The Signpost Inn Podcast

What is the way of Jesus and how can we practice it?   In today’s episode, Brandon and Rachel sit down to talk about John Mark Comer’s book, Practicing the Way. The conversation is guided by the book’s subtitle, Be with Jesus, Become like him, Do as he did. After sharing some of the helpful insights from the book, Brandon and Rachel note a few key distinctions that need to be unpacked. What makes...

Is there any hope for connection in this isolated world?   Today Brandon sits down to chat with his long time friend, Luke Wall, Executive Direction of Only7Seconds, a non-profit addressing the loneliness epidemic. Together they discuss the status of our collective social health in this modern era and why we feel so lonely. A central truth soon emerges: no one person, or organization can fix the l...

What can we learn about Christian discipleship from The Chronicles of Narnia?   In today’s episode, Brandon and Matt interview Joe Rigney, author of the book, Live Like a Narnian: Christian Discipleship in Lewis’s Chronicles . Joe shares his perspective on Christian discipleship as whole person formation and how he believes C.S. Lewis’s books directly further this formation. The conversation then...

How do we fix our attention? What’s wrong with it anyway?   Today Brandon and Peter talk about the human faculty of attention, how and why it’s often hijacked, and what needs fixing. At the core of the problem with our attention is our human need for security and significance. The world is like a chaotic carnival that distracts and overwhelms us with many loud voices all trying to bend our attenti...

What does forgiveness feel like?   It’s Christianity 101: Jesus died on the cross to forgive you all your sin. But how often do we brush past this foundational truth in our daily walk with Jesus? What would it look like to sit with the truth that “I am forgiven”?  Join us on the back porch today as the guys do their best to sit with the truth of forgiveness in Christ. Psalm 103 guides us through t...

How do we change? In today's episode Brandon and Peter discuss a theory for change and how skillful listening is a major factor. We all need change, a change in how we experience and view God. We need to deconstruct our bad/wrong images of God and rebuild a true picture of who Jesus is. The question is, "How?" We often get caught in the weeds of trying to change through behavior modification or am...

In this exciting episode Matt sits down with Brandon and Liv Booth to discuss their new book, Not Home Yet: How to be human in an inhuman world. Brandon and Liv unpack the central image of being a weary traveler who is not at home in this world. They also chat about how Brandon is a hawk and Liv is a frog and how that influenced the book. The conversation turns to Jesus, the God-man, who shows us...

In this episode Matt and Brandon discuss a short but powerful article by Henri Nouwen. They define spiritual disciplines, talk about why it’s so hard to take time to be with God alone, discuss the struggles of Christian community and how we can engage it better, and also how the call to ministry is not what we often think. Along the way they dive deep into topics like forgiveness, faith, and praye...

A deep dive into cults and church abuse In this episode we interview our very own Matt Boland about his deep dive and presentation on cults, how they operate, and how our churches can sometimes use similar bad practices. Along the way we discuss how unconditional love always beats conditional love and how we can learn to be leaders like Jesus.  If you are fascinated by cults, and how church leader...

In this episode, Brandon sits down with Adam Ormord, the executive director of Lifepoint Resources to discuss an article Adam wrote about attending to God—and the important insight that we see more of what we attend to. In other words, attention matters! Join Adam and Brandon for a wide ranging and fascinating discussion about how, why, and what goes wrong in our attempt to pay more attention to J...

Brandon and Matt sit down with special guest, Michaela Neff to discuss attachment theory and our relationship with Jesus. Michaela, a licensed professional counselor, provides insights into how attachment styles developed in childhood affect our perception and connection with God. We also share some personal stories about our own experiences with God and ask Michaela to give us practical steps on...

Taking a look in the mirror…   Hey listeners! Brandon, Matt, and Peter are on the back porch today for a conversation about looking in the mirror and embracing reality. The central idea behind today’s conversation is that God reveals the truth to us for our own good. Though sometimes the truth is convicting and uncomfortable, it shows us the way forward. On the flip side, truth can also be very co...

How can we differentiate God’s voice from spam and scams?   Brandon and Peter here on the back porch today to chat about our image of who God is and what his voice sounds like. Peter shares his experience of receiving spam messages from trinity@tryharder.net and his pursuit of sorting through the junk to better hear the voice of God. A central tension that we discuss is the desire to delete spam,...

How can we develop emotional resilience when the news reminds us that the world is on fire?   In today’s episode, Peter and Brandon sit down on the back porch to chat about some suggestions for navigating the morning news without panicking. We begin with a compassionate diagnosis for why we find ourselves pulled into the chaotic current of news and media. Our introduction centers on the concept of...

Life is crazy! How do I attend to the reality of Christ’s presence and love?   Today is a follow up episode to our podcast on “Is God Asleep in the Boat?” Brandon and Peter shift the conversation to examine 3 prayer practices that have helped them notice God’s presence and love in the midst of chaotic seasons. Each suggestion flows from the foundational truth that prayer is a response to God, not...

Does Jesus care about us and the storms we are facing?   Living in our chaotic world makes us exhausted and angry. We often find ourselves repeating the disciples’ frantic question in the middle of the storm, “[Jesus] Don’t you care that we are going to perish?” In today’s episode, Brandon and Peter unpack this story from scripture with an eye for how it illuminates our image of God. Is Jesus the...

The Psalms shape us by the feelings they evoke.   In today’s episode, Brandon, Matt and Peter sit down on the back porch to explore a few psalms together. We work through a few common presumptions we have about the Psalms and Brandon gives us his simple guide to reading poetry. We spend some time actually doing the process with Psalm 121 and Psalm 16 to close out the conversation. We pray this evo...

Can anyone say the word “chastity” without cringing?   In this episode, Brandon interviews Father Ronald Rolheiser about his brand new book, Chastity and the Soul: You Are Holy Ground . Father Rolheiser explores chastity as, “proper respect, reverence and patience,” and unpacks it in the context of sexuality and beyond. Our conversation takes us back to the Garden of Eden where we discuss a lack o...

Welcome to the Signpost Inn Podcast! We're glad you're here for today's conversation with David Zahl about the book he co-authored, Law and Gospel: A Theology for Sinners (and Saints). We start with the question, "what does this phrase, 'law and gospel' mean? David then explains why this tool was so energizing for him and his team at Mockingbird. We find that the law and gospel filter clarifies ou...

Welcome to the Signpost Inn Podcast! In today's episode, Brandon interviews Heidi Goehmann on her newest book, Emotions and the Gospel. Throughout the conversation, Heidi unpacks the good news regarding our complex emotions. We talk about what it means to process our emotions and how life wouldn't be better without emotions. Join us and explore how our emotions help us connect with God in differen...

Welcome to another back porch conversation with Brandon, Matt, and Peter. We’re glad you’re here! Today’s episode is an attempt to unpack the idea of the "gospel" of sin management. After a bit of a rough start, jumping straight into some criticisms, we refocus and find our way to the central issue of our desire for security. Even though we know we are saved by grace alone, it FEELS like we must b...

Welcome to the Signpost Inn Podcast! 👀 Join us for an incredible retreat! This is our final episode on The Lord's Prayer. Together, Brandon, Matt and Peter cover the second half of The Lord's Prayer and examine the "our petitions." Join us as we navigate the rich meaning of these petitions as well as the apparent problems which each of them presents. We tackle questions like, "What is the daily b...

Welcome to the Signpost Inn Podcast! 🔔 Join us for an incredible retreat! 🔔 This is our second of three episodes on The Lord's Prayer. Join Brandon, Matt and Peter as they look at the first half of The Lord's Prayer and unpack the "thy petitions." With each petition, we ponder both the wonderful truths we are invited to receive as well as the requests we are making of God. We focus on meaningful...

Welcome to the Signpost Inn Podcast! 🔔 Join us for an incredible retreat! 🔔 Today we begin a series of episodes on The Lord's Prayer. As a ministry desiring to help you connect with God in prayer, we think it's crucial to look at how Jesus taught us to pray! In this introduction we cover the context of the Lord's Prayer where it appears in Matthew and Luke. We explore why Jesus taught this praye...

Welcome to another episode of the Signpost Inn Podcast! Our guest today is Dr. Piotr Malysz a professor of History and Doctrine and Samford's Beeson Divinity School and a personal friend of Brandon's. Growing up in a region of southern Poland that was deeply influenced by the Lutheran reformation, Piotr holds a deep love for the intersection of history and theology. Today's conversation focuses on...