Shows
No BS BishopSolo - Faith, Hope, and LoveIn this episode, I strip spirituality down to what actually holds: faith, hope, and love. I’m not interested in religious performance, fear-based preaching, or bait-and-switch faith. Love alone is credible, and if love isn’t at the center, everything else eventually collapses into noise.I challenge the idea that spirituality is mostly about what happens after we die. I believe eternity isn’t something we enter later, we’re already in it. The real question isn’t heaven or hell someday, but the heaven or hell we’re living right now. Where you are is where...
2026-02-1228 minNo BS BishopSolo - Love WinsI’m a pastor of half a century, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned in fifty years, it’s that we as people of faith should be known for one thing and one thing alone: Love. In this episode, I’m talking about why I’ve decided that love has won my full attention. We live in a world that is loud, noisy, and frankly, full of bait-and-switch "spirituality." I call that the BS of religious circles. I’ve chosen not to be overwhelmed by the lifestyles or choices of others, but instead to view every person I meet...
2026-02-0529 minNo BS BishopSolo - Love StinksI believe love is credible. I believe it is the only thing that truly stands the test. And if I am honest, it can stink to love people.In this episode of the No BS Bishop Podcast, I talk plainly about the cost of loving others when it hurts. I have been betrayed. I have had promises broken. I have watched people disappear. I have felt fear, disappointment, and exhaustion show up fast and loud. And still, love remains the call on my life.I draw from decades of pastoral life, personal heartbreak, and the...
2026-01-2930 minNo BS BishopSolo - Live For Love AloneI hear people ask all the time, “What is God’s purpose for my life?” and while I can’t tell you whether you should be a veterinarian or a stay-at-home dad, I can tell you that the purpose of life is not to seek pleasure and avoid pain. The real purpose is to be aimed at Love—love for ourselves, our neighbors, our families, our communities, and even our enemies. We get so easily distracted and beset by the struggle to find meaning through a paycheck or the daily grind of holding down a job. While those things are practi...
2026-01-2330 minNo BS BishopSolo - Soul Generated By LoveReflecting on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I share how his writings saved me as a young teenager navigating the astronomical racial tensions of 1960s Milwaukee. I’m unpacking his profound idea of a "soul generated by love," exploring how a heart full of grace is the only true requirement for greatness. We often mistake our lives for a competition, thinking we have to conquer others or win arguments, but a soul lit up by love knows how to pause, listen, and refuse the "dance of enmity."I also dive into th...
2026-01-1829 minNo BS BishopSolo - The Way of LoveThis world can feel like a dangerous place—not just because of those who do evil, but because of the rest of us who see it and do nothing. In this episode, we cut through the noise and get to the heart of what it truly means to live a life that matters.I’m here to talk about The Way of Love, and I believe it demands three things from us: Kindness, Action, and Change. It’s not a soft or passive idea. It’s a courageous path that requires us to listen when we...
2026-01-1330 minNo BS BishopSolo - Evolution of LoveIn this episode, I’d like to share something I believe is essential for our time: the evolution of love. Love isn’t static—when it stands still, it stops being love at all. Just as humanity has grown in strength, understanding, technology, and faith, so too must our grasp of love deepen, widen, and mature.I’ll reflect on how our understanding of God, Scripture, and human relationships has gently unfolded over the centuries, and why clinging to a rigid, paper-thin version of faith can trap us in fear, violence, and division. Even the Bibl...
2026-01-0130 minNo BS BishopSolo - A Love SupremeIn this episode, I’m stripping away the "bait and switch" of lesser values to focus on the highest magnetism in human existence: The Sacred Word of Love.Inspired by the spiritual jazz of John Coltrane’s legendary album, I explore why we must stop treating the word "love" as a glib, throwaway cliché. I share a moving observation of a family interaction that reminded me how easily we "miniaturize" this mountain-range power into a casual "Love ya" while walking away. We dive deep into the importance of being present, the creative "nuclear power" that...
2025-12-2730 minNo BS BishopSolo - A New Love"Love is the only answer, but medieval talk about love does nothing."I’ve been sitting with those words from the mystic Thomas Merton, and they’ve hit me right where I live. If you’ve been with me for the last seven years, you know my creed: I am alive to love, and I believe all lesser values devolve easily into "BS"—that bait-and-switch that keeps us from the reality of how we are meant to live.As we approach the final days of 2025, I’m feeling a fire in my heart to raise an alarm...
2025-12-2329 minNo BS BishopSolo - Advent LoveAdvent invites us to celebrate the multiple paths of how Love is defined by this greatest of all stories in Christmas. “For God so loved the world…that He gives us His Son.” SO LOVED that He gave.SO LOVED that the virgin Mary was visited by the angel of the Lord to announce that she had been chosen. SO LOVED that shepherds keeping watch over their flocks at night were serenaded by a choir of angels singing, “Good news, of great joy, which shall be to all people.” SO LOVED that the Magi/Kings of t...
2025-12-0430 minNo BS BishopSolo - TranscendencyFor six years now, this show has been a labor of love for me, a discussion of the pinnacle of life: Love, and love alone. It is the credible, supreme value for my entire religion.Today, I’m diving deep into my topic: the transcendent supremacy of love. I'm convinced love is this power, this supreme, nuclear force that stands above all others. It’s what launches lives, families, and churches. Even if I deeply disagree with someone or find their behavior repugnant, I refuse to act in any way other than love. It is t...
2025-12-0229 minNo BS BishopSolo - Who Do You LoveIn this episode, I am asking you two fundamental questions: Who do you love? And what do you love? Believe it or not, there is a lot more there than meets the eye. I invite you to sit down and actually make a list. Whether it is your spouse, your friends, your "fur baby" like my dog Dixie, playing a guitar, or even just a solid nap, identifying these loves establishes your priorities. I explore the principle that love will find a way to return to you because what you plant, you will reap. Karma can be your best...
2025-11-2030 minNo BS BishopSolo - Practical Pieces of LoveI'm here to tell you, love is a far more sustaining human practice when it's taken into a practical work of our life. It's the heavy lifting of life the mountain climb, the marathon, because if we don't succeed at the project of love, far too many other things just don't matter.Listen in as I give you these 10 practical practices, including: Being a hospitable person, welcoming to all; Listening beyond the ordinary; Creating an advice-free zone; Making room for an unpopular response, because labeling is lazy; Listening with silence; Knowing how to suspend judgment; Learning to...
2025-11-1329 minNo BS BishopSolo - Christian InstitutionsI believe a hard truth: We, folks of faith, are not here to defend the institutions of Christianity, nor are we here to defend the institutionalized leaders who demand unquestioning allegiance.Institutional Christianity has its own "spiritual asbestos" that needs to be removed. All the passion we spend defending the institution should be redirected only to love God, to love our neighbors, and to love our enemies.Unquestioning followership has led to crisis and a loss of credibility. The credibility of Christianity is in love, not in our organizational...
2025-11-0630 minNo BS BishopSolo - Being Right or Being LovedThis week I'm challenging us all to stop making life about being right and start making it about being loved and being loving.I believe the real issues we face are all found in the nuclear core of the power of love activated inside us. But too often, we've let our culture devolve into division and fighting. I’m inspired by one of my favorite authors, Felicia Murrell, who writes:“I think the broad sweeping generalizations on both sides are killing us all... As a society, we’ve made life about being right instead of being...
2025-10-3030 minNo BS BishopSolo - Love Deeper Than HellI'm diving deep into my life’s purpose today: Preach Love hotter than any religious flame. Live Love more outrageous than any political rage. Lift Love higher than the heavens and deeper than any hell.This is a direct challenge to the noise in our world.Preach Love Hotter: Don't let rigid doctrines or religious passion overshadow the fierce, pure fire of love. We shouldn't be preaching hellfire; we should be preaching a love that burns with the flames of heaven's beauty. I walk you through the Lord's Prayer and my Love's Creed to help yo...
2025-10-2330 minNo BS BishopSpecial Edition: Love in a Time of Crisis (Chain of Lakes Church)I'm sharing the message I recently delivered live at Chain of Lakes Church in Blaine, MN. We need to talk about Love in a Time of Crisis. Every one of us is either in a crisis, coming out of one, or heading into another. And the Church? We've lost our focus.Jesus gave us just one commandment to define us: Love one another. But we've replaced that heavy lifting with political squabbles and the sickness of codependency—trying to fix, manage, and control others instead of simply loving....
2025-10-1723 minNo BS BishopSolo - The ChurchWelcome, beautiful people! I'm Bishop Randy Dean, and this week, I'm getting personal. I'm tackling The Church—not just a single denomination, but the entire body of believers. Why? Because I believe we've gotten ourselves tangled up in too much BS (Bait and Switch).Jesus gave us one, clear, essential commandment: Love one another as I have loved you. That's the epic call of Christ to us, The Church. But honestly? We've been distracted. We've focused on political agendas, trying to pass laws, and admiring our glorious architecture instead of investing in the architecture of...
2025-10-1630 minNo BS BishopSolo - Please Say I Love YouI'm Bishop Randy Dean, the No BS Bishop, and I'm Alive to Love. I believe anything less is potential BS (Bait and Switch), and for six years, I've been calling you upward and onward to a life of Love alone.In this episode, I lay out my most important challenge: the courage to say the three most holy, charmed, and magical words in the human language: "I love you." We're living in a time of suffocating tribalism, chaos, and confusion, where we act as if we're alive to hate and throw emotional grenades. That ain't life! Love...
2025-10-1129 minNo BS BishopSolo - Love, Freedom from a Wounded EgoI'm utterly convinced that love has been short sheeted and treated like a comic book version of life, when in reality, love should be seen as an Encyclopedia Britannica. Love demands of me and from me the truth beyond my personal bias because love cares more about what is right rather than who is right.Here's the truth: you have an ego, I have an ego. The ego is like a psychological eardrum; if it's been beat up and bruised, it translates incoming information in a faulty way. If you're constantly on a crusade...
2025-10-0129 minNo BS BishopSolo - Woe To YouIn this episode, I’m talking about a direct and commanding message that Jesus gave, a message of warning: "Woe to you." But I'm challenging us to stop pointing that finger outward at religious leaders and at others. Instead, I want us to turn that scrutiny inward.When you squeeze a lemon, you get lemon juice. When the squeeze is on in your life, you get what’s on the inside. So what's in you? What dwells in the hidden hallways of your heart?Join me as I encourage us t...
2025-09-2429 minNo BS BishopSolo - Alive to LoveI’m inviting you to breathe slow and live love in an age of violence. In this episode I talk about how “your inner world will eventually become your outer world,” why “hate is murder,” and how we can guard our souls from the bloody scenes that surround us.I remind you that “love and tolerance is our code,” and call you to “drop seeds of beauty” in a world where ugly is getting done to death. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you still have time—love more, love now, and be the people of beauty.
2025-09-2229 minNo BS BishopSolo - Three Realities of LoveThis episode, I'm laying out Three Realities of Love That Will Change Your Life.First, you'll see the world with new eyes, shedding the "us versus them" mentality. Second, you'll deepen your thoughts and grow more wise, transforming knowledge into wisdom. And third, you will let go of failures, foibles, and the fickleness of people, because when you recognize your own, love sets you free.I'm just Randy, and I wanna challenge you to join me. Let's do something beautiful in an ugly world. Let's be the people of love.
2025-09-1329 minNo BS BishopSolo - Strategic LoveLove is the only value worth building on. Everything else falls apart.This episode looks at the strength, security, and strategy of love. Life is a mix of triumph and tragedy, calm and chaos. Love is the power that carries us through it all.Hear why Martin Luther King Jr. was right that “unconditional love and unarmed truth will have the final say on reality,” and why even dipping your paddle into the river of love can keep your canoe upright in the roughest waters.Love has the final word. Let’s live it and...
2025-09-0529 minNo BS BishopSolo - Fine Print of LoveWelcome to the NO BS BISHOP, where we're tackling the fine print we often attach to the most important thing in the world: love. On this episode, I'm calling for a no-holds-barred conversation about what it truly means to love without conditions. This isn't about some cheesy ideal; it's about the real, hard work of getting rid of our excuses and embracing a pure, unfiltered love.Today, I want to talk about getting rid of the fine print of love. It’s time to burn the conditions and live in a world where we simply love. We're of...
2025-08-2929 minNo BS BishopInterview - The Church Exit Interview with Producer Scott MorfittI'm here with Scott Morfitt, a former parishioner, a "stray sheep" that I love dearly, and the producer of this very show. We're talking about spiritual refugees, the 40 million people who have exited the brick and mortar church since the turn of the century. This is a significant shift in the spiritual season of the United States, and we need to have an exit interview. I'm not here to judge or crack a whip, but to listen and love.Scott and I get into the real reasons behind this exodus, from the rote "three...
2025-08-2138 minNo BS BishopInterview - Gene MorfittIn this episode, I share a word that’s been on my heart about identity, healing, and the kind of freedom that changes everything.Not long ago, I had the privilege of connecting with Gene Morfitt from the Spiritual Program Retreat, a long-standing community rooted in the original spiritual principles of the 12 steps.Since 1981, thousands have come through the Spiritual Program Retreat and walked away changed. It’s not about surface-level solutions it’s about facing truth, working the steps, and finding a new way to live.If you're feeling stuck, burdened, or just r...
2025-08-0636 minNo BS BishopSolo - Risky LoveIn this episode, I’m not just talking about love — I’m talking about why real love is a high-risk, high-reward endeavor. We’re not sugarcoating it. Love, when it's genuine, puts you out there. It demands courage, vulnerability, and the willingness to be misunderstood, rejected, or even hurt. That’s why so many people back away from it, settle for less, or hide behind excuses like “righteousness” or “truth.” But I’m telling you — love is the truth.You’ll hear stories from real-life tragedy where love became the last thing spoken — in the floods of Texas, the tornado in Jopl...
2025-08-0629 minNo BS BishopInterview - Pastor Justin ArnoldWell, friends, this one jumps right in. No fluff. No fanfare. Just two pastors mid-stream, wrestling out loud about the sacred, the cosmic, and the painfully personal. This week on No BS Bishop, I sit down with Pastor Justin Arnold in the church basement—with coffee in hand and hearts wide open—to talk about what it means to follow Jesus in 2025.We get raw. We get real. We discuss the atomic interconnectedness of Christ and the crash test dummy wall that the church has hit. We unpack racism, LGBTQ+ inclusion, tribalism, Constantine, and even yard signs—yes, l...
2025-07-1726 minNo BS BishopSolo - The Revolution of Love: No BS"You say you want a revolution? Well, love is the only revolution worth fighting for."Beloveds, this is Bishop Randy—your no-BS, straight-talking, love-obsessed friend—and I’m here to tell you: we’ve been wasting our time.We argue. We post. We debate. We scream into the void. And for what? More noise. More division. More BS.Enough.In this episode, I’m calling for a bloodless coup of the heart—a revolution where love isn’t just a nice idea, but the oxygen in your lungs, the fire in your bones, the no...
2025-07-1128 minNo BS BishopInterview - Selika Ducksworth-Lawton Pt 2Alright, folks, get ready for Part 2 of my powerful conversation with the brilliant historian, Dr. Selika Ducksworth-Lawton. We're not just talking about history here; we're grappling with where we're headed in 2025, examining the entire "circumnavigation" of history. Selika lays out her deep concerns about violence and the tough truth about non-violence in the face of authoritarianism. You know, history doesn't just repeat itself; it rhymes, and we're seeing those echoes right now.We ain't holding back as we dive into the corruption that can creep into institutions, from our police forces to even our churches. Selika reminds...
2025-07-0251 minNo BS BishopSolo - The Sustaining Power of LoveJoin Bishop Randy Dean as he explores love, urging you to engage with Love's Creed and make it your legacy. This episode addresses the 21st-century loneliness epidemic, distinguishing between digital noise and genuine human connection, while offering practical tools such as setting boundaries and diaphragmatic breathing for stress management. Drawing from addiction recovery, Bishop Dean emphasizes that "the opposite of addiction is connection," highlighting the essential role of self-love. Discover how simply vocalizing "I love you" daily, both to yourself and others, can strengthen connections and foster a more loving mindset.
2025-06-2730 minNo BS BishopSolo - Love or MurderIn this powerful episode, Bishop Randy Dean tackles a pressing question: what truly cooks in the kitchen of your soul? With recent tragic events in Minnesota as a backdrop, Bishop Randy cuts through the BS to declare that love is the only credible answer to the human condition. He unpacks Jesus's Sermon on the Mount, revealing how hatred in the heart is the insidious beginning of murder, even when cloaked in religious justification. Join Bishop Randy as he challenges listeners to examine their hearts, offering "Love's Creed" and a fresh perspective on prayer to help you cultivate...
2025-06-1930 minNo BS BishopInterview - Selika Ducksworth-LawtonIn a thought-provoking episode of the No BS Bishop podcast, Bishop Randy Dean and historian Selika Ducksworth-Lawton explore the struggles of modern Christianity. Bishop Dean highlights a significant decline in evangelicalism, attributing it to the church's reluctance to engage in "adult conversations" about issues like race, LGBTQ+ rights, and gender roles.Ducksworth-Lawton, a Black Catholic and civil rights historian, shares her unique perspective, drawing from personal experiences of integration in the South and discussing the historical intertwining of faith and social justice movements. She underscores the importance of seeking common humanity through dialogue, contrasting it with the...
2025-06-1732 minNo BS BishopLove: The ultimate way to fight BSBishop Randy delves into the challenging yet profoundly rewarding work of love, distinguishing it from codependency and urging us to remove all limitations on its efficacy. Drawing inspiration from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s timeless message of loving our enemies, he emphasizes that love is not about agreeing with harmful ideas, but recognizing the inherent humanity in everyone.Discover how embracing love can free us from the "prison of self" and empower us to inject a "new dimension of love into the veins of civilization." Bishop Randy encourages listeners to practice rhythmic breathing for inner peace...
2025-06-1229 minNo BS BishopLove is enoughIn this episode, Love is Enough, Bishop Randy Dean reflects on what it really means to live a life grounded in love. He invites us to look beyond the noise of shame, politics, and institutional religion—the "small c church"—and instead embrace the heart of the "capital C Church," where love is the driving force.With honesty and warmth, Bishop Dean shares personal stories about the hard work of loving others—even when it’s not easy—and the heartbreak of rejection. He reminds us that love isn’t just a feeling; it takes wisdom, patience, and daily in...
2025-06-0629 minNo BS BishopLove: The Heavy Lifting of LifeIn this episode, Bishop Randy Dean explores the notion that love is more than just a warm, fuzzy feeling; it requires effort and ongoing growth, much like the experience of lifting weights. He discusses how we can apply love in our daily lives, emphasizing the importance of avoiding ego-driven behaviors that focus on being right instead of fostering genuine connections with those around us. It's a thought-provoking conversation that encourages us to rethink how we engage with others. Dean references biblical commandments about love and encourages listeners to actively practice love through daily affirmations, such as reciting 'Love's Creed...
2025-05-2829 minNo BS BishopLove repairs our inner worldIn this episode, I delve into what it means to live a life free from BS and centered on love. I unpack the idea of ontological repair—restoring the very core of who we are—and how love serves as the filter that shapes everything. Think of your inner life like a kitchen: what’s inside will come out under pressure. I also share how tools like Love's Creed and the Lord’s Prayer can ground us spiritually and personally. Finally, I challenge the divisive labels and political obsessions of our time, calling both individuals and the church to a deeper...
2025-05-2130 minNo BS BishopLove's CreedIn this episode, you're invited to explore what it means to live a life rooted in love. You'll learn to move beyond negativity and labels, encouraging a profound reflection on your identity as a loving being. Through the recitation of Love’s Creed and a discussion of the Lord’s Prayer, you’ll discover tools to stay spiritually grounded, find strength in daily challenges, and reconnect with the essence of love that transcends occupation, background, or beliefs.You’ll also be guided to practice love in tangible ways—whether through mindful breathing, eye contact, or simply...
2025-05-1329 minNo BS BishopLove Meets Authentic TruthOn this episode, we explore love and truth together. We'll delve into how love should be the primary lens through which we understand and communicate what we believe to be true. Consider the power of a guiding principle like love in all your interactions. The idea of "speaking the truth in love" can often become skewed, with our need to be "right" overshadowing genuine care.Truth can lose its meaning and impact without the foundation of love. Compassion and patience can transform how we share our perspectives. This episode encourages us to prioritize love in our connections...
2025-05-0529 min
The Living Church PodcastClergy CouplesClergy couples: How do they work? Where are the tensions and the graces? Even highly functional, loving, clergy marriages can look so different. Knock, knock – can we come inside your marriage for a peek?In this episode, host Amber Noel gets really nosy. Here are three couples willing to come on the podcast and talk honestly about their clergy couple marriages – what makes them tick, what ticks them off, and how they've learned to value differences, protect each other, and learn grace in community.In this episode we'll hear from:The Rev. Tish Harrison Warr...
2024-08-1554 min
Jesus at the Table5. What if God Really IS Like Jesus?... with Randy DeanThe New Testament is clear that God is stunningly revealed in the person of Jesus. But if that’s true, how have Christians themselves ended up with so many pictures of God that don’t look or sound much like the Jesus of the Gospels. Fran explores these questions with Bishop Randy Dean.
2023-09-2946 min