Ambition isn’t the enemy. But we can reframe it.

This week on MercyCast, I sit down with Ryan Tinetti, author of The Quiet Ambition. We talk about the quiet line from First Epistle to the Thessalonians that has haunted him for years: make it your ambition to live quietly.

That verse doesn’t trend.

It won’t grow your platform.

It won’t help you build a brand.

But it might change your life.

Ryan shares the moment early in ministry when ambition pushed him to the edge—literally landing him in the ER with what he thought was a heart attack. It wasn’t. It was a panic attack. The kind that shows up when you believe everything depends on you.

We talk about the lie that louder equals faithful. About the subtle pressure—even in ministry—to build something impressive for God. About how the Kingdom often moves more slowly than we want. And how God usually works through small obedience rather than big moments.

We also talk about falling. Not failing—falling. Ryan tells a story about learning to cross-country ski in Michigan and a friend telling him, “That was a good fall.” It stuck with him. Because the Christian life isn’t about never falling. It’s about learning to fall into the arms of Christ.

We wrestle with the tension between ambition and humility. Scripture doesn’t call us to laziness. But it does call us to a different kind of ambition—the kind aimed at pleasing God rather than elevating ourselves.

A quiet ambition.

One that looks like:

• faithfulness in your vocation
• carving away at your small corner of the Kingdom
• trusting that God is doing more than you can see

We talk about why verses like “Be still and know that I am God” from the Book of Psalms can feel threatening in a culture built on striving.

Because if we stop striving…

What if we’re forgotten?

And yet the gospel tells a different story. God meets us not in spectacle but through ordinary means—Word, water, bread, and wine.

In the quiet.

In the mundane.

In the places we usually overlook.

By the end, Ryan offers two simple practices that resist the culture of hurry:

• Use the crockpot. Let something take time.
• Take a walk without earbuds. Just you and God.

No platform.

No applause.

Just faithfulness.

And maybe that’s where the real work of the Kingdom happens.

If you want to learn more, check out Ryan's substack and his new book, The Quiet Ambition.

You can follow MercyCast on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

You can follow Raleigh on Twitter and Instagram.

Thanks for listening. We want to hear from you!

Email us at info@mercycast.com.

What if obedience to Jesus actually costs us something? What if faith wasn’t safe, tidy, or convenient—but relational, risky, and deeply transformative?

In this episode of the Mercy Cast, I sit down with author Mark Buchanan to talk about his powerful novel, What Is Left of the Night, inspired by the true story of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon. During World War II, this small French village quietly resisted Nazism. Around 900 residents sheltered more than 2,500 refugees—mostly Jews—with no refugee deaths. Their courage wasn’t loud. It was steady. Scripture-shaped. Costly.

We talk about the leadership of pastors André Trocmé and Magda Trocmé, whose lives were anchored in Matthew 25 and Jubilee theology. Their allegiance to Christ led them not only to protect the vulnerable, but—after the war—to show compassion even to German POWs. That’s the kind of gospel witness that unsettles our categories.

Mark shares how writing this novel coincided with the launch of New Story Community, a live-in healing ministry for Indigenous women. We wrestle with what it means to choose vulnerability today. To risk proximity. To move beyond ideology and into embodied love. To trade tribal loyalty for singular allegiance to Jesus.

Here’s what I want you to hear: quiet obedience can change the world. Vulnerability is not weakness—it’s the pathway to transformation. And when we step toward the marginalized, we don’t just offer mercy—we’re remade by it.

If you’ve been wondering what faithfulness looks like in a polarized, performative age, this conversation is for you.

Listen in. Then ask yourself:

Where is obedience becoming inconvenient for me?

Who is God inviting me to move toward?

What would it look like to choose costly love?

Let’s be people whose lives make mercy visible.

Takeaways

• Obedience becomes real when it costs us something.
• The story of Le Chambon reveals quiet, steadfast heroism.
• Vulnerability is an act of radical faith.
• Scripture must shape not just what we believe, but how we live.
• Proximity to the marginalized transforms us.
• Community creates space for mutual healing.
• Friendship deepens in discomfort and risk.
• Pilgrimage and place can awaken conviction.
• Allegiance to Christ must rise above political or cultural loyalties.
• Ideology shrinks love; the gospel expands it.

Learn more about Mark and how to follow his work at Markbuchanan.net. Also, don’t forget to buy his new book, What is Left of the Night.

You can follow MercyCast on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

You can follow Raleigh on Twitter and Instagram.

Thanks for listening. We want to hear from you!

Email us at info@mercycast.com.

Secrecy is quiet at first. Then it gets heavy. Then it owns the room.

In this powerful episode of MercyCast, I sit down with Alicia Barr, author of More Than a Secret, for a raw and redemptive conversation about confession, compromise, accountability, and the transforming power of grace.

Alicia shares her story of a four-year extramarital affair, hitting rock bottom two years in, and quietly searching for a Christian resource written from the mistress’s perspective.

“I went searching in confidence… and I couldn’t find it.”

So she wrote the book she needed.

This episode addresses:

• The emotional and spiritual impact of secrecy
• Church hurt, isolation, and loss of belonging.
• Infidelity recovery and personal responsibility
• Christian counseling and confession
• Grace greater than shame

This is not a story of blame-shifting. Alicia takes full responsibility for her choices. But she also courageously names the vulnerabilities beneath them—loneliness, disconnection, and the deep human need to be seen and known.

As Scripture warns in 1 Corinthians 10:12, “If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall.” None of us is beyond temptation.

Rock Bottom: When Secrets Collapse

Alicia describes rock bottom as lying on her bedroom floor, crying out to God, wanting nothing more than to die.

Years later, at a conference, author and speaker Annie F. Downs paused mid-session and said a sentence that would change Alicia’s life.

That moment pierced through the silence.

Alicia told her sister.

She found a counselor.

She stepped into the light.

According to research by Michael Slepian, author of The Secret Life of Secrets, the average person carries 13 secrets—five of which are never told to anyone.

We are not built to carry that weight alone.

Grace Greater Than Shame

During counseling, as Alicia condemned herself repeatedly, her therapist gently said:

“That’s what Jesus Christ went to the cross for.”

The cross did not excuse her sin—it transformed her.

“The story doesn’t end with secrecy. It ends with the cross.”

Today, community is non-negotiable. Alicia has trusted women in her life who can ask her anything, anytime, anywhere. Accountability is no longer optional—it’s life-giving.

This episode of MercyCast is for:

• Anyone carrying a secret
• Anyone battling shame after infidelity.
• Anyone who feels unforgivable
• Anyone afraid that being fully known means being abandoned.

Healing begins with truth.

Community breaks isolation.

Grace is stronger than your worst decision.

Learn more about Alicia at Aliciabarr.com. Buy her new book, More than a Secret.. Follow her on Instagram.

You can follow MercyCast on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

You can follow Raleigh on Twitter and Instagram.

Thanks for listening. We want to hear from you!

Email us at info@mercycast.com.