Are you listening on your phone right now? Same here. Tech and screens are everywhere, and we all know that they have impacted our ability to connect with the people right in front of us. In this episode, we talk with Joey Odom about how to detox from tech in a way that actually makes our lives more fun and fulfilling, the spiritual side of screens, and his own story of missing key moments because he was too busy scrolling. 

Why do so many churches share the same mission—to make disciples—but approach it in ways that often fail to connect with those outside their walls? In this episode, we talk with Justin Elam, Director of the Irresistible Church Network, about what it means to design churches with outsiders in mind. He shares how the Network equips churches to create environments that are welcoming, engaging, and built to reach people who might not already be part of the club.

The core of Christianity is surprisingly simple. Or is it? Glenn Packiam helps us think
about what is core to the faith by exploring ancient creeds. On this episode, we talk about how
disorienting faith in this culture can feel, and the ancient tools that can help us get oriented
towards Jesus again.

Deconstruction has increased in recent years. But what does that actually mean? Scot McKnight and Tommy Preston Phillips help us think about deconstruction and how to navigate it in our own lives, circles, and communities.

Awkward. What do we do with the taboo questions and situations that surround us? Ignore them and hope they go away, right? Okay, maybe not. We’re talking to Mike Novotny about the most taboo topics Christians need to think about and wrestle with to love people well. Today, we’re talking about gender dysphoria, the gay community and church, and our posture towards the taboo.

Ahhh. Post election peace. Just kidding! Today, we're talking to Abby McCloskey, a writer and thinker about American politics. We talk about before and after the election, double listening, and how politics isn't like Vegas (but how Christians often treat it like it is).

Christianity is inherently relational. So it's important we get this part of life right. We're talking to Dr. Bryan Loritts about deep friendship, why your calendaring habits matter so much, and the bigget friendship killers we all face.

For more information visit: https://bryanloritts.com/ 

It seemed like there was a new headline every week about the latest high-profile church leaders' moral failings. A lot of these were centered in DFW, which happens to be the same area where the Rebranding Christianity team lives and works. In this podcast, we talk about what we can learn from pastoral failings and abuse, celebrity church culture, and the bigger-than-you-might-think pockets of hope in church leadership.

Ep.29 Politics and Christians Behaving Badly 

Publish Date: October 8, 2024

Rebranding Christianity was in part written because of the Evangelical Christian response to the 2020 election. Fast forward 4 years and in a new election season, what's changed and what's still the same? How can we all reflect the heart of Jesus a little better in a contentious election? And how do identity politics affect Christians for good and for bad? 

Ep.28 Safe Churches, Grace, and the End Times

Guest: Max Lucado
Publish Date: September 17, 2024

https://maxlucado.com/

Max Lucado knows a thing or two about Jesus-style love. In this episode of Rebranding Christianity, we sit down with Max Lucado to talk about risky messages in safe churches, the Christian brand of grace, and how thinking about the end times can color our perspective to live more like Jesus in the here and now.

Ep.27 Who Are the 40 Million Dechurched?

Guest: Michael Graham
Publish Date: August 20, 2024

https://dechurching.com/

You may have heard the stats. 40 million have "dechurched" in the last few decades. This isn't a small problem, and it's not abstract- many of those 40 million are our own friends and family. Today, we're hearing from Michael Graham on the suprising data around the 40 million, what we can learn from their reasons for dechurching, and how we can build compelling communities that make people curious about what they're missing.

Ep.26 Cultivating Welcoming Churches - with Shane Stanford

Guest: Shane Stanford
Publish Date: August 20, 2024

https://shanestanford.com/

When Shane Stanford was told he had HIV due to a contaminated blood tranfusion, his mom told him the last people he could share that with were his friends at church. We're learning from his journey of church planting as an HIV-positive man, getting to know Jesus when you thought you knew him all along, and how to cultivate churches that lead with love.

Ep. 25 Know The Truth, Make It Beautiful - with Carmen Laberge

Guest: Carmen Laberge
Publish Date: August 6, 2024

https://carmenlaberge.com/

The love and truth of Jesus continues to surprise us, 2000 years later. What can we learn from that suprising, refreshing reality and how does that change the way we interact with culture? Today, we're talking about beauty pagents, defensiveness, and the ways we all can take a step closer to representing the true heart of God to a world who craves him. 

Ep. 25 Faith in Silicon Valley - with Rusty Rueff

Guest: Rusty Rueff
Publish Date: July 16
Hosts: Mike Hogan, Jeff Jones, Eric Torrence, Darby DeBusk  

https://thefaithcode.com/  

What does it look like to have vibrant faith in a tech-forward environment? It might be different than what you think. Rusty Rueff, the host of the Faith Driven Entrepreneur podcast, has some thoughts on communicating biblical principles for a unique context and living them out in refreshing ways. In this episode, we talk about his book The Faith Code, the surprising results of being like Jesus in the work place, and how we can all think creatively about modeling Jesus in our own contexts. 

Ep. 23 Neighborliness, Bias, and Disparity – With David Docusen

Guest: David Docusen
Publish date: July 2
Hosts: Jeff Jones, Mike Hogan, Eric Torrence, Darby DeBusk 

https://daviddocusen.com/ 

Bias, reconciliation, and inclusion may be trigger words for some, but they are key gospel concepts that are important to getting back to the heart of Jesus’ mission for the church. David Docusen, author of Neighborliness, has spent much of his life creating conversation around hot topics and helping Christians navigate them with nuance and thoughtfulness.

At Rebranding Christianity, we think a lot of Christians struggle with thinking and engaging with tricky topics with nuance and grace, which leads to misrepresenting God’s heart for people. In this episode, we talk about getting out of the bubble, creating a Kingdom culture together, and why courage and curiousity are the most valuable tools in our toolbelt.

Ep. 23 Jesus Doesn’t Need a Lawyer – With Bob Goff

Guest: Bob Goff
Publish date: June 19, 2024
Hosts: Jeff Jones, Eric Torrence, Darby DeBusk 

https://www.bobgoff.com

Is the American church distracted? We think yes. If you’ve listened to Rebranding Christianity before, you know that we think the church is distracted towards a brand of faith that is marked more by greed and hypocrisy than the radical love of Jesus. Bob Goff is an author, speaker, and “recovering lawyer” who writes about how distraction in our own lives can lead us places we don’t want to be. In this episode, we talk about how Bob’s principles relate to the church, why Jesus is looking for ushers, not bouncers, and how to recapture the focused love of Jesus that a watching world desperately craves. 

Ep. 21 The Peace of God in the World We Live In – with Brant Hansen

Publish date: May 21, 2024
Host: Greg Holmes
Guest: Brant Hansen

Maybe the reason Evangelical Christians appear angry is because we ARE angry. Maybe The reason we come across as controlling or combative culture warriors is because we are anxious and fearful of what we see happening in our world. Jesus had a lot to say about our own anger, fear, and anxiety.

Is it possible to be engaged in what is going on the world while also maintaining a prevailing sense of peace that comes only from God?  In this episode we talk with author and radio host Brant Hansen, about his new book “Life is Hard, God is Good, Let’s Dance: Living in Peace in a World Gone Mad”. We discuss whether real peace and joy is possible in the world we actually live in.

Ep. 20: Restore the Table – with Ryan Rush

Publish date: May 7, 2024
Host: Greg Holmes
Guest: Ryan Rush
  
What if way to strengthen bonds and bridge divides is something we are already doing every day?

Today, we’re talking with Ryan Rush, author of “Restore the Table: Discover the Powerful Connections of Meaningful Mealtimes” about the power of a shared meal. In this episode, we talk about the dinner parties Jesus went to, why a simple sloppy joe recipe can stick with us for years, and how the table at mealtimes can impact faith and culture in extraordinary ways.

https://www.restorethetable.org (https://www.restorethetable.org/)

Ep. 19: Thinking Deeply About the Cross With Brian Zahnd

Publish date: April 16, 2024
Host: Greg Holmes
Guest: Brian Zahndhttps://brianzahnd.com 

Theology can be dry and academic, but it can also be mysterious and deeply moving. The way we as Christians think about the cross can affect how we interact with the world and love the people around us. In this episode, we talk with Brian Zahnd about how when we understand the cross, it changes everything.  

Ep. 18: Gracious Orthodoxy With Bruce Miller

Publish Date: April 3, 2024
Hosts: Jeff Jones, Greg Holmes, and Mike Hogan
Guest: Bruce Miller
https://www.brucebmiller.com/

“But what about TRUTH?” Is it true that when we focus on the radical love of Jesus, truth goes by the wayside? Join us as we hear from Bruce Miller, a theologian and pastor who has thought a lot about the intersection of grace and truth. In this conversation, we talk about proximity to sin, partying with the mafia, and the irony of becoming more “religious” while actually moving away from the heart of Jesus.