Episodes

In this message, we take a fresh look at the table in Luke 22—not as a ritual, but as a moment that shapes identity. Why did Jesus choose a meal? What was the table meant to do? And what might we be missing when we reduce it to something smaller?This is the beginning of a conversation about communion, belonging, and the kind of story that changes us.

Most people can tell you what they’ve done.Very few can tell you who they’re becoming.In this episode of The Berean Project, we ask a deeper question: What does success actually look like?Is success about doing the right things, following the right patterns, and maintaining what we’ve been taught? Or is it something else entirely?This conversation challenges the idea that success is measured by activity, performance, or outward results—and instead explores a different lens:Success as becoming.Success as trust in motion.Success as a story being formed over time.If you’ve ever felt like your faith has been reduced to checklists, patterns, or expectations, this episode will invite you to step back and ask a better question:Was there a story?This is not about having the right answers.It’s about learning to see differently.

The Context Checklist is a simple, practical tool designed to help you slow down and see Scripture more clearly.Instead of relying on quick interpretations or isolated verses, it guides you to ask better questions—about the story, the audience, the culture, and the literary setting—so you can understand what’s actually being communicated before jumping to application.Built from years of study, reflection, and wrestling with difficult passages, this checklist helps you move from confusion...

This final conversation isn’t a conclusion as much as it is a pause.Throughout this series, we’ve talked about culture not as something you install, enforce, or fix—but something you inhabit. We explored posture before instruction, trust before compliance, process before outcomes, and context before conclusions. Each episode pulled at a different thread, but all of them pointed to the same quiet truth: culture is formed over time by how we show up with one another.In this capstone episod...

Where do we go from here? This is the tricky part so that your actions are not disruptive.

The modern church is incredibly good at keeping itself running.Week after week, the gears turn. Services happen. Scriptures are listed. Programs are maintained. Everything works—efficiently, faithfully, predictably.But what if that efficiency is the problem?In this episode, we explore how the church can slowly drift into becoming a machine—one that only needs power to keep spinning—while missing the deeper invitation of the story God is telling in the world.We talk about how Scripture is often reduced to instructions to follow rather than a narrative to trust, and how obedience—while good—can quietly replace participation. When faith becomes about keeping the system going, we may find ourselves running hard on a wheel that never actually moves us forward.This conversation isn’t about rebellion or abandoning the church. It’s about posture. About trust. About stepping off the wheel long enough to ask whether we’re maintaining something God never asked us to preserve,…

Building church culture is not for the faint of heart. Collectively it causes the group to ask good questions and to more or less throw all your cards on the table. The question of the year started out as:"Are you excited about your place in the churches future?"This gets unpacked into exploring the differences in the two different mentalities of the church, The traditional mentality and the participation mentality. We go further into the conversation by talking about the authority of the Bible or the chance to trust the Bible as God's story. This is where most people punt their podcast players across the room and give up wrestling with God. And that is where we want to come into the conversation and tell you a story that maybe just maybe reflected how Jesus might have explained how the authority of God has been given to him and what that now looks like. Do you trust the story?

Most people say they’re waiting on God. But what if God is actually waiting on us?In this episode of The Culture Series, we dive into Preparation—not as a checklist, but as a posture. Drawing inspiration from the story of Nehemiah’s watchmen, we explore what it means to live with spiritual readiness in a church culture that often drifts toward comfort and sameness.Preparation is more than planning—it’s becoming the kind of person who’s ready when God moves. We’re not called to sit passively, waiting for signs. We’re called to sharpen our spears on the wall, to lean into transformation, and to resist the slow fade of spiritual survival.If you’ve ever felt stuck in the same rhythms, or sensed your community was waiting for someone else to go first, this episode is for you.Let’s stop surviving Sundays and start preparing for something sacred.

Culture, Part Three, Posture and ProcessToday we continue with storytelling our way through some sample values that you might want to add to your church culture discussion.  Stories are a great vehicle to make a point and to reflect on.  No sermons here, just another short journey on the road to understanding and building culture in your church.

Have you ever met someone that works for a company or a corporation that loves where they work because of the companies culture?  We have all heard of some of those companies and the way they set themselves apart.  The real question is, why are churches not doing the same thing?  The answers may surprise you as we unwrap several stories and incorporate them into figuring out how to choose values.If you choose integrity or authenticity as a value, how are YOU going to contribute to those values being carried out.  This is the vital part of the discussion and there are numerous stories to help us understand what posture looks like.  Posture has many looks, so it's important to be thorough.  If you want to make history and develop culture then its important to have backstories.

Most churches focus on beliefs and mission statements—but miss the deeper force that shapes everything they do: culture. In this kickoff to our Culture Series, we’ll unpack why a formal culture statement is the “secret sauce” that makes your church unique, how it differs from mission or belief statements, and why 99% of churches overlook it. You’ll discover how culture can become the living example of what Jesus modeled, and how it can transform the way your church thinks, leads, and relates. Plus, we’ll give you a roadmap and resources to start building a culture that thrives.

We’ve all been there — circling the same questions, holding back from deciding, hoping clarity will magically appear. But what if staying undecided is the very thing holding you back from growth, truth, and being part of something bigger than yourself? In this episode, we explore why conclusions are so hard to reach, how they shape our future, and why this moment might be your historic opportunity to step out of the status quo.

Most of us were taught to see the Bible as a manual for life. But when we treat its ancient stories like modern step‑by‑step directions, we risk misreading its meaning. In this episode, we wrestle with the tension between timeless truth and historical context — and ask, if the Bible isn’t an instruction manual, what is it?" "You have probably heard the acronym: Bible = Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. Many people believe the Bible is exactly that — a universal set of instructions that transcend time and apply instantly to our modern lives. But is that really how Scripture works? In this episode, we unpack where this idea came from, how it shapes the way we read the Bible, and why it might be keeping us from understanding its true purpose."

Is the Bible Written To You or For You? A Deep LookWant to understand the deepest question of modern day Christianity? Ask someone if the Bible is written to you or for you and you will be shocked at the look of confusion on most people. Which is it? And before you say "both", have a listen to this compelling content.

Being Part of Something Bigger Than Yourself, Episode 10Part two of the three part series of being a part of something bigger than yourself.

Supplemental Information on Prooftexting, a Fresh Approach, Episode 9We had the opportunity to release a supplemental episode to help with the prooftexting problem in our churches today. This is getting a lot of feedback and will most likely rise to the top of the pile of issues that need to be addressed in the future. Instead of giving you a typical podcast with information, we have tried a new angle that I am very excited about. You may notice an article we posted on the website with this ...

The capstone episode of our ”The Way Forward ” Series. We wrap up the difficult discussion with some good questions.Because we are a people of the word, does that mean we are healthy?

An Introduction to Context, A Two Campfire ConversationSo what is context? In this episode we will begin to explore the basics of using context in the Bible. As usual we are not using any scriptures to explain anything but taking a step back approach to understanding our shortcomings of scriptures through the way we were taught (myself included) Be sure to start with episode 1 since each of those shorter episodes build on one another to get to this point.OverviewThe airplane story, ...

Manipulation, A Campfire DiscussionThis one is a campfire discussion about how we can accidently manipulate the church. Its not for the faint of heart and to be honest, not a very fun thing to think about. However if you have listened to the first four episodes you will see a theme start to develop that makes you dismantle some narratives. To be honest hard discussions are essentially good for you at the end of the day. Find a friend and work through this one.

The Berean Project Episode 4This is where the first three episodes come together and start to formulate how we can view our spiritual journey even if we are not sure we are on one. Again, we are emphasizing on the fact that we are not using scripture here to muddy the waters of interpretations.

Tools Episode #3Before you study one word in your Bible, before you listen to another sermon on sunday, you should have these two tools in your toolbox so they are ready to be used. Why? Because when you start listening or reading with a couple of really good questions or tools in your mind, a whole new world opens up, and this is even before the Word of God is explored.. Curious? Start with Episode one and work your way through these short episodes.The Told PrincipleThe Sounds Righ...

What is the Goal? Episode #2Asking questions should be a part of any spiritual journey, yet questions are rarely encouraged. Just sit there and listen to what someone tells you is mostly the theme of today's faith gatherings. Lets start off with good questions.The first one has to be, what's the goal, or more importantly what is your goal? Everyone has a different goal, why should we be all jammed into a cookie cutter diagram of what a faith community really is? Take the challenge and as...

What are you looking for? Episode #1Ever walk into a church trying to figure out what they are all about? You don't get much with most churches "about us" sections since they just rattle off a bunch of beliefs. Have you wondered, am I going to get fed something that I need or something that someone else thinks I need? Asking questions is the key and this episode has zero scriptures in it so that you can get to the bottom of figuring out if spiritual communities are worth your time.This e...