Growing Up Christian

EPISODE 250!!! It’s crazy to think we’ve been doing this show for almost 5 years… We’ve met so many great people and had so many interesting conversations over the last half a decade! And what better way to celebrate 250 episodes than with our friend, comedian Spencer Bland. Spencer has moved to LA, and he’s pursuing a career in standup comedy full force. We talk about life in LA, the slow radicalization of Sam, and get into some r/christiandatingadvice and “pastor arrested” stories that made us laugh. We hope you enjoy the show, and thank you so much for listening over the years!

This week we’re looking over a little of what the algorithm has vomited onto my lap, recently! This one covers a lot of ground, folks. We’ll hear a sermon from a former white witch trying to warn the faithful about the dangers of Halloween, the plethora of Christ-centered knickknacks and doodads hawked by TikTok grifters, and finally, a truly unique group of individuals brought together by their love of God and… nature, I guess. We had a good time sorting through the digital detritus, and hope you enjoy the show. Oh and if you come across something similar that cracks you up, baffles you, or makes your blood boil, send it our way!

This week we’re discussing a number of stories from across the internet, including the bizarre Sweet Home Alabama cover the current and former US ambassadors to Israel recently performed, Greg Locke continuing to be one of the worst people in the country, Dinesh D’Souza’s new documentary about the Israel/Palestine, another pastor with lavish tastes caught stealing donations, and the recent execution of Samuel Lee Smithers, a Florida fuddy-duddy sentenced to death for the murder of two women back in the 90’s. We hope you enjoy the show!

This week we’re happy to welcome back our friend Burton Miller, fresh off of his recent comedy tour! Burt joins us this week to discuss our childhood bullies, BookTok literature, Joseph Smith’s magnificent holy spectacles, and look over some of the final words of persecuted prophet from the book of Mosiah, Abinadi. Burt just launched a new podcast of his own that we think a lot of you guys will enjoy! It’s called Creative Turn with Burton Miller, and his goal is to “demystify the creative process by asking professional creatives ten questions about how they are following their dreams.” Follow Burt on IG (@burtola), listen to the first episode of his podcast on all streaming platforms, and catch the final performance of his comedy show “The 40 Year Old Burton” in Cleveland on November 1!

These are stressful times, friends. We thought it might be nice to take you all on a little auditory vacation with the soothing Carribean vibes of Caucasian Christian reggae artist, Abba Alabanza! This brave artist is leading a one man revolution against the gay community… and music as an artform, it seems. Then we’re jumping into the next chapter of Mosiah, continuing our Book of Mormon odyssey with the story of King Noah, an apple that fell far from the old Zeniff tree. Enjoy!

This week we start off with the strange, confusing, and suspicious narrative around the Kirk assassination, and then we’re jumping into a chapter of Mosiah that discusses the strained relations between the good, wholesome, chosen Nephites, and the evil, dangerous, spiteful-for-no-reason Lamenites. It’s a book with more than a few modern parallels and a heap of repetitive language (as usual). Enjoy the show, and remember that you can weigh in on these topics with us if you join our Discord (link in our Instagram bio)!

This week we’re discussing the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the recent raid on several compounds of the Kingdom of God International church. Pastor David Taylor and his right hand, Michelle Brannon, are facing serious criminal penalties for essentially running a forced labor cult centered around call centers where his followers were forced to solicit donations or face serious consequences. This guy is a scumbag, and he’s probably going to jail for a very long time. Good riddance!

This week we’re joined once again by musicians Chris and Logan from Tan and Handsome! They just released a new EP titled 2 Tan 2 Handsome, and it goes so hard. Follow Tan and Handsome on IG and Youtube (@tanandhandsome), X (@tanandhandsome_) and check out 2 Tan 2 Handsome streaming everywhere!

This week we’re discussing an absolutely insane story that the mainstream press hasn’t done a great job of covering. Over the past couple of weeks, the Las Vegas Police, the FBI, and several southern Nevada law enforcement offices conducted a sting targeting online predators. They nabbed eight .pdf files, but two men in particular drew attention from the general public: Redemption Church pastor Neal Creecy and the Executive Director of the Israel Cyber Defense Division Tom Artiom Alexandrovich. This is a wild story, and we think you’ll be as shocked as we were to learn the details!

This week we’re looking at a couple of ridiculous stories where pastors have recently found themselves in legal trouble (to put it lightly)! Then we’re diving into a few posts on one of the most triggering subreddits, r/christiandatingadvice. This is a place where 20-something youth group kids go to ask questions with somewhat obvious answers to a group of people who give them really awful spiritual and relationship advice 9 times out of 10. It’s a little nauseating, but in the fun, cringe sort of way!