How Biblical community shaped two military leaders / Crosspoint Highlights
Release Date: 05/21/2025
Bridges instead of islands: The state of the military sisterhood / September 2025
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
OCF MINISTRY NEWS Check out and attend any of these local events: Aspentime Retreat: 26-28 September at Spring Canyon (Buena Vista, Colo.) BBQ Bonanza: 3-4 October at Fort Leavenworth (Kan.) OCF Hampton Roads Region Annual Fall Picnic: 4 October at Fort Monroe, Va. USNA Fall Retreat: 10-13 October at White Sulphur Springs (Manns Choice, Pa.) OCF Mid-Atlantic Fall Retreat: 14-16 November at White Sulphur Springs (Manns Choice, Pa.) Start an OCF small group: Read Rich's...
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Military Brats React: What makes the difference in raising military kids
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
Show Notes In this second part of “Military Brats React,” host Courtney Burdick continues the roundtable conversation with 2LT Dani Volle, USA, ENS Mary Ann Leonard, USN, and Matt Taylor as they reflect on their experiences growing up in military families. While the first part of the discussion centered on the challenges and mental health struggles faced by military kids, this episode shifts to the “strengths-based perspective”—seeing the good that can come out of a hard, transient lifestyle—. Have thoughts or want to share your own experience? Reach out to...
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Military Brats React: Mental health, faith, and finding strength
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
In a recent Crosspoint episode, In this follow-up conversation, Courtney Burdick hosts three fellow military kids—2LT Dani Volle, USA, ENS Mary Ann Leonard, USN, and Matt Taylor—for a roundtable-style reaction episode. Having met at they discuss stories from their respective military kid experiences, thoughts on Claire’s research, and more. Have thoughts or want to share your own experience? Reach out to Courtney at [email protected]. If you would like to share your own story, Alternatively, if you have an idea for a guest or topic we should consider for a...
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Faithful Leadership: You won’t get this perfect—and that’s OK
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
The July episode of Crosspoint served as Part 1 of a conversation with LTC Lee Robinson, USA, director of the U.S. Military Academy’s American Politics Program and an academy professor in the Department of Social Sciences. We began answering this overarching question—"What does it look like to follow Christ in uniform, when your faith is personal, your authority is public, and the Constitution sets the boundaries?” In Part 2 we continue this timely discussion on how Christian military leaders can live out their faith with integrity, while respecting the pluralism of today’s armed...
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“Just see God at work”: Prioritizing Biblical mentorship / August 2025
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
OCF MINISTRY NEWS Become findable on the OCF Directory: to add or update your group’s information on our online directory of Bible studies. Apply for Spring Canyon’s Deputy Center Director opening: and apply NLT 15 August. Check out our new Widowed Ministry webpage: helpful resources, invitations to fellowship, and scholarship funding for summer programs at the Conference Centers. GUEST SPOTLIGHT Why is mentoring important to the Christian in the military? Answering that question and others in this episode are COL Jim Brown, USA (Ret.), and...
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How do you balance free exercise and non-establishment as a leader? / Crosspoint Highlights
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
Guest: LTC Lee Robinson, USA In this Crosspoint Highlight from July 2025, LTC Lee Robinson explores the delicate balance military leaders must strike between free exercise of religion and non-establishment under the First Amendment. He emphasizes that the amendment’s brevity—and its ambiguity—stem from the compromises between Federalists and Anti-Federalists at the time of America’s founding. Lee explains how the language evolved, rejecting broader proposals like prohibiting any laws “touching religion” to avoid overly limiting the federal government. He encourages military leaders...
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Was America founded as a Christian nation? / Crosspoint Highlights
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
Guest: LTC Lee Robinson, USA In this Crosspoint Highlight from July 2025, LTC Lee Robinson tackles the complex question: Was America founded as a Christian nation? Lee draws a distinction between the first founding (e.g., Puritan colonies with explicitly religious laws) and the constitutional founding rooted in liberty and freedom of conscience. He explains that while America’s early cultural fabric was deeply influenced by Christianity, the U.S. Constitution intentionally avoided establishing a state religion—rejecting even a proposed religious test in Article VI. Citing Alexis de...
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Christ & the Constitution: Navigating the “wall of separation between church and state” / July 2025
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
OCF MINISTRY NEWS Sign up for summer programs at the Conference Centers: Visit ocfusa.org/CCexperience to find the right program and week for you at Spring Canyon (Buena Vista, Colo.) or White Sulphur Springs (Manns Choice, Pa.). Consider your next steps at the Caleb Challenge Career Transition Strategies Workshop (12-14 September): Visit White Sulphur Springs’ website to learn more about and sign up for this impactful weekend. Update your information and stay connected: Whether it's your address, military status, rank, contact...
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Special announcement: Leadership workshop with LtGen Clint Hinote, USAF (Ret.)
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
Information about Summer R&R 7 at White Sulphur Springs, and speaker LtGen Clint Hinote, USAF (Ret.): About the Topic: Wherever we are, God calls us to lead. He calls us to lead ourselves, our families, our units, our communities, and our culture. The Bible contains many accounts of leaders, including stories about their successes and failures. In this session, we will examine Biblical leaders and learn from their experiences. We will celebrate the good and be honest about the bad. In doing so, we will seek practical truths we can apply to our lives because we can always learn and grow as...
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The “hidden epidemic” among military children / June 2025
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
OCF MINISTRY NEWS Sign up for summer programs at the Conference Centers: Visit ocfusa.org/CCexperience to find the right program and week for you at Spring Canyon (Buena Vista, Colo.) or White Sulphur Springs (Manns Choice, Pa.). Connect with OCFers at USNA and USAFA: OCF at USAFA: Pre-Inprocessing Day Reception (Class of 2029), 24 June, Monument, Colo. USNA OCF: Class of 2029 Open House, 25 June, Annapolis, Md. Volunteer as a Local Leader at one of these locations: Columbus AFB, Fort Campbell, Fort Drum, Fort...
info_outlineCrosspoint Highlights: Big ideas, short episodes … for your busy schedule
Guests: Joshua and Lindsey Bowen
From Episode 54: “The importance of small group fellowship.” Listen to the full episode here.
Highlight Summary:
In this Crosspoint Highlight, Joshua and Lindsey Bowen reflect on the lasting impact of biblical community, mentorship, and servant leadership during their time in the military. They share how their early experiences in a diverse OCF small group at Fort Carson shaped their spiritual maturity and inspired them to pour into cadets at West Point years later. From late-night Bible studies to one-on-one mentoring moments, Josh and Lindsey offer a deeply personal look at how fellowship across generations can transform lives and prepare future military leaders for both spiritual and professional challenges.
Key Takeaways:
- Intergenerational fellowship fosters growth: Being surrounded by older couples in their Fort Carson group helped Josh and Lindsey mature spiritually and understand what Christlike leadership looks like in marriage, military life, and beyond.
- Mentorship happens in everyday moments: Watching how mentors cared for their spouses, shared struggles, and modeled vulnerability left a deep and lasting impression on the Bowens—one they now strive to replicate.
- Leading means serving: As small group leaders at West Point, Josh and Lindsey invest time, energy, and emotional bandwidth into cadets—not just during Bible study, but through desserts, coffee chats, and showing up when it matters most.
- Spiritual black holes are real: Without proactive preparation, cadets can find themselves spiritually adrift after graduation. Josh shares candidly how his own post-academy faith stagnated, and how he now helps cadets plan ahead to avoid the same pitfall.
- God equips those He calls: Lindsey never saw herself in women’s ministry or spiritual mentorship—until someone invited her. Now she thrives in that space, walking alongside young women facing challenges she never imagined when she was in their shoes.