Lecrae welcomes Phillip Anthony Mitchell back to The Deep End for an honest conversation about the realities of public ministry. From navigating criticism and protecting his family to staying grounded in Scripture amid cultural pressure, Phillip reflects on the lessons he's learned as his platform has grown and why faithfulness has remained his highest priority. They also discuss the vision behind Access, the importance of prayer, and the heart behind Phillip's new book, Contend.

01:09 Introduction 03:00 Responding to Criticism with Humility 06:22 Navigating Influence Without Pride 08:40 How Public Ministry Affects Family 11:33 Why Pastor Phillip Travels with Security 17:28 The Vision Behind Access 22:42 The Power of Corporate Prayer 24:03 Preaching the Bible in a Divided Culture 29:03 Why He Preaches Through Books of the Bible 30:07 Should Christians Charge for Live Events? 34:51 Fair Criticism vs. Unfair Criticism 36:23 The Cost of Public Obedience 37:35 What Phillip Anthony Mitchell Is Really Like 40:21 Why Christians Need to Stop Slandering Each Other 46:37 Confrontation vs. Public Call Outs 47:55 Encouragement for Faithful Pastors 49:18 The Message of Contend

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This week, Lecrae sits down with bestselling author and Proverbs 31 Ministries president Lysa TerKeurst for an honest conversation about betrayal, emotional abuse, forgiveness, divorce, and learning to trust God when life doesn't go the way you hoped. Together, they unpack difficult questions many Christians wrestle with, including what Scripture actually says about divorce, the difference between forgiveness and reconciliation, and how to recognize emotional abuse without minimizing its impact.

Along the way, Lysa shares personal stories, biblical insight, and practical encouragement for anyone walking through disappointment, grief, or broken relationships.

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Lecrae welcomes Dr. Sarita Lyons back to The Deep End for a conversation about healing from relational wounds and navigating difficult conversations with biblical wisdom.

Together, they explore how family brokenness shapes us, the difference between forgiveness and reconciliation, why "protecting your peace" isn't always biblical, and what true healing looks like through the lens of the gospel.

They also dive into women in the Church, navigating church hurt without abandoning Scripture, and why our deepest wounds can never be healed apart from Christ. Whether your relationship with your mother has been life giving, complicated, or somewhere in between, this conversation offers biblical wisdom, practical insight, and a hopeful path toward healing. ____

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For years, the world has known Dwight Howard through highlights, headlines, and controversy. This conversation tells a different story.

From the pressure of carrying his faith into the NBA to navigating public failure, fatherhood, and the search for purpose beyond basketball, Dwight reflects on the lessons that shaped him both on and off the court.

If you've only followed the headlines, this episode offers a different perspective.

0:00 Introduction 01:13 Dwight Howard's NBA Journey 03:48 Wanting to Change the NBA for Jesus 04:32 The Pressure of Being 18 in the NBA 07:05 Fame, Temptation & Growing Up Fast 11:35 Feeling Like God Was Silent 13:59 What I'd Tell My Younger Self 15:03 What It Means to Die to Yourself 15:59 The Truth About Superman 17:22 The Weight of Representing Christ 19:03 "Am I Just Experiencing Life?" 20:55 Living with Public Criticism 22:55 Fatherhood & Learning from the Past 25:52 The Reality of Dating as an NBA Star 31:49 The Cost of Greatness 33:37 Kobe, LeBron & Finding Balance 38:34 The Double Standard of Public Faith 41:33 My Purpose Beyond Basketball 43:10 How I Handle the Hate 45:39 More Than the Headlines

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Lecrae has won Grammys, earned platinum records, topped the Billboard charts, and shared rooms with some of the most famous people in the world. Yet even at the height of his success, he still felt insignificant.

In this episode, Lecrae reveals the hidden reality of fame and explains why achievement, recognition, and acceptance can never heal insecurity. He shares what finally helped him stop chasing validation, confront the wounds beneath his ambition, and find his identity in who God created him to be.

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Lecrae sits down with Dr. Tony Evans, Beth Moore, and Pastor Jeffrey Johnson Sr. for a rare conversation about the state of the American church—and what it will take to move forward faithfully.

Together, they address why younger generations are leaving the faith, the divide between Christianity and American politics, the role of women in ministry, navigating prolonged singleness, enduring painful seasons, and knowing when it's time to pass the mantle. With more than 140 years of combined ministry experience, these Christian leaders share hard-earned wisdom about following Jesus through every season of life.

Filmed live at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Church.

CHAPTERS 0:00 The Wisdom the Church Needs Right Now 1:19 Lecrae Introduces the Roundtable 5:36 What Is the Kingdom of God? 7:29 What the American Church Gets Wrong 9:10 Passing the Mantle to the Next Generation 12:37 Why Young People Are Leaving the Church 18:15 Finding Purpose in Pain 23:58 Should Christians Get Involved in Politics? 31:21 The Debate Over Women in Ministry 38:06 What to Do When You're Tired of Being Single 42:24 How to Finish Life Well 49:25 Lecrae Honors Their Legacy 49:56 A Prayer for the Next Generation _

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You've seen the clip. Before Lecrae responds to Marcus Rogers, he asks a harder question: when did we start treating Matthew 18 like a flowchart for public callouts instead of a chapter about not losing your brother?

In this episode, Lecrae unpacks the viral clip from Marcus Rogers and uses it as a launching pad for something bigger than one callout: how discernment culture works, where it goes wrong, and what Scripture actually asks of us when we think someone's walking crooked. He walks through his own past failure judging an artist he'd never met, breaks down what Matthew 18 says (and what it doesn't), and separates testing what someone teaches from diagnosing their heart. Along the way: the Killer Mike story, the Kirk Franklin question, the South by Southwest moment people still bring up, and the Will Smith clip everyone's been quoting out of context. _______________________________________________

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Is Christian dating actually broken… or are we just doing it wrong?

Lecrae sits down with B. Simone, Toni Collier, Chaz Smith, and Matthew Hudson for an honest, hilarious, and surprisingly vulnerable conversation about modern dating, singleness, sex, celibacy, standards, leadership, healing, and what it really looks like to pursue relationships God's way.

From waiting until marriage and dating after divorce to unrealistic expectations and learning how to be content while single, nothing is off the table.

Whether you're dating, waiting, healing, or wondering if your person is even out there, this conversation is for you.

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Tim Keller was Lecrae's Michael Jordan. Ten years of sermons, a shared reading list with Kendrick Lamar, and a friendship that started with him shaking like "a stripper in church on Sunday." Then 2016 happened, and Lecrae stopped listening to any theologian who looked like Keller.

In week two of his series on the men who shaped his theology, Lecrae gets brutally honest about Doctor Timothy Keller: the missionary sermon that rewired how he saw the city, the years of silence during his own "disorientation," and the moment he came back around to find Keller had been standing in the gap the whole time. He talks about writing a book together, watching Keller invest in Bronx pastors most reformed circles ignored, and the small paperback — The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness — that became a spiritual anchor. And he tells the story of a breakdown in Mexico, a copy of Prodigal Prophet, and an actual whale outside his window.

This one is personal, complicated, and honest about a man Lecrae calls one of the great Western Christian thinkers — flaws included.

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Chapters:

00:00 The theologian who made him nervous like a fan meeting Jordan

03:05 Picking up where the Piper conversation left off

05:00 The father wound behind every theological hero

08:28 A friend named Miguel and the sermon that changed everything

10:13 Trained to be missionaries, not just pastors

10:31 The oil spill metaphor that reshaped his view of the city

16:40 2016 and the year he went quiet

20:51 Why he stopped listening to every white theologian

23:39 Coming back around and catching wind of what he'd missed

27:28 The panel, the book, and the wisdom he didn't expect

28:42 Why he thinks history will remember Keller like C.S. Lewis

34:55 The thin book he makes every artist he signs read

36:18 A breakdown in Mexico, a book about Jonah, and a whale outside the window

41:01 What's coming next: Mark Driscoll

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"I made an idol out of John Piper." Lecrae doesn't say that lightly. For years, John Piper shaped the way he read the Bible, understood God, wrote music, and approached ministry. His sermons became the soundtrack to an entire season of Lecrae's life. When he finally met Piper, after meeting celebrities, athletes, and presidents, no one left him more starstruck. But admiration has a way of becoming something else.

In this episode, Lecrae opens up about growing up without a father. He shares why he was unknowingly looking for affirmation from older spiritual leaders. He reflects on how John Piper became the father figure he didn't realize he was searching for, and explains what happened when racial tension, church hurt, and life experience forced him to reevaluate everything he once accepted without question.

Lecrae also shares how his view of Piper has changed over the years, why he believes gratitude and critique can coexist, and what it looks like to honor the people God used in your life without expecting them to carry what only Jesus can.

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From the time he was 7 years old, his dad told him: people like you and want to hear what you have to say. Judah Smith spent the next four decades finding out what that actually meant — and what it cost. He became one of the most recognizable preachers in America. Known as Bieber's pastor. Called America's sexiest pastor. Put on the Mount Rushmore of celebrity pastors. And now, sitting across from Lecrae, he says the scariest thing he's ever admitted out loud: his critics might be right about him. In this episode, Judah opens up about growing up 7th generation in a preaching family with real darkness in its history, the moment he realized he'd been preaching about a Jesus he wasn't sure he actually knew, what happened with Mark Driscoll, the spiritual father who asked to get paid, the friends who disappeared when his circumstances changed, and why he's giving the rest of his life to the 50% of Americans who say they'll never step foot in a church. He also announces a Netflix deal live on camera. Nobody in the room knew it was coming.

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