Episode 1270: Pastor Chris Durso on the State of the Church — ‘People Don’t Want Hype—They Want Jesus’

The RELEVANT Podcast

RELEVANT Magazine

Christianity, Entertainment News, News, Religion & Spirituality, Society & Culture

4.6 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 14 October 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Pastor Chris Durso joins us to talk about the shifting landscape of modern Christianity — why flashy churches are losing their influence, how Gen Z is reshaping faith communities, and what authenticity really looks like in a post-celebrity-pastor era.

Plus, the crew breaks down the biggest stories at the intersection of faith and culture, including Chandler Moore’s lawsuit against Maverick City Music's CEO, Project Pat's stunning salvation moment at a Memphis concert, the Taco Bell Ultra Marathon and the viral “Jericho dating strategy” at ORU. (FYI, it's glorious.)

Chapters:

05:00 – RELEVANT BUZZ Returns: The Maverick City Music lawsuit explained

12:20 – Project Pat leads a prayer of repentance in Memphis

15:15 – SLICES: The Taco Bell Ultra Marathon (why would anyone do this?)

22:30 – ORU freshmen attempt a “Jericho dating” stunt

27:00 – GUEST: Pastor Chris Durso joins the show

28:00 – Launching Good Company Church in NYC

32:00 – Why the showmanship era of church is over

35:30 – How COVID changed what people want from faith

38:40 – The danger of “celebrity Christianity”

41:00 – Building an honest, mature church culture

44:00 – Navigating politics and social issues from the pulpit

46:00 – Faith and the NBA: behind the scenes with team chaplains

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Transcript

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0:00.0	It's episode 1270 and it's the relevant podcast here in Orlando.
0:09.0	I'm your host, Cameron Strang.
0:10.2	Joining me from Loverland, Virginia's Jesse Carey.
0:13.0	Hello, hello.
0:14.1	From Nashville, our managing editor downtown Emily Brown.
0:17.3	Hey, y'all.
0:18.3	Both Derek and Marty are traveling today because they are very busy artists.
0:24.5	It's Dove Awards Week.
0:25.9	So they had a showcase.
0:27.2	They had all these things, label stuff, so they couldn't make it today.
0:30.6	They decided to directly rebel against Forrest Frank's mandate to boycott the Dove Awards this week. And they're standing strong for what they believe in, which is the anti-boycott. They're boycotting the boycott. I like it. Hey, no shit. We love Forrest. I'm just saying it's been a whole thing in the little Christian bubble this week. Jelly roll got involved.
0:54.5	I don't know if y'all saw that.
0:56.0	It's escalating quickly.
0:57.5	What in the world?
0:58.3	If jelly roll's having to be the peacekeeper, things are weird in the Christian bubble.
1:03.4	Yeah, yeah.
1:04.2	Yeah, exactly.
1:05.6	Live and let live.
1:06.5	Thank you, Jesse.
1:07.2	Yeah, I agree.
1:07.9	All right.
1:08.3	If you want little awards for loving Jesus, get your loving Jesus awards.
	...

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