Let's Get Real

Chris de Monye is a lead pastor in Canada with a gift for making strangers feel like family in about four minutes flat. He joins Joel and Sara to talk about what real growth actually looks like — spoiler: it's usually uncomfortable, unexpected, and involves someone sitting you down and telling you you're not training for your calling. This one covers grief, community, spiritual directors, monaster...

We've got a new name. Same hosts, same honesty, same complete lack of a script. "Get Real" is now Still Figuring It Out — because that's the truth, and pretending otherwise was getting exhausting. Same feed, same Joel and Sara, same questions about what following Jesus actually looks like in real life. Just a new name that finally fits.

What if the people who bother you the most are exactly who God wants you to spend time with? Joel and Sara kick off their new Unexpected Conversations series with Willow Weston — founder of Collide ministry — who built something that brings together women from wildly different backgrounds, denominations, and life stories. This one's about getting out of your comfortable bubble, following Jesus int...

Twelve weeks in, and it all comes down to this: what are you actually here for? Joel and Sara close out the Purpose Driven Life series by writing a personal purpose statement — live, on air, no script. Using Rick Warren's five-question framework, they work through what it means to build a North Star that's bigger than your job title, survives the worst seasons of your life, and still works if you...

Most of us have a story about God that we almost never tell. Not because we don't believe it — but because we're pretty sure it's not interesting enough, dramatic enough, or polished enough for anyone to care. Joel and Sara spend this penultimate episode of the Purpose Driven Life series making the case that your story matters, breaking down Rick Warren's four-part framework for figuring out what...

What's actually driving you when you serve — love, or the need to be noticed? Joel and Sara sit down with their lead pastor Kurt Langstrat for an honest conversation about servant leadership: the slow work of getting your identity right, what it costs to leave room for interruptions, and how you can tell when your motivations have gone sideways. Spoiler: if you get mopey when no one says thank you...

You have a spiritual gift. That's not a suggestion — it's a design feature. But most of us either don't know what it is, don't think it counts, or have no idea what to do with it. Joel and Sara dig into four specific gifts — administration, prophecy, mercy, and teaching — and why the church genuinely suffers when you keep yours to yourself. Also: the potluck illustration that explains everything.

You want to grow spiritually. Great. Here's the bad news: there are no shortcuts, it never really ends, and the most annoying people in your life are actually the curriculum. Joel and Sara get honest about what spiritual growth actually looks like — how you measure it, why it takes longer than you want it to, and what it means to just take the next right step when the whole picture feels overwhelm...

What do you do when obedience leads you somewhere you didn't want to go — and then COVID hits? Brannon Shortt (lead pastor of Bayside Folsom and chaplain for the A's) joins Joel and Sara to talk about growing through the seasons you'd never choose: how desert moments strip idols you didn't know you were holding, why prayer gets honest when there's nothing left to hide behind, and what it actually...

Most of us have sat through a church service thinking, "What is this actually for?" — and then driven home without an answer. Joel and Sara get honest about the difference between showing up to church and actually belonging to one, what it looks like to be a contributing member instead of a consumer, and why you genuinely cannot grow in your faith alone. Even if you really want to try.

Loneliness is at epidemic levels, and most of us know it — we just don't know what to do about it. This episode makes the case that belonging isn't something you earn; it's something you already have. Sara and Joel dig into what it actually means to act like family — not just attend one — and why showing up messy, sleepy, or mid-breakdown still counts as belonging.

God loves you — sure, you've heard that. But does he actually like you? This episode tackles one of the most quietly loaded questions in faith: what does it actually mean to be friends with God? Joel and Sara get honest about Bible streaks as idols, dirty sock wounds, yelling at God in the car, and why showing up messy might be exactly what real friendship with him requires.

What does it actually mean to love God — especially when life is hard, your feelings lie to you, and faith feels more like a chore than a calling? Joel, Sara, and special guest Summer dig into the honest tension of loving God through grief, loss, and identity shifts. From spiritual disciplines to "living on the other side of the but," this conversation is real, warm, and surprisingly practical.

You've wondered why you're here. So has everyone — the philosophers, the poets, the Old Testament emo kids (looking at you, Jeremiah). This episode kicks off a new series on The Purpose Driven Life, and Joel and Sara get honest about the five things most of us are actually letting drive our lives — guilt, resentment, fear, materialism, and the need for approval. Spoiler: none of them work. So what...

You've wondered why you're here. So has everyone — the philosophers, the poets, the Old Testament emo kids (looking at you, Jeremiah). This episode kicks off a new series on The Purpose Driven Life, and Joel and Sara get honest about the five things most of us are actually letting drive our lives — guilt, resentment, fear, materialism, and the need for approval. Spoiler: none of them work. So what...

Easter is one of the most important days in the Christian faith—but a lot of the traditions surrounding it can feel a little confusing. In this episode of Get Real, Joel and Sara talk about the cultural side of Easter—where things like eggs and the Easter Bunny came from—and how those traditions ended up connected to the holiday. More importantly, they refocus on what Easter is actually about: the...

Jesus says, “Come to me… and I will give you rest.” But what does that actually mean when life still feels heavy? In this episode of Get Real, Joel and Sara unpack Matthew 11:28–30 and talk honestly about spiritual exhaustion, misplaced burdens, and the kind of rest Jesus is really offering. If you’ve ever wondered where that promised rest is supposed to show up in real life, this conversation is...

In this final episode of our Hard Conversations series, we dive into the power of our words — and how even well-meaning comments can hurt more than help. From grief and mental health to faith struggles, politics, and celebrating good news, we talk through common things people say that often land poorly. More importantly, we share better ways to respond with compassion, wisdom, and grace. Because a...

Hard conversations are exactly that — hard. Most of us avoid them, delay them, or rehearse them in the shower… and none of that actually helps our relationships. In this episode of GET REAL, Joel and Sara continue the Hard Convos series by tackling one of the most common challenges we face: how to start awkward conversations with honesty, humility, and love. Drawing from Scripture, personal storie...

We live in a reactionary world. Politics. Parenting. Baptism. Alcohol. Women in ministry. Technology. It doesn’t take much for conversations to escalate. In this episode of Hard Convos, Joel and Sara tackle one of the most difficult challenges Christians face today: how to disagree without dividing. Drawing from church history, Scripture, and personal experience, they unpack a centuries-old phrase...

Doubt.  For a lot of Christians, it feels like a dirty word — something we’re supposed to hide, fix, or pray away as fast as possible. But what if doubt isn’t the enemy? In this first episode of our new Hard Convos series, Sara is joined by her friend Amber to talk honestly about the questions many believers carry but rarely say out loud: • Does doubt mean my faith is weak? • Why does God feel dis...

Some church words sound… unsettling. If you didn’t grow up in church—or if you did but never stopped to ask questions—these words can feel more like horror movie titles than good news. In this final Word Nerds episode, Joel and Sara tackle the “creepy” biblical language we’ve inherited and explore why these words sound strange, how culture reshaped their meaning, and what they were actually meant...

We sing these words almost every week. Hallelujah. Holy. Hosanna. Emmanuel. They’re printed on screens. Written into choruses. And carried through centuries of worship. But what do they actually mean? In this episode of Word Nerds, we dive into some of the most common worship words in Christianity—where they came from, what they originally meant, how they’re often misunderstood, and why they still...

There are some church words we all use…but if we’re honest, they don’t really mean much anymore. They’ve become filler. Christian small talk. Spiritual-sounding noise. So in this episode of GET REAL, we’re doing something a little different. We’re putting some of our most overused church words on trial. We talk about where these words came from, how they’re often used, why they can actually get in...

In this kickoff episode of our new series Word Nerds, we unpack some of the most common church words people say all the time… without really knowing what they mean. What is the gospel? What does it actually mean to be saved? Is faith just believing something — or is it something more? And why do words like grace and repentance feel so heavy? We take these “Christianese” words out of religious fog...