The Yours Truly Podcast

America’s unspoken civil religion — be nice, feel good, God’s chill — has crashed.In this conversation, Sam Tideman (Transfigured) and I trace the rise and fall of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, the “default faith” of modern America. From Harvard Unitarianism to megachurch moralism, from the Chicago World’s Fair to the Jordan Peterson wave, we explore what happens when the background religion of “nice” stops working — and what comes next.🎙️ Guest: Sam Tiedeman – Host of Transfigured @transfigured3673 📺 Watch Sam’s MTD series:• Part 1 – The Forgotten History of Moralistic Therapeutic Deismhttps://youtu.be/5eHYMzanOvs?si=d_hUAfvIg7LrVc9M• Part 2 – Does Moralistic Therapeutic Deism Still Exist?https://youtu.be/XZfOfq6NJ4Y?si=oApWtsIJSjdecLD7@MarkDParker Live Stream Mentioned with Sam @transfigured3673 link: https://www.youtube.com/live/HNoaLoVLFsQ?si=Cey0iD9HKgau8_DBBecome Channel Member to support the work of Yours Truly & Converesation Craft:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU5SNBfTo4umhjYz6M0Jsmg/joinfollow me on X: https://twitter.com/chrbaxter_yt—Listen on Podbean & Apple Podcastshttps://chrbaxteryt.podbean.com/https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-yours-truly-podcast/id1751129283

Ross Byrd returns to the Yours Truly Podcast for a heavy but necessary conversation. We wrestle with what it really means when pastors fall — not just “a sinner like the rest of us,” but men entrusted with sacred office, whose failures ripple through families, churches, and communities.We dig into Ross’s Patient Kingdom essay on the cliché “There but for the grace of God go I” — asking whether that phrase short-circuits deeper honesty about betrayal, shame, and the costly road back to trust. Along the way we examine Carl Lentz’s story, the revolving door of evangelical scandals, and the flattening of pastoral authority into what Ross calls “nihilistic piety.”This episode is not about gossip or cynicism. It’s about telling the truth: grace is not a hall pass, forgiveness is not the same as restored trust, and sacred office is more than private accountability.Mentioned • Ross Byrd – https://substack.com/@rossbyrd?r=433pnb&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=profile • Carl Lentz & Lights On podcast: @lightsonwithcarllentz • Evangelical scandals: Ravi Zacharias, Bill Hybels, Steve Lawson, Robert Morris • Scripture: 1 Timothy, Acts, GenesisKey Ideas• Sacred office isn’t interchangeable with personal piety.• “Grace” without truth or trust becomes hollow.• Confession belongs in the light, not just in private.• Restoration is costly — it takes time, patience, and truth-telling.👉 If this conversation resonates, please subscribe, share, or consider becoming a channel member to support longform work like this: Join this channelhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU5SNBfTo4umhjYz6M0Jsmg/join

Conversation Craft — Ep. 129: The MeyersFaith, family, and conversation as a craft.Miles and Rebecca Meyers (of Our View from the Plains) share their journey—from early grief and a rocky start to marriage, to rediscovering a call to ministry and building a household shaped by prayer, table, and church. They talk candidly about repentance, identity, and how to move from one-time “conversion moments” to a way of life rooted in practice and ritual.Find the Meyers: ​⁠@OurViewFromThePlains (YouTube)⸻Support the workJoin channel memberships • Substack • Podcast feed • Social links⸻Notes (from the conversation): their channel mission and “table → sacraments” frame; their family story and “where do we go from here?”; cultivation over one-off conversion; the “Friday concert / Saturday conference / Sunday liturgy” hierarchy; and “Sundays are holy.” 🎯 Core Episode Tags • Miles and Rebecca Meyers • Our View from the Plains • Conversation Craft podcast • Yours Truly Podcast • Christian Baxter⸻🏠 Faith & Family Tags • Christian parenting • Marriage and faith • Homeschooling and theology • Family discipleship • Passing down the faith • Christian family legacy • Raising kids in faith⸻✝️ Theological / Ecclesial Tags • Eucharist vs communion • Sacramental Protestantism • Sunday is holy • Call and response liturgy • Christian tradition and submission • Conversion vs cultivation • Practicing the faith • Legacy of the church fathers⸻🌐 Digital / Corner Tags • This Little Corner of the Internet • Symbolic World community • Estuary conference • Digital vs embodied church • Online Christian community⸻📈 Broad SEO Reach Tags • Faith and culture podcast • Christian YouTube channels • Christianity in modern America • Protestant sacramental theology • Christian family stories

Neil Daedalus joins me to trace a journey from Jordan Peterson’s Genesis lectures and Sam Harris debates, through Jung, grief, and a searing encounter at Mass, to entering the Catholic Church. We get into Babylon 5’s “Rangers” as a living metaphor for TLC, why Gen Z’s arena feels more political than personal, video games as training-grounds for agency, resentment/journaling as shadow work, and why grace (not optimization) breaks the frame. Along the way: PVK, Midwest Estuary, Jordan Hall, Mary Harrington, and the uneasy dance between individuation and personhood. To support the work of the channel you can do this throygh YouTube channel memberships:Join this channelhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU5SNBfTo4umhjYz6M0Jsmg/joinCheck out the work @Neal_Daedalus is doing on his channel!Follow me over on X and Substack:https://x.com/chrbaxter_yt?s=21https://substack.com/@christianbaxteryt?r=433pnb&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=profilePeople & works mentionedJordan Peterson (Genesis lectures), Sam Harris (“What Is Truth?”), Joe Rogan, John Vervaeke, Paul VanderKlay (PVK), Jordan Hall, Mary Harrington, Rigel Thurston, Hector Avalos (The Bad Jesus), Babylon 5 (J. Michael Straczynski), ACTS/RCIA, Novus Ordo & TLM.

Guest: Henry ​⁠@Unfocusedfaiththoughts — a first rando telling of his story: nominal Christian home, rare congenital birth condition, a grandmother’s steady love, youth-group altar-call anxiety, getting black-pilled by comic-book culture wars, COVID isolation, college + ecclesial anxiety, and finding Peterson/PVK, House of Woo, and the spirit of play that rebuilt agency. We talk LEGO as imaginal practice, being the “responsible sibling,” teaching high school, and why randos still matter.Why this matters: Not every conversion comes with fireworks. Henry’s is about fidelity, friendship, and slow agency online.People & channels mentioned • Paul VanderKlay (PVK) • House of Woo • Jordan Peterson (Genesis lectures) • Neil “Daedalus” • Ethan Kahi • Grim Griz • Matt C / Kyrie / God’s Dog (context: comics + corner) • Andrew Peterson (song mention context)ThemesNominal to faithful; suffering to meaning; culture war fatigue - humane conversation; play lot agency; baptismal identity greater than altar-call theatrics.Support & links • Become a channel member to help me host more randos + essays Join: youtube.com/@christianbaxter_yt/joinLink: Join this channelhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU5SNBfTo4umhjYz6M0Jsmg/join • Podcast feed + socials: Substack: https://substack.com/@christianbaxteryt?r=433pnb&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=profileX: https://x.com/chrbaxter_yt?s=21The Yours Truly Podcast, please check it out. https://www.podbean.com/pi/pbblog-y77sn-117e7a0 • Guest: https://youtube.com/@unfocusedfaiththoughts?si=rBbGilWonxHMUpPGHashtags#RandoStory #SymbolicTheology #PVKCorner #LEGO #EcclesialAnxiety #JordanPeterson #ComicsCulture #Baptism

@PresidentFoxman - Substack in response to to Charlie Kirk’s Death: https://open.substack.com/pub/presidentfoxman/p/its-been-a-tough-few-days?r=433pnb&utm_medium=ios@AphraelPilotson stream on the thoughts after Kirk’s death - https://www.youtube.com/live/fpzfP1MUT80?si=79Wt6farcfk_tMXNPlaylist of my other conversations with the panelists: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVdyuKdUJ45AWbbDC65gmQlQkz5I4nvTU&si=fBGyAjp6R_jHUeoY

In this conversation, Christian welcomes Courtney Trotter—a Beeson Seminary MDiv, language nerd (Greek/Hebrew), youth-ministry veteran, and now an Orthodox catechumen—to talk about growing up Southern Baptist on the Gulf Coast, discovering creed and calendar, and why “church that doesn’t feel like church” quietly hollowed out our formation. We trace Courtney’s path from Beeson through youth ministry, the shock of DEI language inside a church context, and the slow, estuarial work of hospitality-driven evangelism in North Carolina’s Triangle. Along the way: Jordan Peterson, Verveke’s 4Ps, “Big Eva,” the trend-train of worship, and how catechesis + liturgy give people a faith they can sing at a deathbed.My substack about “Sacrotheonomy” - https://open.substack.com/pub/christianbaxteryt/p/sacrotheonomy-a-long-remembering?r=433pnb&utm_medium=ios⏱️ Chapters00:00 – Intro: Courtney Trotter & coming out of the lurk05:30 – Growing up Southern Baptist with Brazilian–Jewish roots12:45 – Called to ministry & early love for the Bible20:10 – Beeson Seminary, languages, and interdenominational formation28:20 – Youth ministry in a liturgical Baptist church36:00 – Jordan Peterson pipeline → Verveke’s 4Ps → youth discipleship44:50 – Moving to Durham: culture shock in the Research Triangle55:10 – DEI framework clashes with baptism call in youth group1:05:40 – From startup church culture to estuarial table ministry1:17:00 – Why “church that doesn’t feel like church” fails seekers1:28:20 – Deathbed hymnody & the case for stable liturgy1:40:00 – AI in church planting, techno-theocracy, and sacramental ontologyPeople and Organizations mentioned:Jordan Peterson; John Vervaeke (4Ps of knowing); Tim Keller/Gordon-Conwell; ARC / Acts29 / TGC; Alister McGrath; Tom Holland (anti-Christianity thesis); DEI / “safe space”; Real Presence; Revised Common Lectionary; Orthodox catechumenate.#Orthodoxy #Evangelicalism #Liturgy #YouthMinistry #JordanPeterson #Verveke #BigEva #DEI #Catechesis #BeesonSeminary

Become a channel member to help support the channel!Join this channelhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU5SNBfTo4umhjYz6M0Jsmg/joinRoundtable Participants on YouTube @Landbeorht @greyhamilton52 @Freerilian On Xhttps://x.com/landbeorht?s=21https://x.com/g_m_h_?s=21https://x.com/freerilian?s=21https://x.com/clevergull?s=21