lockwood, Author Ready for Book Release
Dr. Susan Lockwood, author of “Kicked to the Curb: Where Policy has Failed our Most Vulnerable Youth and the Fight for a Better Tomorrow,” discusses her new book scheduled for release in December 2018.
She is the former Director of Juvenile Education at the Indiana Department of Correction, where she retired after 17 years as a special education teacher and state-wide school administrator.
Currently, she is the owner of Nexus Point Consulting, LLC, specializing in correctional education and workforce development, and the Director of Education Strategy for American Prison Data Systems, PBC.
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Topics include:
How does she advocate for change in the criminal justice system?
Why did she choose “Kicked to the Curb” as the title to her book?
What is her experience of the integration of mental healthcare in the prison system?
What is an example of hope and resilience?
What does healing mean to you?
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Shownotes:
Indiana Persimmon Pudding Recipe
The Stability Network – Eric is a member of this professional organization that empowering people to share their stories of living successfully with a mental health diagnoses
Nexus Point Consulting – Susan Lockwood’s consulting business. You can contact Susan through this website
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Next Episode:
Season Finale! Tony and Eric discuss the highs and lows of season 1, share some of the bloopers, and discuss their growing confidence as a podcasting duo.
Episode 19 – Live from the Heartland
Tony and Eric were keynote speakers at the Heartland: Best Practices for Ministries Conference . This episode is a live recording from the event. The focus is on development of the Faithful Friends Mental Health Ministry and the Revealing Voices podcast.
The keynote address was given on October 10, World Mental Health Day.
This is our first podcast release not in our standard 45 minute format.
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Next Episode:
We will be back in studio E for Episode 20 with Dr. Susan Lockwood. Her book, “Kicked to the Curb”, focuses on youth in the criminal justice system. It will be released on December 4.
The Stability Network Experience
By a matter of serendipity in early 2017, I was invited to join The Stability Network.
The previous year, as a contract employee at Cummins Engine Company, I had put together a business case for creating a Mental Health Affinity Group. The company already had other Affinity Groups that were focused on African American employees, Newcomers, LGBTQ employees, etc.
The intention was to create a safe place for those who identify with having a mental health diagnosis to share coping skills and their aspirations for success while effectively managing their mental health struggles. Unfortunately, my contract with Cummins ended and my main “corporate champion” for the cause was transferred to India.
Through this process, I met Donna Hardaker. When I was asked to create a business case for the value of the Affinity Group, Donna helped me find the statistics and other organizations already doing this kind of work. Donna is extraordinarily knowledgeable about the mental healthcare system. I was intrigued by her unique sense of the masked stigma and unique challenges that people with mental health diagnoses face in their career development.
After it was clear that the Affinity Group development had stalled, Donna surprisingly invited me to join The Stability Network. I was honored by the invitation and gladly accepted.
This past weekend, I attended The Stability Network’s national meeting in San Francisco. It was a follow up to last year’s regional meeting in New York City. The energy at the meeting and the natural bonds between all the members was a great atmosphere to be around.
Over the past 2 years, my involvement has helped me gain deeper relationships with other mental health advocates, helped me craft my own advocacy storytelling techniques, and inspired me to start the Revealing Voices podcast. The Stability Network inspires and encourages people experiencing mental health challenges to thrive. I am fully committed to the vision to help people with mental health challenges to thrive in workplaces and communities.
As Tony and I prepare for season 2 of Revealing Voices, we will be highlighting some of the individuals from The Stability Network who boldly share their mental health journey.
During my time in San Francisco, I was blessed to get the chance to ride a bike across the Golden Gate Bridge. The sight of this engineering marvel rising from the fog filled me with gratitude. The trip was rejuvenating and I’m energized by all my fellow advocates across the country.
Episode 18 – Brandon “Beauty in the Wreckage” Andress
Author, Blogger, and Podcast host Brandon Andress joins us in studio. Brandon’s new book, “Beauty in the Wreckage: Finding Peace in the Age of Outrage”, focuses on the redemption of suffering. Listen for Brandon’s humility as he shares his personal stories of finding gratitude, healing, and community in some of life’s most difficult moments.
Brandon is also author of “Unearthed: How Discovering the Kingdom of God Will Transform the Church and Change the World” (2010) and the tongue-in-cheek “And Then The End Will Come” (2013).
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Some topics include:
How do we transform our suffering?
How did the grief he experienced during writing impact the book?
How do spiritual disciplines lead to healing?
What does healing mean to you?
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Shownotes:
Video Introduction to “Beauty in the Wreckage”
“Beauty in the Wreckage: Finding Peace in the Age of Outrage” main website
Brandon Andress Personal Website
Brandon’s Outside The Walls Podcast
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Next Episode:
Tony and Eric live recording at the Heartland 2018 Best Practices Conference
Episode 17- Bob Mills, President of Mindsrenewed.org
Want to join a consortium of 12,000 mental health advocates? Listen to Bob Mills, Founder of Minds Renewed, discuss the mission of his ambitious organization. The goal of the organization is to become the most valuable web platform for evaluating, curating, and communicating the best mental health information on the web.
The origins began in 2001 in a mental health ministry that Bob started at 1st Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Bob’s desire to honor God through serving the suffering grew out of his own experience with bouts of depression and bipolar disorder.
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Some topics include:
What is the leadership structure of his mental health group ministry?
What has led to the growth of Minds Renewed?
What are some good models that he has identified through his networking?
What does healing mean to you?
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Shownotes:
Mental Health Grace Alliance – ministry that provides mental health resources for families and individuals suffering with mental health struggles
Fresh Hope for Mental Health – Pastor Brad Hoefs is a podcast host and developer of a mental health group ministry model
The Stability Network – Mental health advocacy organization that helps employers, communities, and the public recognize that people with mental health conditions are their friends, neighbors and colleagues who can—and do—lead successful lives.
Keynoting at Best Practices for Ministry: Heartland Conference
This Wednesday (October 10, 2018) is World Mental Health Day. We are honored to be keynote speakers at the at the Best Practices for Ministry: Heartland Conference held at St. Peter’s Lutheran in Columbus, Indiana.
The topic of our presentation will be healing. Here is the program description:
What does healing mean to you? How can it be received and maintained? Eric Riddle and Tony Roberts have tackled this issue in an intimate way as they wrestle with mental health diagnoses. In Eric’s pivotal work with the flood recovery effort, he discovered how to serve his way to sanity. Tony turned inward, writing a spiritual memoir called, Delight in Disorder: Ministry, Madness, Mission. Eric and Tony then teamed up to found a faith-based mental health support group Faithful Friends. They were then led to produce Revealing Voices, a podcast that is faith-based, peer-led, story-driven, and stigma-breaking.
Eric and Tony will discuss how God them into mental health ministry, where they find Christ’s strength in their own weaknesses, and what the Holy Spirit can do when believers reach out to those with troubled minds.
Our hope is that we will cultivate a greater sense of healing within and among those who participate and that this healing would spread as they are sent back into their communities to love God and serve God’s people.