012: The Missing Piece in Spiritual Growth

What if the way many of us were taught to grow spiritually actually cost us intimacy with God?

In this episode of Return To Heart, Jeff and Phil explore a story that shaped decades of faith, discipleship, and emotional disconnection—beginning in a Yale dorm room in 1980 and unfolding into a powerful conversation about facts, feelings, faith, and how God actually designed us.

Through vivid metaphors—the chalkboard, the train, the chair, and even a man riding an elephant—this conversation challenges the idea that spiritual maturity means suppressing emotion. Instead, it invites listeners into a fuller, relational faith where truth about God and truth about ourselves belong together.

This episode is for anyone who:

1. Knows the “right answers” but still feels distant from God
2. Was taught that emotions are dangerous or unspiritual
3. Feels spiritually mature yet relationally disconnected
4. Wants a faith that includes their whole heart

This is not about abandoning truth.

It’s about learning how truth actually transforms.