Doable Discipleship

How Should I Relate to the Global Family of God with Dr. Ed Stetzer

As Christians, we have brothers and sisters not just in your church, or your country, but all around the world. Oftentimes it's hard for us to grasp that we are connected in the body of Christ with people from other countries. In this second episode on the Family of God, we're going to look at how we should relate as brothers and sisters in Christ to people we don't even know. It may be easy for us to appreciate how to relate to the person we see at church every week . . . but what ...

Embracing the Beautiful Mess of Relationships

It's not controversial to acknowledge that relationships can be hard - even really hard. Now, relationships can also be amazing, life-giving, and beautiful . . . but they can also be hard. In this episode we’re going to start a two-week look at a truly important topic: the family of God. If we did a better job of appreciating and living out the reality of the family of God in all areas of life, we would see a marked difference in the way we approach life. We’re going to start the co...

Living a Non-Anxious Life

Do you consider yourself a master of anxiety? You find yourself feeling anxious easily, always concerned about the next thing or something seemingly out of your control? Maybe you wouldn’t say you’re a master of anxiety . . . maybe you’re just a duke of anxiety, or an apprentice. I don’t think there’s any denying that we all feel anxious at times. And for many people . . . the global statistics suggest an ever-increasing number of people . . . anxiety is a part of daily life.  In t...

All Creation Sings

In this episode, Doable Discipleship host Jason Wieland shares a devotional rooted in Jesus' Triumphal Entry in Luke 19. This devotional moves from Psalms to Luke to Genesis to John in an examination of what the Bible says about creation praising God. This Easter, you are invited to join in the song of praise from all of creation to Jesus - the King of Kings.  Doable Discipleship is a Saddleback Church podcast produced and hosted by Saddleback Church Content Development Pastor Jaso...

What We Miss if We Only READ the Bible with Dr. Brent Sandy

Reading the Bible is important, this probably isn't new information. HOWEVER, we often miss that hearing God's Word spoken and speaking it yourself is also incredibly important. Today's episode of Doable Discipleship is all about the benefits of hearing and speaking Scripture. For this conversation, host Jason Wieland is joined by Dr. Brent Sandy, author of the new book Hear Ye The Word of the Lord. Jason and Brent talk about the history of oral communication, why oral tradition is ...

How Remembering Can Be A Spiritual Practice with Casey Tygrett

There’s a phrase from the back of a book that is worth noting. It says, “How we hold and carry our memories – good and bad – is a part of what forms us spiritually.” Memory is universal, we all have memories that form us, shape us and influence us and often in ways that we don’t even notice. But what happens when we turn our attention and intention at our memories? What happens when we turn remembering into a spiritual practice?  In today's episode Doable Discipleship host and Sadd...

Navigating the Bible: Revelation

Join Saddleback Church's Doable Discipleship podcast in a series on Navigating the Bible. Have you ever wondered how to read the Bible? What do you need to know about different sections of the Bible that would help you read it better? This series seeks to give you a primer on the different major sections of the Bible. Each week, host Jason Wieland is joined by a different Bible expert to talk through the major details, authors, cultural context, and other important information on th...

Navigating the Bible: Wisdom Literature

Join Saddleback Church's Doable Discipleship podcast in a series on Navigating the Bible. Have you ever wondered how to read the Bible? What do you need to know about different sections of the Bible that would help you read it better? This series seeks to give you a primer on the different major sections of the Bible. Each week, host Jason Wieland is joined by a different Bible expert to talk through the major details, authors, cultural context, and other important information on th...

Navigating the Bible: The Prophets

Join Saddleback Church's Doable Discipleship podcast in a series on Navigating the Bible. Have you ever wondered how to read the Bible? What do you need to know about different sections of the Bible that would help you read it better? This series seeks to give you a primer on the different major sections of the Bible. Each week, host Jason Wieland is joined by a different Bible expert to talk through the major details, authors, cultural context, and other important information on th...

Navigating the Bible: The Historical Books

Join Saddleback Church's Doable Discipleship podcast in a series on Navigating the Bible. Have you ever wondered how to read the Bible? What do you need to know about different sections of the Bible that would help you read it better? This series seeks to give you a primer on the different major sections of the Bible. Each week, host Jason Wieland is joined by a different Bible expert to talk through the major details, authors, cultural context, and other important information on th...

Episode 254 - The Five Purposes of Marriage - Partnership

In the five part series we call: The Five Purposes of Marriage: this fourth episode is entitled ‘Partnership.’ Host Linda Tokar is accompanied once again by marriage coaches, George and Tondra Gregory. Partnership, is an act of ministry. What does that mean? Can you have partnership without love in action? It’s two people with different backgrounds and experiences and acknowledging the differences, negotiating the differences and so, so much more. They talk about the differences between coven...

Navigating the Bible: The Pentateuch

Join Saddleback Church's Doable Discipleship podcast in a series on Navigating the Bible. Have you ever wondered how to read the Bible? What do you need to know about different sections of the Bible that would help you read it better? This series seeks to give you a primer on the different major sections of the Bible. Each week, host Jason Wieland is joined by a different Bible expert to talk through the major details, authors, cultural context, and other important information on th...

Navigating the Bible: The Epistles

Join Saddleback Church's Doable Discipleship podcast in a series on Navigating the Bible. Have you ever wondered how to read the Bible? What do you need to know about different sections of the Bible that would help you read it better? This series seeks to give you a primer on the different major sections of the Bible. Each week, host Jason Wieland is joined by a different Bible expert to talk through the major details, authors, cultural context, and other important information on th...

Navigating The Bible: The Gospels

Join Saddleback Church's Doable Discipleship podcast in a series on Navigating the Bible. Have you ever wondered how to read the Bible? What do you need to know about different sections of the Bible that would help you read it better? This series seeks to give you a primer on the different major sections of the Bible. Each week, host Jason Wieland is joined by a different Bible expert to talk through the major details, authors, cultural context, and other important information on th...

4 Tips for Reading Your Bible

Whether you have been reading the Bible your whole life or are picking up the Bible for the first time, this episode is for you. The Bible can be confusing or intimidating, but it is also life-giving - God's Word for all people. In this episode, host Jason Wieland is joined by Saddleback Formation Pastor Brandon Bathauer to talk about 4 tips for reading your Bible. These tips will help to enrich your time with the Bible, make it less intimidating, and aid you in your new season of B...

How Does the History of the Bible Affect How We Read It Today? with Dr. Susan Lim

What does it look like to love the Bible? The Bible – 66 books filled with chapters and verses, stories and histories, written by a number of different authors over a period around 1,500 years – this book is the foundation of the Christian faith. The Bible is read in churches around the world every weekend, is read daily by millions of believers, and can even be found in many a hotel drawer. But what does loving the Bible – God’s Word – look like and how does the history of the Bibl...

A Christmas Prayer

It's almost Christmas Day 2023 and for this final episode of the year host Jason Wieland offers a short Christmas prayer for the Doable Discipleship listeners. Doable Discipleship will be off for two weeks and will return with new episodes on January 9. Doable Discipleship is a Saddleback Church podcast produced and hosted by the Saddleback Spiritual Growth Team. It premiered in 2017 and now offers more than 300 episodes. Episodes release every Tuesday on your favorite podcast a...

The Burden and Gift of Living

In today's episode host Jason Wieland, Content Development Pastor at Saddleback Church, talks about his favorite book of 2023. It's called On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden & Gift of Living by Alan Noble. This short, 104-page book is rich in its look at anxiety, depression, and other hardships of life. It doesn't sugarcoat the realities of suffering. For anybody who may not struggle with these issues themselves, Dr. Noble paints an important picture of what life is truly like for th...

How Spiritual Practices Can Change Your Life

When an athlete trains and practices in his or her sport, they are achieving multiple goals at the same time. They get stronger by lifting weights. They get more agile and increase endurance by running and doing sprints. They develop muscle memory by practicing their sport and certain moves over and over and over again. All of this is in pursuit of being ready for the competition – ready for game day. As Christians, we have our own exercises – we call them spiritual practices. We gr...

How Inner Work Transforms Your Outer World with Jeff Haanen

There’s been an interesting trend happening in Christian culture. It seems that Christians today are more open to and looking for a practice of rhythms and self-reflection than ever before. Society as a whole has become more accepting of self-reflection and inner-work, but we’ve especially seen this become a common theme in the church. I’m talking about rhythms of spiritual practices like the Prayer of Examen and a renewed focus on your interior life. In this episode, we’re going to...

How Should Christians Approach A.I.? with David Brenner

One of the most talked about topics in society today is artificial intelligence. AI has been in a sprint season recently as we hear about advancements in language models like ChaptGPT and image generators like Dall-E. Many people have ideas of what AI could be from movies like The Terminator, Blade Runner – even the new Mission Impossible movie, but what is really happening in the AI space? And how should Christians think about the future of Artificial Intelligence? In today's episo...

What to do When Life is Beyond Your Control with Lauren McAfee

Have you ever felt that life is supposed to work a certain way? You feel that if you get your boxes checked then you should be able to walk through life "normally." What we quickly learn, though, is that life is often beyond our control. In this episode of Doable Discipleship, Saddleback Church Content Development Pastor Jason Wieland is joined by Lauren McAfee, author of the new book Beyond Our Control. In this conversation, Lauren and Jason talk about the realities of grief and su...

Why Do We Sing to God? with Josh Miller

What is it about singing that lends itself so well to worship? There are many ways to worship God, but singing is definitely the most commonly thought of aspect of worship. In today's episode, Saddleback Worship Pastor Josh Miller joins Saddleback Content Development Pastor Jason Wieland to talk about worship and the power of song. The conversation looks at what worship is, why singing is such a powerful form of worship, what we can learn from songs of worship, the process of songwr...

How to Approach Life's Hardest Questions with Lee Strobel

Saddleback Church Content Development Pastor Jason Wieland is joined by best-selling author and renowned Christian Apologist Lee Strobel to talk about the state of apologetics and Lee’s new book, Is God Real? Everyone wrestles with some of the biggest questions in life: If God is good, why do people suffer? Why does God seem so hidden? What does it matter if God exists? These questions are asked by Christians and non-Christians alike and it’s important to seek answers to these quest...

Thinking About the Fruit of the Spirit (Rewind)

Are the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, etc.) just good personal quality or character traits that we would aspire to exemplify or something we can attain on our own efforts? Or are they more? Are they traits that are a result, a byproduct of living a Spirit-filled life, or put another way… walking by the Spirit? How am I living my life? Acts of the flesh or fruit of the Spirit? Join Saddleback Content Development Pastor Jason Wieland and Spiritual Growth Pastor Lin...

How to Read and Appreciate the Psalm with Dr. Ian Vaillancourt

The book of Psalms is perhaps one of the most read from and turned to places in the Bible – and for a good reason. It is a wonderful well of the human experience, capturing reality and giving voice to the emotional ebb and flow that comes with being alive while all the while pointing so beautifully back to God. In today’s episode, Saddleback Content Development Pastor Jason Wieland talks with Dr. Ian Vaillancourt about his new book, Treasuring the Psalms. The conversation touches on...

E347 - What Are We Getting Wrong In How We Approach the Bible?

Description:  How do you view the Bible? Is it a book of rules? Is it a storybook, or history book? Do you feel guilty when you think about the Bible? We all approach the Bible with some type of thought or opinion. In today’s episode, host Jason Wieland asks Saddleback Church Teaching Pastor Buddy Owens “What are we getting wrong in how we approach the Bible?” The conversation talks about what it means to read the Bible with open ears, reading for depth instead of distance, how to ...

E46 - Why Are There So Many Bible Translations?

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the vast amount of Bibles to choose from, whether at a bookstore or on a Bible app? Why are there so many translations? Is one better than the others? Which one is right for me? These questions can be difficult to navigate, so today host Jason Wieland is joined by Tom Holladay, former Saddleback Church Teaching Pastor, to talk about all things related to Bible translations. The conversation talks about the pertinent questions to ask when choosing a ...

E345 - Rediscovering the Lost Art of Friendship

Description:  Saddleback Church is proud to release a new limited-series podcast called Rediscovering the Lost Art of Friendship. This podcast series is being produced alongside a sermon series and small group study, though the podcast series can be enjoyed on its own. This series seeks to respond to the epidemic of loneliness sweeping across the nation by looking at five biblically-based ways to build friendships that last.  Hosted by Doable Discipleship host Jason Wieland, this ...

E344 - Rap, Faith, and the Power of Story with Brannon Shortt

Description:  Saddleback Content Development Pastor Jason Wieland is joined by Bayside Church Teaching Pastor/Rapper Brannon Shortt. Storytelling is one of the oldest and most-used forms of communication in human history. We use stories to teach lessons to little kids (think Aesop’s fables or fairy tales) and we continue to learn from stories as adults (think of the great works of literature, film, music).  Another place we often hear stories is during church. We don’t just hear o...

E343: What Does It Mean to Be Made In God’s Image? with Dr. Carmen Joy Imes

Saddleback Church Content Development Pastor Jason Wieland is joined by Dr. Carmen Joy Imes to discuss her new book, Being God’s Image: Why Creation Still Matters. What does it mean to be human? This question is something that everybody wrestles with at different points of life. In this conversation, Jason and Dr. Imes discuss what being God’s image means; the connection between creation and vocation; what Genesis, the Wisdom literature, and the New Testament say about this; the pow...

E342 - How Christians Should Think About World Religions with Dr. Douglas Groothuis

Description:  Saddleback Church Content Development Pastor Jason Wieland is joined by Dr. Douglas Groothuis to talk about his new book, World Religions in Seven Sentences. The conversation discusses why Christians should learn about other world religions, and then looks a three religions or thoughts discussed in the book, Atheism, Judaism, and Islam. The episode also discusses the rise of “Apathy-ism” and the growing movement of people who don’t want to give any time or energy into...

E341 - The 2023 Books of the Bible Draft

Description:  Saddleback Church Content Development Pastor Jason Wieland is joined by Saddleback Spiritual Growth Pastors Brandon Bathauer and Linda Tokar for a Books of the Bible Draft. It’s the time of year when many people do their fantasy football drafts. Here on Doable Discipleship, we draft too – just in a different way. In 2022 we did a People of the Bible Draft and this year we set our sights on the Books of the Bible. The premise: Which 5 books of the Bible would you want ...

E340 - How Christianity Saved Civilization. . . 
And Must Do So Again with Dr. Jim Papandrea

Description:  Saddleback Church Content Development Pastor Jason Wieland is joined by Dr. Jim Papandrea, author of the book How Christianity Saved Civilization . . . And Must Do So Again. The conversation discusses different ways in which Christianity revolutionized the ancient world and how we should consider Christianity’s role in the modern world. Dr. Jim Papandrea is Professor of Church History and Historical Theology. He is on the faculty of the Garrett-Evangelical Theologica...

E339: The Intersection of Philosophy, Great Books, and Faith with Dr. John Mark Reynolds

Description: Saddleback Church Content Development Pastor Jason Wieland is joined by Dr. John Mark Reynolds to discuss the connection between ancient philosophy, reading the great books, and Christianity. They discusses why Christians should care about philosophy, what we mean when we say “The Western Canon” of literature, the power of work that lasts, and how people can get started learning more about these topics. Dr. Reynolds is the President of the Saint Constantine School, a S...

E338 Jesus Revolution with Writer/Director Jon Erwin

Description:  Saddleback Church Content Development Pastor Jason Wieland is joined by Jesus Revolution writer/director Jon Erwin to talk about the hit film. They discuss how Jon decides what stories he wants to tell through film, how he thinks about crafting experiences, what the success of Jesus Revolution tells us about culture and faith-based films, the opportunity we have to tell stories and to share biblical truth in a mass-market environment, and the conversation ends with a ...

E337 - How Has God Shaped You?

Saddleback Church Content Development Pastor Jason Wieland is joined by Saddleback Lake Forest Ministry Pastor Jacob Wilson to talk about what it means to be shaped by God. They discuss SHAPE as an acrostic, look more at the theology of shape and the difference between calling and shape, and have a broader conversation around what it means to do work in the kingdom of God.   Doable Discipleship is a Saddleback Church podcast produced and hosted by the Saddleback Spiritual Growth T...

E336 - What Are We Getting Wrong About Work?

Description:  Saddleback Church Content Development Pastor Jason Wieland is joined by Saddleback Mission Pastor Julie Chung to answer the question, What Are We Getting Wrong About Work? Julie earned her doctoral degree from Fuller Seminary in the field of faith, work, economics, and vocation. This episode looks at work as seen in Genesis and work as seen through redemption culture. They talk about the difference between current societal values and God’s economy, the role of identit...

E335 - Understanding the Link Between Theology and Film with Dr. Kutter Callaway

Saddleback Church Content Development Pastor is joined by Dr. Kutter Callaway to discuss theology and film. Movies have a powerful and interesting way of capturing our attention, our emotions, and our thought life. What does this say about us? And how does this relate to our relationship with God? This conversation looks to answer these questions along with talking about common religious themes and motifs in movies, the need to be discerning against heresy in film, and the power of ...

E334 What Does the Bible Say About Work?

Saddleback Church Content Development Pastor Jason Wieland is joined by Saddleback Spiritual Growth Pastor Linda Tokar to talk about what the Bible says about work. They discuss 7 key points that the Bible makes about work, including that God works and God assigns us work. The conversation spends time on how it doesn’t matter what your line of work is, there is no hierarchy of work. God is able to work in you and through you no matter what your work is. The episode ends with some do...

E333 - How To Live Through The Rhythms of Jesus with Hosanna Wong

Saddleback Church Content Development Pastor Jason Wieland is joined by author, teacher, and spoken word artist Hosanna Wong for a conversation around identity in Christ and how to adopt the rhythms of Jesus. One of the most fundamental questions of life is Who Am I? and, in Christian circles, we are often rushed to answer that our identity is in Christ. But how do we really find out what this means and, even when we do feel connected to Jesus, how do we keep that connection? This c...

E332 - Introducing: Weekend To Workspace

Description:  The Saddleback Family of Podcasts is excited to launch a new podcast, Weekend to Workplace. In this episode of Doable Discipleship, host Jason Wieland will talk briefly with the host of Weekend to Workplace, Mark Grunden. Then, we will share with you the audio from the first episode of Weekend to Workplace, an interview between Mark and Experian and Intel Executive Stuart Mathews. Make sure to subscribe to Weekend to Workplace on your favorite podcast platform.   Do...

E322 - Introducing: Weekend To Workspace

Description:  The Saddleback Family of Podcasts is excited to launch a new podcast, Weekend to Workplace. In this episode of Doable Discipleship, host Jason Wieland will talk briefly with the host of Weekend to Workplace, Mark Grunden. Then, we will share with you the audio from the first episode of Weekend to Workplace, an interview between Mark and Experian and Intel Executive Stuart Mathews. Make sure to subscribe to Weekend to Workplace on your favorite podcast platform.   Do...

E331 - How to Have Freedom from Your Hurts, Hang-ups, and Habits

E330 - Why We Must Pray for the Next Generation

Saddleback Spiritual Growth Pastor Jason Wieland is joined by Kendall Hibiske to talk about praying for the next generation. Your church likely has kids and student ministries where kids can go to learn about God. Adults often say we’re grateful for those pastors and then continue on focusing on our own church experience. There is something missing in the way that we think about the next generation. There’s not just an opportunity, but a necessity, to be intentional toward and prayi...

E329 - A Deeper Understanding of Patience

Saddleback Spiritual Growth Pastor Jason Wieland is joined by Celebrate Recovery Pastor Meaghan Grider to talk about patience. Talking about patience may sound trivial, or may even be something you want to actively avoid, but honestly it’s an extremely important topic with many rich layers to it. We may think of patience as waiting in line, or putting on a nice face rather than lashing out in anger or frustration. But there is a depth and nuance to talking about patience that is so ...

E328 - How To Endure Hardship

Description: Saddleback Spiritual Growth Pastor Jason Wieland is joined by Phillip Congelliere to talk about how to keep going when faced with hardship. Phillip is a former Saddleback pastor and now runs Love Multiplies, a non-profit centered on helping people in the world of infertility and adoption. Phillip and his wife Alex have a popular YouTube channel, Phil and Alex, where they have chronicled their own journey with infertility and adoption. This Doable Discipleship conversati...

E327 Why Its Not Only Okay but Important to Have Fun

Saddleback Spiritual Growth Pastor Jason Wieland and Saddleback Lake Forest Campus Pastor Katie Edwards talk about the importance of having fun and joy in life. This episode part of an ongoing series on emotional health. When we talk about emotional health, we usually talk about anger, or sadness, or any of the hard, negative feelings. Bu it’s also important to look at the positive emotions – in particular, fun. There can be confusion too about how we should navigate church and our ...

E326 - When You Find Yourself At The Wall

Saddleback Spiritual Growth Pastors Jason Wieland and Rob Jacobs talk about The Wall, an experience that all Christians face at some point or multiple points. Sometimes called “the dark night of the soul”, the wall is a season of spiritual dryness where one feels that God is distant. Rob and Jason talk about the wall’s place in the JESUS stages, what it looks like being at the wall, and the emotional toll that the wall can take. The conversation, though, continues to talk about the ...

E325 - A Biblical Look At Emotions

Description: Saddleback Spiritual Growth Pastors Jason Wieland and Linda Tokar take a look at two prominent people in the Bible, Jesus and David, and how they exhibited emotions. Their emotions ran the full range from the highest of highs, to the lowest of lows, and everything in-between. These pictures help us to accept that emotions are not a bad thing. In fact, they are given by God. We are not called to be stoic, or to only by happy. We were created to experience emotions of al...