We can get so caught up in the little things that we completely miss the bigger picture.

I'm joined by Avery Reeves for a conversation that goes everywhere from church culture and spiritual maturity to the Holy Spirit, serving others, and figuring out what actually matters.

Are we making following Jesus more complicated than it needs to be? Are we really serving God, or have we made some of this about ourselves? And why do we give Satan credit for things that might just be poor decisions?

We get into all of it.

Fair warning: technology got the best of us, and we lost the last 27 minutes of our original conversation. But what survived was worth sharing.

Much love to Avery (@theekingsson) and his ministry, Gr8er.

God Is Laughing at Us. Y'all enjoy.

There's being right, and then there's needing everybody else to know you're right. And apparently, an MJ vs. LeBron debate is still capable of bringing that out of me.

In this episode, we're talking about what happens when proving our point becomes more important than the conversation itself. I've had to recognize that sometimes I can be right about the details and still be wrong in how I handle things.

But protecting your peace doesn't mean avoiding every disagreement, either. Sometimes you need to leave a conversation alone, and sometimes you need to have the uncomfortable conversation you've been putting off.

So how do we know the difference? And when did being right become something we feel like we have to win?

Apparently there’s a growing list of things you’re not supposed to do “as a man.”

Stand on your tiptoes. Use an umbrella. Blow on hot food. Vent to your friends.

…according to who?

What starts as internet foolishness turns into a bigger conversation about how easily preference becomes principle—and how quickly somebody else’s standard can start sounding like truth.

We do it online. We do it culturally. Sometimes we even do it in church.

In this episode, I’m looking at the standards we accept without questioning where they came from, what actually defines manhood, and what happens when those standards don’t even hold up against the example of Jesus.

Romans 12 gets into conformity. Jesus washes His disciples’ feet. Jesus weeps. And somewhere in all of that is a pretty simple question:

If Jesus doesn’t pass the “as a man” check, how good is the check?

Scripture: Romans 12:2 • John 13:3–5 • John 11:35