In this episode, Mike and James discuss what happens when church becomes a place of harm instead of healing. They explore religious trauma, spiritual abuse, fear-based religion, and the ways people can be deeply wounded by systems that claim to speak for God.

The gospel changes hearts—but does it also challenge systems?

In this episode, Mike and James discuss how the message of Jesus intersects with justice, culture, and power, and whether following him should naturally lead us to engage with the broken structures around us.

After exploring the role preconceptions play in forming our theology, Mike and James now put those ideas into practice using a real-world example from their own experience: the idea that vegetarianism represents a spiritual ideal that all Christians must aim for. Looking at passages like Genesis 1 and Daniel 1, they ask a bigger question—where does the Bible actually speak, and where might tradition be speaking for it?

In this episode, Mike and James continue their discussion on belief and interpretation by looking at how we can begin to uncover the preconceptions that silently shape our understanding. They explore a few simple but powerful questions aimed at exposing blindspots, and wrestle with the challenge of separating what’s actually in the text from what we may have inherited through tradition.

Same Bible. Same God. Very different conclusions.

What's going on?

In this episode, Mike and James explore the gap between reading Scripture and forming belief. They examine how preconceptions influence understanding, why certainty can be misleading, and why the idea of "taking the Bible as it reads" isn't as simple as it sounds.

In this episode, Mike and James respond to a recent semi-viral video pushing back on one of Mike’s sermons. They break down the video, the comments, and point out how quickly theological disagreement can slide into character assassination, motive-reading, and public shaming. Their conversation also raises a deeper question—can a system built on perfect performance live up to its own standards?

Continuing their conversation on spiritual bypassing, James and Mike examine how Christian culture can unintentionally reward performance while neglecting inner health. From prayer and Bible study to service and leadership, they ask an uncomfortable question: what if the things we praise most are sometimes the very things that help us avoid the work we actually need to do?

In part one of this conversation, James and Mike discuss the idea of spiritual bypassing—when Christian language is used as a means of avoiding responsibility and action. Phrases like “I’ll pray about it” or “God’s in control” can sound deeply spiritual...but sometimes they function as a way of stepping back from hard decisions, uncomfortable emotions, or the work we’re actually being invited to do.