Going Deeper

Justine Cheri Ordway

Gospel conversations that challenge cultural narratives—nothing is too taboo here. We bring wisdom, humility, and grace to topics like mental health, social media, money, spiritual disciplines, and more.

  1. -16 h

    What Your Spiritual Disciplines are Missing: Dependency on God

    We treat spiritual disciplines like a self-improvement checklist—read the Bible, pray, show up—and then wonder why it all feels like one more thing to manage. This episode digs into what's actually missing: not more willpower or a better routine, but dependency on God. When we reframe prayer and Scripture as lifelines rather than optional habits, everything changes. In this episode: Why treating spiritual disciplines as optional turns them into a to-do listThe difference between self-improvement and genuine spiritual growthHow inconsistency often signals a dependency problem, not a discipline problemThe armor of God (Ephesians 6) as a framework for relying on His strengthEsther as a model of dependency—prayer and fasting before facing the king Key takeaways: Spiritual disciplines aren't optional habits; they're the means of connecting with GodDependency on God is the engine of real spiritual growthConsistency flows from reliance, not the other way aroundTimestamps: 1:08 — Intro: what spiritual disciplines are missing3:57 — Treating spiritual disciplines as optional habits8:08 — Main thesis: disciplines as a means to know God, not an end11:02 — Inconsistency traced to a lack of dependence on God14:44 — Disciplines as lifelines and weapons of warfare17:27 — Ephesians 6 and the armor of God21:17 — The example of Esther28:10 — Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace33:30 — Dependency #1: depending on God in the valley36:37 — Dependency #2: depending on God for sanctification38:36 — Naming a sin struggle and pursuing change41:27 — Dane Ortlund's Deeper on despairing of self and opening to the Spirit46:00 — Dependency #3: depending on God through faith-building experiences53:53 — Jesus: "the Son can do nothing of his own accord"58:12 — Jesus as deeply dependent on the Father59:10 — Psalm 119's "give me life," the vine and branches, life in God's Word65:32 — Recap of the three dependency categories70:22 — Closing CTAs and book update71:51 — Bonus: practical prayer and Bible reading tools76:02 — Final wrap-up

  2. 17/12/2025

    Rethinking the Good Life: Comfort, Suffering, and the Presence of God with Shelbi Shutt

    In this episode of the Going Deeper podcast, I sit down with speaker Shelbi Shutt to talk about faith, suffering, and what real comfort looks like in a world obsessed with ease and leisure. Shelbi lives with muscular dystrophy, and her story has profoundly shaped the way she understands the good life, discipleship, and the presence of God. Her honesty pushes us to examine what we run to for comfort and whether those places actually bring life. We talk about how suffering exposes the beliefs we carry beneath the surface. She shares how her diagnosis forced her to confront the “Jesus plus” gospel she didn’t realize she held, and how choosing to participate in the sufferings of Christ has formed her spiritual maturity. She reminds us that true comfort is found in the presence of God. In a world filled with noise, discipling our attention becomes a real part of following Jesus. We explore how prayer reorients us, how lament and celebration can coexist, and how resurrection life isn’t just a future hope but a present reality that shapes our perspective today. Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JustineCheri Subscribe to The Digest: https://justinecheri.kit.com/ab6b561afa Connect with Shelbi: https://solo.to/shelbishutt Shelbi's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shelbishutt/ Timestamps: 00:00 — Introduction  04:19 — Shelbi’s Journey and Diagnosis  07:17 — Faith and Suffering  10:20 — The Good Life and the Jesus Plus Gospel  16:27 — The Role of Suffering in Spiritual Growth  19:16 — The Illusion of Worldly Comfort  25:14 — Prayer and True Comfort  28:20 — Paradise and the Hope of Restoration  31:34 — Living in the Resurrection Life  40:19 — Discipling Our Attention in a Distracted World  42:16 — Longing for the Presence of the Lord  44:55 — Lament and Celebration: Coexisting Realities  48:31 — Finding Comfort in Daily Struggles  52:43 — Current Projects and Future Aspirations

  3. 11/12/2025

    Longing for Home in a Rootless and Restless World with my Editor Eddie Larow

    In this episode of the Going Deeper podcast, I sit down with my own acquisitions editor, Eddie Larow of Baker Books. We talk about what an acquisitions editor actually does, how he helps authors connect with the readers who need their message, and how my own unexpected journey into authorship was guided by God’s timing. From there, we widen the conversation to the cultural landscape shaping Gen Z: their longing for home, the pull toward community, and the deep sense of spiritual homelessness many young adults feel in a secular age. We explore how modernity and mobility have created restlessness, why “nomadic modernity” captures so much of our cultural moment, and how the return to historic churches reveals a desire for structure, order, and rootedness. We end with a call to localism—pursuing embodied, committed community right where we live. Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JustineCheri Subscribe to The Digest: https://justinecheri.kit.com/ab6b561afa Eddie's Article "Gen Z Longs for Home": https://firstthings.com/gen-z-longs-for-home/  Eddie's Substack: https://substack.com/@eddielarow Timestamps: 00:00 — Introduction  02:05 — Understanding the Role of an Acquisitions Editor  04:30 — The Journey to Authorship  09:45 — Cultural Observations: Gen Z’s Longing for Home  13:10 — The Impact of Modernity on Community and Belonging  19:07 — Exploring Nomadic Modernity and Its Implications  27:20 — Cultural Shifts and the Search for Authenticity  31:21 — Nostalgia and the Desire to Return to Simplicity  33:46 — The Skills Gap and Superficiality in Trad Aesthetics  37:32 — Spiritual Homelessness and the Need for Community  41:24 — The Search for Objective Truth in a Postmodern World  47:04 — The Longing for Tradition and Authenticity in Faith  52:51 — Ecumenical Unity and the Pursuit of Christ  01:00:47 — Localism and the Call to Community Engagement

  4. 05/11/2025

    The Wellness Gospel, Radical Faith, and What to Do When You Don't "Feel" God

    In this episode of Going Deeper, I’m unpacking the idea of the “Wellness Gospel”—the subtle belief that health and self-optimization can save us. I share about my own journey with health and wellness, and how something good slowly became an identity that distanced me from Jesus. I talk about how easy it is to elevate health, balance, and self-care above obedience and surrender, and how the true gospel of Jesus calls us into something far more radical. Through Scripture, I contrast the Wellness Gospel with the real gospel—the one that invites us to lose our lives for Christ’s sake and trust Him completely. I also answered a listener's question about feeling distant from God. I share how faith isn’t about chasing feelings but about knowing God and remembering His faithfulness, even when our emotions waver. My hope is that this episode helps you see the difference between caring for your body and worshiping it—and reminds you that real wellness begins with a soul anchored in Him. Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JustineCheri Subscribe to The Digest: https://justinecheri.kit.com/ab6b561afa Submit a question: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdlDg0tCmIGqGkh9vpzf99V3x76AnMeuGZKlaC-umTajMKinA/viewform?usp=header Chapters 00:00 — Today's Agenda 03:12 — My Wellness Story 12:45 — The Wellness Gospel 23:30 — A Biblical View of Health 32:18 — Radical Faith  38:50 — Listener Question: Feeling Distant from God Keywords wellness gospel, health, faith, Jesus, radical verses, self-help, spirituality, holistic health, personal journey, listener question

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Gospel conversations that challenge cultural narratives—nothing is too taboo here. We bring wisdom, humility, and grace to topics like mental health, social media, money, spiritual disciplines, and more.