PODCAST · religion
Discipling By Jesus
by Ernest Prabhakar, Robby Butler
The only real answer is Jesus. The only real problem is Sin. The only real work is the Cross. In the end, we only have Him. Discipling by Jesus (DBJ) is a group "co-devotional" practice for encountering the crucified Christ. By working through His Word & Spirit, Body & Blood we explore greater depths of the Father’s love as we surrender to the Holy Spirit.
Episodes
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The Jagged Edge of Trust
What does it mean to trust God with your whole heart when you do not know how to love the people closest to you? Ernest Prabhakar and Robby Butler approach the closing chapters of Turtle Island through that question, reflecting on a separate conversation with author Erik Fish and on the…
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Letting Go Without Letting Go of Each Other
What if the fruit of discipleship depends on our willingness to release the very things we have worked to grow? Chapters 14–16 of Erik Fish’s Turtle Island bring Ernest Prabhakar and Robby Butler back to the questions left open in chapter 13—with a banana plant, a bitter cup, and an unexpected...
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Can Discipleship Outgrow the Living Room?
When a living-room gathering grows into a church with a stage and a professional pastor, what has been gained—and what has been lost? Chapter 13 of Turtle Island prompts Ernest Prabhakar and Robby Butler to pause the chapter-by-chapter pace and sit with that question. Ernest admires the…
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Ask Jesus: Discernment in Community
When a new follower of Jesus asks what to do about peyote ceremonies, Erik Fish declines to become his moral arbiter. He tells him to ask Jesus—and trusts that Jesus will answer. That story from chapters 9–12 of Turtle Island opens Ernest Prabhakar and Robby Butler’s conversation about spiritual...
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Congregation or Cultivation?
What changes when Christians stop asking people to come where the church is comfortable and begin meeting them where they already are? Discussing chapters 5–8 of Erik Fish’s Turtle Island, Ernest Prabhakar and Robby Butler trace the organic emergence of house gatherings, a vision-quest class, and...
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At the Seam: Empire, Kingdom, and What Scales
In the opening session of the Turtle Island book club, Ernest Prabhakar and Robby Butler discuss chapters 1–4 of Erik Fish’s account of following Jesus among Native communities in North America. Robby sees a beautiful case study in culturally attentive, movement-minded ministry. Ernest feels the...
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Sifted to Perfection (Solomon Joseph)
Introduction by Ranjan Samuel Luke 22:31–32 Simon, Simon, behold, **Satan demanded to have you**, that he might **sift you like wheat**, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. --- Job 1:6–12 One day the sons of God came to...
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The First Rule of Christ Club
In this short but soulful episode, we drop in on a reflective moment between friends—early mornings, honest updates, and a surprising insight from a 5:00 AM call. Drawing from Fight Club, the punchline hits home: “The first rule of Christ Club is—you can’t explain Christ Club.” What happens when...
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Overcoming Subconscious Sabotage
In this raw and deeply human conversation, Ernie and Robby confront the silent saboteurs beneath the surface of their relationship—unspoken wounds, unmet needs, and subconscious patterns that distort connection. What unfolds is a journey of confession, grace, and healing at the cross. Together,...
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Self Emptying: Beyond Fear-Based Faith
**A Raw Conversation About True Discipleship** What happens when two friends dive deep into the uncomfortable truth that our very efforts to protect ourselves—and even to love others well—might be the very things keeping us from the abundant life Jesus promises? In this unfiltered conversation…
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Hope, Hurt, and Holy Soil
What happens when two friends try to bridge the gap between cosmic hope and personal hurt—without losing either? In this deeply introspective follow-up to Composting Kingdom Soul, Robby and Ernie return to explore the fragile terrain between understanding and being understood. As Robby unpacks…
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Remembering to Forget: Composting Kingdom Soil
What if the key to spiritual renewal lies not in striving, but in composting? In their usual raw and winding dialogue, Robby Butler and Ernest Prabhakar meander through standing desks, soil microbes, regenerative agriculture, Gethsemane, and K-pop Demon Hunters — only to find themselves circling...
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From Performance to Presence: Hearing God in the Tension
What if God’s love for you feels both deeply comforting and unbearably demanding? In this raw, unscripted spiritual dialogue, Ernie and Robby wrestle with the paradoxes of grace, obedience, and intimacy. From Africa to Gethsemane, marriage to mentorship, they explore how to move from a scarcity...
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Is "Attention Is All He Needs" the Future of Faith?
1. Attention Is All HE Needs (Christ as Transformer Architecture) 2. The Epistle of San Francisco (On Burnout) Are you feeling the burnout of Christian "hustle"? Tired of trying to measure up with spiritual KPIs and performance metrics? What if the spiritual life wasn't about complexity and…
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Obedience vs. Intimacy and the Disruptive Grace of God
What if the thing you fear most isn’t disobeying God—but losing your current relationship with Him? In this raw and reflective conversation, Ernie and Robby dive deep into the paradox of obedience that disrupts rather than reinforces our spiritual comfort zones. From marriage tension to spiritual...
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The Right WORD: Connect vs Control
In this episode, we dive deep into the tension between seeking knowledge and seeking connection with Jesus. Robby Butler shares his journey of once hearing God’s voice clearly, then slowly drifting into a culture that emphasized scripture over relationship. We explore how Christian tradition…
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Dis-Identifying Evil: Restoring Ecstatic Union
In this episode, we explore a fresh way of dealing with tension—both the kind we wrestle with internally and the kind that shows up in our relationships. Instead of trying to fix others or push our beliefs, we talk about the power of recognizing our own false identities and inviting healing from...
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A New Season: Connection Over Separation
“What if the key to deeper faith isn’t more clarity, but more connection?” In this intimate, spirit-led conversation, Ernie and Robby reconnect after a season apart to reflect on the quiet work of God in their lives. Wrestling with relational tensions, spiritual growth, and cultural dislocation,...
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Diaphoris: The Ecstatic Agony of Divine Glory
Tune in for an episode exploring a powerful new concept drawn from the heart of divine reality! We'll delve into Diaphoris: The Ecstatic Agony of Divine Glory. While classic theology speaks of perichoresis – the beautiful, ancient word for the mutual indwelling and interpenetration of the Trinity…
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Did Christ Die to Cause or Transmit Forgiveness?
Did Christ Die to Cause or Transmit Forgiveness? Are we misunderstanding the Cross? Many preach that the Father had to be persuaded to forgive us, requiring Christ's death as appeasement for divine wrath. But what if this reverses the gospel? This episode explores the perspective of Athanasius of...
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Christ: The Only True Heresy?
This piece, "Christ the Only True Heresy: Rejecting Unbiblical Separation," presents a radical theological argument that challenges traditional Christian concepts of orthodoxy and heresy. The author argues that the biblical meaning of "heresy" refers to division and separation, not incorrect...
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The Poetic Future of Youth Ministry
NotebookLM Prompt: Target youth pastors working in traditional churches. Focus on the future of identity formation as reflected in poetry, and how they can help kids express an identity rooted in the eternal Word of Christ. Based on Younger Self Café: Did Romantic Poets Invent “Youth?” and...
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Ultimate Questions (Season Finale, Ch. 3 of 3)
What spiritual disciplines may help us break our destructive relational patterns faster? Written Covenants Submission (not necessarily to our wives) Journaling Two Bonus disciplines (not mentioned on the podcast). Solitude ("three days") Courts of Heaven (12-Step Worksheet)
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Ultimate Questions (Season Finale, Ch. 2 of 3)
Is "relational connection" more important than "operational effectiveness"? Is our real challenge NOT that we prioritize God over people, but work over love? Can we demonstrate love without relying on either words or works?
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Ultimate Questions (Season Finale, Ch. 1 of 3)
How has our left-brained thinking damaged our marriages? What can Jesus do about it?
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The Rest of Intimacy
Bridging the gap between Intimacy and Impact with Incarnation, aka "procreation" 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I...
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Addicted From
What is it that truly troubles our heart? Is this disturbance actually from God, to provoke us to flee religious compliance and carnal indulgence in favor of ecstatic union with the Trinity? John 14
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In Dependance
How do we sustainably enter into God's rest? Is it by only doing what we see God doing? Hebrews 4
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Culture Clash
What if the real war is not between "biblical" and "secular" culture, but "left-brain" WEIRD versus "right-brain" Traditional -- with neither actually on God's side?
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Emotion Incarnate
Healing from “Childhood Emotional Neglect” (CEN) Childhood Emotional Neglect (as a child or teen) results in emotional disconnect and lack of emotional intelligence. In a marriage, one or both spouses may need healing from CEN Spouses who need healing will often exhibit these 10 characteristics…...
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Gut Check
Are we lying to ourselves? Will listening better to our Others help us find the truth? * I Told Me So: Self-Deception and the Christian Life * Living Fearless - Jamie Winship Coming up on Feb 14: VaLENTine Men's Study
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Crazy Rich Discipleship
How do we prove to the world that we don't need the same things they want? Warning: spoiler alert for Crazy Rich Asians. “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down...
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Culture Clash
What if the true opposition to the gospel is hidden inside our own implicit assumptions about reality? Identifying and confronting our emotional distress is essential for identifying our lack of alignment with the Father’s will. For you, I believe that taking up *your* cross would require you to...
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The Passion
Does Jesus -- unlike Pharisees and philosophers -- require His disciples to sacrifice our "digital abstraction of self" in order to confront the emotional distress that lurks beneath? My impression, partly from the poem you shared but which I suspect is a gross misunderstanding on my part, is…
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Follower versus Disciple
During most of the gospels, the disciples wanted a king who would destroy their enemies rather than a savior who would destroy their sin. My Christ-less failure mode is trying to destroy your sin instead of [before] confronting my own. Luke 9:18-26 22 And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many...
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True Freedom
Is a relationship with God about obeying His will or enjoying His presence? Or something else entirely?
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E(x)ternal
Should our highest value be allowing God to rewrite our values? Can externalizing our eternal values enable us to maintain integrity while being fully emotional present for others?
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Logoholics Anonymous
What does it mean to love our community the way Christ does his friends? The Opposite Of Addiction Is Not Sobriety – It Is Human Connection Anthem: Follow The Way Of Christ (Becoming “Foot-Washers”) John 15:13: Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Matthew...
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Operationalizing Discipleship
What is needed to keep growing us all closer to Jesus? Our strategy (ultimate goal) is to love (hesed) the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength (particularly via loving our families as our selves). Our tactics include various spiritual disciplines…
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Christ-Thinking
What does Christ think about good and evil? Is anyone more evil than "you"? https://biblehub.com/luke/11-13.htm If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
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Wise Risk
"Productive Vulnerability" as the narrative protocol to both unmask our own self-deception and reveal the power of Christ. This is the redemptive alternative to either withdrawal or control (as a way to cope with the dysphoria from encountering our mutual brokenness). Withdrawal and control can…
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Brokenness
Is working through "brokenness" (versus information or skill) our greatest challenge? Ernie struggles with broken audio to explain the joy of sharing/healing our brokenness (aka sin) with Jesus. Poetry reading: 8/8 Tri-Limerick: Don’t Look Down https://2transform.us/dbj/ The only real answer is...
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Mosaic Law
What happens when the law meant to unite us ends up diving us? Is God calling us to shift from Jehu to Elisha?
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Incarnational Seers
# Ernie Not wanting to incarnate into other peoples dysfunction Do I want to heal people from their brokenness so that I can identify with them? VS Am I willing to identify with people in their brokenness so that God can heal us # Robby Jesus, how do I grow closer to You in such a way that Your...
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Lonely Crusade
How do we balance the tension between: Performance: getting the job done Conformance: getting along Precisely by confronting those areas where we are unable to hold that tension, in order to experience Christ's transformation https://biblehub.com/luke/9-23.htm Then he said to them all: “Whoever...
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Decenter Civilization
# Decenter Civilization - Civilization as we know it is endemically (widely? intrinsically?) corrupt - This corruption is manifest in individuals caught up in a systemic web of toxic incentives - We can't go back to "innocent" societies of autonomous villages - God wants us to seek something…
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Systemic Redemption (of Civilization)
What is the source of large-scale, structural evil? Is it endemic to civilization? Can civilization be reformed, or must it be transformed? # Decenter Civilization - Civilization as we know it is endemically (intrinsically?) corrupt - This corruption is manifest in individuals caught up in a...
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Peaceful See/Sea/Seat
Discussion of 5/21 Poem: Peaceful See Robby's Feel/Like/Observe/Wonder: F: Ambivalent L: Moving from Blindness to Seeing O: Focuses on sin within W: Is this the ONLY way God calls us to overcome societal evil? Ernie's response: I prefer the category of "cultural" evil, which includes both…
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Grand Unification
How do we take responsibility without taking control? Is there a difference between Stewardship and Headship? Can we maintain cohesion without top-down compressive structures?
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Emotional Attachment
When we connect to God With ALL our heart, soul, mind & strength We will connect to our neighbor As we connect to our self
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
The only real answer is Jesus. The only real problem is Sin. The only real work is the Cross. In the end, we only have Him. Discipling by Jesus (DBJ) is a group "co-devotional" practice for encountering the crucified Christ. By working through His Word & Spirit, Body & Blood we explore greater depths of the Father’s love as we surrender to the Holy Spirit.
HOSTED BY
Ernest Prabhakar, Robby Butler
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Discipling By Jesus have?
Discipling By Jesus currently has 149 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Discipling By Jesus about?
The only real answer is Jesus. The only real problem is Sin. The only real work is the Cross. In the end, we only have Him. Discipling by Jesus (DBJ) is a group "co-devotional" practice for encountering the crucified Christ. By working through His Word & Spirit, Body & Blood we explore greater...
How often does Discipling By Jesus release new episodes?
Discipling By Jesus publishes regularly with 149 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Discipling By Jesus?
You can listen to Discipling By Jesus on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Discipling By Jesus?
Discipling By Jesus is created and hosted by Ernest Prabhakar, Robby Butler.
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