Episodes
Desires: We all have ‘em.
And sometimes they really get in our way.
What are we supposed to do about this? Does Jesus care about our desires? Does He value them?
As our good friend Curt Thompson points out, Jesus first question in the gospel of John is, “What do you want?”
Clearly, our desires matter to God.
How and why? Listen with us to find out.
// Highlights: “Jesus’ assumption is that what I want is a really, really big deal.” -Curt Thompson “[When I am wounded] I don’t desire, I devour.” -Curt Thompson
“…[S]till Jesus says, ‘What is it that you want?’ And I’m like, ‘What else is there...
How many people do you know who currently feel slightly-to-very discouraged about their faith?
Do you have a sense that the Bible could be a great help, but you don’t want to come across as legalistic or dismissive of their struggles?
How do you walk alongside your friends? (Or, how do you walk alongside yourself if you’re struggling with cracking the Bible?)
Author, podcaster, and Bible teacher Tara Leigh Cobble is here to help. Together, we explore:
How does the Bible relate to our identity?
What reading program can I start today without being overwhelmed by starting today?
How important ...
“I’ve thought, ‘I don't know if I can do this, I don't know if I'm good enough or talented enough or whatever,’ but never had I thought [before that moment], ‘I don't know if I want to,’ because I really knew the price of going forward.”
—Christine Caine
The first time we had this conversation with anti-human trafficking activist and internationally sought-after speaker and author Christine Caine, it was life-giving to all of us.
The second time we listened, it felt doubly hope-infusing because of where we are at in our journeys now…
Anyone else feeling the global slump of discouragement an...
Real talk:
When we think about raising our little kids in a porn-saturated world, we want to raze the whole broken system to the ground. That we even have to have this conversation plain ol’ stinks. (Darn you, Fall of Man!)
Then, we start to brainstorm:
How long can I keep porn away from our kids? (Forever?)
What if they have already discovered it? (Am I the worst parent?)
How early are we supposed to talk about the “goodness of God’s design” for sex (the mechanics of it), and how early is too early?
As first-generation parents, youth leaders, and aunts and uncles of kids with cell phones...
So...shame.
It's talked about quite frequently and often with rightful animosity, but have you ever considered there might be some good types of shame?
Buckle your seatbelt as we engage the three types of shame and why they are so important--not just when engaging the LGBT+ conversation, but anyone's life.
Matt, Laurie, and Steve also dive into how the rest of SEASON FIVE will look, and why they are choosing to follow Jesus--even now in often-brutal 2021.
Toxic Shame:
Whole body self-hate "Who I am is worthless."
From the enemy (Satan)
Happens before, during, or after we sin (or even if we ...
Engaging conversations on race or sexuality is a hard, holy task.
As Christians, we don’t always do it well, even if our hearts are in the right place.
Are these conversations the same?
How are they different?
Can we advocate justice and unity without endorsing what is not God’s best?
And how do we do this with our friends?
Stephanie Thole entered into this conversation with extraordinary grace and kindness, and we are thrilled to listen in again.
//: Highlights
“We were one of the few black families. I remember always being so attracted to all of these white boys. In my mind, I was like, ...
Sometimes, we need the cold water bucket of siblinghood thrown over our heads and our questions.
What happens when we feel attraction toward our friends?
What if we become enmeshed with other people?
How do we guard against turning inward rather than outward, and encourage one another to continue on mission with Jesus?
Rachel Gilson shares her story and the beauty of being family in Christ in really helpful ways. We’re thrilled to revisit this conversation with her.
Listen in with us.
//:Highlights
“We kind of intuitively sense that a sibling relationship is a special kind of relationshi...
After witnessing three excommunications of leaders in the church, Brad Klaver vowed that he would never share his same-sex attractions with anyone.
The Holy Spirit had other plans.
After over a decade of pastoring and marriage, God brought Brad face to face with himself—and it changed his life forever.
Will you join us as we listen again to this beautiful story of gospel transformation?
I Highlight I
“I remember exactly where I was watching [the excommunications] unfold. In me there was this internal wrestle of fear of: ‘I don’t know where this came from. I don’t know why I have this. ...
Guys! We’re back with this highly requested conversation with our REAL LIFE FRIENDS Johnny and Amanda.
What happens when a pastor suffers addiction in silence?
What happens when he has an affair?
What happens when health problems keep a couple from having sex?
Is there hope for marriages that go through these things?
Johnny and Amanda are here to say YES! God is a God of redemption and their story is beautiful proof. It’s worth the listen.
I Highlights I
“I constantly felt like I didn’t measure up. Pornography was an escape from that feeling for me. ‘Finally, I don’t have to feel tha...
We are thrilled to be revisiting the Broken and Beloved Pastors series! In the next three episodes, we’ll hear the stories of three pastors who are, like all of us, “more loved than we can imagine and more sinful than we believe.”
What happens when a pastor wrestles with gender dysphoria?
What happens when the same pastor is called to bring that wrestling into the light, in his marriage and with his community?
What happens to his ministry? To his marriage? To his identity?
Ben and Lauren Schulke answer these questions and more as they recount their story with us. We are honored to share...
The gender conversation today is swirling with confusion and hurt for everyone involved.
How do we as Christians enter into this conversation?
Today, we revisit a conversation with Heather Skriba, who, having wrestled with gender dysphoria her whole life, has a compassionate and truthful perspective on this issue.
We’re thrilled to share this episode once again! Join us!
I Highlights I
“God never just settles for salvation. He is truly redeeming everything.” -Heather Skriba
“There are people in my life that didn’t call me by name for two years, and by extension, didn’t use a pronoun w...
So often, sexuality brings shame right on its heels.
How can we banish it? How can we heal?
Join us today as we revisit this conversation with Dr. Dan Allender to learn how stepping into the light and grace of Jesus can heal our shame when it comes to sexuality.
***Heads up: We do address sexual trauma in this episode, though not graphically. If this is part of your story or that of someone close to you, please take care of yourself and listen with caution.***
I Highlights I
“The return on investment for the kingdom of darkness is profound in regard to abuse. [It] disintegrates some le...
As Laurie says, “We’re kind of lament-obsessed around here.”
It’s true. And it made running this episode a second time an easy choice for this series.
Since the first time this episode ran, there is still pain and brokenness in our lives, and we need a place to take it. Cue Mark Vroegop, ushering us to the feet of Jesus with this spiritual practice that truly has revolutionized our lives.
Will you lament with us today?
I Highlights I
“People who know how to lament are comfortable with saying less or nothing. They intuitively have a heart that is oriented toward empathy. They don’t pani...
Welcome to TAKE TWO of Exploring Our Souls of Shame!
Rerunning this episode was an obvious choice because we *all* deal with shame.
Curt Thompson beautifully describes not only the experience of shame, but also its antidote: Jesus.
Join us as we learn resilience and joy in this brilliant conversation!
I Highlights I
“The gospel–if it is good news–does not begin with ‘I am more sinful than I believe.’ It begins, in fact, with ‘I am more loved than I can imagine.’ It is in that space of being loved incessantly, relentlessly, that we become aware just how sinful we are.” –Dr. Curt Thompso...
Welcome to the first episode of our Take Two series!
It was so hard to choose episodes to highlight over the past four (FOUR?!) seasons, but we’ve narrowed it down to a few that we’ll show you over the next several weeks.
This episode discusses Chapter 5 of Francis and Lisa Chan’s book, *You and Me Forever*, as well as some of the good and hard of Matt and Laurie’s own story!
Get ready for a good one guys, we’re excited to revisit this!
I Do the Next Thing I
You can check out *You and Me Forever* by
Francis and Lisa Chan at this link! https://www.youandmeforever.org
Hear more of Laur...
Even though picking favorite episodes from this season is like choosing a favorite child, we snagged your top listened-to ones from this season (and some of our most memorable conversations), and reflected on clips from them.
Here are the episodes we cover:
“Caring for People Wrestling with Gender” with Mark Yarhouse
“Shredding Shame in a Pandemic” with Dr. Curt Thompson
“Defining Stress and Success” with John Mark Comer
“Start Where You Are” with Rashawn Copeland
“Intro to the Gardens’ Series Part 2” with Matt and Laurie
“Marriage and Mental Health” with Aaron and Jamie Ivey
We also get h...
We think this episode might be worth listening to more than once.
It’s that good and that important…especially this month (Pride Month).
Author and teacher, Rebecca McLaughlin, takes some of the real-life theological conversations many of us are having right now and helps us to respond with grace and truth.
She explores these questions and more:
How can we respond kindly and truthfully when people say to us, “Love is love! Why can’t you just love people!”?
What can we say when people tell us that holding to a historical biblical view of marriage is intrinsically harmful (ie. It encourages s...
“I used to think I was the only one who was lonely. After all, when you look around, other people don’t look lonely. They just look like they are drinking a latte.” —Dr. Kelly Flanagan
Goodness, this quote from Dr. Kelly Flanagan’s new book, "True Companions: A Book for Everyone About the Relationships That See Us Through," gripped us.
If loneliness is that deep-seated reality that you have corners of your heart that only you and Jesus understand, aren’t we all lonely? And isn’t it time we admit it? Dr. Kelly Flanagan thinks it’s not only time to admit our lonely realities but to befriend ...
If you disciple children in any capacity, how’s it going for you?
I mean, we have all gone through a lot in the last year, and so have young people.
Today, author and teacher, Dr. Michele Anthony, comes alongside us to help us care for kids’ hurting hearts.
Together, we explore:
How can we teach kids to hear God’s voice? (Is it even possible?)
How can we lead kids as a “spiritual parent” instead of a “fear-based” one? (And what does it even mean to parent spiritually?)
How can we help children to have a gospel-centered identity?
Only the easy questions today. ;) Join us?
// Highlights:
“...
When we look at churches and ministries today, we often don’t see Jesus.
Instead, we see scandal. Abuse. Toxicity.
What do we do with this?
How do we change and prevent it?
Scot McKnight and Laura Barringer have an answer: tov.
Tov is the Hebrew word for “good,” and it’s who God is and who He calls us to be.
As Scot says it, tov is “the redemptive dimension of churches that can prevent them from toxicity.” We need more of this.
Let’s listen in.
// Highlights:
“This [book] was really a work of faith for me, realizing that God is in the wounded. That He’s with the wounded, He’s with the resis...
Oh, you guys. This conversation…
It’s not often Matt and I (Laurie) are surprised by our guests, but we were surprised in the best way today.
Podcaster, author, and boss-mom, Jamie Ivey, and pastor, author, and tender-hearted dad, Aaron Ivey, got real—like really real.
Matt and I were going along, simply enjoying the conversation with these incredibly humble and kind people, and then Therapist Matt asks a question about how childhood wounding relates to marriage pain. (Way to go, counselor!) We suddenly took a left turn, and found ourselves talking about Aaron’s recent clinical depression d...
This is another conversation we cannot engage too frequently: Friendship.
How in the world can we do it well?
Real-life friends, authors, and founders of The Ruth Experience, Julie Fisk and Kendra Roehl, wisely and winsomely engaged Laurie’s latest habit of tossing quite challenging questions at guests.
Together, the group explored:
How do we confront our friends?
What about friend-shame? (If I feel that I have too few friends or not enough time for the ones I have?)
Should we wait for friends to come to us or do we go to them?
How do you know if you are asking too much of your friendships...
Why engage only one challenging topic concerning women when you can engage more?
Such as…
What is biblical feminism (and should we call ourselves biblical feminists if we are pro-woman)?
What does it mean to be feminine?
Is there a right and wrong when it comes to marriage: complementarian or egalitarian?
Bible teacher and author, Phylicia Masonheimer, handles all of these questions and more with aplomb. (Yes, aplomb.)
Pull up an earbud, friends, and join this really enjoyable conversation.
// Highlights:
“What I found in Scripture was that the heart of the person and their desire to wa...
We are not sure there is a bigger, more delicate, more divisive, or more misunderstood conversation in Christendom right now than how to approach the trans* conversation.
So, we’re bringing in the best expert on the conversation right now: our dear friend of the podcast (and in real life!), Dr. Preston Sprinkle.
Together, we explore:
If we hold to a historically Christian view of marriage (believing it is between one man and one woman) how does that affect our beliefs on gender? Does it?
Should Christians transition?
Is this whole thing just a big trend?
How can we love beloved, trans* imag...
When you think of the word “rejection,” what comes to mind?
When you were a kid and were the last one chosen for kickball?
Junior high lunch room not knowing where to sit?
Maybe you think of last week when that person didn’t text you back?
No matter what comes to mind, most of us wouldn’t put rejection in the “gift” file of our minds.
However, author and dating coach, Kait Warman, has a different view:
After processing the deep pain of rejection with Jesus, she has learned to be grateful for it.
How, Kait? Seriously, how do you do that?!
Let’s go, friends.
// Highlights:
“In the wake ...
We’re asking the question again: How do we engage racial divides well?
The topic of race has faded from the trends the last few months—but for Christ-followers, the work is just beginning. We have a lot of ground to cover and many questions along the way. Never fear, though; our Savior is walking with us!
Pastor Daniel Hill is here to walk with us as well, taking us with him on his own journey.
Friends? Will you join us as we explore this topic even more deeply than before?
// Highlights:
“For me, the most important aspect of repentance is this acknowledgment that Jesus Christ has a persp...
Goodness, we loved this conversation.
Two-time author and one of our favorite friends of the podcast, Greg Coles, is back to mentor us.
On what?
Well, our friendships.
Questions we explore include:
How did you know you were called to singleness + celibacy (and not marriage)?
What does belonging mean if we are feeling lonely?
Can we have a social life with Jesus?
What does it mean to say (and believe) "God is enough"?
How can married + single people build each other up?
How should the Church interact with our social lives?
We'd love for you to join us.
// Highlights:
“It’s actually in the ...
In 2019, between 6-11% of US adults had symptoms of an anxiety or depressive disorder (CDC).
By the end of 2020? Between 39 and 42% of US adults experienced anxiety or depression (Journal of Public Health).
We need help, and psychology professor and author Dr. Peace Amadi is here to offer it.
When should we call a therapist?
Why should we?
How can we walk with each other through this (if the therapist’s waiting list is 6-months long)?
Let’s go, friends.
No shame, no judgment, let’s just care for each other like Jesus cares for us.
// Highlights:
“The absolute first step is just to pause...
If you are a parent or discipler of students, have you ever gone to bed kicking yourself for all of the ways you missed your child or student's heart?
"Why didn't I say this? Why did I say that? How can I do better next time?"
If so, we can relate, and so can bestselling author Crystal Paine.
Crystal never thought she would write a parenting book, and when her child was getting kicked out of school for poor choices, she especially couldn't picture it.
But sometimes it takes hitting rock bottom of something to really experience God's grace in it. That is what happened to Crystal, and now s...
Anyone else out there struggle to experience Jesus sometimes?
We feel you.
Personal, intimate experiences with Christ are hard to find in our chaotic world.
Today, Carolyn Schroeder (Laurie’s real life mentor!!!) is here to invite us into Jesus’ presence and teach us how to have those experiences wherever we are!
Join us as we dive into deeper relationship with our Savior and Healer today.
// Highlights:
“God had to get me to the place of being powerless and desperate for Him so that I could be a receiver.” -Carolyn Schroeder
“My sins cannot condemn me, because there’s a solution to sin. ...