All Episodes

December 1, 2025

In this episode of Why We Believe,with host Nathan Gwilliam, award-winning songwriter Melanie Hoffman shares the canyon drive when words for Gethsemane hit her like a thunderbolt after months of fearing how to explain Christ's suffering to children. She sat at her kitchen table and words poured out as she wept through writing the bridge about the hardest thing ever done and the greatest pain ever known. Every child who received the album wanted to sing that one song.

Years later, a Tabernacle Choir member told Nathan this would go down in history as their greatest recording. After videos by an Oregon couple, Jenny Phillips, and three-year-old Claire Crosby built momentum, the church included it in Children's Friend and selected it for the new hymnbook. Steve Schenk called the night before release to tell her personally. Melanie reveals how 47 years of self-employment walking by faith fulfilled her patriarchal blessing promise that she would never want.

Loved this episode? Hit Follow and share it with someone who needs to hear the story behind the brilliance of the song Gethsemane! Leave a review for Why We Believe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Your support helps us bring more inspiring conversations like this to listeners everywhere!

Follow the Why We Believe Show:

Website: https://www.whywebelieve.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhyWeBelieveShow

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/why-we-believe-show/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whywebelievepodcast/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6T9DjmWBXJZPFyIFXUCdhm 

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/why-we-believe/id1751537256

Follow Nathan Gwilliam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathangwilliam/

Follow Melanie Hoffman:

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Hey Jonas!

Hey Jonas!

Hey Jonas! The official Jonas Brothers podcast. Hosted by Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas. It’s the Jonas Brothers you know... musicians, actors, and well, yes, brothers. Now, they’re sharing another side of themselves in the playful, intimate, and irreverent way only they can. Spend time with the Jonas Brothers here and stay a little bit longer for deep conversations like never before.

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2026 iHeartMedia, Inc.

  • Help
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • AdChoicesAd Choices