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Grounded Podcast with Chuck Quinley: ReJesus Everything!

Grounded Podcast with Chuck Quinley: ReJesus Everything!

By: Learn to be rock solid even if the world around you is not
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 Millions are walking away from church but not from Jesus. Over 25 episodes, author and missionary Chuck Quinley diagnoses what's gone wrong with global Christianity and offers a radical solution: ReJesus everything. Restore the central authority of Jesus alone as chief theologian and leader of the mission. Strip away 2,000 years of accumulated traditions and return to the simple, powerful path of following Jesus himself—his words, his practices, his mission.

www.quinley.comChuck & Sherry Quinley Christianity Philosophy Social Sciences Spirituality
Episodes
  • How Jesus Got Demoted in His Own Religion

    How Jesus Got Demoted in His Own Religion
    Mar 3 2026
    What’s in this Newsletter:Christianity is fracturing under the weight of 40,000 denominations, burned-out leaders, and mass exodus — and most diagnoses focus on the symptoms while missing the root cause. In this episode, I’ll make the case that the real crisis is a stolen microphone: Jesus, the founder and only true authority of the faith, has been systematically subordinated by 2,000 years of brilliant but competing voices. If you've ever sensed that something is deeply off in modern Christianity but couldn't name it, this episode will give you the diagnosis — and point toward the only cure.There’s a moment in the Gospels that should settle forever the position Jesus should have in our lives.Jesus is on the Mount of Transfiguration, radiating the glory of God. Moses and Elijah appear beside Him. And Peter—good old Peter—starts nervously yammering about building shrines for these holy men, trying to make sense of what he’s seeing.And then the Father interrupts. A voice from heaven shouts: “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”Not “Listen to Moses.” Not “Listen to Elijah.” Not “Listen to the prophets” or “Listen to the religious leaders.”“Listen to Him.” To Jesus. Alone.But here’s what’s happened over the last 2,000 years: we’ve stopped listening to Him alone. We’ve added other voices. Lots of other voices. Important voices. Brilliant voices. Voices that have shaped Christianity for centuries.The Apostles. Paul. The Church Fathers. Medieval theologians. The Reformers. Denominational founders. Celebrity pastors. Theologians. Authors. Podcasters. And in listening to all that noise, Jesus has been reduced from THE voice to ONE voice among many.He’s become an elective rather than the core curriculum. A consultant rather than the CEO. One opinion among thousands.And that’s the root of our crisis.Today, we’re beginning Act II: The Noise. My goal is that we will start paying attention to the noise. We will notice the noise and decide to silence it. We start here: with how Jesus went from being the singular teaching authority to being subordinated by a chorus of competing voices.RecapWelcome back to the Grounded podcast and this season’s focus “reJesus everything.” In case you’re just joining us, in Act I, we explored the pain of the current faith crisis. We acknowledged that millions are leaving the church, that people may be drawn to Jesus but repelled by Christianity, that even ministry leaders are burning out from running the machine, we’ve all inherited, and that having convictions and living by them will come at a cost today.Our Next EpisodesIn this section we’re going to diagnose the problem. Because pain without diagnosis is just suffering. So over the next six episodes, we’re going to look honestly at what’s gone wrong so we can fix it. And it starts here: Jesus has been subordinated. Despite all of our songs and nice words about him, he’s no longer the central authority of Christianity. He’s one voice among many. And when there are multiple voices claiming authority, you get chaos which leads to fracturing. Today we have 40,000 versions of Christianity.Let’s trace how this happened. In the Beginning, There Was One VoiceWhen Jesus walked the earth, there was no confusion about who had authority.Jesus spoke, and people listened. He didn’t quote other rabbis to establish His credibility. He didn’t build elaborate theological systems. He didn’t defer to the religious authorities of His day.He simply said, “You have heard it said... but I say to you.” That phrase—”but I say to you”—was revolutionary. It was scandalous. Because Jesus was claiming authority above all other voices, an authority that belonged to God alone.The religious leaders noticed this. They said, “Who does this man think he is? By what authority does he say these things?” And Jesus’ answer was clear: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Not some authority. Not shared authority. All authority.When Jesus taught, He spoke with clarity and simplicity:- “Follow me.”- “Love your enemies.”- “Seek first the kingdom of God.”- “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”- “If you love me, you will obey my commands.”There was no theological maze. No complex systematized theology. No endless debates about predestination or free will or the role of women, or the nature of the atonement. Just Jesus. One voice. Clear. Authoritative. Uncluttered. His sheep hear His voice. And for a brief moment in history, that’s all there was. Jesus and His disciples. The Teacher and His students. The Shepherd and His sheep.But then Jesus ascended. And other voices began to speak. And that’s where things started to get complicated. The first of the new voices belong to the Apostles. Peter, James, John, and others were personally trained and discipled by Jesus himself for almost four years. He ...
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    21 mins
  • The Privilege and Pain of Having Convictions

    The Privilege and Pain of Having Convictions
    Feb 24 2026
    There’s a reason heroes always pay a price. They have convictions. It is the primary thing that sets them apart. All heroes, in order to be heroes, have to have convictions they’re willing to sacrifice and maybe even to die for. To have convictions is one of the highest and most noble things a human can do. It is evidence that we are not just animals, but that we are indeed made in the image of God Himself. We do moral reasoning, not just answering a question about which thing is more efficient or which thing gets us the better result, but which thing is right. Convictions acknowledge that we find ourselves not just in a physical universe but a world made by a righteous God who has given us a conscience that perceives our existence in moral and ethical terms as well. It is the highest and most godlike level of our existence. We sit enthroned as the lord of our own value system, Master of our actions, controller of our own free will thinking about what we believe and what we don’t believe, and what we are going to allow ourselves to do and what we must never do.The meaning of the word “Conviction.” The word comes from the Latin convincere—”to overcome, to prove wrong, to conquer.” There’s something inherently victorious about a conviction. A conviction isn’t just a belief you hold casually; it’s a belief that has conquered your doubts, that has overcome alternatives. You arrive at convictions through some kind of inner struggle—a contest— and those convictions emerge triumphant. It’s beautiful.To have convictions is both a privilege and a burden. It’s a privilege because its completely up to you and me to have convictions or not. It’s our choice. If we choose to have convictions, we are blessed with drive, meaning, purpose, and direction.Today we’re talking about the privilege and the burden of having convictions. We’re going to talk about what it means to have convictions in a world that doesn’t want you to. We’ll explore why conviction is both a gift and a cost. And we’ll ask the question: Is it worth it?RecapIf you missed the past three newsletters, we’ve been exploring the pain at the heart of the current faith crisis:- Episode 1: The quiet exodus—40 million Americans leaving the church- Episode 2: The paradox—being drawn to Jesus while repelled by Christianity- Episode 3: The slow erosion of energy—ministry burnout and exhaustionWith this newsletter, we’re completing Act I: The Pain by talking about the privilege and pain of having convictions. It’s important in our discussion because—if you’re questioning, deconstructing, reconstructing, searching for authentic faith—it’s, hopefully, because you have convictions. You believe something deeply. You’re not willing to settle for a version of Christianity that doesn’t align with Jesus. You’re not willing to just go along with the crowd. And that conviction is both a gift and a burden, it is privilege and it is pain. So let’s talk about it.Here’s what I’ve learned over four decades of ministry: the only people who bring change are the people who have convictions and are willing to pay the price for them. The Legacy of ConvictionsWe honor Martin Luther King Jr today because he had convictions about justice and equality and he was willing to sacrifice for these convictions. Mother Teresa had convictions about the level at which we are called to serve the poor and she was willing to endure the tension her proposals created with the catholic hierarchy. William Tyndale had a conviction that every human has a right to read the Bible in their language. It cost him his life.What’s the difference in a conviction and an opinion? A conviction is not the same as an opinion. An opinion is something flexible—you can and should change your opinion as you get new information. A conviction is your inner foundation, a core belief, a value.Convictions are the non-negotiable. They’re the hills you’re willing to die on. They’re the truths you won’t compromise, even when it’s uncomfortable, even when it costs you something. So why is having convictions a privilege? What convictions give us: 1. MeaningKey to having a life of meaning and purpose is knowing the reason for your existence. You cannot know your purpose until you know your “Why?” and then live by it. This is the only way to a life that has meaning and purpose. So if you are floundering in your life. This is where you start. Find your central convictions. They give us our center so we can focus our energies and build our life around them.We find our purpose in that for which we are willing to sacrifice ourselves. Knowing our convictions and then following up by sacrificing our short life for them gives us the spine of our life. Without convictions, we may survive, but we don’t really live as a human. We just react as the animals do, moving from impulse to impulse, avoiding pressure, seeking comfort.Our life can’t have a ...
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    26 mins
  • Burned Out for God: When the Church Machine Drains the Life Out of You

    Burned Out for God: When the Church Machine Drains the Life Out of You
    Feb 17 2026
    Grounded S02 E03There’s a kind of exhaustion that doesn’t come from working too hard. It comes from working on the wrong things. Imagine you’re a marathon runner, but instead of running the race, you’re spending all your energy maintaining the track, organizing the water stations, managing the volunteers, and promoting the event. You’re exhausted, but you haven’t actually run a single mile.That’s what’s happening to millions of Christians in ministry today.They’re not tired from doing kingdom work. They’re tired from running the church machine.They’re not exhausted from making disciples. They’re exhausted from managing programs, budgets, buildings, and committees.They’re not burned out from encountering Jesus for too many hours each week. They aren’t weary from all the disciples they’ve been training. They’re burned out from maintaining an institution that increasingly feels disconnected from His core mission. This is the relentless slow erosion of our energy. And it’s one of the most dangerous crises facing the church today. Because when the people who are supposed to be leading us closer to Jesus are themselves running on empty, what hope is there for the rest of us? Today’s topic. Today, we’re going to talk about what it’s like to serve in ministry while feeling increasingly disconnected from the presence and power of Jesus. We’ll explore why so many faithful servants are burning out, and what it means for the future of the church.Quick Recap: In our first episode, we talked about the quiet exodus—the 40 million Americans who have left the church. In our second episode, we explored the paradox at the heart of that exodus—how you can be drawn to Jesus and repelled by Christianity. Today, we’re turning our attention to those who haven’t left. Those who are still showing up, still serving, still leading—but who are slowly dying inside.Maybe that’s you. Maybe you’re a pastor who started ministry with fire in your heart, but now you’re just trying to survive another Sunday. Maybe you’re a worship leader who used to feel God’s presence when you sang, but now it feels like you’re just performing. Maybe you’re a volunteer who used to love serving, but now it feels like an obligation. If that’s you, I want you to know that what you’re experiencing is a symptom of a much larger problem—a problem with the system itself, not with you. So let’s talk about it: Running the Church Machine We’ve All InheritedThe Experience BusinessImagine sitting down with a friend of yours named David. David planted a church 15 years ago with a vision to create a community where people could encounter Jesus, grow as disciples, and serve the world. He was passionate, energetic, and deeply committed to following Jesus. If you sit down with David recently he looks exhausted. Not the kind of tired you get from a long week—the kind of tired that comes from years of carrying a weight you were never meant to carry.He says, “I didn’t sign up for this.”“For what?” you ask.“For running a business. For managing staff conflicts. For fundraising. For building maintenance. For navigating denominational politics. For keeping the board happy. For competing with the megachurch down the street.”He pauses, then says, “I wanted to make disciples. But I spend 90% of my time managing an experience business.”David’s story isn’t unique. It’s the norm. Here’s what happens: You start with a vision to follow Jesus and help others do the same. But over time, the institution takes over. The programs multiply. The budget grows. The staff expands. The building needs maintenance. The staff need managing. The donors need stewarding.And before you know it, you’re not a pastor anymore—you’re a CEO.You’re not making disciples—you’re managing a machine. And the machine is hungry. It demands more time, more energy, more resources. It never says, “That’s enough.” It always says, “More.” So you give more. You work longer hours. You sacrifice time with your family. You neglect your own inner life. You push through the exhaustion, and slowly, imperceptibly, the fire that once burned in your heart begins to dim. But it’s not just pastors who are experiencing this. It’s also many who are trying to faithfully serve in the church system as staff or volunteer.Five Signs of Ministry BurnoutIf you’re serving in ministry—whether as a pastor, a staff member, or a volunteer—you probably recognize some of these symptoms:1. You’re emotionally exhausted.You used to feel energized by ministry. Now you feel drained. Even thinking about Sunday morning makes you tired. You’re going through the motions, but your heart isn’t in it anymore. You’re running on fumes.2. You’re bone dry inside.You used to encounter Jesus in worship, in prayer, in Scripture. Now it feels like He’s distant, silent, absent. You’re teaching others about Jesus, but you...
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    19 mins
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