In this final episode of season 1 of the Care for Pastors Podcast, Pastor Shane Becton shares the raw and redemptive journey of confronting unresolved anger after a season of ministry betrayal, leadership crisis, and personal loss. Shane opens up about the emotional toll of online accusations, sudden resignations within his church leadership, and the spiritual fog that followed.

When everything he had poured his life into began to unravel, Shane found himself consumed by hurt and confusion. But in his most broken moment, a quiet nudge from his wife led him to reach out to Care for Pastors, and that phone call marked the beginning of healing.

In this honest conversation, Shane reflects on:

• How anger can mask grief, fear, and disillusionment
• The challenges of leadership in crisis and isolation
• The role of wise counsel and mentorship in recovery
• Why processing pain is essential for personal and spiritual health
• How writing letters and pursuing Matthew 18-style reconciliation brought freedom
• What it means to rebuild life and ministry with surrender, not control

Resources mentioned on the episode:

Care for Pastors

If this episode spoke to you or someone you love, please share it with others in ministry who may be struggling. Subscribe to the Care for Pastors Podcast so you never miss an episode and leave a review to help others find support.

About our Guest:

Shane Becton is a seasoned ministry leader with over 25 years of experience in church leadership. He has faithfully served in various roles, including Family Ministries Pastor, Campus Pastor, and Executive Pastor, and now serves as the Lead Pastor of a growing church community, New Life Seacoast Church in New Hampshire. In 2019, Shane and his wife, Holly, relocated from the coast of North Carolina to New Hampshire, where they’ve continued to share the transforming message of Jesus and build meaningful relationships in their local community.

What happens when staying faithful in ministry means walking through the fire?

In this gripping and emotional episode, Robby sits down with Keith and Patti Johnson as they share their journey through 16 years of ministry pain, spiritual opposition, broken relationships, and a shocking cancer diagnosis that nearly took Patti’s life. What started as a season of relentless hardship turned into a story of restoration, as God began to heal not only Patti’s body but also their fractured church and estranged family.

From raw conversations with God in the hospital to powerful moments of quiet surrender, Keith and Patti offer a rare and honest look at what it means to obey God when everything around is falling apart. If you’ve ever asked, “Where is God in my suffering?”, this episode offers a deeply personal answer.

This conversation explores:

· How obedience to God sometimes means staying in painful ministry assignments longer than you’d like.

· How God can restore and heal what is broken, even through the most difficult trials of our lives.

· Why community and humor are vital lifelines for surviving ministry wounds.

· That trusting God doesn’t always feel good, but it always leads to growth.

· How trials and suffering become sacred ground when God is trusted through it.

Resources mentioned on the episode:

Care for Pastors

The Confidante for Pastors’ Wives

Hallelujah by Casting Crowns

My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers

If this conversation encouraged you or someone you love, share it. You never know who might need to hear they’re not alone. Be sure to subscribe to the Care for Pastors Podcast and leave a review to help others find this healing resource.

About our Guest:

Keith and Patti Johnson have served in pastoral ministry for over 16 years and have been married for 40 years. Keith is a lead pastor who is deeply committed to “teaching truth and loving well.” After coming to faith as an adult, he followed God’s call to ministry and earned a Master of Theology (Th.M.) from Dallas Theological Seminary. He was ordained in 2003 and has spent his ministry focused on shepherding the local church and helping people experience life-changing relationships with Jesus. Patti serves on staff at Care for Pastors, where she has ministered to pastors’ wives across the country through The Confidante community. Patti helps lead the Confidante Facebook group, contributes regularly to the Care for Pastors blog, and offers compassionate support to ministry wives walking through seasons of hardship.

Parenting a prodigal is never easy, but when you’re a pastor or a pastor’s spouse, the pain can be even more complex and isolating. In this episode of the Care for Pastors Podcast, Art and Mary Ellen Eaton open up about their journey through the highs and lows of ministry and parenting. They candidly share how moral failures in church leadership deeply affected their family and how they’ve navigated the painful reality of raising prodigal children.

With wisdom shaped by personal experience, the Eatons discuss the power of grace, the tension between unconditional love and tough truth, and the importance of prayer in parenting. They offer hope to fellow parents who may be walking through similar seasons of heartache, encouraging them to remain firm in their faith and to trust in God’s greater plan for their children.

This conversation explores:

• Navigating ministry while facing personal and leadership failures
• Raising children who have strayed from their faith
• Balancing grace and truth in parenting
• The emotional and spiritual toll of prodigal seasons
• Encouragement and hope for parents of prodigals

Resources mentioned on the episode:

Care for Pastors

If this conversation encouraged you or someone you love, share it. You never know who might need to hear they’re not alone. Be sure to subscribe to the Care for Pastors Podcast and leave a review to help others find this healing resource.

About our Guest:

Art and Mary Ellen Eaton have been faithfully serving in full-time ministry since 1997. Over the past 27 years, they have worn many hats, including senior pastor and pastor’s wife, while also ministering in single adult ministry, youth and children’s ministry, music ministry, and more. For a decade, they served as church planters in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, where they cultivated a deep heart for shepherding others through both the joys and challenges of ministry life.