The Analog Gospel with Jason Parrish

The horns and pitchfork came from a Greek goat god and a 17th century poem. The possession you picture came from a 1973 horror movie. The portals you were warned about came from a con man and a Parker Brothers board game. Strip all of that away and what's left is a text that says less than you expected and more than you were ready for. Pastor Jason Parrish, Pastor Howie Smith, Pastor Josh Bingle, and John Rowa work through what Scripture actually claims demons can and cannot do, why we read about possession constantly in the Gospels and almost never in our own neighborhoods, and where the honest line sits between what's demonic and what's just sin, sickness, exhaustion, or a bad decision.

Forgiveness is by definition undeserved. If someone deserved it, releasing them would be justice, not mercy. So the real question was never "do they deserve it." It's whether you're required to absorb the cost of what they did to you. In episode 26 of The Analog Gospel, Pastor Jason Parrish, Pastor Howie Smith, and John Rowa work through what forgiveness actually is and what it absolutely is not. The conditional versus unconditional debate. Why "forgive and forget" is a misnomer that perpetrators love to weaponize. Why forgiveness and reconciliation are two different transactions. And two litmus tests that will tell you in about four seconds whether you've actually forgiven someone. — Text THE WELL to 55498 for more info and the Weekly Growth Guide that includes the latest sermon, podcast episode, daily Bible reading, and more. Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah. New podcast episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Sunday. https://www.thewellslc.com 

Scripture says God does not change. Scripture also says God relented, at least a dozen times, and usually because somebody asked him to. So either prayer moves God, which means God can be talked into things, or prayer does not move God, which means every command to pray is theater.   The historic Christian answer refuses both.   In this episode, Pastor Jason Parrish, Pastor Howie Smith, and John Rowa work through Exodus 32, James 5, Luke 18, and Gethsemane to ask what prayer actually does. Is it a change of God's mind, or a change of his posture? Does praying harder work? Does the prayer of a righteous person carry more weight than yours? And what do you do when the answer is no?   We get into the pain most of us carry around unanswered prayer, including Pastor Jason's story of praying for his brother in a hospital room and not getting the miracle. We land on the Lord's Prayer and how to actually pray this week.   Text THE WELL to 55498 for more info and the Weekly Growth Guide.   --   Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah. New podcast episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Sunday. https://www.thewellslc.com

Everybody has a favorite Bible verse. Most of us have never read the verse above it. In Episode 24, Pastors Jason and Erica Parrish join John Rowa as they work through three of the most misused passages in the Bible and the reading mistake behind all of them: confusing what Scripture describes with what Scripture commands. Acts 2 doesn't establish socialism. Jeremiah 29:11 wasn't written to you. And Paul wasn't thinking about your career when he said he could do all things. But this isn't a takedown episode. It's a Bible study episode. We walk through the SOAP method, talk about why context and cultural background matter, and give you tools you can actually use the next time you open your Bible on a Tuesday morning. Text THE WELL to 55498 for more info and the Weekly Growth Guide. -- Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah. New podcast episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Sunday. https://www.thewellslc.com/

Everybody has a megachurch take. Too big, too flashy, too shallow, too much fog machine and not enough gospel. But when you actually look at the data and the Bible, the case falls apart fast. Bad churches are bad and good churches are good, and size is almost never the thing that decides which one you're looking at.In this episode, Pastor Jason Parrish, Pastor Howie Smith, and John Rowa sit down with special guest Pastor Joshua Bingle from Genesis Church in Spokane, WA and make the case that megachurches aren't the enemy, and that a lot of what passes for discernment online is really just personal preference wearing a holiness costume. We get into why the failures make national news while thousands of faithful large churches quietly serve every weekend, what the research actually says about who's in these churches and what they're doing, and why the first church in Acts looked a lot more like a megachurch than the critics want to admit. 3,000 added in a single day, meeting in the temple courts and house to house.This is not a defense of everything big churches do. It's a refusal to treat bigness itself as sin.We talk through: the "planes that land safely" problem and media bias, the data on megachurch health and growth, what healthy growth actually costs a leader, the celebrity-pastor trap and real accountability, whether the early church was ever really that small, and how to answer the "that's just a megachurch" comment without losing your mind. Judge fruit, not square footage.Text THE WELL to 55498 for the full episode link and the Weekly Growth Guide. -- Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah. New podcast episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Sunday. https://www.thewellslc.com/

Are Christians dumb? We put the question on the table and then checked whether the data actually supports it. The answer is no, and that lets us off the hook far too easily. Because the same people who affirm the Trinity at 98% also say, at 53%, that the Holy Spirit is a force and not a person. We were taught the words without the meaning. That is not an intelligence problem. It is a discipleship problem. And it shows up in how we fight: loudly about cremation, tattoos, worship style, and Bible translations, while going quiet on the Trinity, hell, and suffering. Season 2 of The Analog Gospel starts here, with Lead Pastor of The Well, Jason Parrish, Staff Pastor Howie Smith, host John Rowa, and special guest Pastor Joshua Bingle of Genesis Church in Spokane, WA. We walk through the Dogma, Doctrine, and Distinctives framework, sort out what you must believe to be a Christian, what your tradition holds, and where faithful believers are free to disagree. Text "THE WELL" to 55498 for the full episode link and the Weekly Growth Guide. -- Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah. New podcast episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Sunday. https://www.thewellslc.com/  

Pastors Jason & Erica Parrish join John Rowa to answer questions people have always wondered about what it's like to lead a large church in Utah. Why are people transitioning out of the church? Why don't we do midweek services or worship nights? What do pastors actually do when nobody's watching? What's a conviction we've changed our minds about? Plus, why the modern way of leaving a church is broken, what red flags people ignore in dating because they don't want to be alone, and what it really takes to work on a church staff. The Season 1 finale. Unfiltered. No script. No dodging.   Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah. New podcast episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Tuesday. https://www.thewellslc.com/

A lot of people get saved, get on fire, and immediately want to preach, lead a small group, or start something. And then their pastor tells them no. Pastor Jason Parrish, Pastor Howie Smith, and John Rowa walk through why the church does this, what scripture actually says about it, the difference between intensity and faithfulness, and what "being on fire for God" really means past the initial spark. Plus, outpouring vs. revival, why everybody wants the upper room, and the difference between having ideas and having convictions. Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah. New podcast episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Tuesday. https://www.thewellslc.com/

Episode 19 of The Analog Gospel addresses the hard question with the plain answer. Pastor Jason Parrish, Pastor Howie Smith, and John Rowa take on one of the most charged conversations in American life, what scripture actually says, the stats behind 73 million abortions per year, the difference between holding a conviction and holding compassion, and what the church is actually doing that the culture refuses to acknowledge. Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah. New podcast episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Tuesday. https://www.thewellslc.com/

Pastor Jason Parrish, Pastor Howie Smith, and John Rowa walk through how Christians should actually think about Pride Month. We talk about grace and truth, what to say to your kids, whether to attend a gay wedding, pronouns at work, and the cultural strategy most believers don't see coming. Episode 18 of The Analog Gospel you can't miss if you're a Christian!   Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah. New podcast episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Tuesday. https://www.thewellslc.com/

The marriage and dating questions you're probably too shy to ask... answered by your Pastors! Pastors Jason and Erica Parrish join John Rowa on Episode 17 of The Analog Gospel podcast to talk about Christ-centered marriage, modesty, intimacy, in-laws, and the daily rhythms that actually matter. Plus, why "going to church" is the bottom shelf of godliness. Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah. New podcast episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Tuesday. https://www.thewellslc.com/

A pastor really said this online. Lead Pastor Jason Parrish, Pastor Howie Smith, and John Rowa unpack the theology behind "women can't think," what mutual submission actually means, why the Bible never says "husbands, lead your wives," and what "kephale" really translates to. Plus... why our pastors cook dinner, watch the kids, and do the laundry.   Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah. New podcast episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Tuesday. https://www.thewellslc.com/

Episode 15. Pastor Jason Parrish, Pastor Howie Smith, and John Rowa talk mutual submission, the marriage stats nobody wants to talk about, and a hard look at why everyone's suddenly comfortable with aliens but not with demons. Plus, why "unbiblical" might be the most overused word in Christian comment sections.   Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah. New podcast episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Tuesday. https://www.thewellslc.com/

Episode 14. Pastor Jason Parrish, Pastor Howie Smith, and John Rowa get into it in this one! The honest take on anger, why "nice Christian man" isn't a thing, what the Greek word "porneia" actually means, and why every academic gymnastic move trying to soften scripture eventually lands in the same place: I just don't want to obey it. Plus — comfort and pleasure as gods, social media as a non-need, and why Solomon couldn't keep his pants on.   Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah. New podcast episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Tuesday. https://www.thewellslc.com/

Episode 13. Pastor Jason Parrish is joined by Pastor Howie Smith and John Rowa -- and they went long. Two big conversations: what real repentance looks like (hint: it's not the same as saying sorry), and why the West keeps trying to build the Tower of Babel with better tools. Along the way: toxic masculinity, the Amish, Solzhenitsyn's commencement address at Harvard, why your marriage wasn't built to make you happy, and what actually needs to change if we want to rebuild anything worth having.   Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah. New podcast episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Tuesday. https://www.thewellslc.com/   Rep this ancient faith. Get your merch at https://www.TheAnalogGospel.com

Episode 12. A dozen in. And somehow we ended up going from Paul's transformative encounter on the road to Damascus, to Gen Z flocking to Catholicism, to Rory McIlroy winning the Masters with zero phones in the crowd. It all connects — we promise. This week Pastor Jason Parrish, Pastor Howie Smith, and John Rowa unpack identity vs. identification, what repentance actually means, and why compassion and truth aren't opposites. Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah. New podcast episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Tuesday. https://www.thewellslc.com/ If you were listening to the original version of this, the audio cut off unexpectedly at the 26 minute mark. We've resolved the issue with this update and you should now be able to listen to the full podcast episode.

Fair warning: this one gets uncomfortable fast. Pastor Jason Parrish is joined by Pastor Howie Smith and John Rowa as the guys dig into what the Bible actually says about people who've never heard the gospel — plus the man in white appearing to Muslims in dreams, Penn & Teller on why Christians who don't evangelize are actually the cruel ones, and why universalism sounds compassionate but falls apart under scripture. Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah. New podcast episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Tuesday. https://www.thewellslc.com/  

Pastor Jason Parrish is joined by Pastor Howie Smith and John Rowa to talk about about Palm Sunday, Holy Week, symbolism in Scripture, the role of the Church, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Church criticism, and more. Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah. New podcast episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Tuesday. https://www.thewellslc.com/

Pastor Jason Parrish is joined by Pastor Howie Smith and John Rowa to talk about about discipleship, moral and ethical behavior, sexual integrity, stewardship, qualifications of a leader, and Back to the Future. Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah. New podcast episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Tuesday. https://www.thewellslc.com/

Pastor Jason Parrish is joined by Pastor Howie Smith and John Rowa to talk about about soteriology, salvation, repentance, change, the role of the church, and 90s nostalgia.c Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah. New podcast episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Tuesday. https://www.thewellslc.com/

Pastor Jason Parrish is joined by Pastor Howie Smith and John Rowa to talk about about Ephesians 2, how to read the Bible, hermeneutics, can Christians smoke pot?, where in the Bible it says you shouldn't live together unmarried, and more. Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah. New podcast episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Tuesday. https://www.thewellslc.com/

Pastor Jason Parrish is joined by Pastor Howie Smith and John Rowa to talk about power, authority, historical context of Jesus' time, the ages of the disciples, oppressor vs oppressed worldview, postmodernism, and old video games. Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah. New podcast episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Tuesday. https://www.thewellslc.com/

Pastor Jason Parrish is joined by Pastor Erica Parrish and John Rowa to talk about relationships, family, parenting, marriage, singleness, Biblical manhood & womanhood, divorce, Psalty, and overhead projectors.   Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah. New podcast episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Tuesday. https://www.thewellslc.com/

Pastor Jason Parrish is joined by Pastor Howie Smith and John Rowa to talk about sanctification, justification, glorification, redemption, and being Spirit-led to talk about issues of the world and inside the church. Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah. New podcast episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Tuesday. https://www.thewellslc.com/

Pastor Jason Parrish is joined by Pastor Howie Smith and John Rowa to talk about predestination, election, Calvinism vs Arminianism, and favorite sports moments of all-time. Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah. New podcast episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Tuesday. https://www.thewellslc.com/

Pastor Jason Parrish is joined by Pastor Howie Smith and John Rowa to talk about authority in church, TikTok theology, discipleship, and best Christian albums of all time. Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah. New podcasts episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Tuesday. https://www.thewellslc.com/

In the first ever episode of The Analog Gospel Podcast, Pastor Jason Parrish is joined by Pastor Howie Smith and John Rowa to talk about 90s nostalgia, current culture, how to process mythology and fantasy as a believer, how the book of Ephesians will transform you, a study on Ephesus, and much more. Recorded at The Well Church in Sandy, Utah.New podcasts episodes of The Analog Gospel drop every Tuesday. https://www.thewellslc.com/