What does it look like to remain in Jesus when we're so accustomed to striving, performing, and trying to produce fruit on our own?

In John 15, Jesus invites us to remain in him, promising that a life connected to the true vine will bear lasting fruit. But what does that invitation look like in the everyday realities of leadership, identity, suffering, and surrender?

In this episode of Called Beyond, host Tim Shuck sits down with David Zimmerman and Nick Greenwood to explore the lifelong journey of learning to abide in Christ. Drawing from decades of ministry experience and seasons of personal challenge, David and Nick share how Jesus has been teaching them to move beyond striving to do more for God and toward a deeper experience of his presence and love.

Together, they reflect on the subtle ways performance and self-reliance can shape our faith, the unexpected interruptions that invite us to slow down, and the freedom of discovering that Jesus has been faithfully present even when we struggled to recognize him.

Nick shares how a season of significant health challenges and suffering reshaped his understanding of surrender, leading him to a simple but profound invitation: to stop striving and simply be with Jesus. David reflects on the journey of recognizing our resistance, surrendering control, and learning to receive the life that flows from remaining in Christ.

Ultimately, as we pursue a courageously rooted life, we find that fruitfulness doesn't begin with what we do for Jesus. It begins with our abiding in him.----more----

In this episode:

• What it means to abide in Jesus rather than strive to produce spiritual fruit.

• How performance, self-reliance, and the pressure to lead can shape our identity.

• Why suffering and unexpected interruptions can become invitations to deeper surrender.

• How reflecting on our life stories can help us recognize God's faithful presence.

• What it looks like to surrender to love and make our home in Christ.

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Featured Guests

David Zimmerman is a longtime ministry leader and former senior pastor who joined Novo with a heart to serve the church as a missionary. Through decades of ministry and more recent seasons of personal challenge, David has continued to discover the depth of Christ's abiding presence and the freedom of surrendering to his love.

Nick Greenwood serves as a team leader on Novo's Activated team, helping others recognize God's work in their lives and grow into the people he has created them to be. Nick enjoys woodworking, teaching younger generations, and running a family business with his family. You can learn more about their family business, Greenwood Jerky.

What does it look like to love our neighbor as a compassionate witness?

In Luke 10, Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan to show us what it means to love our neighbor. While others passed by, the Samaritan stopped, entered into another person's suffering, and responded with compassion.

Johanna Lohrmann joins Tim Shuck to explore what it means to become a compassionate witness to the people God places in our lives. Drawing from her own experience of losing her youngest daughter, Elizabeth Joy, Johanna shares how others entered into her family's grief without trying to explain it away, fix it, or rush them through it. Their presence became an expression of Christ's compassion and a profound part of God's healing.

Together, Tim and Johanna explore the difference between having the right answers and faithfully entering someone's story. They talk about listening for the Holy Spirit, resisting comparison, remembering the names and stories of those who are hurting, and discovering that witnessing to someone in their suffering can itself be a form of discipleship.

Because Jesus doesn't ask us to fix everyone's pain, he invites us to be with people in it, just as he is with us in our own pain and suffering.

What might it look like for you to stop, see, and become a compassionate witness to someone God has placed in your path?

Featured Guest Johanna Lohrmann holds a Masters in Ministry from Richmont University and has served in a variety of teaching and ministry contexts, including developing early teachings for Novo around prayer walking and reclaiming spiritual territory. She currently teaches seventh grade and leads enrichments in art and Shakespeare. Johanna and her husband, Simeon, have three children.

What if the thing holding you back isn’t a lack of calling, but a lack of courage?

In this episode, Tim sits down with Simona to explore what it looks like to courageously step into what God has called us to, even when we don't feel qualified or ready.

Simona shares honestly about her own struggle with imposter syndrome and the moment God taught her that the burden of provision wasn't hers to carry. Together, they explore how God can use the gifts and experiences we already have to accomplish his purposes.

Ultimately, the invitation is simple: take the next step. You may not feel ready. You may not have all the credentials. But nothing is wasted in God's kingdom, and courage grows as we say yes to what he is asking of us.

In this episode, we explore:

• What it means to “fan into flame” the gifts God has given us
• Overcoming timidity and imposter syndrome
• Learning to trust God with the burdens we were never meant to carry
• The courage required to follow Jesus when faith comes with a real cost
• What it means to practice creative courage
• Taking the next obedient step, even when you don't feel ready

Simona is a fourth-generation missionary and the executive director of Global Covenant, one of Novo’s international partners focused on disciple-making movements in South Asia. Having grown up as a missionary kid, she now serves among many of the same people and communities she grew up around. A graduate in sculpture and ceramics, Simona brings her creativity and passion for the arts into her work of leading and equipping others for gospel multiplication.