Why Most Christians Still Follow Everyone Except Jesus | Summer of Sermons

Why Most Christians Still Follow Everyone Except Jesus | Summer of Sermons

We follow people all day long. Influencers, icons, feeds, and the five voices we spend the most time with. The problem is simple. We slowly become like whatever we follow, and most of us never stopped to ask if those things are worthy of our lives. In this Summer of Sermons message, Daron Earlewine walks through Jesus' shortest and most personal invitation, come follow me, and exposes how Western Christianity quietly swapped imitation for information. We turned discipleship into a golden ticket to heaven instead of a daily apprenticeship that actually changes us. The stakes are real. A life built on the wrong foundation looks fine until the floods come. Following Jesus is the difference between a house that stands and a heap of ruins. TAKEAWAYS: ⚡️ The word "Christian" appears three times in the New Testament. The word "disciple" appears over two hundred. The goal was never to be a Christian, it was to become like Jesus. ⚡️ Your real beliefs are not what you say in public. They show up in where you actually go for wisdom and who you actually follow. ⚡️ Following Jesus means being with him, becoming like him, and doing what he did. Information alone never makes anyone look like Jesus. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 — Summer of Sermons begins 05:00 — The question almost nobody asks 10:24 — The 30 day challenge that stings 19:14 — Three beliefs you do not know you hold 24:30 — The dust of your rabbi 29:59 — Information or imitation 35:00 — Disciple not Christian and the rich young ruler 41:11 — The one life you actually get CONNECT WITH DARON: Website: https://daronearlewine.com Rogue Collective Coaching: https://roguecollectivecoaching.com Blackbird Mission: https://blackbirdmission.com Email: daron@daronearlewine.com CONNECT WITH KEN PRIMEAU Website: https://exponential.org/person/ken-primeau/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenneth-primeau-0a1aaaaa Who is the one voice you follow that you might need to stop following? Drop it in the comments and tell us why. If this challenged you, share it with someone who needs to hear it. HASHTAGS: #DaronEarlewine #SummerOfSermons #Discipleship #FollowJesus #BlackbirdMission #FaithAndLeadership #ChristianPodcast

He Built a Thousand Person Church By Saying One Word with Ken Primeau | Episode 214

Most leaders are waiting on a dramatic, burning bush moment to tell them what their life is for. So they stall. They spin their wheels, convinced the "real" calling has not arrived yet. In this episode, Daron Earlewine sits down with Ken Primeau, lead pastor of Mercy Road Northeast, who built a thousand person church without ever planning to. Ken's whole story is a chain of small yeses. A blank check handed to God in a Panama outhouse pit, a scholarship that came through at the last second, a dream that pointed him to a state he could not find on a map, and two words he heard as his plane touched down in Indiana. If you have been measuring your life by milestones nobody handed you, this conversation reframes what a faithful, purposeful life actually looks like. KEY TAKEAWAYS: ⚡️ Purpose gets built through small steps of obedience, not one cinematic calling. ⚡️ A surrendered "blank check" yes to God strips the fear out of risk. ⚡️ Healthy leadership shares the weight instead of building everything around one personality. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 — Why Saying Yes Beats Having a Plan 05:30 — Moving Countries and Finding Purpose in Pain 11:00 — The Little Yeses That Shaped a Life 16:30 — The Blank Check Moment in Panama 22:00 — Learning to Hear God's Voice 29:00 — The Dream That Pointed to Indiana 34:00 — Why the Celebrity Pastor Model Is Broken 40:00 — The Christmas Card That Built Trust 45:30 — A New Definition of Success 51:00 — Why Home Is the Presence of God CONNECT WITH DARON: Website: https://daronearlewine.com Rogue Collective Coaching: https://roguecollectivecoaching.com Blackbird Mission: https://blackbirdmission.com Email: daron@daronearlewine.com CONNECT WITH KEN PRIMEAU Website: https://exponential.org/person/ken-primeau/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenneth-primeau-0a1aaaaa Which yes is God asking you to say right now? Drop it in the comments, and if this episode helped you, hit subscribe so more people find it. HASHTAGS: #DaronEarlewinePodcast #FaithAndLeadership #Purpose #ChristianEntrepreneurs #HearingGodsVoice #Surrender #Discipleship #BlackbirdMission #FaithFilledLeaders #KingdomBusiness

How God's Love Changes the Way You Actually Live with Wayne Jacobsen | Episode 213

What if a single mistranslated word quietly bent the way the church has understood the gospel for 500 years? Most of us were handed a faith built on personal piety, sin management, and a ticket out of hell, and then left wondering what to actually do on Monday. In this conversation, author and former pastor Wayne Jacobsen sits down with Daron Earlewine to unpack his new book Just Love and the claim at the center of it: the Greek word we translate "righteousness" was translated "justice" everywhere else. Daron and Wayne explore what changes when love, not performance, becomes the source of transformation, and how living loved produces real justice toward the people around you. KEY TAKEAWAYS: ⚡️ How one Greek word came to be translated "righteousness" instead of "justice," and why that single shift reframes nearly every verse where the word appears. ⚡️ Why salvation was never meant to be amnesty for personal sin, but a doorway into the Father's love that changes you from the inside out. ⚡️ How being filled with God's love makes you a giver of life instead of a seeker of it, so justice becomes fruit rather than religious work. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 — The Word That Distorted the Gospel 05:00 — How One Greek Word Got Mistranslated 10:00 — Why a Stamped Ticket to Heaven Misses the Point 15:00 — Love as the Source of Change Not the Reward 20:00 — Recovering the Word Just 25:00 — How Justice Gets Written on Your Heart 30:00 — Living Loved Instead of Performing 36:00 — Salvation as a Doorway Not Amnesty 41:00 — The Thirst Only Jesus Satisfies 46:00 — When Righteous People Commit the Greatest Injustice 51:00 — Your First Step Start With Being Loved CONNECT WITH DARON: Website: https://daronearlewine.com Rogue Collective Coaching: https://roguecollectivecoaching.com Blackbird Mission: https://blackbirdmission.com Email: daron@daronearlewine.com CONNECT WITH WAYNE JACOBSEN Website: lifestream.org Podcast: The God Journey What hit you hardest in this conversation? Drop a comment, and if this reframed the gospel for you, share it with one friend who needs to hear it. HASHTAGS: #DaronEarlewine #WayneJacobsen #JustLove #Faith #Gospel #Discipleship #ChristianPodcast #FaithAndWork #Justice #Grace

Discovering Your God Given Purpose And Calling with 3 Generations of Earlewine Men | Episode 212

Three generations of Earlewine men sit down at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to close out our IMS series. Cole is months away from his football identity ending and doesn't know who he is on the other side of it. Ty is staring at a future that's a complete question mark. And Dave, who came to faith from nothing and took risk after risk to follow a call, shows them what decades of trusting God actually looks like. If you've ever wrapped your worth in what you do, this conversation is for you. Ready to discover who God created you to be? Book a free 30-minute discovery call at RogueCollectiveCoaching.com. KEY TAKEAWAYS: ⚡️ Your identity is not your achievement. As Cole puts it, football is what he does, not who he is, and that distinction changes how you handle the day it ends. ⚡️ Courage to follow a calling is often modeled before it's chosen. Dave's willingness to say yes to God gave his kids and grandkids permission to take their own risks. ⚡️ God doesn't move, you do. Stillness and the unknown feel threatening until you trust that He's already everywhere you're headed. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 — Three Generations At The Indy 500 03:30 — The Risk That Moved A Family To Arizona 09:00 — Why Faith Feels Like Support Not Pressure 18:00 — Did You Think Your Son Was Crazy 24:30 — What Happens When Your Identity Ends 30:00 — Learning To Trust The Unknown 37:00 — A Grandfather's Advice For The Road Ahead CONNECT WITH DARON: Website: https://daronearlewine.com Rogue Collective Coaching: https://roguecollectivecoaching.com Blackbird Mission: https://blackbirdmission.com Email: daron@daronearlewine.com If this conversation hit home, drop a comment telling us where you're being asked to trust God with an unknown. Like and subscribe so you don't miss the next one. HASHTAGS: #DaronEarlewine #FaithAndPurpose #Calling #Identity #ChristianPodcast #Fatherhood #Legacy

The 2 AM Text That Made My Son Switch His Major with Ty Earlewine | Episode 211

Most students go to college locked into a plan, then collide with reality. Daron's son Ty Earlewine got to Grand Canyon University, started his pre-PT major, and within a month sent a 2 AM text home that changed everything. In this episode, Daron and Ty sit down at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and unpack what it really takes for a young adult to hear God's voice about their calling. They talk about the difference between your interests and your foundation, the friends who can see what you cannot see in yourself, and why some people are wired for the oval and some are wired for the road course. Ready to discover who God created you to be? Book a free 30-minute discovery call at RogueCollectiveCoaching.com. KEY TAKEAWAYS: ⚡️ Your friends will often see the calling on your life before you do. Choose them accordingly. ⚡️God is not always dropping crumbs on the path. Sometimes He is laying out full course meals you are walking right past. ⚡️ "Have-to" people and "help-do" people both have value. Knowing which one you are is how you stop comparing your race to somebody else's. TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 — Welcome from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway 5:30 — The hardest part of being 2,000 miles from home 12:00 — How Ty built a new "school family" from scratch 17:30 — The 2 AM text that changed his major 23:00 — When your calling shows up as a full course meal 28:30 — How a dorm room Bible study went from 5 to 18 guys 36:00 — Business as ministry: a 19-year-old shadows the work 42:30 — The road course life vs. the oval track life 47:00 — What every parent needs to hear about their kid's calling CONNECT WITH DARON: Website: https://daronearlewine.com Rogue Collective Coaching: https://roguecollectivecoaching.com Blackbird Mission: https://blackbirdmission.com Email: daron@daronearlewine.com If this episode helped you think differently about your own calling or your kid's calling, hit subscribe and leave a comment with the one thing that hit hardest. Share this one with the parent who needs to hear it. HASHTAGS: #DaronEarlewinePodcast #OnPurposeAndForPurpose #FaithAndCalling #ChristianParenting #PurposeDevelopment #BlackbirdMission #RogueCollectiveCoaching