The First Christians Didn't Try to Change the Empire

The First Christians Didn't Try to Change the Empire

The first Christians lived under the most powerful political system the world had ever seen. They didn’t lobby it, campaign against it, or try to capture it. They fed the poor, buried the dead, and built a community so stubbornly different that three centuries later, the empire couldn’t explain what had happened. This episode looks at how the earliest church related to power, not by ignoring it, but by operating on an entirely different logic. We trace what it meant to call Jesus “Lord” in a world that already had one, why political strategy wasn’t the church’s instrument of change, and what got quietly lost when the faith began to assume that influence and control were the same thing. Theology Made is a listener/reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Theology Made at substack.theologymade.com/subscribe [https://substack.theologymade.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The Bible Wasn't Meant to Be Read Alone

Theology Made is a listener/reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. For most of Christian history, almost no one read the Bible alone. Scripture was heard and read aloud in packed rooms, interpreted together, argued over in real time by people who shared a life, not just a reading plan. This episode traces how the Bible moved from the ear to the eye, from the community to the individual, and what quietly shifted when it did. We look at first-century literacy, the oral culture behind Paul’s letters, and the centuries-long transformation that turned a communal text into a private devotional and ask what that change might still be costing us. If you’ve ever felt like theology is harder than it should be, you’re not alone and you don’t have to stay stuck there. I created a short workshop called “Faith Without Fear: Learning Theology with Confidence” to help you finally make sense of it all. In just under an hour, I’ll walk you through a simple framework that makes theology click—without the overwhelm. https://theologymade.mykajabi.com/offers/RqeAzfaY [https://theologymade.mykajabi.com/offers/RqeAzfaY] Get full access to Theology Made at substack.theologymade.com/subscribe [https://substack.theologymade.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The First Christians Didn’t Go to Church. Here’s Why.

For the first 300 years of Christianity… there were no church buildings.No services. No “going to church” the way we think of it today. So what were the first Christians actually doing? In this episode, we step into the world of the early church and uncover how something that started in homes and shared meals eventually became something very different. Because the real surprise isn’t that church looked different back then. It’s how much our assumptions about it have changed. Theology Made is a listener/reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Theology Made at substack.theologymade.com/subscribe [https://substack.theologymade.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The Man Who Chose to Own Nothing

Theology Made is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. What if security isn’t safety? What if accumulation isn’t freedom? What he found on the other side of that question became one of the most disruptive spiritual movements in church history. And it still has something to say to anyone building a life they’re not entirely sure they want. This episode is about Francis—but it’s really about what we hold onto, and why. Get full access to Theology Made at substack.theologymade.com/subscribe [https://substack.theologymade.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Jesus Didn’t Write Anything. So Why Do We Trust the Gospels?

Jesus never wrote a single word. No letters. No books. No firsthand account. And yet, billions of people trust what was written about Him. So why? In this episode, we explore one of the most overlooked questions in Christianity—and why the answer challenges how modern people think about truth, history, and credibility. Because the real issue isn’t that Jesus didn’t write anything. It’s why no one thought He needed to. Theology Made is a listener/reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. At 18 I decided I wanted to be a pastor. There was one problem. While I grew up in church, I didn’t have a clear understanding of how I thought about God. So, I spent 20 years pursuing that. This framework is the result of those 20 years.  You can get it in 40 minutes. The Theology Made Workshop: https://theologymade.mykajabi.com/offers/RqeAzfaY [https://theologymade.mykajabi.com/offers/RqeAzfaY] Get full access to Theology Made at substack.theologymade.com/subscribe [https://substack.theologymade.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]