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If we’re saved by grace through faith, why does baptism still matter? An elder in Tennessee wrote in with a question many Christians are asking. If love is the heart of everything, is baptism just a ritual tacked on, a modern circumcision, or a hoop someone must jump through before praying publicly or joining a mission trip? Where did this tension come from, and why do so many sincere believers feel torn between Ephesians 2:8-9 and Acts 2:38? Wes and Marcus wrestle with the history, the Scriptures, and the heart behind the question. Is baptism a work? What does it have to do with circumcision? Is there a way to talk about it that avoids both legalism and dismissiveness? And what does any of it have to do with loving like Jesus? Links and Resources * Why Is Baptism Important and Beautiful with Marcus Stenson: Wes and Marcus’s earlier conversation on baptism, recommended for more on this topic. * Baptism, What Does the Bible Actually Teach: Wes’s earlier conversation with Bobby Harrington on baptism. * Extended Free Trial of Logos Bible Study Software * Books by Wes McAdams * VidAngel Special Offer This description contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend resources we genuinely believe in. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radicallychristian.com

Is gluttony only about what is on your plate? Most of us assume we know the answer, and most of us feel a little uncomfortable when the subject comes up. The Bible mentions gluttony far less than many Christians expect, yet the idea seems to surface in unexpected places, from the Proverbs to Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Wes and Marcus wade into a topic that is easy to joke about and surprisingly hard to examine honestly in ourselves. What separates enjoying God’s good gifts from being mastered by them? Why do we so often swap one appetite for another? And is there a way to look at our own hearts without pointing fingers at everyone else? Links and Resources * The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis: Marcus cited Lewis’s treatment of gluttony, including its “dainty” and impulsive forms. * The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis: Marcus quoted Lewis’s line about desires that are “not too strong, but too weak.” * Extended Free Trial of Logos Bible Study Software * Books by Wes McAdams * VidAngel Special Offer This description contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend resources we genuinely believe in. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radicallychristian.com

Have you ever been taught that being a faithful Bible reader means dividing the Old Testament from the New? Second Timothy 2:15 gets quoted for that very purpose, Paul’s charge to Timothy to “rightly divide the word of truth.” Where did that reading actually come from, and is it really what Paul had in mind as Timothy faced false teachers unsettling the church in Ephesus? Wes and Marcus trace this phrase back further than most people expect, and ask whether a common, well-intentioned interpretation might be doing exactly what Paul warned against. What does it really mean to “cut a straight path” with the word of truth? Is the Old Testament something Christians should set aside, or does it hold the story that makes the gospel make sense? And how does getting this right change the way we love people? Links and Resources * Extended Free Trial of Logos Bible Study Software * Books by Wes McAdams * VidAngel Special Offer This description contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend resources we genuinely believe in. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radicallychristian.com

What if your favorite life verse was not written about you? Isaiah 41:10 gets quoted before exams, hard conversations, and hospital waiting rooms: fear not, for I am with you. Wes and Marcus ask what happens when we lift a promise made to a nation still recovering from exile and hand it to ourselves as a private guarantee. It’s the same instinct that turns Jeremiah 29:11 and Philippians 4:13 into fortune cookies, and it says something about how we read Scripture, and about who we think the story is really about. So who is the servant in Isaiah 41 actually referring to? Israel, the Messiah, or somehow both? And if we’re not the main character of our own Bible reading, what changes when we realize how we fit into the story of the Bible? Links and Resources * BibleProject: Isaiah Part 1 (chapters 1–39) * BibleProject: Isaiah Part 2 (chapters 40–66) * Extended Free Trial of Logos Bible Study Software * Books by Wes McAdams * VidAngel Special Offer This description contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend resources we genuinely believe in. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radicallychristian.com

Does taking the Bible literally mean believing the earth is flat? It’s a question more Christians are asking than you might expect, and the passages people point to are real: God laying the earth’s foundations, stretching out the heavens like a tent, describing the “circle of the earth.” Wes and Marcus sit with a listener’s question about flat earth theology and what it means for how we read Scripture. They talk about ancient Near Eastern cosmology, the difference between poetic and scientific language, and how conviction about a hyperliteral reading can become its own kind of danger. What do you do when someone insists a plain reading of the Bible requires rejecting what you can observe with your own eyes? And what does it mean to take Scripture seriously without demanding it answer questions it was never written to address? Links and Resources: * Extended Free Trial of Logos Bible Study Software * Books by Wes McAdams * VidAngel Special Offer This description contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend resources we genuinely believe in. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radicallychristian.com

Why do we struggle so much to remain united? On this episode, Wes and Marcus dig into why division spreads so easily inside the church. Underneath the arguments over politics, worship styles, and personal convictions, there is often something more personal: fear, cultural blind spots, and the belief that being right is what keeps us safe with God. Is unity the same thing as agreement? What’s the difference between a conviction worth defending and one we’ve quietly turned into a test of fellowship? Marcus even introduces a memorable way of sorting theological issues (borrowed from his wife) that might just change how you think about your own dividing lines and what it really means to walk in unity with people who see things differently. Links and Resources: * Extended Free Trial of Logos Bible Study Software * Books by Wes McAdams * VidAngel Special Offer This description contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend resources we genuinely believe in. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radicallychristian.com

How much of your spiritual life happens on a screen? Wes and Marcus turn the podcast on itself this week, asking hard questions about online worship, podcasts, and social media (the very tools they’re using to talk to you right now). Is live-streaming church a gift for the homebound and a front door for the curious, or a subtle invitation to become a spiritual consumer instead of a disciple? They dig into what happens when anyone can be a teacher with no elders holding them accountable, why comfort and discipleship rarely coexist, and what gets lost when friction and pushback disappear from our spiritual conversations. This isn’t a rulebook for what to do or not do online; it’s an honest look at what these platforms are forming us into, and whether that’s actually making us more like Jesus. Links and Resources * The Democratization of American Christianity by Nathan O. Hatch — Referenced as background on why the restoration movement’s anyone-can-preach spirit took hold in American evangelicalism. * The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society by Lesslie Newbigin — Cited for Newbigin’s insight on adapting the gospel’s presentation to different audiences and contexts. * Foolishness to the Greeks: The Gospel and Western Culture by Lesslie Newbigin — Cited alongside the above for Newbigin’s work on Paul’s strategy of contextualizing the gospel. * Extended Free Trial of Logos Bible Study Software * Books by Wes McAdams * VidAngel Special Offer This description contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend resources we genuinely believe in. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radicallychristian.com

Christians throughout Scripture fasted before missionary journeys, fasted when appointing elders, fasted in seasons of repentance. Jesus himself assumed his disciples would do it. So why does this ancient, expected discipline feel like a strange, forgotten thing to modern believers? Wes and Marcus start this episode with a confession: neither of them fasts the way Scripture and the early church clearly modeled. They trace fasting from the Old Testament through the Didache, and wrestle with why it quietly disappeared somewhere between the Reformation and our productivity-obsessed, consumeristic culture. Along the way, they connect fasting to Sabbath, embodiment, posture in prayer, and why it actually helps Christians love like Jesus. This one is convicting. Links and Resources * The Didache — One of the earliest Christian writings outside the New Testament. * Extended Free Trial of Logos Bible Study Software * Books by Wes McAdams * VidAngel Special Offer This description contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend resources we genuinely believe in. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radicallychristian.com

Is spending "the Lord's money" on a church building faithful stewardship, or a distraction from the mission? It's a question that stirs strong feelings, especially for those rethinking what it means to be the New Testament church. Should Christians pool their resources for land, air conditioning, and pews, or does that kind of spending run against Scripture's example? Wes McAdams and Marcus Stenson dig into the tension between expedience and excess, weighing house churches, cathedrals, and everything in between. Does the idea that "the church is the people, not the building" actually resolve anything. Along the way, they wrestle with what "the Lord's money" really means, who gets to decide what's wise, and why the real answer might have less to do with square footage than with the heart behind it. Links and Resources: * Radical Restoration: A Call for Pure and Simple Christianity by F. LaGard Smith * Extended Free Trial of Logos Bible Study Software * Books by Wes McAdams * VidAngel Special Offer This description contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend resources we genuinely believe in. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radicallychristian.com

If all you saw was the American church, you might assume Christianity is dying. Empty pews, culture-war fatigue, a 24-hour news cycle feeding fear about who’s in charge and what’s coming next. But step outside the American bubble and a different story emerges, one where the gospel is spreading faster than almost any point in history. In this conversation with Dan Bouchelle of Mission Resource Network, Wes explores what’s actually happening in the global church, why fear and ethnocentrism keep American Christians stuck in a small, nationalistic view of the kingdom, and how the immigrants and internationals showing up in our own neighborhoods might be one of the greatest gospel opportunities in a generation. It’s a conversation about restoration, humility, and what it means to see our neighbors the way God does. (138 words) Links and Resources * Mission Resource Network * Let’s Start Talking * Extended Free Trial of Logos Bible Study Software * Books by Wes McAdams * VidAngel Special Offer This description contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend resources we genuinely believe in. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radicallychristian.com

What actually makes worship "biblical"? Is there a hidden checklist — the right songs, the right order, the right rituals — that separates real worship from the counterfeit? Wes and Marcus dig into Jesus's words in John 4:24 to the Samaritan woman about worshiping "in spirit and in truth," and ask whether we've been misreading that phrase for years. Along the way they explore the idea of "decently and in order" (1 Corinthians 14:40), why edification matters more than we realize, and why bringing your whole messy self into a gathering might be the most biblical thing you can do. Links and Resources * Extended Free Trial of Logos Bible Study Software * Books by Wes McAdams * VidAngel Special Offer This description contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend resources we genuinely believe in. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radicallychristian.com

It’s easy to point out the flaws in your own spiritual family, the blemishes, the baggage, the things you’d change. But when was the last time you stopped to name what you love? After a summer break, Wes McAdams and Marcus Stenson return to talk about why, despite its imperfections, the Church of Christ is still the fellowship they call home. Why is a cappella singing spiritually formative? What makes this a surprisingly good moment for churches committed to Scripture over spectacle? Plus, Wes and Marcus share an announcement they’ve been sitting on all summer. Whether you grew up in this fellowship or you’re just curious about it, this conversation might help you see Churches of Christ with fresh eyes. Links and Resources * The Christian Chronicle Podcast * Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer This description contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend resources we genuinely believe in. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radicallychristian.com

What does the Bible say about the person and work of the Holy Spirit? What if the way you think about the Holy Spirit is quietly shrinking your relationship with God? Most of us have been shaped by a culture that wants to take everything apart; to understand the mechanics, extract maximum value, and move on. But what happens when we bring that mindset to the Holy Spirit? When He becomes a force to harness rather than a divine person to know?In John 14, Jesus doesn't introduce the Spirit as a power source. He introduces him as another Helper; the same kind as Jesus Himself. Wes and Marcus dig into what it actually means that the Holy Spirit is a he, not an it; a divine person, not an impersonal force. And they wrestle with why that distinction changes everything: how we pray, how we read Scripture, how we live together as a church, and what the Spirit is actually up to in the world. Links and Resources * Empowered by the Spirit by Wes McAdams — Wes’s new book, referenced throughout the episode as the context and backdrop for the whole conversation. * Logos Bible Study Software - Extended Free Trial * VidAngel - Filter the TV Shows and Movies You Watch This description contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend resources we genuinely believe in. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radicallychristian.com

Can a Christian actually watch a movie to the glory of God? Play a video game in the name of Jesus? It sounds almost absurd until you realize Paul's command in 1 Corinthians 10:31 doesn't stop at the church door, "Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." That means entertainment too. But what does that actually look like in practice? And how do you avoid the two traps: writing off all entertainment as spiritually dangerous, or treating it as a completely neutral zone where faith has no say? Wes and Marcus have both wrestled with this personally. They bring their own stories, their own failures, and a surprisingly deep theological case for why how and why you consume entertainment matters just as much as what you choose to consume. Links and Resources * VidAngel - Skip & mute offensive content you don’t want to see or hear in thousands of movies & TV shows, including profanity, nudity, violence & more. * When I Relax I Feel Guilty by Tim Hansel — Wes mentioned this book sat on his shelf for years, unread — which, he noted, proved its point perfectly. * Logos Bible Study Software - Extended Free Trial This description contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend resources we genuinely believe in. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radicallychristian.com

"Count it all joy when you face trials," you've probably heard James 1:2 before. However, if we're being honest, it sounds offensive. Maybe even cruel. When life is falling apart, the last thing most of us want is a command to be joyful about it. Our instinct is to escape, to find someone or something that will rescue us from the pain as fast as possible.But what if that instinct — that desperate need to avoid suffering at all cost — is actually leading us somewhere dangerous? What if James, Peter, Paul, and even Job are all pointing to something we're not sure we really want? Wes and Marcus dig into James 1:2-4 and a surprising thread through Scripture: that suffering isn't just something God permits — it may be exactly what you need to become who you're meant to be. Links and Resources * Sponsor: Freed Hardeman University - fhu.edu/graduate * Pre-Order Wes’ New Book: Empowered by the Spirit: God’s Gift to Strengthen His People and Transform the World * Free Trial of Logos Bible Study Software This description contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend resources we genuinely believe in. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.radicallychristian.com