In this episode of Built for Durango, Bob and Daniel unpack Daniel’s sermon on one of the most sobering figures in Scripture: Judas Iscariot.

Judas didn’t fall in a single moment. His betrayal was the result of small, incremental choices — compromises that slowly pulled him away from Christ. He had proximity to Jesus, witnessed miracles, heard the teaching firsthand. But he carried a competing vision of what the Messiah should be, and when Jesus didn’t fit his expectations, Judas chose his own path.

The conversation centers on a hard but necessary distinction: remorse is not the same as repentance. Judas felt regret. Peter also failed—but Peter turned back. Judas tried to fix things himself. Peter sought mercy.

This episode challenges listeners to examine their own subtle compromises, hidden agendas, and attempts at self-reliance. The core message is clear: humility opens the door to grace. No matter how far we’ve drifted, forgiveness is available — but we must choose to turn toward Christ rather than manage our sin on our own.

This is a sober conversation — but also a hopeful one. Because repentance is always just a turn away.

The sermon explores the concept of “wasted opportunities” through the story of Judas, who, despite witnessing Jesus’ miracles, betrayed him. The focus is on the importance of belief and transformation, not just witnessing God’s work. The sermon also examines the process of choosing Judas’ replacement, Matthias, highlighting the need for self-reflection and awareness of potential pitfalls in one’s faith journey.

The sermon explores Judas’s betrayal of Jesus, highlighting his lack of belief as the root cause. It emphasizes the importance of belief in Jesus as the only way to salvation, challenging listeners to examine their own beliefs and prioritize their faith. The sermon also addresses the cultural discomfort with the idea of Jesus as the sole path to God, urging believers to embrace this truth.

The text explores the story of Judas and Peter, highlighting the importance of faithfulness and belief in Jesus. It emphasizes that while Judas had the opportunity to follow Jesus, he chose a path of disobedience and missed his chance. In contrast, Peter, despite his mistakes, remained faithful and ultimately became a leader of the church.

A prayer is offered for belief and faith in Jesus, asking for guidance and forgiveness. The prayer also extends encouragement to friends to persevere in their faith.

In this week’s episode of Built for Durango, Bob is joined by Pastor Brian Firle for his first appearance on the podcast following his second message in our new series on the Book of Acts. 

But Brian isn’t calling it Acts of the Apostles. He’s calling it Acts of the Spirit—and that shift changes everything.

While Acts is often remembered for its miracles, bold preaching, and explosive church growth, Brian challenges listeners to look deeper. The real driver of the early church wasn’t human courage or strategy — it was the Holy Spirit. From the resurrection of Jesus to Pentecost and beyond, Scripture makes clear that the Spirit is the animating force behind every movement of faith.

Together, Bob and Brian unpack why this matters for us today. They explore the tension between information and transformation, Western intellectual skepticism toward the supernatural, and the hunger beneath it all for a God who is personal, relational, and near. Brian explains that the Spirit is not a fringe doctrine or mystical add-on, but the consistent way God has always worked—through power, presence, and relationship.

The conversation moves from theology to imagination. If God truly delights in being with His people — if the Spirit is still active — what could that mean for Durango? For our church? For our families, workplaces, and daily lives?

This episode invites listeners to recover a childlike openness to the Spirit’s movement. Not naïveté, but curiosity. Not hype, but hope. Because if Acts tells us anything, it’s...

When the Spirit moves, everything changes.

This week on Built for Durango, we turn the page to the Book of Acts—what Pastor Brian rightly called the Acts of the Spirit. Before there was strategy, structure, or certainty, the early church was defined by its dependence on the Holy Spirit. They didn’t move by instinct or intellect alone; they moved because the Spirit led, empowered, and transformed them.

In this episode, Bob and Daniel reflect on Brian’s teaching and wrestle with a tension many believers feel today: the balance between understanding faith intellectually and actually living it relationally. Bob connects with the analytical grounding of Scripture, while Daniel presses into the personal, disruptive, and deeply transformative work of the Holy Spirit. Together, they ask a hard question: if the first-century church couldn’t function without the Spirit, why do we think we can?

Daniel shares his own story of being filled with the Holy Spirit and how that moment reshaped his imagination, direction, and purpose. The conversation moves beyond theology into lived experience—boldness, joy, freedom, and a willingness to follow God beyond comfortable boundaries.

The episode closes with prayer and an invitation. Not to learn more about the Holy Spirit, but to encounter Him. Because if Built for Durango is going to matter—if we’re going to carry God’s love into our city—it won’t happen by effort alone. It will happen when we allow the Spirit to lead, expand our vision, and move us into a deeper, more courageous faith.

In Episode 3 of Built for Durango, DJ and Bob flip the script: DJ takes the interviewer’s seat and asks Bob to tell the story of how reconciliation has reshaped his life. Coming off DJ’s final message in his 2 Corinthians series, the conversation centers on a core gospel reality — God has reconciled us to Himself, and that reconciliation is what makes it possible for us to reconcile with others.

DJ frames the episode around Paul’s words: “We are ambassadors for Christ.” Not polished, not perfect—often dysfunctional, like the Corinthians—but still chosen as the way God makes His appeal to the world. Bob reflects candidly on years spent in politics and public life, where truth-telling can easily turn into “take-no-prisoners” combat and reconciliation becomes optional. He explains what shifted when he moved to Durango: he didn’t stop being direct, but he rediscovered the desire — and responsibility — to leave the door open.

From there, the conversation gets personal. Bob shares what reconciliation has looked like inside his own family, including navigating complex relationships, rebuilding trust, and the unexpected discovery — later in life — of twin daughters he didn’t know he had. The episode lands on a hard truth: reconciliation isn’t a one-time event, it’s a way of life, and it takes more than human effort. It requires the supernatural work of Jesus.

Bob and DJ close with a clear takeaway for everyday discipleship: truth without grace isn’t reconciliation, and grace without truth isn’t lasting. Real reconciliation demands both — and it starts by being anchored in Christ’s love, forgiveness, and honesty.

In Episode 2 of Built for Durango, Bob Bonnar and Pastor DJ Jergensen confront a quiet but persistent threat to both faith and leadership: mission drift. Whether in churches, organizations, or personal lives, they explore how it is possible to slowly lose sight of why we exist — often without realizing it.

Using a parable about rescue stations that gradually become exclusive clubs, the conversation exposes how comfort, routine, and distraction can replace purpose. Bob and DJ challenge listeners to examine whether their faith remains outward-focused or has become inward and self-protective.

The discussion turns to the importance of staying anchored in Christ and living with an eternal perspective. DJ offers a practical, disarming question for daily life: What would a person anchored in eternity do in this situation? He also shares insights from a 72-hour silent retreat that reshaped his understanding of peace, including the hard-earned truth that anything done in anxiety can be done better in peace.

Grounded in the reality that nearly 70 percent of La Plata County residents are not connected to a church, the episode presses an uncomfortable but necessary question: are we still on mission, or have we settled into something safer and smaller?

This episode calls listeners back to the anchor — God’s love and acceptance — as the source of clarity, peace, and courage to live on purpose and stay focused on what truly matters.

In this opening episode of Built for Durango, DJ Jergensen and Bob Bonnar lay the groundwork for what this podcast is—and what it is not. Rather than chasing trends or polishing religious language, their conversation centers on sincerity as a defining theme. 

Drawing from the deeply flawed yet transformative story of the Corinthian church, DJ points to a hopeful truth: God works through imperfect people who are willing to be honest and grow. Bob reflects on his own experiences with guiding words and discipleship, underscoring that following Jesus demands more than good intentions—it requires genuine action, consistency, and love lived out in public.

The episode closes with a shared conviction that love and honesty are non-negotiable. Built for Durango begins not with answers neatly packaged, but with a commitment to speak plainly, act sincerely, and trust that faithful conversations can help shape a city.