When does a faith community become a place of control? And how easy is it to recognise the signs when you’re on the inside?

In this episode of Lo-fi Faith, Mike and James explore Steven Hassan’s BITE Model, a framework for understanding how high-control groups manipulate behaviour, information, thought and emotion. Reflecting on their own church experiences, they discuss where these patterns show up in religious settings, what happens when questioning is discouraged, and where the line falls between influence and control.

Saying the right things. Attending the right church. Following the right rituals. But what if we’re still missing the point? In this episode, Mike and James explore taking God’s name in vain and the gap between religious observance and a life that reflects his character.

In this episode, Mike and James explore Adventism’s historic claim to “have the truth” and how that mindset can make it difficult to learn from those outside the denominational walls. They reflect on biblical and Adventist examples that challenge the assumption that being used by God means having everything correct, before turning to how our need to be right can shape the way we relate to others—and even make Christian evangelism feel more like a sales pitch than a genuine conversation.