The Return

In this episode of The Return , hosts Dustin Maddox and Jordan Mattox sit down with pastor and author Zach Lambert , founder of Restore Austin, for an honest and wide-ranging conversation about faith after deconstruction. Together, they explore one of the central questions facing modern Christianity: What comes after faith falls apart? While deconstruction has become a familiar cultural phenomenon...

In this episode of The Return , Jordan Mattox and Dustin Maddox welcome Brian Zahnd for a wide-ranging discussion on faith, doubt, and reconstruction. Brian shares his personal story—from a teenage conversion during the Jesus Movement to building a thriving ministry, and then reaching a turning point in midlife when the version of Christianity he knew no longer felt worthy of the Christ who first...

In this episode of The Return , hosts Jordan Mattox and Dustin Maddox sit down with theologian and author Dr. A.J. Swoboda for a wide-ranging conversation about slow theology, deconstruction, and what faithful reconstruction actually requires. Using vivid metaphors—from chemotherapy and butter to the Garden of Eden and Sabbath—A.J. argues that doubt, when handled carefully, can be a form of healin...

In this episode of The Return, hosts Jordan Mattox and Dustin Maddox sit down with pastor, writer, and theologian Jonny Morrison for a deep conversation about deconstruction, reconstruction, and the environments that help or hinder spiritual return. Morrison reflects on his own faith journey, the pressures of evangelical performance culture, and the internal unraveling that many experience when in...

In this episode, Jordan and Dustin sit down with Nate Yoder, a former Mennonite pastor and bishop whose journey spans rural Ohio, Canada, and California — and travels through some of the hardest questions a person of faith can face. Nate shares how his understanding of calling, community, and belief has evolved through church politics, cross-cultural ministry, and the profound grief of losing a ch...

Dr. Shawn Beaty, head pastor of Clovis Hills Community Church, joins Dustin and Jordan to discuss a commonly discussed topic for those in and outside of religion: hypocrisy. Whether the hypocrisy takes place on a stage or interpersonal relationships, it can cause people to question religion, but also more broadly questions aout what religion is here to do: if Christians do not differ in their acti...

Dustin and Jordan are joined by Dr. David Tatum, who completed his PhD in Theology and Philosophy at the University of Birmingham and now teaches at Fresno Pacific University, to discuss the concept of hell, why it leads people to deconstruct, the history and landscape of the ideas about it, and how to think about reintegration where hell still remains a central tenet for many. 

On today's episode of The Return, Dustin and Jordan are joined by Karen Huckaby, LMFT, who started a therapy practice called The Reclaim geared around working with people with experiences of religious abuse and spiritual trauma.  The Reclaim: A Therapy Collective Website

On today's episode, Dustin and Jordan share some book recommendations that have found helpful and believe might help you on your religious reconstruction journey.  Jordan's Recommendations: 1.  Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious Ross Douthat  2.  After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal About Life and Beyond Bruce Greyson, MD 3. Septology Jon Fosse, translated by Damion S...

In the second in a series of episodes on the causes of people's religious deconstruction, Dustin and Jordan discuss one of biggest stumbling blocks for Jordan but many other religious people as well: the reality of a plurality of competing religious traditions in our world. In this episode, they discuss the various ways to think about and conceptualize about these other religious traditions: exclu...

In the first in a series of episodes on the causes of people's religious deconstruction, Dustin and Jordan discuss one of the thorniest issues in religion: the role of politics. In this conversation, they discuss the three main issues people have with politics role in the religious space, the history of the relationship between the two realms, a theological perspective on how these spheres interse...

In the first episode of The Return, Dustin and Jordan explore the premise of the show, what deconstruction is, and why reconstruction is challenging and complicated.  If you'd like to share thoughts, ask questions, or tell your story, please email us: thereturnreconstructionpodcast@gmail.com