jmcconnell@myministrymission.com

In this episode, I take on one of the most heated debates inside the church — young earth creationism versus old earth creationism — and try to do something that does not happen nearly enough: lay out both positions fairly. I walk through what each view actually claims, survey where the major Christian denominations land, and then answer the question that really matters. Does what you believe about the age of the earth affect your salvation? Drawing from 1 Corinthians 15:3–4, Romans 10:9, and Ephesians 2:8–9, the answer is clear. And it might just change how you hold this conversation [...]

In this episode, I tackle one of the stranger cultural conversations of our time: what should Christians think about UAPs and the question of alien life? With the government confirming things in our airspace that nobody can explain, and Christians all over the map on what it means, I thought it was time to stop avoiding it. I look at what the government has actually confirmed, honestly examine whether UAPs could be demonic, and sit with what Scripture does and does not say about life beyond Earth. Most importantly, I want to leave you with three things: wonder, discernment, and [...]

Why are so many people deeply unhappy, even when they have everything they ever wanted? In this episode, I explore what the research is telling us about America's growing unhappiness crisis, what Solomon discovered after running the most ambitious experiment in human satisfaction ever attempted, and what Jesus offered a thirsty woman at a well in Samaria that changed everything. Drawing on Ecclesiastes, Isaiah 55, and John 4, I unpack why the things we chase keep leaving us empty, and what it actually looks like to find the living water Jesus promised. If you have ever felt that restless ache [...]

America was founded on prayer, but somewhere between 1776 and today, the Church seems to have quietly set that down. In this episode, I look at what the founders actually did before every major act of the founding, what Scripture says about interceding for the nation you live in, and why passages like Daniel 9, Jeremiah 29:7, and 2 Chronicles 7:14 are more relevant right now than most of us realize. I also walk through what that famous verse from 2 Chronicles really means in context, because the context changes everything. If you've ever felt like America is slipping and [...]

In this episode, I sit down with Pastor Sheldon Lee Stovall, a pastor, licensed counselor, and author who has built his ministry at the crossroads of scripture and mental health. Sheldon opens up about losing his brother and the grief and depression that followed, and what that season taught him about God's care for our emotional lives. We talk about why Christians shouldn't hide their pain, how faith and professional help can work together, and why the church needs to take mental health seriously. The conversation also goes somewhere unexpected, into the Holy Spirit being sidelined in today's church, Matthew [...]

In this episode, I sit down with Kim Harms, a two-time breast cancer survivor, speaker, and author of Carried Through Cancer: 70 Days of Spiritual Strength from Cancer Fighters, Survivors and Caregivers. Kim was first diagnosed in 2016 and again in 2023, and rather than letting that story stay in silence, she has spent the last decade turning her pain into something that points others to Christ. We talk about what it really looks like to trust God when He doesn't take the hard thing away, how the Psalms of Lament helped her find an honest relationship with God, and [...]

In this episode, I want to talk to anyone who said yes to Jesus and then woke up the next morning wondering if anything really changed. That quiet question (why don't I feel different?) is one of the most common things new believers wrestle with, and I think the church has done a poor job of answering it. So I walk through what actually happened at salvation, why feelings are not a reliable measuring stick for your relationship with God, and what spiritual growth really looks like when it shows up in ordinary life. We spend time in 2 Corinthians [...]

In this episode, I sit down with a question many Christians are afraid to ask out loud: when is it time to step back from a friendship with someone whose influence is pulling you away from Christ? I work through 2 Corinthians 6:14, Matthew 18:15–17, and Proverbs 4:23 to build a biblical framework for one of the hardest relational decisions a believer can face. We talk about the difference between love and unlimited access, the warning signs that a relationship has crossed a line, and what it looks like to walk away with grace while still leaving the door unlocked. [...]

In this episode, I sit down with Stephen Landis, a Christian poet and author from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and founder of Dust Bunny Poetry, for a deeply honest conversation about what it means to use the creative gifts God has placed in us. Stephen shares his faith journey, from rededication at sixteen to a defining moment at nineteen when the truth of Ephesians 2:8-9 anchored him in grace over works, and how that foundation now fuels everything he writes. We talk about the courage it takes to create for God's glory, the beauty of wrestling with calling, and why stewardship [...]

What if the miracle you have been waiting for already happened, and you slept right through it? In this episode, I want to invite you to slow down and look at your everyday life through the lens of Scripture. We explore what I call miracle blindness, the quiet spiritual nearsightedness that causes so many of us to miss God's constant presence in ordinary moments. From Elijah's still small voice in 1 Kings 19 to Jeremiah's stunning declaration of new mercy in Lamentations 3, the Bible consistently shows us a God who loves to show up in the small and the [...]