Pastor Luis Nodal joins Scott and Sophia on this episode to discuss what a healthy church looks like, how to get plugged into a local church, and what opportunities there are at Thomas Road Baptist Church for Liberty University students to get involved.

This episode is the first for this season as far as talking to local pastors goes. If you want to get a glimpse at the heart behind a pastor's desire to help Christians develop quality community, then this episode is a must for you.

Luis Nodal does a great job of sharing the importance of being plugged into a local church, and we think you'll walk away from this interview inspired to dive into biblical community!

Find TRBC info here:

https://trbc.org/

What does the phrase "get plugged in" even mean?

Churches uses it in various contexts to inspire its members to get involved in serving, or to join small groups, or any number of things.

Scott and Sophia break down their definition of what "get plugged in" means, how they view its importance, and give examples of what it looks like.

This episode is intended to keep things clear for the rest of the season as to what they are referring to when they use the phrase "get plugged in"!

What kinds of activities help deepen spiritual formation in a college student?

Does involvement in a local church actually help students to grow their relationship with God?

What impact does a deep relationship with God and Christian community have on a college student's life?

Austin Smith, Dr. Perry Glanzer, and Dr. Ted Cockle all work for Baylor University, and were all involved in a longitudinal cohort analysis of college students in their first and senior years.

Scott and Sophia interview these 3 gentlemen to discuss their findings and answers to the questions above!

As referenced in the episode:

Here is a link to the

Lukas Hafeli joins Sophia in studio to talk about how to study your Bible!

Lukas shares a method that was taught to him by his pastor years ago. It requires only a notebook and a Bible and can be something you implement in your day immediately.

Sophia shares the Inductive Study Method taught to her when she was in Elementary School that she has stuck with into adulthood. It can be simple or in depth, as well as there are prepared Bible studies that use the method.

Give this episode a listen if you feel lost trying to study your Bible and need some guidance in this area!

Building Healthy Community continued!

Practical tips and tricks for Y O U to know how to build healthy community, and how to let go of unhealthy people in your life. Give this episode a listen if you struggle in this area!

Drew Pelkey joins Scott and Sophia in studio to talk about the book Find Your People by Jennie Allen.

If you struggle with building any type of community, building healthy community, or simply understanding why it even matters, then give this episode a listen. Drew, Scott, and Sophia share information from the book as well as personal insights into the topic.

You make the rules! Sort of....

When it comes to establishing a habit or a discipline, you know yourself better than others. You can read a book where the author gives a tip on how to get to bed earlier, but if that does not work for you, then don't do it! Finding what works best for yourself is half the battle.

You can set the parameters around something and what "counts".

Just because some gymfluencer says that a workout only "counts" if it's an hour long doesn't mean you have to adopt that mentality. You get to choose what "counts".

Give this episode a listen if you struggle with defining what types of parameters need to be set around your habits and disciplines!

There are some buzz words that start off with the proper definition attached, but then quickly slide into whatever the cultural use becomes. Gaslighting* started off as the understanding that when someone is correct about something and they are talking to someone else who is disregarding the facts and is focused instead on making the person think they are crazy for thinking that way.

Now, it has become anyone that makes a person feel uncomfortable in a conversation or someone that disagrees with us.

Scott and Sophia talk about gaslighting, and how they would counter the current cultural definition of gaslighting as, more often than not, simply poor communication. Why? Well, listen to the episode to get their take on things!

*with the understanding that there are true gaslighting moments. Scott and Sophia do not disregard that in the slightest. Simply another perspective for moments that are frustrating, but do not happen to be gaslighting.

Sophia has a new soapbox that she's standing on and it's the topic of Discernment! Scott and Sophia discuss discernment in the context of cancel culture. Should we throw out an entire book that someone published if some of the theology is questionable? Should we call for someone to lose their platform because we disagree with them? What music should we as believers listen to?

Discernment is incredibly important, but how do you develop a healthy amount of it? Listen to this week's episode to find out!

Problem Solving continued! Joe Ruiz is still with Scott and Sophia chatting about Problem Solving as well as conversations he's had with students over the years.....