Pastors Mike, Bri, Paul, and Jeremy are all United Methodist Pastors serving in and around the Grand Rapids Area of Michigan. They gather each week to dig just a bit deeper into the scripture than they could on their own. Each member of the podcast brings their own perspective and together they try to find more depth in their communal understandings.

This week the crew wrestles with Jesus’ most uncomfortable command: love your enemies.

From Facebook fights after the Super Bowl halftime show to church newsletters no one reads, from sermon planning chaos to systemic racism, this episode refuses to stay polite. The conversation moves through Matthew 5:43–48 and asks hard questions:

• What does love look like when politics shape our religion?
• Is silence approval?
• Is indifference a form of hate?
• Does loving your enemy make you a fool?

Along the way, they talk about greeting the people you’d rather avoid, monsterification, Matthew 25, Habitat board meetings, Lent planning, and an ancient novel called The Golden Ass that portrayed Christians as gullible suckers.

Maybe that wasn’t an insult?