What happens when identity becomes self-constructed… and social media becomes the architect?

We’re talking gender, labels, adolescence, affirmation addiction, and how Christians are getting pulled into culture wars they don’t even realize they’re fighting. Craig breaks down how algorithms trigger division. Brandon talks about belonging, community, and why labeling people might be doing more harm than good.

The question isn’t “Who’s right?” The question is: Can we speak truth and still love like Jesus?

This episode kicks off a series that’s going to challenge a lot of people.

Instead of jumping straight into sexuality debates, Craig and Brandon slow it down and ask a more dangerous question:

What does it actually mean to be made in the image of God?

Heaven is the destination. Earth isn’t. So why do we get so comfortable here? This episode wanders through fatigue, culture, distraction, and the difference between passing through the world and setting up camp in it.

This episode asks a question most people don’t slow down enough to ask: who’s actually shaping us right now? Craig and Brandon talk about echo chambers, outrage cycles, and why it’s easier to evangelize a political stance than it is to evangelize Jesus.

We’re told truth lives inside us. That feelings outrank facts. That authority is dangerous.

So where does that leave God?

Craig and Brandon get into why Scripture is being pushed aside, how social media reshaped the way we think about truth, and why rejecting bad authority doesn’t mean we can live without any authority at all. They also talk about church hurt, grace, lukewarm faith, and why real Christianity costs more than most people expect.

Craig and Brandon dig into the collision between faith and modern culture. Should Christians speak up or stay quiet? Is tolerance the same as love? And what happens when biblical beliefs get labeled as political extremism? The conversation moves from Scripture to social media to real church experiences, all centered on how to live with conviction without losing compassion.

Season five starts with a hard truth. We are not talking to each other like Christians anymore. Politics, culture, social media, even family dinners have turned into battlegrounds. Craig and Brandon jump straight into what it means to speak with grace in an angry world, why identity has to come before opinion, and how Jesus calls us to sound different even when the temperature is high.

Dr. Kirk Brothers joins Craig to talk about what real leadership looks like in the church. Not titles. Not meetings. Just showing up, knowing your people, and staying focused on what matters. They get into servant leadership, burnout, why elders shouldn't hide in back rooms, and how Jesus stayed on mission when every voice around him wanted something else. There's some talk about bees too. Turns out you can learn a lot about the church from a hive.