October 31, 2025 • 10 mins
It’s the very first Friday Q&A on the Granger Smith Podcast! Granger and AntMan dive into your listener emails and tackle some real, thought-provoking questions from the community.
This week, a campus minister writes in about tensions with church leadership over differing worldviews — from Taylor Swift fandom to cultural ideology — and asks how to respond with both grace and truth. Granger shares biblical perspective on when it might be time to lovingly part ways and how to do it with peace and humility.
Then, another listener asks whether churches should preach verse-by-verse or focus on modern issues like politics and culture. Granger unpacks the difference between expository preaching and topical teaching, explaining how faithful teaching always starts with Scripture — not the other way around.
If you’ve ever wrestled with how to stand firm in truth while living out grace, this episode will challenge and encourage you.
📧 Send your questions to: podcast@grangersmith.com
🎙️ Watch every Friday for more listener Q&As!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Okay, we're going to answer some questions here on the show.
I got the an man with me. We have collected
these emails from podcast at grangersmith dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
If you answr me question.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
We're going to start doing this on Fridays, the Friday
Q and A. We don't have a name for it yet.
I like that though, Friday the Friday Q and A.
Here on the podcast an once again, we have emails
collected from you guys, email me podcast at grangersmith dot com,
and we're going to dive into him right now.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
What you got first?
Speaker 3 (00:35):
One says Hey Granger, I'm a campus minister who works
for a church that makes disciples on the college campus
and our surrounding community. I'd love to stay anonymous for
this message as it involves my church. The lead pastor
of our church and his wife have more liberal leaning ideologies,
and the wife openly talks.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
About Taylor Swift I guess affectionately.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
We have had conflict as they have this cultural paradigm
of oppressed versus oppress or.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
This goes back to a podcast, so we talked about yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
As one of the lenses that they view the world.
We had conflict over Charlie Kirk and their approach to
preach more leaning towards the oppressed and against what Charlie
stood for, which through your podcast, I'm learning that this
is only because the paradigm that they view the world,
which really made sense. My question is, how do you
(01:27):
recommend that I address this issue as the lead pastor
and his wife actively lean openly, lean left openly, and
celebrate Taylor Swift even as she has grown in secularism.
I long to work with people who are convicted in
the Gospel, but more often than not, it feels like
they are convicted in grace and grace rather than grace
(01:49):
and truth together. I hope this makes sense, Anonymous, you
don't hit that grace and grace and grace in truth
part first?
Speaker 2 (01:56):
What is do you know what that what that part means?
Speaker 1 (02:01):
I'm guess that means that that's like love is love
okay type idea that like Bonhoffer calls it cheap grace okay,
or it's like costs nothing, Yeah, you know, it's it's
flippant grace. I think that's what he's talking about, instead
of like grace that's grounded in truth or has the
foundation of truth, which is God's grace. God's grace is
(02:23):
always going to be faithful, in foundational, in truth because
he is truth. Of course that makes sense. Is there
going to be flippant? I think that's what he's talking
about the the It's interesting that Taylor Swift keeps coming
up and catching me off guard, like.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
It seems like the a couple of things, I mean,
around the same time, you have what happened with Charlie
Kirk and Taylor Swift releases a new album within a
few weeks of each other. I would imagine those have
just been two big things that have happened that he
uh seems to be a topic in the in the
church church?
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Can you his his last line. I long to work
with people who are convicted in the Gospel, but more
often than not, it feels like they are convicted in
grace and grace rather than grace and truth together. I
hope this makes sense kind of And I'm wondering as
(03:16):
I hear this, why what's the big deal to change churches?
You know what I mean, That's the first thing that
comes to my mind is why are we still why?
You know it'd be different.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
It was like, this is my.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Brother in law, Yeah, or we live in on the
church property. My wife and I live in the apartment
complex on the church property. Like it seems like there
would be another because this is enough to just say, Brother,
I don't think we're I don't think we see eye
to eye. I think you love the Lord. Yep, that's
(03:53):
not my question. But I think there's there's enough differences
between us in our ministry that could start to cause
some ambiguity between the way we're discipling and the way
we're ministring and the way we're preaching. And I think
in order to avoid disunity and what that could cause
in our church, I think I think my wife and
(04:14):
I are going to go elsewhere. But you know, I
hope the best for you guys. Yeah, it seems like
it to me.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Yeah, kind of does.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
You're not going to change the guy's mind. You're not
going to change his philosophy of ministry. It's okay, it's
okay to approach him, and and if you want to
be encouraging to the brother and then be honest with
tell him those kind of details so that he at
least knows from you why you left. I left because
(04:47):
of these reasons, and I would go, I would arm
yourself with some Bible verses to back up the the
places that you disagree, and wish the brother well and
shake his hand and.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Pray for them.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Pray for them. Yeah, even right there in the room. Yeah,
in a non i'm looking down on you type way,
but you know, pray for both ministries as they that
they might be fruitful and faithful and leave.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
It's time to leave. There you go. Yeah, that's it.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Got another one here from a guy named Jason. Hey Granger,
big fan of the podcast. I've heard you speak several
times on the importance of a church doing expository preaching
rather than something topic based.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
However, with all the growing concern.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
And divide in our world today, do you think that
there's ever a time a church should preach on topics
and back it up with scripture. When it comes to
politics and right versus left, it sometimes feels like the
church is burying its head in the sand to what's
happening around them. Maybe it's just me that wanted to
get your thoughts. Thanks Jason, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Of course, I think, Jason, what we want is the
main intake of preaching to be expository, but that's not
to say that you can't break out into different times
as long as the topics are scriptural.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
I don't even like to say backed up with scripture.
I don't even like to say that I could. I
could back up almost anything with scripture if I want
to use it the way I want to use it.
But instead I would say, I would say, if you're
thinking through a specific issue that you want to teach
your church, say, say, for instance, you want to teach
(06:34):
your church about marriage. I'm just completely throwing that out there.
You want to teach your church about marriage, maybe that's
not even we can go down that rabbit hole. But
let's change it. You want to teach your church about leadership,
Go ahead.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Well, I was going to say we actually I just
had a our pastor just said something about this this
weekend is that, And the guy doesn't go to the church,
and he was only only have been going like three
or four weeks when.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
This incident happened.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
He walked in to the pastor's office, no appointment, walked
in and said pastor and lays down like two or
three pieces of paper that just had topics on it.
So this right here is a list of things you
need to be preaching on and I'm not hearing enough.
And it was homosexuality, transgenderism, sex before marriage. It would
(07:31):
just a whole list of things like I'm not hearing
you preach about this stuff, and I need you to
preach it.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Here, Well the answer would be he would preach about
those things when it comes up in the scripture that
he's preaching on, right, But.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
I mean that I think that that's what he's you know,
same idea.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
So yeah, that's the same. And I said to Jason,
say you want to teach your church about marriage. Then
you'd say, Okay, Then what we're going to do is
we're going to do a series and this is going
to be on Ephesians five twenty two. And so you're
you're not you're not coming up with the way you
want to teach it. You're gonna say, we're gonna use
(08:09):
Paul's exposition of marriage because because our topic is marriage,
and so you're gonna say, wives submit to your own
husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is that
is the head of the wife. Even as Christ is
the head of the church, his body and in him
and is himself, it's savior. Now as the church submits
to Christ to watch this submits to everything, and their
(08:30):
husband's husbands love your wives as Christ. You know you're
going to go through this whole thing, right, and then
you're gonna teach from that. So not you're not gonna
use the scripture to back it up, but you're gonna
use the scripture and you're gonna preach out of it.
Your topic, your topic comes out of the scripture. So
you want to teach about slipping through here, So you
(08:51):
want to teach about leadership, right, so you're gonna go, well,
we're going to teach about church leadership. And so we're
going to go to one Timothy and at first Timothy three.
It literally the subtitle is Qualifications for Overseers, First Timothy
(09:14):
one through seven, and then the next one is Qualifications
for Deacons, First Timothy eight through thirteen. So we're gonna
we're going to teach through First Timothy three one through thirteen,
and the topic is church leadership. There you go, but
you see how he's doing it that, So yes, that
(09:35):
would be the caveat Jason that absolutely topics are fine,
but not to not backed up by scripture, but the
topic comes from scripture.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Important distinction there. That's good. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
And and once again, you don't want this to meet
to be your main diet of preaching. You want your
main diet of preaching to be expository. That way you're
you're protecting your church with the word of God and
not with the way the winds blowing outside. You're gonna
(10:08):
you think it's time to you know, talk about something,
you know whatever topic.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Yeah, yeah, it's important. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
And if you're if you're in a series, no, no,
I'm not gonna say that. I was about to call
out some churches. But okay, what don't you got.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
That's our Q and A Friday to two questions to day.
But you should you should email us.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
Yeah, email us podcast at grangersmith dot com. These are
two great questions. Appreciate you
Okay, we're going to answer some questions here on the show.
I got the an man with me. We have collected
these emails from podcast at grangersmith dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
If you answr me question.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
We're going to start doing this on Fridays, the Friday
Q and A. We don't have a name for it yet.
I like that though, Friday the Friday Q and A.
Here on the podcast an once again, we have emails
collected from you guys, email me podcast at grangersmith dot com,
and we're going to dive into him right now.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
What you got first?
Speaker 3 (00:35):
One says Hey Granger, I'm a campus minister who works
for a church that makes disciples on the college campus
and our surrounding community. I'd love to stay anonymous for
this message as it involves my church. The lead pastor
of our church and his wife have more liberal leaning ideologies,
and the wife openly talks.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
About Taylor Swift I guess affectionately.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
We have had conflict as they have this cultural paradigm
of oppressed versus oppress or.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
This goes back to a podcast, so we talked about yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
As one of the lenses that they view the world.
We had conflict over Charlie Kirk and their approach to
preach more leaning towards the oppressed and against what Charlie
stood for, which through your podcast, I'm learning that this
is only because the paradigm that they view the world,
which really made sense. My question is, how do you
(01:27):
recommend that I address this issue as the lead pastor
and his wife actively lean openly, lean left openly, and
celebrate Taylor Swift even as she has grown in secularism.
I long to work with people who are convicted in
the Gospel, but more often than not, it feels like
they are convicted in grace and grace rather than grace
(01:49):
and truth together. I hope this makes sense, Anonymous, you
don't hit that grace and grace and grace in truth
part first?
Speaker 2 (01:56):
What is do you know what that what that part means?
Speaker 1 (02:01):
I'm guess that means that that's like love is love
okay type idea that like Bonhoffer calls it cheap grace okay,
or it's like costs nothing, Yeah, you know, it's it's
flippant grace. I think that's what he's talking about, instead
of like grace that's grounded in truth or has the
foundation of truth, which is God's grace. God's grace is
(02:23):
always going to be faithful, in foundational, in truth because
he is truth. Of course that makes sense. Is there
going to be flippant? I think that's what he's talking
about the the It's interesting that Taylor Swift keeps coming
up and catching me off guard, like.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
It seems like the a couple of things, I mean,
around the same time, you have what happened with Charlie
Kirk and Taylor Swift releases a new album within a
few weeks of each other. I would imagine those have
just been two big things that have happened that he
uh seems to be a topic in the in the
church church?
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Can you his his last line. I long to work
with people who are convicted in the Gospel, but more
often than not, it feels like they are convicted in
grace and grace rather than grace and truth together. I
hope this makes sense kind of And I'm wondering as
(03:16):
I hear this, why what's the big deal to change churches?
You know what I mean, That's the first thing that
comes to my mind is why are we still why?
You know it'd be different.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
It was like, this is my.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Brother in law, Yeah, or we live in on the
church property. My wife and I live in the apartment
complex on the church property. Like it seems like there
would be another because this is enough to just say, Brother,
I don't think we're I don't think we see eye
to eye. I think you love the Lord. Yep, that's
(03:53):
not my question. But I think there's there's enough differences
between us in our ministry that could start to cause
some ambiguity between the way we're discipling and the way
we're ministring and the way we're preaching. And I think
in order to avoid disunity and what that could cause
in our church, I think I think my wife and
(04:14):
I are going to go elsewhere. But you know, I
hope the best for you guys. Yeah, it seems like
it to me.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Yeah, kind of does.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
You're not going to change the guy's mind. You're not
going to change his philosophy of ministry. It's okay, it's
okay to approach him, and and if you want to
be encouraging to the brother and then be honest with
tell him those kind of details so that he at
least knows from you why you left. I left because
(04:47):
of these reasons, and I would go, I would arm
yourself with some Bible verses to back up the the
places that you disagree, and wish the brother well and
shake his hand and.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Pray for them.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Pray for them. Yeah, even right there in the room. Yeah,
in a non i'm looking down on you type way,
but you know, pray for both ministries as they that
they might be fruitful and faithful and leave.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
It's time to leave. There you go. Yeah, that's it.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Got another one here from a guy named Jason. Hey Granger,
big fan of the podcast. I've heard you speak several
times on the importance of a church doing expository preaching
rather than something topic based.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
However, with all the growing concern.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
And divide in our world today, do you think that
there's ever a time a church should preach on topics
and back it up with scripture. When it comes to
politics and right versus left, it sometimes feels like the
church is burying its head in the sand to what's
happening around them. Maybe it's just me that wanted to
get your thoughts. Thanks Jason, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Of course, I think, Jason, what we want is the
main intake of preaching to be expository, but that's not
to say that you can't break out into different times
as long as the topics are scriptural.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
I don't even like to say backed up with scripture.
I don't even like to say that I could. I
could back up almost anything with scripture if I want
to use it the way I want to use it.
But instead I would say, I would say, if you're
thinking through a specific issue that you want to teach
your church, say, say, for instance, you want to teach
(06:34):
your church about marriage. I'm just completely throwing that out there.
You want to teach your church about marriage, maybe that's
not even we can go down that rabbit hole. But
let's change it. You want to teach your church about leadership,
Go ahead.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Well, I was going to say we actually I just
had a our pastor just said something about this this
weekend is that, And the guy doesn't go to the church,
and he was only only have been going like three
or four weeks when.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
This incident happened.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
He walked in to the pastor's office, no appointment, walked
in and said pastor and lays down like two or
three pieces of paper that just had topics on it.
So this right here is a list of things you
need to be preaching on and I'm not hearing enough.
And it was homosexuality, transgenderism, sex before marriage. It would
(07:31):
just a whole list of things like I'm not hearing
you preach about this stuff, and I need you to
preach it.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Here, Well the answer would be he would preach about
those things when it comes up in the scripture that
he's preaching on, right, But.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
I mean that I think that that's what he's you know,
same idea.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
So yeah, that's the same. And I said to Jason,
say you want to teach your church about marriage. Then
you'd say, Okay, Then what we're going to do is
we're going to do a series and this is going
to be on Ephesians five twenty two. And so you're
you're not you're not coming up with the way you
want to teach it. You're gonna say, we're gonna use
(08:09):
Paul's exposition of marriage because because our topic is marriage,
and so you're gonna say, wives submit to your own
husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is that
is the head of the wife. Even as Christ is
the head of the church, his body and in him
and is himself, it's savior. Now as the church submits
to Christ to watch this submits to everything, and their
(08:30):
husband's husbands love your wives as Christ. You know you're
going to go through this whole thing, right, and then
you're gonna teach from that. So not you're not gonna
use the scripture to back it up, but you're gonna
use the scripture and you're gonna preach out of it.
Your topic, your topic comes out of the scripture. So
you want to teach about slipping through here, So you
(08:51):
want to teach about leadership, right, so you're gonna go, well,
we're going to teach about church leadership. And so we're
going to go to one Timothy and at first Timothy three.
It literally the subtitle is Qualifications for Overseers, First Timothy
(09:14):
one through seven, and then the next one is Qualifications
for Deacons, First Timothy eight through thirteen. So we're gonna
we're going to teach through First Timothy three one through thirteen,
and the topic is church leadership. There you go, but
you see how he's doing it that, So yes, that
(09:35):
would be the caveat Jason that absolutely topics are fine,
but not to not backed up by scripture, but the
topic comes from scripture.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Important distinction there. That's good. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
And and once again, you don't want this to meet
to be your main diet of preaching. You want your
main diet of preaching to be expository. That way you're
you're protecting your church with the word of God and
not with the way the winds blowing outside. You're gonna
(10:08):
you think it's time to you know, talk about something,
you know whatever topic.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Yeah, yeah, it's important. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
And if you're if you're in a series, no, no,
I'm not gonna say that. I was about to call
out some churches. But okay, what don't you got.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
That's our Q and A Friday to two questions to day.
But you should you should email us.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
Yeah, email us podcast at grangersmith dot com. These are
two great questions. Appreciate you
Host
Granger Smith
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