A Podcast on Podcasts, with Michelle Hill, Laura Booz, and Staci Rudolph

Get ready to pop in your earbuds and take a long walk. This episode of Grounded will change-up your podcast game! Enjoy recommendations from Erin Davis, Michelle Hill, Laura Booz, and Staci Rudolph.

Episode Notes

Revive Our Hearts podcast

Revive Our Hearts Weekend podcast, hosted by Dannah Gresh

Expect Something Beautiful podcast, hosted by Laura Booz 

True Girl podcast, hosted by Dannah Gresh and Staci Rudolph 

The Deep Well, hosted by Erin Davis 

Women of the Bible podcast

• Michelle's podcast recommendations: 
  • Communication Guys
  • The Art of Relationships
  • Help Me Teach the Bible
  • Cooper Stuff Podcast
  • The Alisa Childers Podcast
• Erin's podcast recommendation: 
  • Lawless
• Laura's podcast recommendation: 
  • Close Reads
• Staci's podcast recommendation: 
  • Let's Talk

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Michelle Hill: Get ready to pop those earbuds in and take a long walk. But if you're watching us on Facebook or YouTube, please don't trip on that walk of yours. We're about to change the podcast game for you. I'm Michelle Hill, and this is your favorite podcast, Grounded.

Erin Davis: It's got to be their favorite, right? Michelle is stepping in as cohost. Our Portia girl isn't feeling well, and Dannah has got somewhere else to be. But you're gonna love Michelle if you don't already. I'm Erin Davis. 

And I do love a good podcast. I'm kind of a voracious podcast consumer. But here's what I don't love. I don't love investing 10 to 20 minutes of my life, or maybe more than that, only to discover that a podcast is not worth listening to. 

Michelle: Exactly. 

Erin: So, we always want to be those friends who give you the good stuff. And we're going to do the work for you this morning. We're going to pass along some podcast recommendations so that you can be listening to the good stuff without wasting any time and hopefully not tripping on your rock. I love that caution.

Michelle: Well, we're gonna give you some hopefully the best of the best today. We're gonna need some help, because we all need help when we're trying to figure out what podcast to listen to. So, we're gonna bring that to you. We've got some favorite podcasters in the house. So, give it up for Laura Booz and Staci Rudolph. They're going to take us behind the scenes and show us what's going on behind the Revive Our Hearts podcast family. And they're also going to share some of their favorite podcast recommendations.

Erin: Which I just love. I mean, I'm picturing it as if we couldn't do this. It isn't feasible. There's too many women who love and watch Grounded, but like we were all in one room, and we were just having a conversation like, “Have you tried this one? I've listened to this one. This one was really impactful to me.” So, a fun conversation to have together. And here's a question that might come up if we were having this conversation over coffee. Does the Bible have anything to say about podcasting? 

Your answer might be no, since it's hard to imagine that since it was written back in the days of papyrus. But you might be surprised, because I do think Scripture has something to speak into this phenomenon of getting our content through our heads. 

It's all happening right here on Grounded, and we count on you to help us spread the word. It's so easy. Hit the share button, or text out the link to somebody you know who is a fellow podcast consumer. They might not even know that Grounded might be their new favorite. 

So, help us spread the word. We always want to put a smile on your face when you are watching or listening to Grounded. We do that by always handing you some good news. And this time, the good news is short and sweet. Got any guesses on what sits at the top of the list of most popular podcasts? If you're watching us live, go ahead and tell us in the chat. What do you think? You could give us the genre. You could give us the top podcasts. If you know the name. What do you think? What's number one? Well, I know the answer. 

But if I didn't, I think I might say it has something to do with True Crime podcasts because everybody I know seems to listen to those true cop, true crime podcasts. Easy for me to say, except I don't generally listen because they make me too jumpy. But that's actually not true. That's not even the top category—although it is a popular category. 

The number one podcast is . . . drumroll please . . . The Bible in a Year Podcast is the number one podcast in the world and had more than 150 million downloads last time they checked. And that's a lot of folks pressing play and getting God's Word streamed.

Now, I want to make sure you catch this. The survey was not just asking what was the number one podcast among Christians, not just asking what was the number one podcast among Americans. No, globally, Christians and non-Christians alike. That Bible in a Year podcast is sitting pretty high on the charts as number one, and it's not a fluke, because you want to know what the number two podcast is? Well, you should have it figured out by the way. I'm setting this up. But it's another Bible podcast called the Bible Recap. So, making sure we're tracking number one and number two podcasts, cross populations, people who are Christians and not are both Bible podcasts. 

Well, what does it all mean? Well, for one thing, it means that in this moment in history, some are calling this the anxiety age. There's lots of turmoil. There's lots of unrest. There's lots of moral shifts happening. But many people—millions, tens of millions, in fact—still have a hunger for God and His Word. And we think that's pretty good news. So, put that in your pocket and go along with your day smiling. 

Behind every great podcast is a great producer. And we've got one of our favorite producers here on the Grounded program today. You already met her. Michelle Hill served at FamilyLife Today for many years as the voice of FamilyLife Weekend and FamilyLife this Week. Shes now serves on staff at Revive Our Hearts right alongside me and Dannah and Portia and the tech team that brings you Grounded. She's the producer of Revive Our Hearts Weekend. We've had her on the broadcast before, but I was eager to get her back on. Welcome back to Grounded. 

Michelle: Thank you. Thank you so much for having me and allowing me to be cohost. This is so much fun. Erin, it’s great to be here. 

Erin: I knew you were gonna hit it out of the park. And you are, so I'm so grateful to have you. Take us behind the scenes of a typical podcast episode, what kinds of things have to happen before we can press play? Because we're kind of just used to getting the finished product. Tell us what goes on behind the scenes?

Michelle: Well, first of all, the finished product is usually 15–20 minutes, maybe 30 minutes long. Or you the long format is an hour and thirty minutes. When I first started in radio and podcasting, I heard that for every minute that you hear there is an hour that goes on behind the scenes. That's crazy, isn't it?

Erin: It is.

Michelle: But it's true when you think about it. I'm producer of Revive Our HeartWeekend with Dannah Gresh. I'm going to sit down with Dannah about maybe once a quarter, we're going to brainstorm topics ideas. What do we think women are facing today? What do women want to hear? How can we encourage them? How can we embolden them in their faith? Just different things like that. 

So, we're going to put together those topics. I sit down with a couple of the guys that I work with, and we go okay, how do we put this together? What does this look like? I create a show flow. And then we write an outline for that. We record it. Sometimes when it’s edited, music is laid under it. Then we pop it on to iTunes or Spotify or wherever people get their favorite podcasts. 

Erin: Well, I'm so grateful there are producers. 

Michelle: So, there’s a lot that goes on. 

Erin: There is a lot. I mean, I feel like if you do your job well. When the person listens to it, they're gonna feel like it didn't take much. But it takes a ton of time.

Michelle: Yeah. 

Erin: Hey, I want to ask you about your favorite podcasts in a minute. But I want to know, just generally, what do you think makes a podcast worth listening to?

Michelle: Erin, I'm picky. But I would say that it's something that particularly I'm interested in. I love planting a garden. I love listening to those true crime stories that you were talking about earlier. I love to learn. It depends on the season of life that I'm in. 

When I started emceeing for my previous ministry that I worked with, I listened to the Communication Guys all the time to learn, because I wanted to learn. If I'm in a relationship or a tough relationship, I'm going to listen to the Art of Relationships because I want to learn. When I was in women's leadership at a church, I listened to Nancy Guthrie and her helping teach the Bible because I wanted to learn how to facilitate, to learn better for the women that I was working with. 

I guess I'm always on the lookout for how I can learn? How does it edify? What God is already doing in my life. And then sometimes I just want to have fun, kind of like, you know, those crime mysteries you were talking about.

Erin: Yeah. I listen to podcasts while I walk. It's good for me, because it motivates me to keep walking. If I wasn't listening to something I do that quick walk. But to have a good podcast going on, I'll take a long walk. So, it's good motivation. But I'm the same. Sometimes I want to think of something really deep. Sometimes I don't. It gives me kind of that break for my brain. 

I know there's going to be women listening who want to teach the Bible, and they're thinking about starting a podcast. And, you know, it can feel like everybody has a podcast. But I still think there's room, especially for those who want to elevate God's Word to that woman who's considering starting a specifically Christian podcast. What advice would you offer them?

Michelle: I would say first of all, pray. Second of all, pray. Third of all, pray again. But if that is something that God is laying on your heart, do it. Don't let anything or anyone stop you. 

Because here's the thing, it could be for your Bible study at church. It could just be for a friend that is watching your social media feed and she is like, “I kind of want to hear what my friend has to say about something.” 

And so, just think about that one woman who you feel since God has equipped you to share what He's revealed to you and share the research that you've done in His Word, think of that one woman who you can encourage, and you can build up. Just be conversational. And again, just start. 

There's some things like you want to think through, get a microphone, you know, the right ear buds, those types of things. And there's all kinds of research and things that are available on the Internet if you just do a quick search on how to start a podcast. 

So, the technical things, that's fine, you'll get through that. But just really, if what you are looking for is to start a podcast, just do it.

Erin: I say, I love that. I agree. When I started The Deep Well podcast, I was kind of embarrassed because I felt like, oh, gosh, everybody has a podcast. I'm gonna say I have a podcast. But I just had to teach. I didn't have a choice. Like the Lord was showing me things in His Word, and I just had to get them out. I often will think when we're recording the The Deep Well, like, If I have the opportunity to teach this to 10 Women in my church, I do it in a heartbeat. And my hope is that more than ten 2omen listen to that podcast. 

So, I would add to what you said, which is all excellent. Picture the woman on the other side, there will be a woman on the other side eventually. If you have an opportunity to reach her with the gospel, with God's Word to pass on your passion, pass on your passion for Scripture. Yeah, do it. The rest the Lord will help you take care of that. Podcasting has come such a long way. As you said, Michelle, you can do some quick research, have a microphone delivered to you, and soon you'll be off to the races. 

Michelle, you're a podcast producer, you're a podcast host, you've got a lot of wisdom in this area from a work perspective and also because I know you to be a woman who cares deeply about discipleship. You're a proven discipler. So what about the woman who thinks, I don't know about discipling other women with a podcast? Do you think there's some value there for discipleship?

Michelle: Oh, I think there's excellent value for discipleship. Of course, we always want to be our first discipler in the Word of God, to be the Word of God as we're learning from Him. But then we always want to be involved in a church. Don't let podcasts take over a church.

Erin: Amen, sister. 

Michelle: Or in a Bible study where you're learning face to face with people. But there have been podcasts through the years that I have learned so much from. It has given me different perspectives. It's colored the way and given me a different grid of how I might teach something, how I might share something, and how I might encourage someone. And so yes, I believe it is an excellent discipleship tool, as I know you do, too.

Erin: Yeah, I think it's a tool that can fight mindlessness. There are those times when we're on the go, we're driving, we're picking up kids, we do want to walk because we want to take care of our bodies. And it's like you could just plug it right in and gain some wisdom. 

I'm always recommending good podcasts to those women I want to disciple. Like, “Hey, I thought of you. Lord laid you on my heart while I was listening to this. I would encourage you to check this out.” It's like a low threat way to get some good content into the lives of women. So, I'm with you. It's a great discipleship tool. 

Okay, I want you to stick with us, Michelle, but we're about to crank this party up and ask Laura and Staci Rudolph to join us. They're Grounded favorites.

Michelle: Yay!

Erin: Welcome back, Laura and Staci. Hey,

Laura Booz: Hey! So good to be here.

Erin: We'll all look very professional as podcasters. We got our mics in the shot. And the whole deal we should confess to everyone who's watching and listening that though we are all podcasters, we don't know what we're doing a lot of the time. But we're gonna give you some recommendations. Maybe it's just me.

Michelle: Now, Erin, don't give out our secrets. Don't give them out.

Erin: Sorry, we’ve got to keep that under wraps. 

Here's a fun fact for all of us. There are currently more than 2 million podcasts in the world. Now, I knew there were a lot of podcasts. But a quick Google search confirmed that. And I mean, think about that. That is a tremendous amount of content. And this isn't a trend that anyone expects to slow down. 

So, finding the good ones can feel like looking for that proverbial needle in a haystack. Right? But we've got your backs. We're going to give you the list of our favorites. And this should keep you listening to the good stuff for a good long time. 

But first, I want to brag on these girls for a minute. I know they won't brag on themselves. Laura hosts the Expect Something Beautiful podcast. She is a gifted storyteller. I'm always on the edge of my car seat when I'm listening to her podcast because I'm always in the car. She's gonna have you smiling and listening for every second of each short episode. Laura, where did the idea for that podcast come from?

Laura: I think that's just how God made me. And Hugh, the director of audio and visual at Revive Our Hearts, he's behind the scenes and doing amazing things. He heard like a couple of these stories . . . I like to tell a story and then connect it with Scripture. I've just been doing the mom thing for 15-16 years. But he heard me share a couple of those, and he was like, “Are you interested in doing a podcast?”

So, it's a blessing from God. And basically, Revive Our Hearts said, you write the script and speak into the mic will do everything else. Well, now that's a dream come true. My husband saw that email and he was like, “This is your Christmas present. This is what you've always wanted.” 

So, it really is a gift from God. I love it. My life is full of stories, little snippet stories that I can see intersecting with God's Word in some way or another. It's just a delight to share it.

Erin: It's such a delight to listen to. We were somewhere Laura and the other Laura who directs the Aviva Nuestros Corazones, the Spanish arm of Revive Our Hearts. She said, “Ah, we want it in Spanish. We don't have anything like that for Hispanic women.” Has that happened yet? Do you know Laura?

Laura: I don't know. I'm not sure where it is in the works. That would be a thrill.

Erin: Oh, man, but I think it speaks to the fact that we love stories. I mean, Jesus taught through stories. So, you got a good model there. 

Well, Staci Rudolph cohosts the True Girl podcast with one of our favorite Grounded women, Dannah Gresh. It's short episodes for tween girls and their mamas. While we're making confessions in this episode, I will tell you that I watch it, even though I'm far from being a tween girl and don't have any girls in my house. But it's designed to be listened to while you're on the go. Staci, I know this might be hard to pick, but do you have a favorite episode? 

Staci Rudolph: Ah, I             like a lot of them. If I had to say, I have a favorite season. Can I do that? Does that count? 

Erin: Yeah, you can do that. That's great. 

Staci: Season Five was just so fun. I think it was because we got to incorporate a little more of Dannah into it. So anybody who knows Dannah, you know she loves animals. She loves her farm. 

So, the whole season was just based on lessons that we can learn from God's creation guides, animals. It was just fun. I mean, she taught me about woodpeckers and her peacocks. It was a lot of animals. It was fun. It was just cool the way they were able to put like the sounds of the animals and different things in. I felt like it just really came alive, and it was fun. So, I love that one. 

Erin: I’m surprised you picked that one because you're a city girl.

Staci: I know, right? She was like, “Oh, we're gonna get in this hay. We're gonna sit down.” But it was fun.

Erin: I think all girls love animals. I feel like they all have an animal phase. They all want to be veterinarians at some point in their growing up, so I can see why girls would love that episode.

Of course you already know Michelle, but what you might not know is that she is the producer of Revive Our HeartsWeekend. And the goal of that podcast is to get more word in your weekend. 

So, I hope you'vebeen taking notes as we're giving you these recommendations. We've already given you several. But Michelle, as women listen to Revive Our HeartsWeekend, what is it that you hope they get?

Michelle: Well, I hope that as we're creating a show, I'm thinking through what are the women doing? Are they washing their dishes? Are they picking up from the breakfast table? Are they gardening? Are they taking their kids to the soccer field? Are they going to the grocery store? Just where are they, so I'm trying to encourage them along that way. 

So, encourage them as they're doing those things to grow in their walks to be encouraged to be emboldened and to be inspired to share their faith with people who are around them, which includes hitting the share button on the podcast.

Erin: Yes, it does.

Michelle: That's what we want. We want God's Word to be infused in all of our podcasts, so that as women listen, they are just inspired to just share their faith boldly.

Erin: I love that. That's so good. I asked each of you to come prepared with your very favorite podcast or one that you're listening to right now. And so those of you who are watching and listening, if you haven't already started taking notes, now is the time to do that. Because we've got the list of the good stuff, we want you to check out. 

I'll go first. I said I wasn't into the true crime podcast. But that was a bit of a fib. Because my current listen is called Lawless. It's put out by World Magazine. And the premise is that not all crimes are against the law. It actually traces the story of Terri Schiavo, which if you remember that from the 90s, she was a woman who was incapacitated. Her husband wanted to have the feeding tube removed; her parents did not want to have the feeding tube removed. 

So, it's a very fascinating look at really my pro-life stance beyond abortion. What do I really believe about the value of life? I'm riveted. I'm like four episodes in. And Laura, what's something you're loving right now.

Laura: One of my favorite podcasts is called Close Reads. I'm a literature book buff, you can tell from our bookshelves.

Erin: We can tell by the wall behind you.

Laura: I think it's like seven years in the making now. Three intelligent, well-read people discussing the great books. So, it's just amazing. You can just go through their archives; you can pick up with them in real time and read along with their current book. 

They've covered so many novels and short stories, some of my favorites you might want to find in the archives. They discuss Anne of Green Gables, Jane Eyre, Peace Like a River, The Code of theWorcester's by PG Roadhouse that'll just keep you chuckling. 

It can be a book that you read years ago, and you just want to sit and listen to them talk about it, or you can be reading right along with the episodes. It's so wonderful to learn how to talk about books, and also to hear their insights. I also have my high schoolers listen to it, because like when they're reading those high school classics, you know, you gotta get through, whether it's Shakespeare or The Sun also Rises, The Great Gatsby, The Odyssey. They were listening along to these Close Read podcast episodes and learning so much more than I could have helped them with or that a study guide could have helped them. They were learning what does this really look like in conversation with people? 

And okay, so my favorite thing about this podcast is that it kind of inspired us to start our own little book club here at home. It's once a month, and it's my teen girls and their friends. We get together, and we talk about our favorite books. So, it's really been quite fun. 

Erin: That's the ultimate. Can I join your book club? Laura, that sounds so good. 

Laura: You’re more than welcome to. 

Erin: Okay, say the name of the podcast one more time, in case somebody missed it.

Laura: Close Reads, and it’s produced by Goldberry Studios.

Erin: Okay, I've never heard of that before. I've actually only ever heard of Peace Like a River recently, and somebody else was raving about it. So, you're the second person to recommend that book and the first person to recommend that podcast to me. So, see, we're given you the good stuff. Staci, what's your recommendation?

Staci: First, let me say, Laura, I'm going to check that out. I'm gonna look up To Kill a Mockingbird because I feel like I have never gotten out of that book. 

Erin: Oh come on, Scout, come on!

Staci: So that’s what I’m going to do. If I had to say, my favorite podcast right now is called Let's Talk. It's part of the Gospel Coalition. It has Melissa Krueger, Jackie Hill Perry, and Jasmine Holmes. 

I think what I like about it is, they just do such a good job of having a balance of diving into the Word and also talking about their life experiences as Christian women who are diving into God's Word and putting that into action. I just love the different topics they hit.

Just recently, I heard a really good one on legalism, which is I was kind of raised a little legalistic. So as I'm going through, kind of peeling that off and resting in grace, it was just really good to hear them talk about it, to hear their backgrounds with it. So yeah, I just feel like they do really applicable topics to me. They say a lot about marriage and family, which right now, I'm not putting into action, but I'm storing it away, you know, for one day. That's good.

Erin: Yep. Oh, good. If I could sit on the couch or at a table with those three women and get a download of wisdom, I’d do it in a heartbeat. So, they're doing that for us in the podcast format, why not take a listen.

Okay, Michelle, you told us you were picky, which I actually feel like is a good qualifier. To hear your recommendation, you got something to recommend.

Michelle: You know what is so fascinating, Erin, is that some of my favorite podcasts right now are because I was listening to another podcast. And that came about because I was listening to another podcast. And so, the string or the generations of podcasts, it's just fascinating. 

I love John Cooper with Cooper Stuff. He interviewed Alisa Childers once. I was so fascinated with her story I quickly bought her book, and I went through her book, Another Gospel. And then I was like, oh, she's got a podcast. And I started listening to her. And I have just appreciated the fact that she interviews people who are so incredibly smart, like, smarter than I could ever hope to be. And I feel like I'm learning so much because it's not just one area of thought. Like even today, she was talking about some market. Oh, help me ladies when we study land, architect.

Erin: Anthropology, agricultural?

Michelle: Well, one of those, any one of those, it's great. It was going back to just the fact of how true the Bible is, and it's because we can go back to those digs. Whatever those digs are, we can go back to those digs. And we can go, yes, that is the truth. The truth resides in the Word of God, and we can prove it. And so, I just appreciate that. And I so I love whenever hers comes out. I usually just sit down and listen.

Erin: What’s the name of her podcast? Is it just Alisa Childers podcast? 

Michelle: Yeah, the Alisa Childers Podcast.

Erin: We’ve had her onGrounded, and she is sharp. 

Staci: Michelle, you actually suggested that podcast to me. I've been listening to it like nonstop. So good. So, it works, people. They change your life. 

Michelle: The share button, folks, the share ladies. 

Erin: We are obviously pro podcast around here. But I do want to say, I feel like they can also require discernment. It has happened to me that I've gotten really hooked on a podcast that wasn't good for me to be listening to. But I just got hooked. I wanted to keep listening. If you experienced that conviction, turn away from that. 

So, as we're wrapping up this time, would each of you just have a thought a sentence or two? About how to make sure what you're ingesting is good, true, helpful. Michelle. I'll toss the ball to you first, how do you pick a wise podcast or pick a podcast wisely?

Michelle: Well, first of all, I think we need to be careful Christians. We need to be critical thinking Christians. We need to think through what we're ingesting. And so, is this beneficial for me? Is this podcast beneficial? Does this podcast enhance my knowledge of God? I mean, go back to His Word, what is true. 

So, we always need while we're listening to these podcasts, we always need to be taking everything back to the Word of God. We always need to be ingesting His Word as much as we're ingesting podcasts. 

And so, in Proverbs we hear, we just need to be vigilant to guard our hearts, because it's the wellspring of life. I think it's 1 Thessalonians 5 that talks about testing all things. So, take it all back to the Word of God and just be careful. We need to, like I said, be critical thinking Christians. Be discerning.

Erin: I always think back to that formula you gave us producers versus the final product. I mean, you should be ingesting God's Word more than you're listening to a podcast. Laura, I think you're especially discerning. What are some of the ways you decide if a podcast is worth the investment of your precious time?

Laura: I think if it's life giving, and if it's something that I feel open to share with people I care about. You know the verse that says, think about things that are true, good, beautiful. One of the words in that list is it praiseworthy. So is it something I would tell my mom about? Would I even share it with my children, my husband, my friends, like, “Hey, you've got to listen to this.” Because I care so much about them. Would it bring life to them? That's kind of a good indicator. If it's bringing life to me, too.

Erin: Man, that podcast I had to give up. I was always apologizing for the fact that I listened to it. It was like, “You know what? I need to stop listening to this. This is toxic to my soul.”

Staci, how do you know if something is worth the investment of your time and energy?

Staci: I think I'm really just interested. I believe words are powerful. They say so much about what's in our heart and what we believe. So, when I'm listening to podcasts, I'm looking up the person. I want to know about them. I want to know what they're into. I want to know what's within them, because that's what's gonna come out as they're speaking to me. So, I just want to really know where it's coming from.

Erin: So good. You know, there's probably women listening, I bump into you occasionally. They're like, I don't know how to listen to podcasts. How do I even do it? 

You probably already have a podcast app on your phone. Or you can get one easily in the app store. And we've set you up for some real success here for how to pick up a great podcast. It's just going to edify you and contribute to your walk with Jesus. So, thanks, Laura, and Staci. Great conversation.

Staci: Thanks for having us. 

Laura: Yeah, thanks. 

Michelle: Okay, wait, Erin, you're not off the hook. You're a host of the Grounded podcast with with Portia Collins and with Dannah Gresh. She is also our producer. And she is the producer of the Women of the Bible podcast, which I love. I've got to say that is an amazing podcast, along with the Deep Well. 

Erin: Hugh, who you mentioned is one of the geniuses behind that podcast, as well. It is it is a neat podcast.

Michelle: It is it is a very neat podcast. And so, what Erin, what made you want to get into podcasting?

Erin: Well, I still don't even consider myself a podcaster, which is funny, even though I am involved in pretty heavy ways with multiple podcasts. But really, it's just the desire to teach. I say I'm a Bible teacher at a cellular level, like, I just can't help but teach. 

But the season of life I'm in with four small children at home, a sick parent, my ability to go to churches and teach is greatly diminished right now. But I just had all of this stuff welling out of my own walk with the Lord that I want to share with women. I'm so grateful to be alive in 2022. The opportunities that podcasting provides for me to have conversations like this one and teach the Bible as the Lord lays it on my heart. So, it's a great need to be a Bible teacher. 

Well, thanks again. 

We're gonna jump into Grounded in God's Word. What does the Bible say about podcasting? I think the answer is going to surprise you. I've got two passages for us to consider together. The first one comes from the book of Acts, Acts chapter 2, verses 42–47. It says this, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, and the fellowship to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” 

“They” here is that early church very soon after Jesus had ascended into heaven. 

Verse 43, “And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles, and all who believed were together and they had all things in common.” I love that vision of the church. 

“They were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as anyone had need. And day by day, attending in the temple together and breaking bread in their homes. They received their food with gladden generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. [Not just the Christian people.] And the Lord added to their numbers, day by day, those were being saved.”

Beautiful passage, beautiful blueprint, we're given here for what the Church is supposed to be. This was the beginning. This was God architecting the Church that we now know. And what we call the Church didn't exist until here in Acts chapter 2. 

Now, there were people devoted to God and people God was devoted to. But when we think of church, it comes from this passage in Acts chapter 2. It was formed in response to what Jesus did—His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. It was formed for this moment in history that we're living in, when we get to share the gospel continually until Jesus comes. 

So, as we look at this blueprint, it's good for us to ask, what is the foundation? What is it that it's built on? Well, if you hop back a couple of verses, you see that the purpose of the Church was to preach the truth, the good news, in a way that cuts to the heart and creates change. Let me say that again. The purpose of the Church was to preach the truth, God's truth, in a way that cuts to the heart and creates change. 

Do we still need that? Well, of course we do. But the text is so practical. What were these things? What were these early Christians devoted to? Well, they were devoted to giving and receiving good true teaching, and we would call that the Bible. They didn't have the Bible in the same format that we have it, but they did have the Scriptures. They did have the teachings of Jesus, and they were devoted to sharing those with each other. They were devoted to fellowship, just being together with like-minded followers of Jesus. They were devoted to breaking bread. I love that food's in the mix. And they were devoted to prayer. The need hasn't changed. The mission hasn't changed. 

So, let's lilypad over to Hebrews 10:23–25, which says this, “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together,” that's a good part to underline, “as is the habit of some but encouraging one another, and all the more as the you see the Day” capital D there “ drawing near.”

So, we can see some new lines on the blueprint here. So, more parts of our mission. We're supposed to hold fast to our hope. Hope is a person, the person is Jesus. We're supposed to hold fast to the hope we have in Jesus without wavering, even when the culture feels tornadic around us. 

We're supposed to stir each other up to love and good works. We're supposed to encourage each other, especially as we see the Day, capital D Day, of the Lord approaching. And there it says do not neglect to meet together. 

Now, this is not a passage about salvation. You could not be saved by going to church any more than you can be cleaned by bathing in mud. But what we forget is that church is a get to, not have to. What does that have to do with podcasts Michelle said early on, and I wanted to scream and clap, but I didn't want to bust out your eardrums. Let's look at that list again. 

By strictly ingesting podcasts, can you do the following? Can you receive and give good teaching? I would say yeah, you can. Can you have fellowship with other believers? No, kind of breaks down right there. Right? Can you break bread together? No. You can't? Can you pray? Well, maybe? How about? Can you hold fast to your hope without wavering? Sure, you can. Can you stir each other up towards loving good deeds? Well, giving a podcast five stars doesn't count as stirring each other up towards love and good deeds. It would encourage the podcaster maybe, but not the other people listening. Can you encourage one another? We can share podcasts. But we don't have control over whether the other person listens or whether the Lord uses it to meet them where they are. It's not a substitute for actually encouraging one on one, especially as we see the day of the Lord approaching. And let me say this, the day of the Lord is approaching. 

So, I love a good podcast, but not as much as I love a good church. So don't skip church on Sunday morning and just listen to a good sermon. And don't stay on your couch and stream your service, because we need each other every day, more and more until Jesus comes. And let me just add this, I'm in a good church with good preachers. But they're not Matt Chandler. They're not John Piper. They're not Tim Keller. They're just Chris and Justin, the pastors of my church. It can be tempting to want to get all of your spiritual meat from some of those communicators who just hit it out of the park every time. 

But you know what those men who I mentioned don't do. They don't live in my zip code. They don't see my children and my husband. They don't come to my home when there's a crisis. They don't hold me accountable for my sin because they don't even know me. But the pastors in my church do. 

So, it's true. There's not a chapter and verse about podcasting. But there's lots of chapters and lots of verses about the importance of the church in the life of the Christian. I want to be very clear, podcasts are not a good substitute. Go to church and listen to great podcasts. Michelle, you got some tools to pass along.

Michelle: I do have some tools to pass along. Hey, in fact, we missed a podcast when we were talking about our favorite podcasts. We have one more podcast to recommend, and that is Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth’s Revive Our Hearts. It's our daily . . .

Erin: How did we miss that one, Michelle? 

Michelle: I don't know. I hope Nancy isn't watching. Anyway. We missed that podcast. 

Erin: We love your podcast.

Michelle: We love your podcast, Nancy, you'll want to tune in every day because Nancy opens up the Word of God. She teaches us how to find freedom, how to experience fullness, and really just to be fruitful in Christ. So, it's what we stand on here. Revive Our Hearts is freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ. So, tune in to Revive Our Hearts the daily program. It's going to just impact your life. We are gonna drop a link for that in our show notes. 

Erin: It’s one you’re gonna subscribe to. I don't subscribe to every podcast I like, but Revive Our Hearts is one to subscribe to so that it just automatically comes to your phone. It's that good.

Michelle: Yeah, it is. So, before we say goodbye, one big way that you can partner with us and you can help us reach women through podcasts is by leaving a review. We really do need your review. So, if you love the Grounded podcast or Revive Our Hearts or Revive Our Hearts Weekend or Expect Something Beautiful or True Girl or The Deep Well or Women of the Bible, did I hit them all?

Erin: I think so. I don't think you missed it. That's good. 

Michelle: Okay. So, any that we've mentioned in this episode, just take two minutes, just take two minutes. Rate them and leave a review just to say, “Excellent, I love this.” That helps us out. That helps us reach more women. Also, hit the share button. As you're on your walk today, just hit share and send it to a friend and say this, “This program, this episode really ministered to me.” So, hit the share button. I can't say that enough. Just hit that share button.

Erin: It really does help. Nobody knows their algorithms. We aren't going to pretend to know the algorithms. But when a podcast gets liked and reviewed, it raises it up. That means more women see these podcasts, more women will try these podcasts and listen to us. So it's a simple thing you can do to really help spread the word. 

Well Michelle, I got some pretty exciting news. The next episode of Grounded is our 100th episode since we switched to weeklies. We used to be daily, but at the weekly schedule one hundred.

Michelle: Oh, are we going to eat cake?

Erin: I think cake needs to be involved, I totally agree, and ice cream and balloons and streamers. I don't know. We've got some really special things planned. I know I say this every week but I mean it every week. Don't miss that episode. Let's wake up with hope together next week on Grounded. 

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