282. How Can Creative Christians Prepare in Case of Revival? | with Bethel McGrew

Distortionists in the real world corrupt the beautiful, good, and true.[1. Photo by Bree Anne on Unsplash.] Some individuals who fall into such a dark side might make themselves beyond repentance—that is, reprobate. We might call them “ghouls.” … And such were some of you. We wanted to talk about monsters today, and we’ll start next week. First, let’s turn from the darkness and into the light, keeping our eyes open for hazards as we head into an exciting, messy, promising season of … spiritual revival and renewal for the souls of men and women?

Episode sponsors

1. Enclave Publishing: Singularity by Shannon McDermott
2. Cultural Engagement Giveaway: The Pop Culture Parent, On Magic and Miracles, and Above the Circle of Earth
3. The Tixie Chronicles by Jack Borden

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Backstory: Bethel McGrew

Bethel McGrew has a doctorate in math and is a widely published freelance writer. Her work has appeared in First Things, National Review, The Spectator, and many other national and international outlets. Her Substack, Further Up, is one of the top paid newsletters in “Faith & Spirituality” on the platform. She has also contributed to two essay anthologies on Jordan Peterson. When not writing social criticism, she enjoys writing about literature, film, music, and history.

• FurtherUp.net
• Bethel McGrew on X: @‌BMcGrewvy
• Life on the Silent Planet: Essays on Christian Living from C.S. Lewis’s Ransom Trilogy
• WORLD Magazine (Oct. 2025): “A tragic vision of the world: Three books that shaped my thinking“
• WORLD Opinions: “Shocked by evil: the surprising seekers going to church in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder“

Quotes and notes

“The salvation of a single soul is more important than the production or preservation of all the epics and tragedies in the world.”

—C. S. Lewis, “Christianity and Literature,” in Christian Reflections, page 10

1. Real revivals are genuinely exciting.

• Don’t be cynics based on people trying to make Revival just happen.
• What they do for man-centered pseudo-events, God does for real.
• And the fact is: this revival (with renewal) has been developing a while.
• Zack and I explored this in our episode about the cultural “vibe shift.”
• Pastor Costi Hinn on a recent podcast discerned between revival for non-Christians and renewal for discouraged or low-energy Ch