Dale Sutherland. DIFFICULT SEASONS

Zach grew up in a Jewish home but never heard the gospel until he was a teenager. When his parents divorced, he felt like his family had fallen apart. He also struggled with sexual brokenness that occurred at an early age and left him with shame and guilt. Zach believed things would get better for him after his Bar Mitzvah (age 13). Instead, they got worse. He became angry with God and turned to drugs, alcohol and girls to help him cope with his brokenness. At sixteen, Zach was longing to find purpose in his life. The game of soccer helped him find a place of belonging. His team was led by men who were all Christians. One night, he was invited to a teammate’s house (thinking it was for a party) and found himself at a high school Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting. After hearing the message, Zach was overwhelmed. He wept and gave is life to Jesus (November 29, 2006).

Zach almost immediately felt the call to be an evangelist. After high school, he went to a Christian college and earned a Bible degree. After graduation, he married Kristen and moved to Lexington, Kentucky where he became a college pastor. During this time, he still wrestled with years of insecurity and pride. As a pastor, he feared not measuring up, so he exaggerated to impress people As a result, he was let go from his first church and found himself in a formal restoration program to process his sin patterns. Shortly after he lost his job, he ended up working in a donut shop right beside the church. It was a humiliating time for him as he would be covered in flour when parishioners from the church, he previously worked at, would come in. One day, his manager asked him to clean the windows when the pastors from the church were in the store. Zach was mortified. During this time, Jesus told Zach that he didn’t desire this experience to be humiliating, but he wanted him humbled. He reminded Zach that He was with him just as much when cleaning windows in the donut shop as when he was a pastor. Instantly, Zach felt freedom with this revelation. That humiliating moment became a humbling moment for Zach. He says, “What makes Jesus stick out in the world is humility. Humility is the greatest virtue of a Christ follower.” Zach quit the donut shop two weeks later. 

From there he ended up planting a church, pastoring again, and working for the Christian and Missionary Alliance (spiritual formation and leadership development). Through these opportunities, Zach developed connections with Asbury Seminary and became a volunteer soccer coach at the University. Due to his ministry experience, he was asked to lead some retreats and be a guest speaker at the Asbury chapel service on February 8, 2023.

A STINKER SERMON

Zach’s message at chapel service came from Romans 12. As he concluded, he offered these words of encouragement to the students in attendance: “Do not leave here until you experience the love of God so that you can pour it out. The world needs these kinds of Christians. People that have experienced the love of God. I pray that this (message) sits on you like an itchy sweater…that you have to itch. That you would need to do something about it. Jesus, do a new thing in our midst. Revive us by your love.”

Afterwards, Zach sat down and began to pray as insecurity began to set in as it often did directly after preaching. He texted his wife, “Hey, I laid a stinker. I’ll be home soon for a nap.” However, he noticed a few students continued to stay and worship so did he. Throughout the day, more students came into the auditorium. As word began to spread, pastors and friends in the community stopped by the chapel to see what God was doing. Asbury staff leadership decided to keep the chapel open through the night. The powerful move of God lasted 16 days with over 65,000 people in attendance (ultimately reaching over 100,000). Zach had no idea his sermon would be the catalyst for the Asbury Outpouring. “There was no thought that these sixteen days would spur on moments and movements around college campuses, churches around the United States and abroad, igniting hearts to truly follow Jesus, experiencing His love and pouring it out on others. My life and family would never be the same,” shares Zach.  

Zach quit his full-time job with Missionary Alliance to accept invitations to travel and speak. He says, “There were just hundreds of people that needed to be pastored and followed up with, people who came to Christ or people who felt called to ministry or missions, or just college students who saw someone get healed or was at the Outpouring and needed to process that. And there was no plan and person to do that.” He feels his assignment is to present God wherever He takes him. In addition to his speaking opportunities, he is currently the Pastor in Residence at Asbury University. 

THE CRUSHING

Two and half years prior to the Asbury Outpouring Kristen became pregnant. They already had a three-year-old at home. During the sonogram appointment they received the terrible news that their daughter (Esther) had a severe brain abnormality which would not allow her to live more than a few hours after birth. When she was born on December 11, 2020, they had twelve hours with her before she went to be with the Lord. Zach says this was one of the most difficult seasons that he and Kristen walked through. He says, “The crushing is a powerful tool to humble a man or woman.”

RADICAL HUMILITY

During the Asbury Outpouring, God’s presence was in the auditorium in a powerful and simple way. One night, during the first few days of the revival, he decided to check social media posts to see if anyone was talking about the powerful move of God taking place on campus. Realizing his focus was leaning towards affirmation from man, he deleted multiple social media apps that night and asked his wife to handle much of what was going on with his phone (interview requests from the media). Early on, the Asbury seminary decided that this movement would be nameless and faceless. However, Zach’s name was already out there, and many people recognized his face. Media outlets were trying to contact him for interviews, and he was given many opportunities to meet spiritual heroes who had come to see what God was doing. 

Zach believes the Outpouring represents a way of pursuing and preparing for a fresh outpouring of God’s spirit through an essential posture of humility. To become more Christlike and achieve this posture Zach encourages the following:

• Confrontation - set aside a space where you can have a conversation with Jesus. Let Him address you and submit yourself to His formation in your life. For example, Zach reveals, “When He reveals and confronts something in my heart, an anxiety or thought that is destructive or at least distracting, and shines light on a habit that is not Christ like or that is harmful.”

• Consecration – setting apart for Christ’s transforming work in our lives. Once Christ reveals what is harmful, you must confess and submit to His way.

To find out more information on Zach Meerkreebs and purchase his book Lower: Igniting Spiritual Awakening Through Radical Humility click the LINK! 

CREDITS

Author, Lower: Igniting Spiritual Awakening Through Radical Humility, (Faith Words, 2025); Speaker; Preacher - guest speaker at Asbury University chapel on the day the Asbury Outpouring broke out; M.A. in Intercultural Studies, Asbury University; Doctor of Ministry, Asbury University; Married to Kristen; Three children: Eden, Esther (died Dec. 11, 2020), and Mercy

“I could see that there was somebody laying in the bottom of the ditch and I assumed that he was probably dead from the looks of it,” says farmer Jim Baumberger.

In the early hours of March 4th, 2018, 21-year-old Nathan Hedberg, a baseball player at South Dakota State, was driving home when he lost control of his truck on the icy roads. Police determined his truck rolled twice before ejecting Nate headfirst through the windshield. After, Nate spent approximately five hours lying in the ditch. A farmer, Jim Bamberger found him and called 911.

Jim says, “She said check to see if he’s breathing and I could hear kind of a gurgling noise and I said, ‘Well I think he’s breathing.’”

Nate had suffered frost bite, a fractured spine, and swelling of his brain. First responders didn’t believe he would survive the 20-minute life-flight to the nearest hospital. Medical staff contacted Nate’s parents.

“I was awakened by my cell phone ringing and it was the emergency room”, says Lorie Hedberg.  “Before I even got up out of bed I went to God in prayer, telling God, ‘You do what you choose to do and I will accept whatever you choose.’”

Terry Hedberg says, “I broke down on my knees and I wailed like I’ve never wailed in my life.”

Terry and Lorie flew from their home in California to the hospital in South Dakota. Lorie, a nurse of thirty years, told the surgeon to be honest about Nate’s chances.

Lorie recalls, “He said he's so unstable, if we did surgery to release the pressure on his brain, he goes ‘I'll kill him during in surgery.’ He's like ‘There's nothing I can do for your son.’ And he told us at that time that he wasn't convinced that Nate would make it through the night.”

“And I just said, ‘God I can’t control it. I don’t know what to do. Would you please heal my son?’” says Terry.

Lorie says, “I put my hand over this surgeon as he's giving us this hopeless scenario, and I said, ‘But you're forgetting one thing’ and he's like ‘What?’ And I said, ‘There's a God factor.’"

Despite the prognosis, as word got out, the Hedberg’s were inspired by the prayers of people from their hometown and all over the world.

“The news of Nathan’s accident had gone viral and we had so many people praying for him and that was very amazing to me”, says Lorie.

While Nate was still in a coma, his older brother Justin sang Christian songs to him and Nate’s response was encouraging.

Justin says, “A couple of nurses walk into the room and they noticed on the charts of his cranial pressures and his brain was actually decreasing.”

Lorie says, “And he would sing to Nathan and the pressure monitors would come down to a much more acceptable level. It was precious!”

After a few weeks, Lorie believed God wanted her to convince the doctor to take Nate off of the ventilator. The surgeon reluctantly agreed.

“I truly believed God would raise my son,” says Lorie. “But the doctor didn't think he had the mental capacity to breathe on his own. And when we extubated him, it's pretty traumatic, and Nathan had the best cough, he literally rose off the bed coughing. Nate actually became alert and he said, ‘I love you.’”

Terry says, “We were all believing for Jesus to heal him and that was like a miracle right then itself because I know the doctors didn’t expect him to go beyond a machine.”

After several more weeks, Nate awoke from his coma.

Justin says, “I immediately was shocked. I was just like overwhelmed with joy to see him moving, to see him speaking. Even if it wasn't coherent sentences like it was – it made sense. Like life was coming back to him.”

After months of rehab Nate made a full recovery and returned to his hometown.

“Everybody from that small town just came running to see the kid that was dead and is now alive. It was amazing,” says Lorie.

Nate says, “When I went back, when I was walking around town a lot of people just ran up to me and hugged me and was just crying and just thankful that their prayers were answered, and I was just thankful.”

After all they’ve been through, the Hedberg’s can’t help but praise God: for Nate’s survival, healing, and the prayers that were answered along the way.

“This miracle doesn’t happen to everyone,” says Nate. “And I know that God has saved me for something and I want to live up to what he has for me.”

Lorie says, “He was showing us even in hindsight that he was in control and that he was hearing the fervent prayer of those who are walking with them.”

“Every day I thank God for bringing our son back to life. I rejoice every day,” says Terry.

Lorie says, “God is absolutely in control. We can trust him with everything. We can trust him with our heart. All he wants us to do is submit. Submit and trust him that he is a loving Father.”

CBN Partners Mike and Lou Kershner call Virginia home, and have been giving to CBN for nearly 20 years. at first, it wasn’t exactly Mike’s idea:

“Uh, the first time I gave to CBN was because my wife told me to. Since then, I've become a believer.” Mike recalls. 

“…they are committed to the Great Commission. We want to help CBN realize their mission.”

“The whole point is to bring people into the kingdom. That's what we want to do. That's what CBN does.” His wife, Lou continues. 

A retired military officer, over the years Mike gained greater understanding about trusting God with the couple’s finances, as he learned to tithe.

“I was, I was a guy who, uh, would go to church and throw a 20 in the plate and feel good about myself. And then somebody introduced me to tithing. And uh, and that was kind of an alien concept to me. And then I read the Bible. I read, uh, I read about tithing and about what it does It didn't take long after we started tithing before we realized that you can't outgive God.” Mike notes. 

Lou appreciates CBN’s heart for bringing hope to children through animation.

“We love Superbook and we love the idea of Superbook because of what it does. It reaches the children. It’s just important that they hear these stories that they learn about the Bible, they learn about these aren't characters. These were real people, and there's application to their own young lives. And I must say that you're never too young or too old for Superbook to have an impact on you” Lou adds. 

Mike likes to point to other ways CBN Partners make a difference around the world.

“Operation Blessing is great because they can go where we cannot and bless people in ways that we cannot. And Orphan's Promise is just a fabulous, but I really admire the CBN news crew. Uh, they do just a fantastic job and they have really impacted our life, because we know that they're a source of truth.” Mike acknowledges. 

the Kershner’s are grateful they trusted God with their finances and encourage others to do the same.

“Everything we have comes from God. He has given us everything we have And that's one of the ways you honor him is by giving to CBN. And it's a form of worship.” Mike notes.” Mike notes gratefully. 

“CBN is in the soul business just like the Lord is. And they're out there giving the love of God and giving the love of Christ to people who really need love.”
 

Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” and we invite you to join in blessing others with your giving to CBN! Your faithful giving brings hope to the hopeless and the truth of God’s Word to millions of homes through The 700 Club! Help bring the love of Christ to the world when you become a CBN partner today! 

For 119 years, the Auburn basketball program has produced some great players. None have more wins with the Tigers than center, Dylan Cardwell. He’s known for his smile and jubilant personality, but for Dylan, life wasn’t always so joyful. In high school, happiness was dependent on basketball alone.

“My identity was in basketball and my days would go as good as basketball went,” says Dylan. “So if I had good game, I had a good practice, I had the best day of my life. If I had a bad game or a bad practice I had a really bad day.”

After his junior season, Dylan transferred back to his home state of Georgia. However due to a transfer rule, he was ineligible to play and spent his entire senior season on the bench.

Will Dawson: How low did you get, how bad was it at certain times? Because at the time it probably felt like your world was being ripped apart.

Cardwell: “There would be days where I would go to school and I’d be having a great time and then as soon as I’d get in my car to head home I’d just feel empty because I was still practicing with the team, but I still  wasn’t able to play basketball on the court. And so it really just frustrated me. There would be days that I’d just cry myself to sleep and I would sit outside and cry to God and like ‘Why? Why am I going through this?’”

“And so the Lord really challenged me through a teacher of mine. She said ‘Maybe the Lord is trying to teach you, ‘Who is Dylan Cardwell without basketball?’ So she made me write a paper about who I am without basketball. It was very hard to go through. It was a year full of trial for me. But it really made me depend on God and the Lord kind of allowed me to build up this strength and routine of continuing to go to him in prayer and develop a relationship and have more faith in him for my deliverance,” says Dylan.

With offers from Tennessee and Georgia, Dylan ultimately decided to attend Auburn, where he believed he could grow in his faith. During his freshman year he began attending a church bible study, called the Freedom Group, which helped change his perspective.

“When I first got into the Freedom Group I was like, ‘Man, I don’t want to be here.’ Just a bunch of people that don’t look like me, to be frank. But when I first got in there, just the vulnerability of everybody in there in that group like the Lord put on my heart, ‘I need this!’ And so I started going every single week and asking the right questions and being a sponge, really being open. That’s the thing that they encouraged. They said, ‘Your sin grows in darkness so just let it all out.’”

Dylan was encouraged but he wasn’t ready to fully surrender his life to Jesus. He thought surrendering would mean giving up basketball.

“For me I was like, ‘Man, I don’t want to give my life to Christ, get hurt, and become a minister. I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to be a pastor. I don’t want to be a preacher. I just want to hoop,’” he says.

Until a friend shared with him something he’d never considered.

“He was like, ‘Man you can use basketball as your ministry. Like the Lord gave you this platform for a reason, to glorify Him. You don’t have to be on a stage to be in ministry.’”

Dawson: So that actually freed you up to say, ‘God has created me for a purpose. He’s given me the gifts he’s given me so I can go out and glorify him with them?

Cardwell: “Yeah, most definitely. I couldn’t see that before. Like I said, I was really fearful. I listened to these lies from the Devil that he’s going to take basketball away from me cause it had already been taken away from me before. I am 6’11” for a reason. I was built the way I was for a purpose, a purpose bigger than just putting a ball in a basket.“  

Dawson: “When you realized that, what changed on the basketball court?”

Cardwell: “Really I just started playing with more joy. The pressure of performance really went away. It just alleviated all the pressure for me and allowed me to play freer.”

Dylan began playing with a newfound freedom on the court and living for Christ off of it. And his teammates began to notice.

Denver Jones, Auburn Point Guard: “I even told Dylan he’s been a major impact on my life the way he carries himself so I try and just model myself of how much time he spends in the Bible studying. I try to model myself after that.”

In this, his final season, Auburn is the top seed in the NCAA tournament. Win or lose, Dylan’s goals are clear.

“We’re the number one team in the country. We’re honoring God, we’re glorifying God. It would be insane if we got to the national championship and these kids, ten, eleven years old, they see these guys, they’re glorifying God, they’re praying as a team. They see this. It’s normal. It’s cool. And that’s the opportunity I want. I don’t care about a national championship. I just want an opportunity to play for it so the Lord can give us a platform to continue to glorify Him.
He has saved me from myself, he’s saved me from my flesh. He saved me from weapons that have formed against me. He’s saved me from so much. So, I can’t live without him. I can’t author my life the way he has. I can’t protect myself from the seen and unseen like he has. And so for me, he means everything.”