Mere Christians

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Mere Christians

Jordan Raynor

How does the gospel influence the work of Mere Christians—those of us who aren’t pastors or religious professionals, but who work as entrepreneurs, baristas, and accountants? That’s the question this podcast explores every week as Jordan Raynor interviews guests across the widest variety of vocations.

51 minutes 20 seconds

Jordan Raynor (Host of the Mere Christians podcast)
Why Jordan has decided to put the show on hiatus after 300 episodes and millions of downloads, how he thinks about what he needs to prune in order to pursue the ministry of excellence in other things, and the 10 moments of this show he’s thought about most post-recording.
Links Mentioned
2 July 2025, 4:00 am
31 minutes 53 seconds

Dr. Karen Swallow Prior (Author of You Have a Calling)
How the advice to “follow your passions” can lead to an unbiblical sense of entitlement, how to follow “the true, good, and beautiful” today to find your calling tomorrow, and how God uses pain and trauma to steer us to our callings.
Links Mentioned:
25 June 2025, 4:00 am
47 minutes 3 seconds

Wilson Smith (Fmr. Shoe Designer at Nike)
How Wilson came to be the shoe industry’s first Black shoe designer, how work can be a form of prayer, and why he chose Philippians 2 to be printed in his Nike shoes.
Links Mentioned:
18 June 2025, 4:00 am
39 minutes 24 seconds

Will Acuff (Founder of Corner to Corner)
How to find joy in your work—even when it sucks, how Will’s “trailhead practice” can lead you to “Spirit-led self-awareness,” and how to stop limping towards God’s throne and start running towards it.
Links Mentioned:
11 June 2025, 4:00 am
44 minutes 19 seconds

Dr. Praveen Sethupathy (Chair, Department of Biomedical Sciences at Cornell University)
How to lead winsomely when your vocation is under attack, how the cross can “disabuse you of any sense of power” at work, and how Dr. Sethupathy practically elevates the marginalized in his office.
Links Mentioned:
4 June 2025, 4:00 am
36 minutes 50 seconds

Dave Stuart, Jr. (High School Teacher)
How to calculate your compensation beyond what you get paid, how life-giving it can be to simply stop being surprised by thorns and thistles, and why you need more “Himalaya Boundaries” in your calendar to protect your family and rest.
Links Mentioned:
28 May 2025, 4:00 am
23 minutes 42 seconds

Kevin Olusola (Member of Pentatonix)
Why “creativity is our birthright,” how fame has changed Kevin’s prayers, and why he doesn’t want to be a “superstar” but a “superplanet” that reflects God’s light to others.
Links Mentioned:
21 May 2025, 4:00 am
31 minutes 5 seconds

Roy Tinklenberg (Founder of Faith and Work Movement Global)
Why Roy moved from planting a church to supporting believers working in big companies, how to start a sponsored Christian fellowship in your office, and the 3 ways Christian Employee Resource Groups benefit the businesses that sponsor them.
Links Mentioned:
14 May 2025, 4:00 am
56 minutes 16 seconds

Kaleigh Cox (Co-Author of Five Mere Christians)
What Jordan’s decision to work with a co-author can teach you about your own work, why he chose to make a collection of biographies his next book, and the stickiest stories from Five Mere Christians that have changed how he works.
Links Mentioned:
7 May 2025, 4:00 am
49 minutes 28 seconds

S.D. Smith (Author of The Green Ember series)
How we can see all our vocations as participating in the “Mended Wood,” why The Lord of the Rings was more spiritually powerful for him than any Christian non-fiction, and the call to “modesty, fidelity, and audacity” in our work.
Links Mentioned:
30 April 2025, 4:00 am
32 minutes 29 seconds

Laura Wifler (Poet + Author of Your Worth Never Wavers)
How to find biblical freedom and courage to quit something professionally, how Laura and I have both cultivated a willingness to be misunderstood, and how the gospel should compel us to quit differently.
Links Mentioned:
23 April 2025, 4:00 am
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