Miracles, Mercy, and the Long Road Back: David Ebel on Faith, Suffering, and Radical Love

A conversation on pain, redemption, church hurt, and the quiet power of loving people as they are

There are stories that feel polished.

And then there are stories that feel lived.

This week, we ride with David Ebel — a man who, by every metric, wasn’t supposed to make it past 20… and yet somehow built a life defined not by limitation, but by service, humor, and an almost stubborn commitment to love.

From experimental medical trauma at birth to decades of chronic pain…
From addiction and depression to a sudden, undeniable spiritual awakening…
From clowning ministry to counseling the broken, the addicted, the grieving…

David’s story doesn’t move in a straight line. It spirals. It wrestles. It contradicts itself — just like life.

And somewhere in the middle of it all, a simple idea keeps resurfacing:

Love is not a feeling. It’s an action.

We talk about:

What “church hurt” really does to people—and how it distorts faith
The tension between institutional religion and personal experience
Whether spiritual truth is exclusive… or something deeper and more mysterious
Why suffering sometimes becomes the doorway, not the obstacle
A service dog named Bucky who may have been more than just a dog

And maybe most importantly:

What it actually means to love people where they are—without trying to fix, convert, or control them.

There’s no clean takeaway here.

Just a conversation that keeps opening doors.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:13:04 — 66.9MB) | Embed

A conversation on pain, redemption, church hurt, and the quiet power of loving people as they are

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