Jesus—in his infinite wisdom—attempted to create protections to ensure that the “least” would always have their basic needs met. But he pushed it even farther than that when he said that caring for the “least of these” was, in some very real sense, taking care of Christ himself.

Matthew 25 (the separation of the sheep and the goats) stands as a powerful parable calling the church to take seriously a collective understanding of faith. Our Christianity should not just serve ourselves, but rather it should catalyze us toward compassion for all.

In our final episode of the season, Rev Jonah leads a brilliant conversation arguing for a Christianity defined by radical solidarity rather than comfortable individualism. Listeners are invited into deeper, more authentic ways of embodying Christ’s radical vision for community, care, and connection.

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The heart of episode nine centers on a story from John 9 where Jesus heals a man born blind, and the disciples ask, “Who sinned—this man or his parents?”

Josh leads a discussion around the merits and pitfalls of looking for blame in the context of suffering. Pointing out that Jesus doesn’t blame the blind man or his parents, Josh says that Jesus redirects them: “You’re asking the wrong question. Look instead for what God can do.”

Join us as we wrestle with the tension between finding purpose in suffering and the danger of turning people into spiritual props. As we look at how we can Keep Christ in Christian, this episode is an invitation to resist blame, resist superiority, and lean into compassionate presence.

Rather than asking why someone is suffering, ask how can I show up in love?

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Why are so many Christians these days so unkind? “If you call yourself a Christian,” co-Host Colby Martin says, “then you don’t have the option to not be kind.”

Back in Jesus’ day a religious person approached Jesus looking for a loophole with regards to “who is my neighbor?” Meaning, sure sure sure, I gotta love people… but like, there’s gotta be someone out there I don’t HAVE to love, right?

Jesus responds with the story of the good Samaritan and ends with, “Your aim should be to BE the neighbor to all.”

In other words, NO LOOPHOLES, yo.

And yet… also… what do we do with the instances where Jesus called people “brood of vipers?” Or that time he flipped over tables?

Was any of that “kind?”

This episode is a FANTASTIC conversation about keeping Christ in Christian through kindness.

Listen. Like it. Share it. Review it!

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Is God’s best idea for wholeness, forgiveness, and restoration really a system where—not only does an innocent person need to die (and shed their blood)—but then people have to BELIEVE that that happened, otherwise the payment wasn’t sufficient so they must suffer themselves?

What an odd and utterly inhumane way to handle things.

Yet this is how many Christians think about atonement.

In this thought provoking episode, Rev Jonah leads a conversation that starts with the three parables of a lost coin, sheep, and son; then moves into why our penal system of incarceration is in dire need of reform (or abolishment); which then gets us talking about atonement and God’s capacity to forgive… and that leads in to universal salvation.

What a doozy of an episode! Something for everyone :)

Grab a coffee or whisky or both and listen in.

Many of us in the progressive Christian, post-evangelical space witnessed something horrifying back in 2016 (that has continued over the subsequent decade).

The very people who taught us what it meant to be Christ-like were the same ones who set so much of that aside in their efforts for political wins.

Marshall McLuhan famously said, “The medium is the message.” Which means that HOW you say something is just as meaningful and powerful as WHAT you are saying.

Join us for a lively conversation of how that same principle applies for what it means to Keep Christ in Christian.

Most of us were initiated into a version of Christianity which claimed to be the one, true, correct expression of the faith.

What about all the other denominations or traditions? At best they were inferior, at worst they were heretics and cults.

In today’s discussion, Colby leads us in a conversation around the practice of gatekeeping, where we assume the role of deciding who is and is not a real Christian. We don’t all necessarily agree, or share the same instincts, as it relates to who, when, and how we can determine who is “for us” and who is on “Team Jesus.”

Our central question: What if keeping Christ in Christian means we have a much larger framework for who is part of the Great Family of God?

Led by Rev Jonah P. Overton, this week’s episode invites listeners to consider that when Jesus spoke of enteral life, the kingdom of God, and the abundant life, he did not have “what happens when we die” on his mind.

By removing (or rather, distorting) the original intentions of Jesus’ teaching, and replacing it with ideas about an afterlife/heaven/hell, much of Christianity has become kind of death cult.

This does not honor the life and teachings of Jesus.

When most people hear the word “repent” it conjures images and feelings of guilt and shame.

Used to make others feel bad about themselves, and used to exert a kind of control, most Christians today totally miss the point of “repentance.”

Josh Scott leads the discussion in this episode as we consider how keeping Christ in Christian might very well look like using repentance as a practice for inviting connection (and not shame).

Jesus couldn’t have been clearer: “Do not judge.”

And yet, judgment is often what Christians are most known for.

In this episode, we take a hard look at the one teaching of Jesus we break the most.

We revisit the log-and-splinter story, unpack what it really means, and explore how choosing empathy and compassion over condemnation could be the most Christlike move to make.

Many people are noticing an odd trend: things can look and sound “Christian” while, at the same time, not really looking or sounding like “Jesus.”

How on earth did that happen?

In this all new podcast presented by The Better Fruit Project, three post-evangelical pastors sit down to explore various ways in which the life, teaching, and way of Jesus is missing from so much of what passes for Christianity.

In this episode join Colby Martin, Josh Scott, and Jonah Overton as they share their hearts behind why they got on board with this project.

Hosted by Colby Martin, Jonah Overton, and Josh Scott, this 10 episode series explores a number of ways in which modern day Christianity (especially evangelicalism) seems troublingly void of the clear teachings of Jesus.

If you, like us, keep wondering why so many preachings and voices online can sound super “Christian-y”, and yet not really sound like Jesus at all, then make sure to subscribe to Keep Christ in Christian.

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“Keep Christ in Christmas.” It’s a sentiment many are aware of. It doesn’t require a ton of explanation. Whether or not you agree or like it, I assume you at least get what people are saying.

Recently I’ve been thinking about this phrase.. but not in terms of keeping Christ in “Christmas.”

Rather, I’m much more interested in keeping Christ in Christian.

Keep Christ in Christian

More and more it seems that we can listen to preachers, and read online material from Christians, and it can sound “Christian,” while also not really sounding much like Jesus.

And the fact that such a distinction can be made is tragic.

Back in January this contrast was painfully stark when I heard Franklin Graham give a prayer at the Presidential Inauguration and then not 24 hours later Bishop Mariann Budde delivered a (very different kind of) message at the National Service of Prayer.

Graham’s prayer sounded very Christian.

Whereas Budde’s sermon sounded like Jesus.

And I can’t stop thinking about that.

How in the world can such a distinction exist?

People be out here calling themselves Christian, yet their actual lives (what they say, do, how they treat people) are depressingly absent of Jesus.

As I often write/teach, being Christian isn’t just about believing in Jesus — it’s about becoming like him.

I’ve been bothered by this disconnect for years.

Usually, such bothering is an indication that Spirit is stirring something in me.

And that means… it’s time to make something.

Podcast Time

I love creating stuff.

• Putting together articles on Substack.

• Writing books.

• Producing videos.

• Making music.

As I’ve been thinking about the whole “keep Christ in Christian” thing, I kept coming back to the idea of creating a podcast about it. Not one of those indefinite podcasts where you just crank out episodes every week ad nauseam.

No, I wanted a start and stop to this. A limited series, if you will.

My goal was to explore various ways in which Christ has been removed from Christianity.

It’s not about shaming people. It’s about radical honesty. It’s about remembering: If we claim to follow Christ… shouldn’t we look like Christ?

So I started mapping out a production plan and putting some ideas down… but then I had the thought:

Wait, could this project be even better if other people were involved?

Lol.

Of course it would be.

But since I’m an Enneagram Type 3, sometimes it takes me a while to get there. Collaboration doesn’t come natural to us 3’s.

So I reached out to two dear friends who I knew not only felt the same way I did on this, but who are also smarter than me on these topics.

Lucky for me.. and even more so, lucky for you all… they both said yes!

Meet the “Keep Christ in Christian” Co-Hosts: Colby, Jonah, and Josh

• Pastor Josh Scott (who writes on Substack here, pastors Gracepointe Church in Nashville, and has a couple books you can find here); and

• Rev Jonah Overton (who started and leads Zao Church in Milwaukee and is a badass activist)

The Plan

Keep Christ in Christian is a 10 episode podcast series presented by The Better Fruit Project.

Each episode will have a verse or theme from the life and teachings of Jesus that we feel is missing from western, American Christianity.

The first episode will drop on Tuesday April 29th. After that we’ll release one new episode every Tuesday.

We’ll be hosting the podcast here on Substack, but you can also subscribe/listen on Spotify and/or Apple Podcasts.

Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss a thing!

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SAVE THE DATE: Live Podcast Launch Event

On Monday April 28th we are planning a live podcast event to launch Keep Christ in Christian.

The venue is TBD, but we know it will be in Nashville (message us if you have an idea for a space).

But if you’ll be in/around Nashville that night, save the date! Especially all you who are planning to be at the Post-Evangelical Collective Gathering.

Join the Conversation

We want to hear from you!

What does this podcast bring up for you?

Where do you see (or rather, NOT see) Jesus in evangelical Christianity?

What day you hope we address?

Leave your comments below!

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