Shows
BeTemperedBeTempered Episode 94 - Redefining Wealth Through Service with Brett GuileyWhat if the most important thing you steward isn’t wealth, but identity? Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with financial planner and community builder Brett Guiley to unpack a journey rooted in small town values, deep curiosity, and the courage to step away from comfort to chase purpose. Brett reflects on how watching his dad make a bold career change and his mom return to school shaped his understanding of sacrifice, and how early days of cold calling taught him humility, persistence, and respect for every no. Over time, conversations with local business owners became the education th...
2026-02-271h 15BeTemperedBeTempered Episode 93 - When Detours Become Lifelines with Dennis LimingWhat starts as a foggy morning hike with his daughter turns into a life saving chain of events Dennis never could have planned. At 69, the firefighter, EMT, chaplain, and tool and die craftsman found himself facing multiple iliac aneurysms on the brink of rupture. What followed was a series of moments that felt anything but random: a hurricane delay that shifted their trip, swelling that refused to be ignored, a chiropractor who kept asking deeper questions, a rare Saturday scheduling call, and a surgical team suddenly available after a last minute cancellation. Hours later, Dennis woke up with rebuilt...
2026-02-201h 13BeTemperedBeTempered Episode 92 - Addiction Rewired, Faith Restored with Zac ShislerWhat happens when the crash you never wanted becomes the wake up call you needed?On this week’s episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Zac Shisler for one of the most raw and redemptive conversations we have had yet.Zac shares the moment everything came to a head. High behind the wheel after a speedball. Blacking out at a stop sign. Waking up to sirens, charges, and consequences he could not outrun. But the real story started years before that. A childhood marked by chaos. Alcoholism in the ho...
2026-02-131h 50
Conversations with Jeff BucknamSeason 14 | Episode 3: Why Are Christians Such Jerks Sometimes? with Ben FranceHave you ever wondered why Christians—people who follow Jesus—can sometimes come across as harsh, judgmental, or just plain unkind? And if we’re honest… did the Church actually learn anything from Covid, or did it just expose what was already there?
In today’s episode, we’re asking some hard but necessary questions: Why are Christians such jerks sometimes? And what did the last few years reveal about our faith, our witness, and our love for others? Ben France, from our Crystal Lake Campus, joins Pastor Jeff Bucknam as they talk candidly about lessons learned, mistakes mad...
2026-02-1058 minBeTemperedBeTempered Episode 91 - When You Stop Running and Start Rebuilding with Lisa ChandlerPain does not ask permission before it reshapes a life. On this episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Lisa Chandler to talk about what it looks like to stop running and start rebuilding when survival has been the default for decades.Lisa’s story moves through constant childhood instability, overwhelming debt, and a traumatic brain injury from a car accident in 1984. Searching for security, she joined the Navy, only to face pregnancy, abandonment, and the reality of starting over as a single mother with almost nothing. Faith entered quietly when a ch...
2026-02-061h 19BeTemperedBeTempered Episode 90 - Faith That Refuses to Compromise with Mandy TurnerWhat if the thing you are most ashamed of becomes the bridge that helps someone else survive? That question frames this conversation as hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Mandy Turner, a teacher, coach, photographer, and woman of deep faith whose life has been shaped by resilience, integrity, and hard decisions.Mandy’s story begins on an Ohio farm where her parents modeled discipline, budgeting, and a church-rooted sense of community. A college drop-off for her sister sparked comparison that quietly grew into anorexia and bulimia. What changed everything was not correction or control, bu...
2026-01-301h 26BeTemperedBeTempered Episode 89 – Sobriety Starts With Surrender After Alcohol Became the Escape with Jerry WilsonWhat starts with a fifth a night and a recliner slowly becomes absence. Jerry Wilson was still providing, still present in the house, but slipping further away behind the glass. His story does not begin with a polished plan to change. It begins with a daughter asking hard questions about death, a desperate prayer whispered in a Kroger parking lot at midnight, and a baptism that changed everything in a single breath.In this episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Jerry to walk through the full arc of his...
2026-01-231h 41BeTemperedBeTempered Episode 88 - From Foster Care to Police Chief Through Grit, Faith, and Belonging, with Chief Kurt HoldenWhat if one sentence could change the entire direction of your life?When Chief Kurt Holden’s foster dad introduced him as “my son,” something finally settled. After years of instability and separation, that moment of belonging became the foundation that carried Kurt from a fractured childhood to leading public safety at Wright State University and earning selection to the FBI National Academy.In this episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr walk with Kurt through the chapters most people avoid. Being split from his brothers in foster...
2026-01-161h 19BeTemperedBeTempered Episode 87 - What It Really Means to Be 'Tempered' with Mike DerringerSome stories do not get easier with time. They shape who you become.On this episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Superintendent and educator Mike Derringer. What begins as a conversation about leadership in education quickly turns into something much deeper. Mike shares a life marked by early momentum and purpose-driven work that was later shaped by unimaginable loss. He and his wife buried two daughters, years apart, and still found a way to lead, love, and serve with integrity while carrying grief that never fully leaves.
2026-01-091h 13BeTemperedBeTempered Episode 86 - Built Through Consistency, Not Applause with Jeff SchmidtWhat happens when the plan you built your life around stops working, and you choose not to walk away?This week on BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Jeff Schmidt, Dan’s brother, for a real conversation about discipline, identity, and staying grounded when life forces a pivot. Jeff’s story begins on the farm and carries through football, education, and leadership, shaped by hard work, humility, and learning to serve when recognition disappears.Jeff talks about chasing a college football dream at Dayton, embracing his...
2026-01-021h 11BeTemperedBeTempered Episode 85 - Coaching for More Than the Scoreboard with Tyler LuceWhat does it look like to coach for something bigger than a scoreboard? In this episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Tyler Luce, a sixth grade social studies teacher and head varsity baseball coach at National Trail, to talk about leadership that lasts longer than a season.Tyler’s story begins in a blue collar home shaped by consistency, accountability, and family members who showed up when it mattered most. Those early influences, along with an uncle who left a lasting mark on his community, helped shape the way Tyler approaches te...
2025-12-261h 29BeTemperedBeTempered Episode 84 - 2025 The Year That Clarified Our MissionBefore Christmas rushes past, we press pause to ask better questions. What truly mattered this year? Where is God leading the mission of BeTempered? And how do we show up for people in ways that outlast trends, algorithms, and noise?Hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr reflect on a season of growth, clarity, and calling, and they officially welcome the newest BeTempered team member, Shawn Ruebush. This conversation shares why the team chose conviction over convenience when adding to the mission, because passion for people is what turns content into connection and vision into action....
2025-12-1950 minBeTemperedBeTempered Episode 83 - Building a Practice on Gratitude and Trust with Dr. Craig HewittWhat if the hardest detours in life turn out to be the exact preparation you needed for a purpose you didn’t see coming? Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Dr. Craig Hewitt, a husband, father of five, and Navy trained dentist whose path runs from a small Catholic school to Parris Island, to Hawaii, and then back home to build a practice anchored in trust, gratitude, and faith.Craig opens up about moving in the middle of high school and how that shift shaped his sense of identity. He talks about the orthodontist who en...
2025-12-121h 47BeTemperedBeTempered Episode 82 - Inside the Support Systems That Change a Child’s Trajectory with Allie ShaferWhat happens when a child cannot focus in class because the lights were shut off at home, there is no food in the cupboard, or their clothes have not been washed in a week. On this episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Eaton Community Schools Success Liaison Allie Shafer to shine a light on the non academic barriers that quietly shape whether a student learns or simply survives the day. Allie shares what her role looks like in real time as she listens without judgment, builds trust with families who have every reason...
2025-12-051h 24BeTemperedBeTempered Episode 81 - 'Small Choices, Big Impact' with Brian Ballenger, Mark Broeker, and the WC Leads CohortWhat makes someone worth following when no one is watching. In this leadership roundtable, that question sits in the center of the table as stories unfold from classrooms, locker rooms, offices, and quiet early mornings when no one else is around to see the work.On this episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with guests Brian Ballenger, Mark Broeker, and members of the Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce WC Leads Cohort to unpack leadership that is not about titles or platforms, but about service, alignment, and consistency when the spotlight is...
2025-11-2852 minBeTemperedBeTempered Episode 80 - The Journey From Addiction to Influence with Tim Clowers and the God Who Met Him ThereA locked door at 3 a.m., a voice that asked one piercing question, and a church parking lot where a bag of drugs met a trash can. Tim Clowers’ turning points do not read like safe, polished faith stories. They read like real life. On this episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with the Knoxville chef and creator behind Cook It With Tim to unpack an extraordinary arc, from addiction and anger after his brother’s death to Bible college, missions across 66 countries, and a calling that keeps reshaping itself through service.Tim...
2025-11-212h 06BeTemperedBeTempered Episode 79 - Aligning Business for Longevity with Erin Flynn, CEO of CladwellA great story does not skip the hard parts, and Erin Flynn refuses to. On BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Erin to trace the real path from Indiana gym floors to Silicon Valley boardrooms. She chased a dream, ran into walls, and still chose to build a company and a life that actually fit. Her early chapters read like a crash course in grit. She graduated into the 2009 recession, rode a bus six hours a day to an unpaid internship, and turned a blog into a bridge between brands and creators. Then came her...
2025-11-141h 29BeTemperedBeTempered Episode 78 – Robert Rogers Lost His Entire Family in a Flash Flood and Still Chose to Praise GodSome stories knock the wind out of you and then hand you back your breath. On this episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Robert Rogers, who in one devastating moment lost his wife and four children in a sudden flash flood and yet, in the very room where he identified their bodies, chose to lift a hand and trust God. This is not a tidy arc. It is a raw, lived map through catastrophe where scripture becomes a lifeline, counseling becomes a compass, and service becomes medicine.Robert’s story begins in...
2025-11-071h 46BeTemperedBeTempered Episode 77 - Leah Schmidt on What Matters the Most in LifeSenior year can feel like standing on a cliff’s edge, and Leah Schmidt brings us right to that moment with clarity, humor, and heart. Hosted by Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr, this conversation follows Dan’s daughter as she wraps a long soccer journey, weighs college athletics, and chooses something rarer: a future built on faith, family, and balance.From small town sidewalks to country life, 4-H chores, and the day a goat didn’t make it, Leah shows how responsibility and loss shape character long before resumes do. She walks into a new club team where...
2025-10-3156 minBeTemperedBeTempered Episode 76 - How Faith and Grit Silence Imposter SyndromeDoubt has a way of sounding smart. It whispers that you’re a fraud, that you got lucky, that someone else would have done it better. On this episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr challenge that voice head-on as they unpack how labels, setbacks, and perfectionism feed imposter syndrome and how faith, community, and honest storytelling cut it down to size.We start with the hard truth that many of us chase achievement while starving for fulfillment. A bank’s refusal once said, “You’re not ready,” but perseveran...
2025-10-2445 minBeTemperedBeTempered Episode 75 - What Do You Do After the Final Goodbye? Rebuilding through faith one step at a time.When someone says, “Brian’s dead,” life divides into a before and an after. For Chuck Winings, it divided twice. What began as an ordinary Super Bowl Sunday became a season of heartbreaking loss. First came the passing of his father. Soon after came the fight no family is ever ready for, when his wife Rhonda was diagnosed with triple negative metastatic breast cancer. On BeTempered, hosted by Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr, Chuck opens his heart and tells the story from the very beginning: high school sweethearts, a surprise third child, years spent...
2025-10-171h 24BeTemperedBeTempered Episode 74 - Love, Loss, and the Power of a Kept Promise with Shirley ThackerThe wind through pine branches can sound like a lullaby, or the whisper of survival. That’s where Shirley Thacker loved to sit with her husband, Rich—a farm kid turned teacher, veteran, and fighter—dreaming about the book she would someday write. In this powerful episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Shirley to trace the hard and luminous arc of her life: a small Indiana farm in the 50s and 60s, a ten-year-old’s stolen safety and the silence that followed, the middle-school note that tried to erase her, and the mome...
2025-10-1055 minBeTemperedBeTempered Episode 73 - “No Peace, No Decision” – The Rule That Shaped Greg Jackson’s MinistryThe first thing Greg Jackson will tell you is simple: no peace, no decision. That quiet rule has guided him from a teen revival moment in Dayton to decades of faithful pastoring in Camden, Ohio—through false starts at the post office, a bi-vocational grind, and the messy, beautiful work of building a church that truly serves its town.In this episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Greg to explore what a small, faithful life looks like when it’s lived at full strength. He shares how work...
2025-10-0358 minBeTemperedBeTempered Episode 72 - Processing Tragedy in a Divided WorldRaw vulnerability fills this deeply moving episode of BeTempered, where co-host Ben Spahr courageously opens up about processing a personal tragedy that has shaken his faith community to its core. When someone you’ve shared life with commits an unthinkable crime, how do you reconcile the good memories with their devastating actions? Where was God in the middle of all this heartbreak?Ben allows listeners into the raw and uncomfortable reality of his journey—sharing the guilt, anger, confusion, and the difficult path toward forgiveness. His honesty reminds us that walking thro...
2025-09-2643 minBeTemperedBeTempered Episode 71 – Inside Shawn Ruebush’s New Book 'Turning Pain into Purpose'What does it take to transform your deepest pain into purpose? Shawn Ruebush knows firsthand. After first sharing his life story on Episode 24 of the BeTempered podcast with hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr, Shawn took the courageous step of writing his memoir, Turning Pain into Purpose—a raw, unflinching account of tragedy, struggle, and ultimate redemption.Shawn’s journey began with unimaginable trauma at just eleven years old, an event that forever altered the course of his life. For decades, he wrestled with destructive behaviors while silently carrying the weight of his past...
2025-09-1951 minBeTemperedBeTempered Episode 70 - How God Moves in Small Communities with Pastor Justin WiegandWhat happens when a young pastor with no money but unwavering faith decides to plant a church in a town of just 1,800 people?On this episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Pastor Justin Wiegand to uncover an extraordinary story of courage, obedience, and small-town ministry. Justin’s journey takes him from making pizza dough in Kentucky to leading five thriving church campuses across rural Ohio, proving the life-changing power of listening to God’s call—especially when it leads to places that many overlook.Just...
2025-09-121h 15