Episodes

What is causing such a steep decline in Christianity in the American Church? According to guest host Heaven Leigh Dalton (yes, that's really her name), it comes down to deep divisions in the church and personal preferences. Maybe the church is alienating people and becoming less attractive to the younger generation because we are dying on the wrong hill(s). Join Pastor Adam and Heaven for a deep discussion on political polarity, division, disunity, personal preferences, and way too much focus on...

Join us on a shorter episode for a pause from our current series as Chloe discusses what God is doing in her life right now and Adam discusses what's next for the Messy Walk Podcast. Great things are ahead!

On today's episode of the Messy Walk Podcast, Pastor Adam is joined by special guest Ian Duggar! Ian is a missionary in the Dominican Republic with an organization called Casas por Cristo along with his wife Alyssa. Join Pastor Adam Cook and Ian Duggar as they discuss Ian's perspective on why the church in America is in decline. This conversation was recorded on an iPhone in the Dominican Republic. Listen to Ian's unique perspective on the disunity in the church and the complacency of Christians...

On today's episode of the Messy Walk Podcast, Chloe is joined by special guest Tara Ferris! Tara has a blog called "The Church Hopper" where her goal is to visit all of the churches in Danville, Virginia (known to be the "city of churches"), and write honestly about her experiences at each church. We knew she was the perfect candidate to be part of this series because of all her experience with various local churches! Join Chloe and Tara as they discuss Tara's perspective on why the American chu...

For the first time in American history, membership in religious houses of worship has dropped below the majority line. And the decline has been steep and fast. In this episode, pastor Adam and guest host Stephanie Lee (she was also a guest on Episode 55 about Godly friendships) discuss another reason why the church is dying and what we can do about it. It's time to admit that the church does indeed hurt people, and that has a cumulative effect, especially on the younger generation. We aren't goi...

There is no doubt that the church in American is in decline...steep decline. Statistics don't lie, and our own personal experiences say the same. Join Pastor Adam and guest host, Pastor Matt Dalton, as they kick off a new series discussing the reasons the church is dying and what we can do about it. This week we discuss the fact that, like it or not, the church in general has gained, and in some cases earned, a bad reputation. But, we aren't just discussing the negative in order to just be negat...

How do we know if the inspirational quotes and pieces of "wisdom" we hear all over social media are actually Godly and worth living by? In this series on true vs. false wisdom, we're answering that very question! Join Pastor Adam and Chloe Lavinder as they "fact check" the phrase "now or never" and why it does not line up with true wisdom.

How do we know if the inspirational quotes and pieces of "wisdom" we hear all over social media are actually Godly and worth living by? In this series on true vs. false wisdom, we're answering that very question! Join Pastor Adam and Chloe Lavinder as they "fact check" the phrase "all you need is ____" and discuss why it does not line up with true wisdom.

How do we know if the inspirational quotes and pieces of "wisdom" we hear all over social media are actually Godly and worth living by? In this series on true vs. false wisdom, we're answering that very question! Join Pastor Adam and Chloe Lavinder as they "fact check" the phrase "do good and good will come back to you" and discuss why it does not line up with true wisdom.

How do we know if the inspirational quotes and pieces of "wisdom" we hear all over social media are actually Godly and worth living by? In this series on true vs. false wisdom, we're answering that very question! Join Pastor Adam and Chloe Lavinder as they "fact check" the phrase "people don't change" and why it does not line up with true wisdom.

How do we know if the inspirational quotes and pieces of "wisdom" we hear all over social media are actually Godly and worth living by? In this series on true vs. false wisdom, we're answering that very question! Join Pastor Adam and Chloe Lavinder as they "fact check" the phrase "you do you, boo" and why it does not line up with true wisdom.

How do we know if the inspirational quotes and pieces of "wisdom" we hear all over social media are actually Godly and worth living by? In this series on true vs. false wisdom, we're answering that very question! Join Pastor Adam and Chloe Lavinder as they "fact check" the phrase "do what makes you happy" and why it does not line up with true wisdom.

How do we know if the inspirational quotes and pieces of "wisdom" we hear all over social media are actually Godly and worth living by? In this series on true vs. false wisdom, we're answering that very question! Join Pastor Adam and Chloe Lavinder as they "fact check" the phrase "do what you love and success will follow" and why it does not line up with the true wisdom from God.

How do we know if the inspirational quotes and pieces of "wisdom" we hear all over social media are actually Godly and worth living by? In this series on true vs. false wisdom, we're answering that very question! Join Pastor Adam and Chloe Lavinder as they "fact check" the commonly heard phrase "it is what it is" and why it does not line up with the true wisdom from God.

How do we know if the inspirational quotes and pieces of "wisdom" we hear all over social media are actually Godly and worth living by? In this series on true vs. false wisdom, we're answering that very question! Join Pastor Adam and Chloe Lavinder as they "fact check" a quote/common belief about going the extra mile for people who wouldn't go the extra mile for you, and why it does not line up with true wisdom from God.

How do we know if the inspirational quotes and pieces of "wisdom" we hear all over social media are actually Godly and worth living by? In this series on true vs. false wisdom, we're answering that very question! Join Pastor Adam and Chloe Lavinder as they "fact check" the commonly heard phrase "YOLO" and why it does not line up with true wisdom from God.

How do we know if the inspirational quotes and pieces of "wisdom" we hear all over social media are actually Godly and worth living by? In this series on true vs. false wisdom, we're answering that very question! Join Pastor Adam and Chloe Lavinder as they talk through James 3:14-17 and how we can practically determine whether the wisdom the world bombards us with lines up with what God tells us in Scripture.

We all have times when life has beaten us up and left us feeling worn out and discouraged. When we go through tough times like that, we often hear people tell us, "You need to spend some time with people!" While they aren't wrong, that advice tends to feel pretty shallow. What if there was more to spending time with others than just distracting ourselves and doing something fun? Join Pastor Adam Cook and Chloe Lavinder in the seventh and final episode of the series "Running On Empty!"

We all have times when life has beaten us up and left us feeling worn out and discouraged. When we go through tough times like that, we often hear people tell us, "You need to get alone with God." While they aren't wrong, that advice tends to feel pretty shallow. What if we think outside the box on what it looks like to spend time with God? Join Pastor Adam Cook and Chloe Lavinder in the sixth episode of the series "Running On Empty!"

We all have times when life has beaten us up and left us feeling worn out and discouraged. When we go through tough times like that, we often hear people tell us, "Go to church, get filled up." While they aren't wrong, that advice tends to feel pretty shallow. What if there's more about going to church and worshipping God than just getting "filled up?" What if it was less about getting filled up and more about pouring out everything you have left to God? Join Pastor Adam Cook and Chloe Lavinder ...

We all have times when life has beaten us up and left us feeling worn out and discouraged. When we go through tough times like that, we often hear people tell us, "Just have faith." While they aren't wrong, that advice tends to feel pretty shallow. What if there's more to God than what you think? What if what you don't know could cause your faith to grow even deeper? Join Pastor Adam Cook and Chloe Lavinder in the fourth episode of the series "Running On Empty!"

We all have times when life has beaten us up and left us feeling worn out and discouraged. When we go through tough times like that, we often hear people tell us, "You should just get into The Word." While they aren't wrong, that advice tends to feel pretty shallow. What if there was more to reading the Bible than just trying to find an encouraging verse? Join Pastor Adam Cook & Chloe Lavinder in the third episode of the series "Running On Empty!"

We all have times when life has beaten us up and left us feeling worn out and discouraged. When we go through tough times like that, we often hear people tell us, "Well, just try to rest." While they aren't wrong, that advice tends to feel pretty shallow . What if there was more to rest than just trying to get away and take a vacation? Join Pastor Adam Cook & Chloe Lavinder in the second episode of the series "Running On Empty!"

We all have times when life has beaten us up and left us feeling worn out and discouraged. When we go through tough times like that, we often hear people tell us, "Well, just pray about it." While they aren't wrong, that advice tends to feel pretty shallow. What if there was more to it than just throwing out another quick prayer for God to help us with _____? Join Pastor Adam Cook & Chloe Lavinder as they dive into a new series called "Running On Empty!"