Unfinished People

Brandon and Chad had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Amy Orr-Ewing. She is an incredible follower of Jesus whom we cannot wait for you to meet. She is an international author, speaker and theologian who addresses the deep questions of our day with meaningful answers found in the Christian Faith. She is the author of multiple books including ‘Where is God in All the Suffering?’ (runner up Michael Ramsay Prize, 2023), bestselling ‘Why Trust the Bible?’ and ‘Mary’s Voice: Advent Reflections to Contemplate the Coming of Christ.’ Over the last twenty five years, Amy has given talks and answered questions on university campuses around the world. She has also addressed Parliamentarians in the Speakers Rooms and Chapel at the UK Parliament and staffers on Capitol Hill, and at the West Wing of The White House. She regularly responds to invitations to speak in banks, businesses, and consultancy firms as well as churches and conferences and enjoys broadcasting in the media and giving public lectures. Amy is interested in the intersection of questions of meaning and faith within the marketplace, education and policymaking. Amy holds a doctorate (DPhil) in Theology from the University of Oxford, and serves as Honorary Lecturer in Divinity at the University Aberdeen. In recent years Amy Orr-Ewing has advocated significantly for transparency and justice working alongside and representing survivors of abuse and mistreatment. Her significant contribution was recognized by the Church of England in June 2023 at the Annual Lambeth Awards, where Orr-Ewing was awarded the Alphege Award for Evangelism and Witness, for exceptional dedication, skill and insight in her advocacy work. We were so challenged and blessed to be able to interview her on today's episode. Enjoy!

Jesus invites us to find true rest in Him. In Matthew's Gospel, He says: "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." (MSG translation) You probably know this already, but if you're like us, actually doing it can be challenging. Instead, we often find ourselves spiritually and physically exhausted. Why is it so hard to embrace this rest? Are we resisting what Jesus is trying to do for us? Are we discontent and missing His guidance in our lives? Or are we perhaps avoiding the tough questions He's asking us? In today's episode of Unfinished People, we dive into all of this and more. We explore our own struggles with rest and listen to the words of Jesus for help.

It's almost here. The last election. The end of the world. The end of all things. At least... that's what "they" say. But what does Jesus say? How do we hold our hearts out in true form to the Eternal King of the Universe? The One who holds all things together and has sovereign control over all things that happen on our little blue planet might just have something to say to us in this moment. We also have some thoughts. Some of them are anxious. Some of them are trusting. Most of them are unfinished and in process. Come listen in to our conversation as we process what it means to be a follower of Jesus during this season and time of our country and world.

What grade are you in with Jesus? How far along have you come? Are you stuck and wondering how to get to the next grade, stage, or moment? After stewing on our conversation dealing with spiritual bypassing, we pick it up again in this episode. Acknowledging that we have a propensity to spiritually bypass is crucial, but how do we move beyond it? How can we deepen our walk with Jesus? If spiritual bypassing is truly just a band-aid solution, then how do we rip it off and find true growth, healing, and wholeness in Jesus? Come and listen in to our conversation to find out.

The Bible tells us that our connection to God through Jesus is critical to our well-being. Deep in our souls, we know this to be true. A hunger and thirst prompt us to reach out to God for connection. But what do we do when it doesn't work? In today's episode, Daniel Olson joins Chad to discuss the difficulties of connection and the surprising ways to move from a flicker to a roaring flame in our connection with Jesus.

What is Spiritual Bypassing and are you doing it? Or maybe someone else has tried it on you and you thought it was a good thing. We are learning that it has the potential to delay your growth as a follower of Jesus. And it happens all the time. Come join us as we scratch the surface this week and jump back into the podcast. (Thanks for your patience!)

How should we respond as followers of Jesus when tragic things happen? We discuss this past Saturday's tragic events and give you an inside look at our process of sadness, grief, and our deep questions of how to be faithful witnesses of Jesus in such polarizing times.

When it comes to following Jesus the digital world presents an endless library of opportunities to listen, read, interact, watch, create, and connect. Brandon and Chad are joyful participants, but we are also assessing our hearts and have discovered mixed results. Are we going deep? Are our relationships made meaningful through our tweets, posts, scrolls, and likes? Are the sources we are tapping into making us more like Jesus? We have some thoughts and questions. How can we do better? How can we steward our time with digital resources so that we are embodied disciples? Join us on Episode 027 for part 2 of our discussion on Digital Discipleship.

We feel like something has happened to us. We are more easily distracted. Our pursuit of Jesus and the ability to hear his voice has been short-circuited by the wonderful digital world around us. Don't get us wrong... we love technology and the ability to grow and learn through hundreds of resources online. But another side of us senses that something is wrong. We can't get out of the shallow end of spiritual growth. This week, we are asking big questions and hope we can find our way back to the depth of an embodied and present form of following Jesus.

Hello again! Yes, we are back. After a much needed break over the last few months, we have lots to catch up on and talk about. Let's get right into it and talk about dealing with difficult things in life and how we are processing and trusting Jesus through them... or, in some cases, we are working on trusting him. We also talk a little about the warm and fuzzy book of Revelation and its relevance to our current headlines. Most of all, we are just hanging out as brothers and spurring each other on in Jesus. Come on back in and listen to today's episode number 025. ACLED | Bringing Clarity to Crisis

Brandon and Chad have one individual whom we would say has faithfully been our pastor over the last 10+ years and we are thrilled to have him as a guest on the podcast today. His name is Joe McConkey and he has just "finished" his career as a pastor in local church ministry and we have lots of questions! We talk about transformation and growth, what he sees in the church - both good and bad, the highs and lows of ministry, what really matters to Jesus in the church, where he has seen it go wrong, and how Jesus has faithfully led anyway. We think you will love our conversation. Come join us for Episode 024 of Unfinished People.

Of all the "fails" in the Bible, there are some that stand out more than others. Today we tread into the deep waters of Peter's denial of Jesus. How Jesus responds with love and grace is astonishing. He is relentless in his pursuit. So what does it look like to get back up from failure and choose to keep loving Him well? If you are needing some encouragement to get back up and hear his voice again, come and listen in to our conversation on Episode 023 of Unfinished People.

Today, we dive back into thinking about our citizenship in Heaven versus our exile in the current kingdoms of this world. We freely admit that we are in process here. We are absolutely committed to listening to Jesus (especially this election year!) and doing what He says. But it's going to be a difficult year. What might it look like for you to be faithful to Jesus and His Kingdom, while living, caring, and participating in the kingdom where you currently reside? How can we love those with whom we disagree? What kinds of idols in our lives need to crumble under the authority of Jesus? Let's go. Episode 022.

This week, Brandon and Chad are thrilled to be joined by Sammy Gondola, Daniel Olson, and Karl Hanson. They are dear friends and pastors, who help us unpack friendship, adversity, unmet expectations in relationships, how vital it is to push through the desert place of friendship, the blessing of being spurred on and sharpened by others, and more. This episode gives a behind-the-scenes look at our friendships, how difficult it can be to go deep, and how crucial it has been to our development as followers of Jesus.

"Are you a King?" Pilate's question to a beaten and bloody Messiah hung uncomfortably in the air. Under incredible pressure and facing a brutal, oppressive government, Jesus responded with absolute calm and complete control. (By the way, have you ever wondered why we have a record of this conversation?) The sovereign creator of the world did not need to panic as the plan set before the world's creation was right on time. Our salvation was being accomplished, and not even a temporary prefect of Rome could stop it. Jesus' words should bother us (and then some) as we look at how we have interacted with the political powers of our world. So... yeah, we are going there. We hope that by now, we have earned your trust to talk about the kingdoms of this world. How should we think about them? What does it look like to love Jesus well in an election year? Come and listen in to our conversation on Episode 020 of Unfinished People.

This week, we continue our theme of the difficulty and beauty of prayer. Is there such a thing as a deeper level of prayer, an earnestness, or a place of travail (rare word alert)not achieved by human capacity but fueled by the holy Spirit? We also dive into the importance and frustration of repetitive prayer. If God already knows, what is He up to? How can we find a sweet place of rest and depth as we speak with our Father in Heaven? As we dig for answers and sharpen each other, come listen in. We both agreed that this was one of our favorite conversations. We hope you enjoy! UP #019. Let's go.

If there's one thing we have struggled through, it is our journey with prayer. The desire to be close to Jesus, hear his voice, and speak as a friend keeps us coming back, but it hasn't been easy. If you relate and are hungry for more in your prayer life, come listen in to our conversation this week on Unfinished People.

How does an eternal God unbound by time and space help those of us who feel that clock ticking every day? Some of us love the new year and resolve to do something better this year or to make some significant changes. Others dislike the idea of making any promises because we all know we will probably break them anyway. We talk this week about Jesus and his ability to take any moment - past, present, or future and make it new. We have great hope for this year and are expectant that Jesus is up[ to some great stuff in your life as well. Come listen in as we talk about 2024 and our hope in the beautiful work of Jesus.

In our final episode of 2023, we talk about one of the most pervasive issues in our world: Loneliness. The Surgeon General considers it priority number one and says it's as deadly as smoking. What does Jesus, the friend who sticks closer than a brother, have to say about it? And how does our place in the community of God give us hope? Come and listen as we discuss our own struggles with loneliness and the hard work of deep, authentic friendship. ‎The Place Where I Belong (feat. Davy Flowers) - Song by Housefires - Apple Music

This week, we do another flyby to check in on each other. It's easy to answer the question "How are you?" with "Fine." But if we are to step into the things God has for us, we need to go to a level of authenticity and candidness that might just be uncomfortable. This show will remind you that we are definitely unfinished, but it will also (hopefully) give you room to be okay with your own growth process. Some highlights: We are both pretty tired and weary, but Jesus is speaking in that place significantly. We are also learning to pay attention to the more difficult and deep truths of walking closely with Him. Come listen in to our latest conversation on Unfinished People. The Chosen - Jesus trusts James with his suffering.‎Lord Remind Me - Song by Praytell & Jon Guerra - Apple Music‎Something Bright, Something Shining - Song by Praytell & Jon Guerra - Apple Music