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Two people sat down at the next table in a coffee shop and worked through every church they had tried and every reason they never went back. Ask anyone what they want in a local church and the list comes out fast. Good music. Good coffee. Not too big, and please, nothing that runs long. Now ask someone who is exploring faith and has never really done church, and you get a completely different list. Did anyone seem glad I came? Did any of that make sense? Are my kids alright back there? This episode sits in the gap between those two lists. It works through the moment a small group of people, a few years after the whole thing started, had to argue out who actually had to change before they could belong, and the one sentence that settled it. It also asks a question most of us would rather skip: what is this thing for, and what is it costing the people who are already comfortable in it? Fair warning, it gets uncomfortable somewhere in the middle. That is on purpose. What you will walk away with: A plain answer to a question most people have never actually asked out loud: what is a local church for? Why every group of people, church or not, quietly drifts towards the people already in the room The difference between a message that offends and a group of people who are being offensive, and why that distinction matters if you are new A two thousand year old argument about entry requirements that sounds uncomfortably familiar today One honest question to take into your week, and a specific thing to do with it

You can believe something is completely true and still not feel it. That gap shows up with God more than most people admit. This one starts with a quick trip to the pound that was only ever meant to be a look. An hour later there was an extra dog in the back seat, the kids were thrilled, and the drive home came with the question, wait, is this actually real? It is a small story about a much bigger gap, the distance between knowing something is true and living like it is. From there it goes back to the very start of the Christian movement, when a group of fishermen, a tax collector and a man who had recently denied he even knew Jesus were told to wait before they did anything at all, because what they needed next was not more effort. Along the way it takes an honest run at who the Holy Spirit actually is, minus the hype, and what starts changing in ordinary people when God is genuinely at work. What you will walk away with A plain English answer to the question, who or what is the Holy Spirit, with none of the weird A simple test for working out whether a nudge is God or just your own head Why the first followers were told to wait when they already knew exactly what to do A five minute practice you can do tomorrow that asks nothing of you except openness Language for the places you believe God is present but still live like it all depends on you

You have worked for someone who had power over you and handled it badly. You have probably also worked for the rare one who did not. Every one of us ends up with power at some point. A promotion, a platform, a paycheque, a spot on a team, a house full of kids who do what you say. This episode is about what happens next, because what you do with power says more about you than how you got it. It works through one strange scene: a leader at the height of his influence, on the last night of his life, quietly picking up a towel and washing the feet of everyone at his table, including the man he knew was about to sell him out. What you will walk away with: A simple way to name the currency your own power actually runs on: money, position, time or platform Why the person with the most to lose in the room chose the lowest job in the house The difference between using a belief system and actually following it, and an honest way to tell which one you are doing A five minute exercise called a power audit that turns all of this into one specific thing you can do this week A picture of what happens to a community when a small group of people decide to serve it before they serve themselves

Most people think God gets angry when we wander off. Jesus said the opposite: God throws a party when we come home. This message kicks off a brand new series with a question that's hard to shake: if this church disappeared tomorrow, would our community even notice? Jason Perkins opens the series by digging into an old story about a runaway son, a resentful brother, and a father who does the most undignified thing imaginable: he runs. It's a look at why the very people religion tends to push out are exactly the people Jesus went looking for. What you'll walk away with: Why the idea that "church is a search party, not a social club" changes how you see God The real difference between believing something is true and actually living like it's real Why a runaway son and a resentful, dutiful brother might both be more like you than you'd think One simple, non-weird way to help someone you know take a step toward faith

You can be connected to more people than ever and still feel completely alone. We live in the most connected moment in human history, and loneliness is at epidemic levels, and the two are far more related than we’d like to think. This message unpacks how the convenience that now runs our lives, from dinner to friendship, can easily trade real relationships for a feed that only ever takes from us. Drawing on a letter written to a group of exhausted, isolated people almost two thousand years ago, and on the research into how many people any of us can genuinely know, it lands on a claim that cuts against everything the algorithm sells. That what your soul is really looking for isn’t more connection, it’s being deeply known by a few. 👉 Plan A Visit: https://beyondchurch.com.au/new 👉 Discover more about Beyond: https://beyondchurch.com.au/ 👉 Explore more resources: https://www.beyondchurch.com.au/starvethealgorithm 👉 Support the mission: https://beyondchurch.com.au/give

Your feed is full of voices telling you what’s true but the algorithm amplifies the loudest ones, not the truest ones. We’re more informed than any generation in history and somehow less sure of what’s actually real. This message looks at why the things that feel true online the post with a million views, the take you’ve seen repeated until it sticks, the confident voice with the slick production, so often aren’t, and what it really takes to tell the difference. Drawing on an old story about a shepherd whose sheep could pick his voice out of a crowded, noisy pen, it makes a surprising case: the way through the noise isn’t sharper fact-checking or a better filter. It’s learning to recognise one voice you can actually trust. What you’ll walk away with: A simple filter for the four things we all quietly mistake for truth online — popularity, repetition, confidence and raw emotion. Why the people close enough to see your flaws are a faster route to the truth than any expert you’ll never actually meet. What it looks like to find your footing when you can’t sit across the table from whoever’s on your screen. A practical challenge for the week: naming the two voices quietly shaping how you see yourself — and how to turn the volume up on a better one. Speaker: Chris Podlich | Beyond Church, Griffin. Your best next step: 👉 Plan A Visit: https://beyondchurch.com.au/new 👉 Discover more about Beyond: https://beyondchurch.com.au/ 👉 Explore more resources: https://beyondchurch.com.au/starvethealgorithm 👉 Support the mission: https://beyondchurch.com.au/give

You don't think of yourself as an angry person. So why does ten minutes of scrolling leave you fuming at strangers you'll never meet? Anger is the number one emotion the apps use to keep you hooked, because outrage is what keeps you scrolling. This message digs into why being angry online can feel so good, like clarity, like energy, like finally being on the right side, and why that same feeling quietly makes us less honest with ourselves. It also opens up some of the most direct and practical words Jesus ever said about how to treat the people who get under your skin, described here as more like medicine than comfort food. If your feed leaves you wound up more often than you'd like, this one offers a different way to carry all that frustration. What you'll walk away with A quick, practical crash course on five ways to actually retrain your feed so it stops serving you the stuff that winds you up Why anger online feels like clarity, energy, and being right, and the trap hiding underneath all three The difference between reacting to a 45-second clip and forming a real, considered response A simple, honest habit for the next time something on your feed makes your blood boil Why treating the person on the other side of the screen as an actual human being changes more than you'd think Speaker: Chris Podlich | Beyond Church, Griffin. Your best next step: 👉 Plan A Visit: https://beyondchurch.com.au/new 👉 Discover more about Beyond: https://beyondchurch.com.au/ 👉 Explore more resources: https://beyondchurch.com.au/starvethealgorithm 👉 Support the mission: https://beyondchurch.com.au/give Part of the Starve the Algorithm series at Beyond Church, a church for people who don't go to church.

You grab your phone to escape for two minutes and lose an hour. What is all that scrolling quietly doing to you? The average adult spends more than four hours a day on a screen, and most of us reach for our phone the second we want to escape, feel better, or fill a spare minute. This opening message in the Starve the Algorithm series asks a bigger question than screen time: what are the algorithms doing to the realest part of you, the person you are slowly becoming? Drawing on a line from the wisest king who ever lived and aletter written to a small, distracted community two thousand years ago, it explores a simple but unsettling idea: what you focus on ends up forming you. What you'll walk away with:● A clearer picture of what your daily screen ritual is actually costing you, beyond just the hours● Why you are probably more distracted than rebellious, and why that is worth paying attention to● How the content in your feed quietly shapes what you believe about yourself, your relationships,and your worth● Three honest questions to ask yourself this week about when, why, and what you watch● A more hopeful way to change your habits that does not rely on willpower tricks that never seemto last Speaker: Chris Podlich | Beyond Church, Griffin.

Seven out of ten of us secretly hope our job will prove that our life matters. It was never built to carry that. Most of us don't hate our jobs, we've just quietly started surviving until Friday. This episode digs into why Monday feels so heavy, and offers a different answer than a better boss, abigger salary, or a new roster. Drawing on an ancient letter written to workers who had almost no rights, it explores one unexpected idea that changes how we see our work, thepeople in it, and ourselves. What you'll walk away with: Why chasing a better boss, salary, or roster never fixes the Monday feelingA simple shift that changes how you treat the difficult people you work withHow ordinary, unglamorous tasks can start to feel like they actually matterA way to work hard without carrying pressure that was never yours to holdOne honest question to ask if you'd feel lost without your job titleSpeaker: Sue Buchanan | Beyond Church, Griffin.

Only about 1 in 4 people feel engaged at work on an average day. If Monday feels like something to survive, this one's for you. Most of us spend more waking hours working than doing anything else, and a lot of us quietly wonder whether any of it counts for much. This episode pushes back on the idea that work is just a paycheque, or worse, a punishment you're stuck with. Drawing on the oldest story we have about why humans work at all, it makes a case that the ordinary stuff of your week carries far more weight than you think, including the frustrating parts. What you'll walk away with: A different way to answer "what do you do?" that isn't tied to your job titleFour things your work is actually doing, even on the days it feels pointlessWhy the frustrating, thorny parts of your job aren't a sign you're in the wrong placeA simple end-of-day practice for noticing good work instead of only noticing what's left undoneLanguage for talking about purpose at work without sounding like a motivational poster Speaker: Chris Podlich | Beyond Church, Griffin. Your best next step:👉 Plan A Visit: https://beyondchurch.com.au/new👉 Discover more about Beyond: https://beyondchurch.com.au/👉 Explore more resources: https://beyondchurch.com.au/madeformondays👉 Support the mission: https://beyondchurch.com.au/give Part of the Made For Mondays series at Beyond Church, a church for people who don't go to church.

You send a message, see it marked “read,” and then… nothing. A lot of us feel that way about God too. This week we look at an old story about a kid working in a religious temple who hears a voice calling his name in the middle of the night, three times, before he even realises it's God. It's a strange, oddly relatable story about how easy it is to miss God's voice, not because it's too strange, but because it's too familiar. Chris Podlich unpacks why silence doesn't always mean absence, and shares a simple daily practice for actually learning to notice when God is speaking. What you'll walk away with: A simple explanation for why you might be missing God's voice without realising it Why the busiest, loudest parts of your week are the least likely place to notice him A five minute daily practice you can start today, no experience required Permission to keep listening, even if you're not sure where you stand on faith yet Speaker: Chris Podlich | Beyond Church, Griffin. Your best next step: 👉 Plan A Visit: https://beyondchurch.com.au/new 👉 Discover more about Beyond: https://beyondchurch.com.au/ 👉 Explore more resources: https://beyondchurch.com.au/onread 👉 Support the mission: https://beyondchurch.com.au/give Part of the On Read series at Beyond Church, a church for people who don't go to church.

We've all bought something that felt like a great deal at the time, and now we're still paying it off, wondering what we were thinking. If money has ever kept you up at night, this one's for you. This is the final part of a shame-free, guilt-free conversation about money, the kind most of us are already having at home about debt, savings, and what's actually enough. Chris digs into the common traps that quietly drain us, from subscriptions we forgot about to the "emergency" that became permanent, and a 2,000-year-old letter to a young guy named Timothy that names the real problem: it's not money itself, it's the feeling underneath it. The big idea is simple. Live with margin so you can live on mission. No spreadsheets-make-you-cringe lecture, just a practical way to close the gap between your income and your ego. What you'll walk away with: The four money traps that catch almost everyone, and how to spot themWhy wanting to feel rich is more dangerous than wanting to be richA simple give 10 / save 10 / live on 80 starting point you can actually useWhy a budget might be the most spiritual thing you do this weekA reframe on wealth that takes the pressure off keeping up with everyone elseSpeaker: Chris Podlich | Beyond Church, Griffin. Your best next step:👉 Plan A Visit: https://beyondchurch.com.au/new👉 Discover more about Beyond: https://beyondchurch.com.au/👉 Explore more resources: https://beyondchurch.com.au/sweetspot👉 Support the mission: https://beyondchurch.com.au/give Part of the Finding Your Sweet Spot series at Beyond Church, a church for people who don't go to church.

You think you're a generous person. The round-up at the checkout, the Christmas appeal, the mate who needed a hand. But what if giving and generosity aren't the same thing? This is a shame-free, guilt-free conversation about money, the kind most of us are already having at home about fuel prices, budgets, and what things cost, just with Jesus' perspective added in. Chris unpacks the difference between two kinds of givers, why a plan beats a guilt-trip every time, and a surprisingly old idea from a 2,000-year-old letter that still works today. No pressure, no sad songs, no slide of suffering faces. Just a clear, practical way to decide ahead of time where your generosity goes. What you'll walk away with: A simple test to know whether you're actually generous or just occasionally givingTwo questions that tell you exactly where your money should goWhy picking a percentage beats reacting to whoever guilts you bestA 90-day challenge you can trial with a built-in way outA way to grow your faith that no Bible study can matchSpeaker: Chris Podlich | Beyond Church, Griffin. Your best next step:👉 Plan A Visit: https://beyondchurch.com.au/new👉 Discover more about Beyond: https://beyondchurch.com.au/👉 Explore more resources: https://beyondchurch.com.au/sweetspot👉 Support the mission: https://beyondchurch.com.au/give Part of the Finding Your Sweet Spot series at Beyond Church, a church for people who don't go to church.

Cost of living is up. Groceries are brutal. And somehow, no matter what you earn, it never quite feels like enough. In this episode, Chris Podlich sits down with a pretty uncomfortable question: why doesn't more ever actually satisfy? We're talking social media comparison traps, the mental gymnastics we do around money, and why the goalpost for "enough" keeps moving no matter how far you go. It's an honest conversation about why so many of us feel financially stressed even when, by global standards, we're doing alright, and what it might look like to actually find a line and call it enough. Whether you're juggling rent and groceries, or you've hit every milestone you set and still feel restless, this one's worth your time. 👉 Plan A Visit: https://beyondchurch.com.au/new👉 Discover more about Beyond: https://beyondchurch.com.au/👉 Explore more resources: https://beyondchurch.com.au/sweetspot👉 Support the mission: https://beyondchurch.com.au/give

We all love a good upgrade. Free business class. Getting the corner office. That little rush when your name gets called first. Be honest, it feels good. We're wired for it. But what if that feeling, that constant hunger for status, recognition, and getting ahead, is actually the thing keeping us from the life we actually want? In this final episode of This Is Living, we're sitting with one of the most genuinely strange ideas in human history: that the most powerful being who ever existed chose to go last. Not because he had to. Because he wanted to. That's not how any religion before Christianity worked. In the ancient world, gods didn't stoop. They demanded. But Jesus flipped the whole script, and the way he did it has something to say about how we chase purpose and why most of us come up empty. There's a fascinating thing about the Dead Sea. It has inflows but no outflows. Water comes in from all directions and just... stays. And here's the thing: it's been shrinking for decades. All that intake, and it's getting smaller. Sound familiar? This episode isn't a lecture. It's an honest look at what happens when we spend our lives climbing a ladder that leads to no one, and what it might look like to try a completely different direction. Whether you've got a faith background or you're just curious, this one's worth a listen. 👉 Plan A Visit: https://beyondchurch.com.au/new👉 Discover more about Beyond: https://beyondchurch.com.au/👉 Explore more resources: https://beyondchurch.com.au/thisisliving👉 Support the mission: https://beyondchurch.com.au/give