In our final episode with Pastor Destin, a wild-card night turns into a conversation about "wounding," the moments we come to believe a lie about who we are. Destin shares the surprisingly simple question that exposes where those lies come from: How old do you feel? He also explains why Jesus never speaks to us in "nots."

Bill brings the grace-vs-law challenge: why do Christians find it easier to live under rules than under grace? We land on community and communion, and why what's broken in community can only be healed in community. If you can't find a table, make one.

Referenced: Henri Nouwen, Rob Reimer, Philip Yancey, Acts 3, Luke 14, Matthew 25.

Did Christians make alcohol a sin?

Destined Wright joins Jared and Bill for a candid conversation about whiskey, cigars, Christian culture, and what the Bible actually says about drinking.

They talk about Jared getting publicly shamed over a root beer, why cigars can create space for deeper conversations, Jesus turning water into wine, Deuteronomy’s surprising reference to “wine and strong drink,” and the difference between celebration, connection, excess, and addiction.

This isn’t an argument that everyone should drink. It’s a conversation about Christian freedom, wisdom, and whether the church has sometimes created rules that Scripture itself never made.

What do you think: is drinking alcohol a sin?

For our first-ever guest episode, Jared and Bill sit down with longtime friend and pastor Destined “Dewbe” Wright.

Doobie shares the story of a church conflict that spiraled into accusations, broken friendships, denominational investigations, and a season that nearly drove him out of ministry.

But years later, he looks back on it differently.

This is a conversation about church hurt, betrayal, shame, forgiveness, leadership, and the difference between simply trying to be “better” and actually becoming healed.

What does it look like to trust God when you’re still in the middle of the storm?

Can Christians take modern science seriously without abandoning Genesis?

In Episode 14, Jared and Bill wrestle with creation, evolution, the age of the earth, Noah’s flood, the ancient worldview behind Genesis, and whether the opening chapters of the Bible were ever intended to function as a modern scientific account.

Does accepting evolution diminish God as Creator? Does Genesis have to be read literally to be true? And what happens when science challenges the way we were taught to interpret Scripture?

Join the conversation and tell us where you land.

In 1 Timothy 2:12, Paul writes, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man.” Sounds pretty clear… right?

Jared and Bill take a closer look at one of the most controversial passages in the debate over women in ministry, including the Greek behind “teach” and “authority,” Preston Sprinkle’s From Genesis to Junia, and the danger of building an entire theology around a single verse.

“Sell your cloak and buy a sword.” Did Jesus really tell his followers to arm themselves—and does that command justify Christians owning guns or even AR-15s today?

In Episode 12, Jared and Bill debate one of Jesus’ most controversial statements: Luke 22:36. Jared argues that Jesus was preparing his disciples for persecution, not violence. Bill isn’t convinced—and believes the command to buy a sword should be taken more literally.

Was Jesus speaking metaphorically? Was he trying to protect his disciples? And why did he later tell Peter to put his sword away?

It’s Jesus, swords, guns, and two very different interpretations. Whose argument is stronger: Team Jared or Team Bill?

Bill challenges Jared with a difficult question: If LGBTQ people love Jesus and show evidence of God’s work in their lives, does the church have the right to exclude them?

Using Peter’s vision in Acts, Genesis, Paul’s writings, and the example of Jesus welcoming outsiders, they wrestle honestly with biblical sexuality, inclusion, grace, and whether a church can welcome LGBTQ Christians without affirming same-sex relationships.

No agenda, no outline — just the conversation Bill and Jared were already having before they hit record. This wildcard episode picks up mid-argument on the doctrine of inerrancy: Bill explains why he moved away from a belief he once signed his name to, and Jared pushes back that the doctrine functions less as a truth claim than as a boundary marker for who's in and who's out.

Along the way: what "inerrant in the original autographs" actually means when no original autographs survive, the woman caught in adultery and the ending of Mark, whether the canon was decided by a council or settled organically by 125 AD, and how much Paul's Pharisaic training shaped what he wrote — influenced, biased, or tainted?

Then Bill takes a hard turn. Acts 10: Peter's vision of the sheet, the clean/unclean food laws overturned, and Peter's own leap from food to Gentiles. If Peter could extend that vision beyond what he was literally shown, could the church extend it further today — to LGBTQ believers?

Jared calls it a stretch. He also asks for a week to think about it.

Part 1 of 2. We pick it right back up next episode.

If these conversations are worth having, hit subscribe and leave a comment — we're still deciding whether to keep the recorder running or go back to just talking in the basement.