Defender Podcast
The Defender Podcast is a ministry of Lifeline Children's Services where we seek to equip the body of Christ to manifest the gospel to vulnerable children and families. We hope this podcast will provide encouragement, inspiration, and ways to connect with others who have a heart for the orphan.
Rick Morton, Herbie Newell, and Chelsea Sobolik welcome attorney and advocate Palmer Williams, a partner at Holtzman Vogel and former general counsel of the ERLC....
An Adoptee’s Teddy Bear Epiphany | Simon Benn, Thriving Adoptees
Simon Benn was adopted at five weeks old in 1967 and grew up in England always knowing his story. At 40, an unexpected burst of...
Opening the Doors: How One Church Is Rewriting the Story for Kids Aging Out of Foster Care
In this episode of the Defender Podcast, Executive Director Herbie Newell and Ford sit down with Tommy DeRamos of Shades Mountain Baptist Church to talk...
From Orphan to ‘Baby Whisperer’: Vikram’s Story
Vikram grew up in a leper colony in Rajasthan before being taken in by a Christian orphanage that eventually became home to over a thousand...
16 Kids, One Brother’s Sacrifice
This summer Lifeline had sixteen kids come to the US for two weeks through the international hosting program, most of whom had already been passed...
God Doesn’t Waste Anything: Katie Adams on Faith, Family, and International Adoption
Katie Adams, manager of Lifeline’s expat adoption program, joins Dr. Rick to trace her path from a childhood on Fort Benning through a faith awakening...
Why Fewer Kids Are Coming Home Through Adoption in 2025
On this episode of The Table, Rob, Herbie, Karla, and Ford unpack the newly released 2025 intercountry adoption numbers, down to 973 children from 1,172...
Unstoppable: The Bamberg Sisters’ Journey from China to Auburn
Rick Morton sits down with sisters Ava and Lily Bamberg, both adopted from China and now students at Auburn University, home to the nation’s only...