Candid Conversations with Dr. Jonathan Youssef

Are you struggling to find direction? Do you have a vision for your life? Do you know how to align that vision with God's plan? Join Jonathan Youssef and his father, Dr. Michael Youssef, as they discuss the importance of having a God-focused vision for life and provide insight to help you uncover your vision. To ask Jonathan a question or connect with the Candid community, visit https://LTW.org/Ca...

It's Easter week and Jonathan, along with the Candid team, have put together a very special Easter episode that you don't want to miss. Join Jonathan and his son Isaac as they welcome the Candid team's kids to help retell the Easter story. This is an episode so sweet that we are sure you will smile at the beautiful faith of a child. We also hope it helps you to remember the beautiful promise of th...

What is suffering? Why is there suffering in this world? Why aren't we immune to it as Christians? Why would a loving God allow suffering? One of the most asked questions by young people in the Western world is, "Why is there suffering?" Pain and hardship are part of the human experience but why? The Bible is clear that we will all face suffering to some degree and that it will ultimately be used...

Tragedy strikes. Grief and sorrow follow. We want to know why it happened, who is to blame, and all the details of what happened.  Is that the right way to respond? How did Jesus respond to tragedy? What can we learn from Him? Join Jonathan Youssef as he shares insight from Luke 13 about how Christians should respond to tragedy. In this chapter, Jesus reminds His disciples of the bigger picture wh...

Should believers be on the frontlines of culture wars?  Is cancel culture impacting how younger Christians engage with the church and with secular culture? How can different Christian generations with diverse opinions come together in unity to overcome cancel culture?   On today’s episode, Jonathan welcomes Dr. Bill Davis as they discuss culture wars in and outside of the Church along with what th...

Have you ever wondered what God's call is for your life?  Do you think about what He created you to do?  Do you wrestle and ask if you are in the center of His will? These are questions we all wrestle with periodically. If you are in that place now or know someone who is, today's podcast is for you. Jonathan welcomes Clay Kirkland back to Candid Conversations. Clay is a life coach who served for 1...

"You are enough!"  "God wants you to be happy."  "Be the boss of you!" These popular quotes sound encouraging and empowering, but are they really Biblical? Jonathan welcomes Alisa Childers back to Candid Conversations to discuss the infiltration of cultural lies into Christian circles. Together, they unpack the importance of holding every thought captive to the knowledge of God where true life and...

As false teachers tear down Biblical morals and many deconstruct their faith, how are believers to respond?  Jonathan Youssef welcomes his father, Dr. Michael Youssef, to Candid to discuss his new book, Never Give Up: Holding Fast to Biblical Truth in Times of Danger and Despair . Together, they discuss Paul's writings to Timothy and the Church in 2 Timothy, an incredible encouragement for us to h...

We love receiving your questions at Candid Conversations. We want to help you navigate the hard questions of the Christian faith. We all have questions about Christianity, so let’s dive in and answer them together. On today's episode of Candid, Jonathan takes a few minutes to unpack answers to your recent questions, including:  Why would God create us knowing we would fall and suffer? How could a...

Critical Race Theory is being offered as a framework that will help with the work of racial healing.  Is this true?  Can Critical Race Theory bring racial healing?  Can it bring Biblical unity?  Join Jonathan and his guest, Monique Duson of the Center for Biblical Unity, to peel back the layers of Critical Race Theory. Monique is a racial unity advocate and co-founder with Krista Bontrager of the...

Join Jonathan as he sits down with famed baseball player and sports legend, Darryl Strawberry.  Darryl Strawberry is a former professional baseball player, who rose to fame in 1980 and became the number one draft pick at the age of 18. Three years later he became Rookie of The Year, and went on to play 17 seasons in Major League Baseball. He was one of the most feared sluggers in the sport, known...

Are you looking for a way to study God’s Word consistently? Do you need a new Bible reading plan? Join Jonathan as he shares his favorite plan, as well as the potential pitfalls and rewards of a Bible reading plan by  Robert Murray M'Cheyne: Daily Bread. We pray that this episode encourages you in the general reading of God's Word and that choosing a reading plan will help you grow in your relatio...

As frustrating as it may seem, life never goes according to plan. Almost nothing is normal. Today, Laura Story joins Jonathan on Candid to discuss her new book, So Long, Normal: Living and Loving the Free Fall of Faith .  Laura is a wife, mother, songwriter, worship leader, author, artist, and Bible teacher. Her songs—which have won Grammys, Billboard Music Awards, and Dove Awards—include “Blessin...

Why do we pray? What is prayer? In this episode Jonathan welcomes Dr. Guy Richard to discuss your most common questions about prayer. He is the author of Persistent Prayer and Executive Director and Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Atlanta. Together, Jonathan and Dr. Richard  unpack the misunderstandings of prayer, explain how prayer can be misused, an...

We all face difficulties.  Why? What is the purpose of trials? How should we view them as followers of Christ? How do we keep going when things seem unbearable? In this episode, Jonathan Youssef unpacks wisdom from James 1 about how we are to handle trials and the blessing we receive when we persevere. To ask Jonathan a question or to connect with the Candid community, visit https://LTW.org/Candid...

Do you hope to grow spiritually in 2022? Jonathan encourages you to take some time to reflect on and plan the ways you can grow spiritually this year--finding your hope, joy, peace, and contentment in Christ alone.  After you listen to this episode, you may have your own questions. We would love to hear from you! To ask Jonathan a question or connect with the Candid community, visit https://LTW.or...

Would you follow God away from comfort and security into hard places?  Would you welcome prostitutes and drug users into your home?  Do you lead with trust in relationships or is trust earned?  For believers, these are hard questions that can only be answered when someone is rooted in Biblical wisdom and is seeking answers from God.  Today's Candid Conversations guest has had to trust God for the...

Could you be missing a miracle of God?  Are you too busy for God's intrusion into your life?   God took on flesh in Bethlehem on a night when the streets were bustling with congestion created by a mandatory census. People were busy, but the Messiah quietly came into the world. Some stopped what they were doing and followed God's prompting, but so many missed it. How will you spend Christmas? Will...

The closer we get to Christmas, the more preoccupied we can become with the trappings of the season - diverting our attention away from the true meaning of Christmas.   Today, we offer another gift to help you center your heart on Christ - A Very Candid Christmas with special guests Lauren and Jeremy Ezell. They are accomplished musicians, song writers, and worship leaders. Jeremy leads worship wi...

Christmas time is here and we are excited to share a couple of fun, festive, and encouraging Christmas episodes recorded with some of our favorite worship leaders. We hope these episodes will offer a relaxing break in what can be a chaotic time of year.   This week, we welcome Mac Powell back to Candid to kick off some Candid Christmas Caroling. Mac Powell is the worship leader at The Church of Th...

It is the first week of Advent in the liturgical Christian Church. It is a season of celebration of the first coming of Christ but also a time of expectant waiting in preparation for the second coming of Christ.   Excerpted from the new Advent devotional by Dr. Michael Youssef, Preparing for the King, this reflection offers four things to reflect on during this Advent Season.   We pray that you'll...

Last week Jonathan began a conversation with a longtime friend, Hammond McEver. Together, they discussed the call God put on Hammond's life to minister to children in the inner city of Atlanta. The Lord planted a dream in his heart to start a school to help the children thrive in the Lord and then in their education.  Today, Jonathan and Hammond finish their conversation as Hammond unpacks more of...

How do you know your calling? Do you have the right calling if you hit roadblocks and opposition? Today, Jonathan welcomes a longtime friend, Hammond McEver, who shares his story of prayerfully considering and answering God's call to disciple and help educate inner-city children.  Hammond shares how the Lord led him to break idols of personal achievement and comfort in favor of God’s call to disci...

November rolls around and we all think about giving thanks. Jonathan welcomes Mary Mohler to Candid Conversations to  discuss what Biblical gratitude really is – a gratitude that is more than thanking God for all the good things in our lives.   Mary Mohler serves in ministry alongside her husband, Dr. Al Mohler, at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. She is also the...

Join Jonathan for part two of a real life story that has kept us on the edge of our seats. Today Jonathan finishes his two-part conversation with Thomas Tarrants, a former white-supremacist and Klansman, once infamously called the "most dangerous man in Mississippi".   If you missed last week's conversation, we encourage you to go back and listen to the first part of this conversation with Thomas....