In this episode, we discuss what to do when there are things you don't like in a church. What should you look for? What are good reasons to stay? Good reasons to leave? What's the point of going in the first place? 

We interview Ben Kirby, founder of PreachersNSneakers on Instagram. We discuss $15,000 jackets, wealthy pastors, and what to make of it all. 

We begin this episode by addressing the controversy caused by our TikTok critiquing Taylor. Blake v. Cass and Emily is a courtroom drama you don't wanna miss. After that, we dive into how to not be overcome with guilt from past, why the church should not be so quick to jettison people who make mistakes, and how to live with yourself in the present when you mess up.

We talk with Sydney Grant, who tragically lost her brother in an accident less than a year ago, about how she walked through that and wrestled with God in it. We touch on how difficult suffering is, why it's difficult, and why having faith in it is so difficult. Ultimately, though there are insanely hard questions to answer, the Gospel provides the best resources to dealing with a world full of unforeseen events that can knock you off your ideal path.

In this episode, Blake and Grant tread carefully around talking about Taylor Swift and her legions of fans. But more importantly, we continue discussing mental health and outline the nine flaws of human thinking. 

First off, Grant gets into one of his conspiracy theories about the Chinese Balloons, UFOs, and government cover-ups. Then, on an unrelated note, we all talk about the sudden rise of mental health issues and what a healthy way to look at the trend is. We end by trying to lay out a strategy for coping with mental health problems. 

A lot of Christians, rightly, take life seriously. But sometimes, we just do some weird cultural stuff. And, self-deprecating humor is crucial to staying humble and self-aware. Josh Benson (the Church Chad guy you've seen on TikTok), had us all dying laughing as we talked about why the Church should take jokes better. He does this for a living.

Josh's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joshbensontherapper

We interview Dr. Christina Hitchcock, professor at the University of Sioux Falls. She has authored a book called the Significance of Singleness, where she argues that the church has idolized marriage and made singleness irrelevant. Her argument is that the Bible actually places a lot of value on singleness, even though our church culture does not.

Sponsorship: 0-2:30
Grant and Blake joking about dating: 2:30-18:55
Interview with Dr. Hitchcock: 18:55-End

You can find a copy of her book here: https://www.amazon.com/Significance-Singleness-Theological-Vision-Future/dp/1540960293/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+significance+of+singleness&qid=1684758953&sprefix=the+significance+of+%2Caps%2C97&sr=8-1

Today we talk about how, in response to American Christianity having a lot of flaws, culture has decided we should "remove everything from the past." This leads to a lot of problems - so don't burn it all down... especially the Corgis (even though they might make good BBQ). 

A deep dive into the horrors of the destruction feral hogs leave in their path. But on a serious note... what is going on with American Christianity and how should you think about it?