How do you respond when life doesn't go according to plan?

In this week's conversation, Bob and DJ continue unpacking Saul's dramatic encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, but the focus shifts from the disruption itself to our response when God interrupts our plans. Is our instinct to resist, defend, or explain away what's happening — or are we willing to pause long enough to ask what God might be teaching us?

Drawing from both Scripture and personal experience, Bob and DJ discuss why seasons of disruption often become the moments of greatest spiritual growth. They explore the value of slowing down, staying present instead of rushing toward quick fixes, and learning to trust that God is at work even when life feels uncertain or uncomfortable.

The conversation concludes with a practical challenge: don't spend your life waiting for dramatic miracles while missing God's invitation in today's circumstances. Faithfulness often begins with simply asking, "Lord, what are You trying to show me?"—and then taking the next obedient step.

What if the moments that shake your life the most are actually God's invitation to something greater?

In this message from Acts 9, Pastor DJ explores one of the Bible's most dramatic stories of transformation—the conversion of Saul on the road to Damascus. What begins as a confrontation becomes a calling, revealing that God often uses disruption not to destroy our story, but to redirect it toward His purpose.

DJ shares a personal story about a season of painful correction early in ministry before walking through Saul's encounter with Jesus. Along the way, he shows how God uses disruption to reveal what we cannot see, redirect us when we're on the wrong path, uncover the unique ways He has prepared us to serve, and ultimately align our lives with His mission.

Whether you're facing unexpected loss, difficult circumstances, or a season that feels uncertain, this sermon offers a hopeful reminder: God wastes nothing. Even the disruptions we fear may become the very moments that awaken us to His calling and transform our lives for His glory.

How do you tell the difference between healthy confidence and destructive pride? In this companion conversation, Bob and DJ unpack the story of Simon the Magician from Acts 8 and wrestle with one of the most personal questions of the Christian life: What happens when our identity becomes tied to our accomplishments, influence, or reputation?

Bob shares candidly about his own lifelong struggle with pride, confidence, and the desire to make an impact, while DJ explains how Simon's attempt to purchase God's gift reveals a deeper misunderstanding of grace. Together they explore the tension between using God-given gifts with confidence and relying on those gifts to establish personal worth.

The conversation ultimately points listeners toward the freedom found in vulnerability. Rather than hiding behind the "costumes" we wear to impress others, Bob and DJ discuss how honest confession, authentic relationships, and the unconditional love of Christ transform both our hearts and our witness. It's a practical and deeply personal conversation about what it means to let your life preach the gospel—not through perfection, but through humility.

In this message from Acts 8, Pastor DJ explores the story of Simon the Magician—a man who misunderstood the gospel because he viewed God's gifts through a transactional lens. Accustomed to earning influence, status, and admiration, Simon assumed the power of the Holy Spirit could be acquired the same way. Peter's response reveals a radically different vision of life with God: His greatest gifts cannot be bought, earned, or leveraged for personal significance—they are freely given.

DJ challenges listeners to examine the subtle ways performance, achievement, and the need for approval shape their own relationship with God. Drawing from Simon's story, the Samaritan woman at the well, and his own personal experiences, he contrasts a life driven by proving our worth with the freedom found in God's unconditional gift of grace.

This sermon is an invitation to repent—not merely of wrongdoing, but of the exhausting belief that we must earn God's love or establish our identity through success. Instead, God offers a life of transformation rooted in His freely given gift, empowering us to love others from a place of belonging rather than performance.

In this companion conversation to Tommy’s sermon on Acts 8, Bob and Tommy unpack the challenge of identifying our modern-day “Samaria”—the people, places, and situations we may instinctively avoid, dismiss, or view as different from ourselves. Reflecting on Philip’s ministry among the Samaritans and Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well, they explore how pride, cultural assumptions, and personal comfort can become barriers to the gospel.

The discussion centers on the transformative work of the Holy Spirit, who continually invites believers to move beyond tribalism and into God’s larger kingdom mission. Bob and Tommy consider how humility opens the door for genuine relationships, why people are often more spiritually hungry than Christians assume, and what it means to lift our eyes to the harvest fields around us.

This episode offers practical reflection on living out the message of Acts 8 in Durango today, encouraging listeners to recognize where God may be calling them beyond familiar boundaries and into deeper participation in His work of restoration and reconciliation.

In this message from Acts 8, Tommy explores one of the most significant turning points in the early church as the gospel moves beyond Jerusalem and into Samaria — a place many faithful Jews would have preferred to avoid. Through the story of Philip’s ministry and Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman, Tommy challenges listeners to confront the barriers of pride, prejudice, and spiritual superiority that can keep them from sharing the love of Christ.

At the heart of the message is a simple but searching question: Who — or what — is your Samaria? Who are the people you avoid, overlook, or assume are beyond God's reach? Tommy shows how the Holy Spirit works through humble, kingdom-centered hearts to bring life where division once existed. The gospel spreads not through human achievement, but through transformed people willing to cross boundaries, see others as loved by God, and participate in the Spirit’s work.

This sermon is a call to lift our eyes, recognize the harvest around us, and embrace the truth that Jesus offers living water to everyone — regardless of background, status, or past mistakes. As God transformed the hearts of the early believers, He continues to invite His people today into the same mission of humility, reconciliation, and kingdom expansion.

In Episode 17 of Built for Durango, Bob and DJ dig deeper into Stephen’s bold confrontation with the religious leaders in Acts 7 and the challenging theme of spiritual stubbornness. Reflecting on DJ’s recent sermon, the conversation explores the difference between grit and being “stiff-necked,” why surrender is often harder than determination, and how Stephen’s message was ultimately an invitation rather than a condemnation.

Drawing from a mission trip to Mexico, personal experiences with bold prayer, and the example of Jesus Himself, Bob and DJ wrestle with a central question: Are we working hard for God, or are we learning to surrender our hearts to Him? Along the way, they discuss religious hypocrisy, authentic faith, the danger of checking spiritual boxes, and the freedom that comes from trusting God's leading rather than our own plans.

This honest conversation challenges listeners to examine where they may be resisting God’s voice and to consider whether true strength is found not in stubbornness, but in surrender.

In this message from Acts 7, Pastor DJ explores Stephen’s final sermon before his martyrdom and the challenging accusation that sparked outrage among the religious leaders: “You stiff-necked people.”

Drawing from his recent mission trip to Mexico, DJ reflects on the subtle ways pride, self-reliance, and fear can cause us to resist God’s leading, even when we believe we are serving Him. Tracing the theme of stubbornness from Exodus through the prophets and into Stephen’s confrontation with the Sanhedrin, he shows how Scripture repeatedly reveals humanity’s tendency to push back against God’s guidance.

But the message doesn’t end with condemnation. DJ points listeners to Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11 to take on His yoke — a way of life marked not by striving, resistance, and exhaustion, but by trust, humility, and rest.

This sermon is a call to examine where we may be resisting God’s voice and to discover the freedom that comes from becoming pliable in the hands of a loving Father.