From the Moore to the Point newsletter: Reflections on Wendell Berry.

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Some of Russell’s Writings on Wendell Berry over the Years

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What happens when Christians separate righteousness from justice?

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In American Christianity, questions of personal morality and public justice are often treated as though they belong in different categories. Christians may speak confidently about some moral issues while dismissing others as distractions from the gospel or as politics the church should avoid. Charlie Dates’ new book, What Hath Justice to Do with Righteousness?, challenges that distinction. Scripture, he argues, doesn’t allow Christians to choose between personal holiness and concern for the people and communities around them.

On this episode, Russell and Charlie explore what that divide has done to the American church and why, in Charlie’s words, American Christianity can become “more American than Christian.” They discuss what the prophet Amos has to say to comfortable churches, why pastors can be tempted to avoid difficult subjects, and what Christian courage looks like when speaking the truth comes with a cost. 

Dates has no easy optimism about where American Christianity is headed, in fact, he says he has a “healthy cynicism". But, he does have hope that, as he says, is needed “when the evidence is against you.”

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From the Moore to the Point newsletter: Dolly Parton didn’t need you to love her (and that’s why most of us did)

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Our most listened-to episode of all time.

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We’re finishing our “Best Of” series with the most listened to, most engaged with, most OUTSTANDING listener favorite episode of all time: Russell’s conversation with Beth Moore from 2021. The topic of the conversation was supposed to be “lessons in leaving and staying,” as they had both recently gone through leaving the beloved denomination they were raised in, but as it often goes…the conversation went much further than that. 

Beth has been on this show several times since this episode–and you all have loved every one of them–but this one remains the most beloved of them all.

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From the Moore to the Point newsletter: God knows forgiveness is hard for us. It is not hard for him.

Watch the video of this episode on The Russell Moore Show YouTube Playlist here.

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An early conversation with one of our favorite guests.

This “Best of” episode is from the first few years of this show’s existence–back when it was called Signposts–with a guest we’ve had on many times since, Andrew Peterson. The conversation was recorded in 2016 (without cameras, so you won’t be able to watch this one on YouTube) in front of a live audience. You’ll hear shifting in seats, coughing, and even the sound of soda cans being opened. 

The conversation wasn’t centered on a new book or new music or some new project, it was just an agendaless exchange about creating art from seasons of darkness, Buechner (par for the course with Russell and Andrew), burnout in leadership, marriage, and more. 

Take a seat, grab a Diet Coke, and enjoy this conversation with Andrew Peterson.

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From the Moore to the Point newsletter: A state that can define who is in or out of the kingdom of God is a state that has the power to do anything.

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One of the great American novelists on her little-explored Theological foundations

Over the next few weeks, the Russell Moore Show is digging into the archives and bringing back some of our favorite episodes, like this one from 2021 (before the show included video!) with great American novelist, Marilynne Robinson.

On the occasion of her new novel, Jack, Russell welcomed Marilynne to explore some of her Theological foundations that no one asks (but he wished someone would). They talk about the place of religion in society, sin and evil, and the transforming power of grace in each of our lives. 

In a review of Jack, Russell wrote, "Reading this book, you will find yourself bound up in the stories and in the characters' spoken and unspoken internal dialogues, but you will end up realizing that you have been meditating on such big themes as love, fidelity, regret, and as always in Marilynne Robinson, a theology of creation, fall, redemption, meaning, and grace."

These were things worth meditating on in 2021, and they remain so in 2026.

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From the Moore to the Point newsletter: How you can protect yourself from brain rot—and why it matters to the rest of us. Find the David Brooks episode here.

Watch the video of this episode on The Russell Moore Show YouTube Playlist here.

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Russell’s conversation with Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute).

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Over the next few weeks, the Russell Moore Show is digging into the archives and bringing back some of our favorite conversations. 

This inaugural “best of” episode from May of 2023 is with Rainn Wilson, best known as Dwight Schrute from the TV series, The Office, who utters this phrase: “Whenever I’m about to do something, I think ‘Would an idiot do that?’ And if they would, I do not do that thing.” 

In an age of cultural division and religious disagreement, many people feel that talking to someone with a different perspective on faith is, well, something an idiot would do. But Rainn Wilson disagrees: he’s fascinated by spirituality, generally. In fact, he’s the cofounder of SoulPancake, which develops content rooted in human connection (remember Kid President?), and the author of the book Soul Boom. 

Though Russell and Rainn have genuine disagreements, the conversation is respectful, and ultimately covers pop culture depictions of religion, Wilson’s upbringing in the Baháʼí Faith, and what it was like to skyrocket from relative obscurity to fame. They talk about trying to discuss religion in Hollywood, what transcendence means, and whether or not the longing for justice points to a judgment day.

Resources discussed during this episode include:

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