The Deep Dish

Courtney and Melissa discuss how to apply biblical discernment to the question of when to prioritize wise self-care and when to put aside your needs for the sake of others. They emphasize the need to know yourself and whether you naturally tend to protect yourself or to allow your own needs to go unmet. They discuss how to set wise boundaries while showing Christlike love, and they emphasize that...

Melissa talks with Amy Gannett and Laura Wifler about how to parent in a way that passes on the Christian faith. They talk about the atmosphere in their own homes growing up and the importance of passing on—in addition to knowledge—a delight in the things of God. They encourage moms who might feel awkward talking to their kids about their own faith, and they share some favorite resources they’ve u...

Melissa Kruger and Courtney Doctor talk about how to seek out the counsel of wise friends and how to respond well when friends seek your counsel. They discuss how to ask good questions, how to deliver a gentle rebuke when necessary, how to follow up on requests for accountability, and how to point someone to Scripture without treating it like a Bible Band-Aid. Listen prayerfully to prepare yoursel...

Courtney and Melissa discuss the importance of pursuing spiritual growth during the summer, despite disrupted routines. They talk about practices and strategies that have helped them grow during the summer and on vacation. They recommend lots of resources for summer drop-in Bible studies and encourage listeners to consider living missionally by hosting a study or discussion group in their homes wi...

Melissa Kruger and Courtney Doctor talk with Michael Graham about what Christians should know about artificial intelligence. They discuss the benefits it could bring to society and how they personally use it. They consider theological categories and questions for how to evaluate which uses are helpful and which are dangerous. Finally, Graham explains the Christian Benchmark project and how it expo...

Courtney Doctor talks with Wendy Alsup and Vaneetha Rendall Risner about their experiences of divorce. They share the Scripture passages that helped them keep going and talk honestly about what to say (and what not to say) to someone going through a divorce. They explain why it can be hard for a newly divorced Christian to go to church and why it’s vital to go anyway. Resources Mentioned: Walking...

Melissa and Courtney talk with Emily Jensen about how to broaden our understanding of worship to think of it as a response to God’s worth. Worship is more than singing on Sunday morning, but corporate worship is an essential part of the worship God desires. They talk about the role our feelings should play in how we think about worship and how to offer up the mundane moments of our lives to the gl...

Courtney and Melissa talk about how to recognize and repent of the ways we may be relying on self-righteousness rather than the righteousness of Christ. They talk about tribalism, what happens when debatable issues are treated as primary, and how, paradoxically, the areas where we feel despair may point to areas of pride or self-righteousness in our lives. Related Resources: Finding the Right Hill...

Courtney and Melissa talk with New Testament scholar (and Melissa’s husband) Mike Kruger about the excellent evidence that Jesus physically rose from the dead and the difference that makes for our lives. Dr. Kruger points out that because Jesus predicted his own resurrection, it validates his claims to be the Son of God and the Messiah. Dr. Kruger highlights the resurrection's transformative effec...

To celebrate the first birthday of The Deep Dish , Courtney and Melissa welcome special surprise guests to answer tough questions sent in by listeners. They talk about the difference between shame and the Spirit's conviction, how to seek advice about a conflict without gossiping, how to sit with the tension of a biblical text, how to keep the Sabbath, and more.  Resources Mentioned: Remembering De...

Courtney and Melissa discuss helpful practices they’ve used in their prayer lives, including developing regular rhythms, alternating prayer with Scripture reading, and incorporating confession of sin as a part of personal prayer. They talk about how to be faithful to a promise to pray for someone else and how to make prayer part of a friendship. Rather than speaking from a place of prescriptive le...

Melissa and Courtney talk with Jen Oshman about the lie that our worth is measured by what we possess. They discuss why we try to fill a God-shaped hole with earthly things and how to recognize materialism in our lives. They talk about strategies to combat materialism, including inviting trusted friends into your financial decisions, seeking to be as generous to others as possible, and setting you...

Courtney Doctor talks with Colleen Chao about how her faith has grown and flourished through living with a terminal cancer diagnosis. They discuss the difficulty of knowing she may not live to see her son grow up, what keeps her clinging to Jesus, and what excites her about the life to come. Colleen expounds a rich theology of suffering accompanied by contagious joy in the Lord. Resources Mentione...

Courtney and Melissa talk with Christine Hoover about why we need friends and how to make them. They discuss how to get over the awkwardness of walking into a room where you don’t know anyone, why our friendships may shift in different life stages, how our friends shape us, and how an idealized view of friendship (where your friends never disappoint you) runs counter to the gospel.   RESOURCES MEN...

Courtney and Melissa talk with Jen Wilkin about how they each related to their siblings while growing up, how those relationships have changed over the years, and how to foster a healthy relationship with adult siblings. In this laughter-filled conversation, they talk about how they dealt with conflict among their own children, words of wisdom they wished they’d heard sooner, and how to encourage...

Melissa and Courtney talk with Raechel Myers and Amanda Bible Williams about how they learned to love the Bible. They discuss both the challenges and rewards of studying Scripture, memorizing it, and learning to interpret it in community. They explain the difference in thinking the Bible is written to you and understanding that it was written for you. Resources Mentioned:  She Reads Truth The Bibl...

Courtney and Melissa talk about the gap between our high expectations for the holidays and the disappointment we often feel in others or in ourselves. They discuss how to be pro-active in preparing our hearts to hope in the Lord rather than in perfection, how to bear the fruit of the Spirit while also meeting the practical needs of those around us, and how inviting nonfamily into family holidays c...

Melissa talks with Ann Wilson about the power of words in marriage and the importance of speaking life to one's spouse. Ann recounts a memorable turning point in her 45-year marriage when she realized her many attempts to help or “tweak” her husband were having the opposite effect than intended. They talk about recognizing that every marriage has peaks and valleys and give practical advice for get...

Melissa and Courtney talk with Becky Pippert about how to develop godly confidence to engage in evangelistic conversations with love. Becky tells stories about sharing her faith with her own parents and talks about how to go from a natural conversation to a spiritual one. She emphasizes the need to pray for opportunities, to rely on the Holy Spirit, and to be a good listener.  Recommended Resource...

Melissa and Courtney talk with Megan Hill about how God’s Word helps us understand the deep hurts that can come from God’s own people. They discuss why church hurt is so painful as well as why we shouldn’t run from church when we’ve been hurt. They talk about how to know when it might be right to leave a church and how to find comfort in God’s word. Listen to this episode if you’ve ever experience...

Melissa and Courtney talk with Jackie Hill Perry about the sin of covetousness and why it’s so hard to recognize and admit. They discuss signposts that tip them off that they are coveting, the relationship between covetousness and other sins, and why we desire for others to covet what we have. Listen in if you want to get serious about putting to death the sin of covetousness in your own life. Rec...

Melissa and Courtney talk with Lisa Whittle about how a whole body theology can keep us from obsessing or neglecting our bodies. They discuss the need for a foundational view of our bodies drawn from the whole of Scripture rather than isolated verses. Whether we struggle with accepting imperfections in the way we look or we get frustrated because our bodies don’t function the way we wish they did,...

When we treat gossip as an “excusable sin,” we ignore the corrosive power it has in our lives and relationships. In this conversation, Melissa Kruger and Courtney Doctor talk about why we’re so drawn to gossip, how to avoid it, and how to repent of it when you fail. They discuss some telltale phrases that are red flags for gossip, how to turn the conversation to something else, and when and how it...

Melissa Kruger and Courtney Doctor talk with Jen Wilkin about how to make decisions regarding good opportunities in light of our finiteness. They talk about why quitting is sometimes wise, how to think about decisions that will affect your family, and why it’s better to think of God's will as a field rather than a maze. Recommended Resources Leadership on the Line by Ronald A. Heifetz and Martin L...

Melissa and Courtney talk with Mark Vroegop about the gap moments of our lives when we have to wait. They discuss why waiting is so frustrating, what it means to wait on the Lord, what the Bible says about waiting, and how to recognize the sinful patterns we should avoid in times of waiting. No one likes to wait, but waiting is where we learn to walk by faith and where God does some of his best wo...