Send Me Questions on Attachment

Everyone seems to have an opinion about Jesus right now, but the hard question is the one most of us avoid: are we following the real Jesus or a version we’ve edited to fit our preferences? Sam sits down with Ryan Shieh, author of Counterfeit Christianity and a teacher of evangelism at Liberty University’s School of Divinity, to unpack how cultural Christianity creates people who recognize God but resist surrender.

Ryan shares his own story of growing up around church, mistaking “not doing the big sins” for discipleship, and eventually realizing that head knowledge without changed desires can’t hold up. From there we dig into the Western performance mindset that says you behave to belong, and why the gospel flips it: you belong by grace through faith, then your identity in Christ reshapes your life. We talk about the authority problem behind selective obedience, the danger of “fence riding,” and why “a Jesus you negotiate with is not a Jesus you surrender to.”

We also go deeper into the tension many people feel between the fear of God and the love of God. Ryan explains fear as reverence and awe, not hiding from a punisher, and why God’s justice and God’s love must coexist. Along the way we hit practical discipleship themes like holiness, repentance, gratitude, and the subtle apathy that grows when the gospel becomes familiar. Ryan closes with Jesus’ Matthew 13 picture of wheat and tares, a warning that convincing counterfeits can still lead to spiritual death.

If you’ve ever wondered whether your faith is more culture than Christ, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review to help more people find the show.

Ryan's New Book: Cultural Christianity

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MY HOPE FOR YOU
I hope these episodes bring you closer to Christ and encourage you in your walk with Him.

ABOUT ME 👇
I have been a Christ-follower for the last 20+ years of my life, and have seen the Lord's grace, strength, and faithfulness through it all. He led me to pursue a degree in higher education and has given me a gift for the field of counseling.

Send Me Questions on Attachment

Prayer can sound like a constant stream of words, worries, and requests but what happens when we actually expect a relationship on the other end of the conversation? I sit down again with therapist Maggie McCane to connect everyday communication skills to something many of us forget to practice: communicating with God in a way that builds trust, closeness, and spiritual maturity.

We get practical about why listening is so hard. Most of us don’t hear an audible voice, so we look for God’s guidance through Scripture, a quiet stirring, wise community, and the slow work of discernment. We also talk about the “noise” that blocks connection: busyness, impatience, and the subtle confirmation bias that searches for the answer we already wanted. If you’ve ever wondered how to hear God’s voice, this conversation reframes the goal as creating space for a real response, not forcing instant certainty.

Then we go deeper into honesty, shame, and repair. Maggie breaks down guilt versus shame, why shame makes us withdraw even though God already knows, and how repentance involves both accountability and changed behavior. We connect these ideas to attachment and relationships: rebuilding trust often means choosing consistent actions even when feelings haven’t caught up yet. We also explore boundaries, including learning to receive “no” or “not yet,” and how suffering can become a catalyst for post-traumatic growth rather than isolation.

If this helped you think differently about prayer and connection with God, subscribe for more, share the episode with a friend who’s wrestling with faith and communication, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What part of communicating with God feels hardest for you right now?

Support the show

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM:
@godattachmenthealing

FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK:
God Attachment Healing

MY HOPE FOR YOU
I hope these episodes bring you closer to Christ and encourage you in your walk with Him.

ABOUT ME 👇
I have been a Christ-follower for the last 20+ years of my life, and have seen the Lord's grace, strength, and faithfulness through it all. He led me to pursue a degree in higher education and has given me a gift for the field of counseling.

Send Me Questions on Attachment

What if the secret to fewer fights isn’t better arguments, but better timing, safety, and words that actually fit what you feel? We sat down with licensed clinical social worker Maggie McCane to break down communication that heals—starting with self-awareness and moving all the way to how faith communities handle shame and support.

We begin with a simple shift that changes everything: regulate before you relate. If you’re hungry, flooded, or exhausted, ask for consent to talk later. From there, Maggie walks us through the feeling wheel to expand your vocabulary beyond mad-sad-bad and into language that creates connection—hurt, overlooked, embarrassed, overwhelmed. We model how to use I-statements without sounding scripted, and how to open hard topics by first asking, Is now a good time for a heavier conversation? Consent makes space for listening rather than defense.

We also look at patterns that wreck trust: stonewalling, sarcasm disguised as play, phones on the table, and scorekeeping that treats your partner like an opponent. Instead, we build safety with simple ground rules, micro-moments of repair, and a team-first mindset. Maggie shares why many men were taught to express only anger and how shutdowns or addictive escapes take root—and how small, daily awareness interrupts that cycle. Then we zoom out to faith: why Christians can love Jesus and go to therapy, how shame silences growth, and the quiet loneliness pastors face without confidential support.

By the end, you’ll have a toolkit you can use tonight: regulate first, ask for consent, speak in I-statements, and practice active listening with clarifying questions and paraphrase. No perfection required—just a plan and a little courage. If this helped, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review with the one skill you’ll try this week. Your words can build a safer home. Let’s practice together.

Support the show

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM:
@godattachmenthealing

FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK:
God Attachment Healing

MY HOPE FOR YOU
I hope these episodes bring you closer to Christ and encourage you in your walk with Him.

ABOUT ME 👇
I have been a Christ-follower for the last 20+ years of my life, and have seen the Lord's grace, strength, and faithfulness through it all. He led me to pursue a degree in higher education and has given me a gift for the field of counseling.