No BS Bishop

On this episode, I’m inviting you to slow down with me and think about something I believe we need now more than ever, and that is the power of beauty. Not surface beauty and not decoration, but the kind of beauty that grows out of a life grounded in love. I’ve come to believe that lesser values than love easily devolve into BS, and I’m just not willing to live that way anymore.We’re living in a moment shaped by division, anger, and a whole lot of finger pointing, and I don’t think rage is going to lead us anywhere worth going. Instead, I want to challenge you to join me in what I’m calling a beauty movement. A movement away from the ugly that’s getting done to death and toward the everyday practice of choosing love again and again.That means learning to live humanely with each other even when it’s hard. It means forgiving more than feels reasonable. It means resisting the pull to divide the world into us and them. And it may even mean letting ourselves grieve the condition of our times instead of trying to shout our way out of them.I truly believe the most beautiful thing we can do is love the people we meet today. Be present. Be kind. Let beauty shape your steps and your words and your choices. So let’s get up and go do something beautiful together, because oh baby ugly is getting done to death.

In this episode I ask a simple question: are you going to live for love, or are you going to die by hate?I grew up in a church tradition where people were often asked to decide whether they were going to heaven or hell if they died that night. I understand the intention behind that question, but after more than fifty years of pastoral ministry, I’ve come to believe there’s a better question to ask: how are you going to live today?When Jesus taught us to pray, he didn’t teach us to pray about escaping earth and going somewhere else someday. He taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” That means heaven is something we begin living now by choosing love.In this conversation I invite you to consider changing your address today if your life has been shaped by resentment, division, or hate. Because when we live by love, we really live. When we live by hate, something inside us starts dying.If you want a different destination, then change your address today. Choose love. Choose heaven on earth.

In this episode I return to the foundation of everything I am trying to do here each week. Love creates value where there might not otherwise be value. The way you choose to love shapes the quality of your life and the lives of the people around you. Nobody can love the way you love, so the question becomes what you will do with that gift.I talk about three essential principles that guide this whole journey. Love creates value. Each of us has a unique fingerprint of love to offer the world. And the human condition itself is hardwired to love and to be loved. When we live into those truths we begin to see how love strengthens us emotionally, spiritually, and even physically.I also reflect on Mother Teresa’s powerful insight that there is more hunger for love in this world than there is for food. That is not sentimental language. That is a challenge to how we live right now in our homes, our relationships, and even in our nation. Love is not agreement or weakness. Love is the work that keeps us alive.So today I am inviting you again to lean into love on purpose. Do not wait for a better time or a better mood. Tell someone you love them. Choose kindness. Choose presence. Choose the holy habit of love and watch what begins to change around you.

In this episode of I’m Alive to Love, I want to talk with you about something that sits right at the center of our lives. How do we arrive as our authentic self through love. So many of us spend years sending the actor out on stage because we have been hurt, disappointed, or afraid. Today I’m inviting you to come back to your truest self and let love be the guardian of your heart.From the very first breath we take as a baby, every one of us is searching for love. Our story keeps being written every day by what we receive and what we give. I want to help you see how your life story has been shaped by kindness and by pain, and how you still have the power to write the next chapter with courage and compassion.We also talk about something very practical. The daily habits of love. Kindness, generosity, patience, courtesy, forgiveness, and joy. These are not abstract ideas. These are the ingredients that shape your story and the stories of the people you meet along the way.My hope for you in this episode is simple. That you rise and shine as your authentic self and choose love again today. Because love never fails, and even one small act of love can change someone’s story, including your own.

In this episode I’m talking about what the book of James calls the royal rule of scripture which is to love your neighbor as you love yourself. I believe that one command helps all the rest of the Bible make sense.James challenges us in a direct and uncomfortable way. He asks whether we are showing favoritism to people in what I call the costumes of power while quietly moving those in weakness or poverty to the margins. If the royal rule really is love then how we respond to the least of these reveals what we actually believe.I reflect on how churches including ones I have served have sometimes been drawn toward influence endorsement and appearances instead of toward the wounded presence of Christ among the poor. That is not an abstract idea for me. It is something I have had to confront personally over a lifetime in ministry.So this episode is an invitation to notice where power has become attractive to us and where love may have been set aside. It is also an encouragement to return to something simple and beautiful which is learning to see Jesus in the people right in front of us and learning to say with intention and honesty I love you.Let’s explore together what it really means to live by the royal rule of scripture and do something beautiful in the world today.

On this episode, I continue my conversation about love and the spiritual refugees - the 45 million people in this nation who have stepped away from the church but have not stepped away from spirituality. After pastoring for decades, I retired not to escape the work, but to go back and find out what went wrong and to listen. I believe this is a grand time for the church in America to recover what has been lost, and that begins with love and with paying attention.As I look back over my own life and ministry, I’m willing to own my part. I regret that I spoke too often in the language of church instead of the language of the world around me. Because of love, we cannot assume people should understand us. Because of love, we must do the heavy lifting of communicating in ways people can actually hear and receive.Many people are still deeply spiritual, but they have walked away from what I call “church incorporated.” They grew wise to manipulation, shame, pressure, and systems that no longer helped them live with freedom and dignity. My calling now is not to tell them to come back, but to listen—to learn from them and to help recover what has been lost with kindness, honesty, and compassion.The biggest mistake we make is thinking we still have time. Be present. Be kind. Love more. Love now. Speak the language of the people you meet, regulate your heart even when you disagree, and find a way to look people in the eye and say the three most holy words in the human language: I love you.

I’m Bishop Randy Dean, and I’m here because I believe we are alive to love and everything else can drift into something hollow if we’re not careful. I don’t want to waste your time with anything I don’t truly mean. I want to make one connection with you, and that connection is love. If you’re new here, pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee, and let me share what I’m seeing in our world when it comes to spirituality in America.I’ve been giving my life to reaching people I call spiritual refugees, the millions who have stepped away from organized religion but not from spirituality itself. These are people I deeply love. My calling is simple. I’m going after the one, just like the shepherd Jesus described, not to fix them or send them back, but to love them and listen. That’s it. No agenda, no pressure, no attempt to pull them back into something that may have hurt them.What I’ve heard in their stories is real pain. There is trauma tied to institutions, to leadership failures, to exclusion, to systems that lost their way. At the same time, I’ve seen leaders exhausted and overwhelmed trying to keep something afloat that may already be sinking. And through all of it, I keep coming back to this. If love isn’t the center, if love isn’t the only thing we’re offering, then we’ve missed it.So my role now is not to rebuild institutions. My role is to love and to listen. To bear burdens. To sit with people where they are. I believe if we ever find our way forward, it will be through a return to love as the only creed that matters. Until then, I’ll keep showing up this way, inviting you to breathe, to be present, and to say the words that can still change everything. I love you.

Today we are tackling the hardest subject of love in just two words: Enemy Love. Most of us have been trained to think that "loving our enemies" just means being nice to people who gossip about us. But I’m here to step in the path and say that being nice is not the same as loving. Jesus flipped the script on a world built on "us versus them," and his way of enemy love eventually got him a death sentence.In this episode, we’re going deep into the elimination of the "pitched battle" between good people and bad people. I’m talking about managing your own soul not the other person and learning to see people as "wholes, not souls" to be won or conquered. This isn't a once-and-for-all arrival; it’s a heavy-lifting mountain climb.I refuse to be the enemy of anyone, anywhere, at any time. It’s a tall order, but it’s the only way to live that’s superior to all the BS of our world. Ugly is getting done to death—let’s go out and do something beautiful instead.Want to dive deeper? I’d love to hear from you or share more about the "heavy lifting of love." You can reach me at [email protected].

In this episode, I’m reflecting on what it really means to take a fearless and searching moral inventory of ourselves. Borrowing from the fourth step of recovery, I invite us to look honestly into the “kitchen of our soul” and ask what’s really cooking inside of us. If we want to live lives rooted in love, we have to face the places where anger, resentment, or hatred might still be burning within us.Too often in religious spaces we become experts at taking other people’s moral inventory while ignoring our own. But the invitation of Jesus is something far more demanding and far more beautiful: love your enemies. That kind of love doesn’t come from bumper-sticker spirituality. It comes from deep inner work, from examining ourselves honestly so we stop projecting our own brokenness onto the world around us.I explore what Jesus meant when he said, Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect. This isn’t about flawless performance, it’s about setting our sights on the far horizon of love. When our aim is love, it reshapes how we see enemies, neighbors, and even ourselves. The work of faith becomes less about condemning others and more about transforming our own hearts.At the end of the day, the revolution I’m talking about is simple but demanding: a life devoted to love alone. That means breathing in love, letting go of fear and retribution, and learning to say the three words that can turn a life around, I love you. When we commit to that path, we begin to do something beautiful in a world that’s already had far too much ugly.

Why Love?After seven years behind this mic and more than seven decades of living, I want to answer a simple but dangerous question: why love? Why has love become the center of my faith, my work, and this podcast?This episode is personal. I talk about growing up in a home shaped by addiction and silence, the moment my father finally said “I love you,” and how that single sentence changed the trajectory of my life. From the Lord’s Prayer to Love’s Creed, from Jesus’ call to lay down our lives to the words of Brené Brown, I trace why real love is not sentimental, commercialized, or safe. Real love is gritty, justice-seeking, and life-risking.I’m not interested in religious performance, slogans, or spiritual noise. I’m interested in the kind of love that actually transforms people, communities, and faith itself. The kind of love Jesus talked about. The kind that costs something.If you’ve ever felt burned out on religion but still hungry for meaning, beauty, and truth, this conversation is for you.I’m Bishop Randy Dean. I’m alive to love. And I’m glad you’re here.

The Bible has been co-opted as a book of hate, and I am here to tell you that is BS. Love alone is credible. Love alone tells the truth. Whenever any lesser value replaces love, it quickly turns into manipulation, fear, and spiritual violence.In this episode, I speak plainly about how Scripture gets cherry-picked and weaponized, used to shame, control, and threaten people into belief systems that look nothing like Jesus. I offer a different way to read the Bible by putting Jesus Christ over every verse as the template. If you cannot see Jesus in it, his healing, forgiveness, and love, then it is time to read it again.We begin with the Lord’s Prayer as meditation, grounding ourselves in wisdom shared for more than two thousand years. I also share Love’s Creed, a personal creed that reminds me why I am alive. I am unavailable for anything less than love. From there, I reflect on how the Bible often reveals human brokenness rather than God, and why Jesus is the clearest picture we have of who God truly is.I return to a powerful line from To Kill a Mockingbird, reminding us that the Bible in the wrong hands can become a weapon instead of a healing balm. When love is restored as the center, Scripture becomes a source of restoration rather than harm.I close by inviting you to breathe, to live fully in the now, and to practice the most powerful words in the human language: I love you. Say them with intention. Say them while you still have time.Thanks for being here. Be present. Be kind. Love more. Love now.

In this episode, I strip spirituality down to what actually holds: faith, hope, and love. I’m not interested in religious performance, fear-based preaching, or bait-and-switch faith. Love alone is credible, and if love isn’t at the center, everything else eventually collapses into noise.I challenge the idea that spirituality is mostly about what happens after we die. I believe eternity isn’t something we enter later, we’re already in it. The real question isn’t heaven or hell someday, but the heaven or hell we’re living right now. Where you are is where you’re going.Drawing from Jesus, Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 13, and my own long walk through church life, I name faith, hope, and love as the pillars of a genuine spiritual life. Not faith that dominates, hope that denies reality, or love that enables harm but a grounded, courageous love that knows boundaries and still chooses compassion.This episode is an invitation to slow down, breathe, and live differently. Be present. Be kind. Let love, not fear, control, or certainty—be what you’re known for. If the world is going to recognize anything as truly spiritual, it will be a life rooted in love.

I’m a pastor of half a century, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned in fifty years, it’s that we as people of faith should be known for one thing and one thing alone: Love. In this episode, I’m talking about why I’ve decided that love has won my full attention. We live in a world that is loud, noisy, and frankly, full of bait-and-switch "spirituality." I call that the BS of religious circles. I’ve chosen not to be overwhelmed by the lifestyles or choices of others, but instead to view every person I meet as an invitation to choose love.Whether it's the "doctrinal purity" that keeps us busy or the impulse to throw Bible verses at people to prove we’re right, I’m here to tell you that all lesser values eventually devolve into something else. If it doesn't look like Jesus, walk like Jesus, or talk like Jesus, it isn't love.In this episode, we explore:The Lens of Love: How to read the Bible not as a weapon, but as a parable of mercy.The Physics of Grace: How the same precision that keeps our planet in balance is restoring all of creation through love.I’m not on this earth to fight people or win debates. I’m alive for love. Join me for a few moments to slow down, take a deep breath, and shift your channel over to the only thing that actually changes the world.Get Love’s Creed: If you’d like a copy of the creed I share in this episode, email me at [email protected]. No tracking, no hounding, and absolutely no BS—just the creed, free of charge.

I believe love is credible. I believe it is the only thing that truly stands the test. And if I am honest, it can stink to love people.In this episode of the No BS Bishop Podcast, I talk plainly about the cost of loving others when it hurts. I have been betrayed. I have had promises broken. I have watched people disappear. I have felt fear, disappointment, and exhaustion show up fast and loud. And still, love remains the call on my life.I draw from decades of pastoral life, personal heartbreak, and the example of Jesus to explore what it really means to love when it would be easier to shut down or walk away. Love is not soft. It does not always protect us from pain. It demands courage, patience, and a willingness to stay present when things get hard.I talk about loving neighbors who disappoint us, frighten us, disagree with us, or wound us, and choosing love anyway. Not denial. Not sentimentality. A grounded, determined love that refuses to turn into hate.If you have ever wondered whether love is worth the cost, if you have been hurt by people you tried to care for, or if you are tired of fear and anger running the show, this episode is for you.Some days love stinks. I still believe it is the way forward.

I hear people ask all the time, “What is God’s purpose for my life?” and while I can’t tell you whether you should be a veterinarian or a stay-at-home dad, I can tell you that the purpose of life is not to seek pleasure and avoid pain. The real purpose is to be aimed at Love—love for ourselves, our neighbors, our families, our communities, and even our enemies. We get so easily distracted and beset by the struggle to find meaning through a paycheck or the daily grind of holding down a job. While those things are practical and necessary, let’s be honest: they fall short of filling the human soul with real satisfaction. We are on this earth for the far greater joy of Love.I honestly doubt that Michelangelo dragged himself up onto that scaffolding to paint the Sistine Chapel or carved the famed Pieta just because he had to pay his rent. I don’t think Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa hoping to win his mother's approval or to cover his taxes; he did it out of a deep love for the gift inside his heart, using it to capture the unique, rye beauty of an everyday person.Each and every one of us carries gifts and talents that bring us joy when we exercise them, and something in us comes alive when we do. Whether you are farming to feed a nation or teaching future leaders in a classroom, the truth is that others will fall in love with your gift because you love your gift. I have always said there is no task so small that it cannot be performed with great love. Even if you are a street sweeper or a night-shift janitor, if you perform that task with a radiance of love, everyone who sees you will be inspired to say, “My, my, they sure seem to love life.” No matter where you are or what you do, join me in being done with the BS and start living for Love alone.

Reflecting on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I share how his writings saved me as a young teenager navigating the astronomical racial tensions of 1960s Milwaukee. I’m unpacking his profound idea of a "soul generated by love," exploring how a heart full of grace is the only true requirement for greatness. We often mistake our lives for a competition, thinking we have to conquer others or win arguments, but a soul lit up by love knows how to pause, listen, and refuse the "dance of enmity."I also dive into the concept of Love and Tolerance as a code for living. Using the world of engineering as a metaphor, I explain how we must be like skyscrapers or bridges—built with the "tolerance" to bend and bounce in the gale-force winds of strife without ever breaking.The episode concludes with a practical moment of centering: a breathing exercise to inhale love and exhale fear, and a challenge to use the three most "holy and magical" words we have: I love you. We don't have the guarantee of time, so the moment to be present, flexible, and kind is right now.Connect: If you’d like a copy of Love’s Creed to keep in your own inner dialogue, email me at [email protected]. There is no bait and switch and no BS—just the creed, sent from my heart to yours.

This world can feel like a dangerous place—not just because of those who do evil, but because of the rest of us who see it and do nothing. In this episode, we cut through the noise and get to the heart of what it truly means to live a life that matters.I’m here to talk about The Way of Love, and I believe it demands three things from us: Kindness, Action, and Change. It’s not a soft or passive idea. It’s a courageous path that requires us to listen when we want to fight, to move when we want to stay comfortable, and to transform ourselves before we try to change the world.We’ll explore why lovers—not just theologians—know the most about God, and how practicing simple, daily kindness can disarm conflict and build something beautiful. I’ll share why saying “I love you” is a sacred contract, and why the biggest mistake we make is thinking we still have time to start.If you’re tired of the bait-and-switch and hungry for a faith that is alive, active, and authentically kind, this conversation is for you. Let’s get up and do something beautiful in this weary world.

In this episode, I’d like to share something I believe is essential for our time: the evolution of love. Love isn’t static—when it stands still, it stops being love at all. Just as humanity has grown in strength, understanding, technology, and faith, so too must our grasp of love deepen, widen, and mature.I’ll reflect on how our understanding of God, Scripture, and human relationships has gently unfolded over the centuries, and why clinging to a rigid, paper-thin version of faith can trap us in fear, violence, and division. Even the Bible reveals this beautiful movement—from bloodshed toward transformation, from swords toward plowshares. That evolution doesn’t happen by chance; it happens as we grow.Drawing from my own marriage, from history, Scripture, and mystics like Teilhard de Chardin, I invite you to imagine what it could mean to truly harness the energies of love—to let love grow up, demand less, listen more, and refuse to “bait and switch.” This isn’t about leaving faith behind, but about growing up within it. Love that evolves becomes credible, powerful, and truly world-changing.Consider this episode an invitation to breathe deeply, lay down the sword, and grow into a love that is patient, nonviolent, free from condemnation, and fully alive. Our future depends on it.Connect With MeIf you’d like a copy of Love’s Creed or the Lord’s Prayer for your journal or daily meditation, I’d be delighted to send it to you. Just email me at: [email protected], go do something beautiful today—because heaven knows, “ugly” has had enough airtime.

In this episode, I’m stripping away the "bait and switch" of lesser values to focus on the highest magnetism in human existence: The Sacred Word of Love.Inspired by the spiritual jazz of John Coltrane’s legendary album, I explore why we must stop treating the word "love" as a glib, throwaway cliché. I share a moving observation of a family interaction that reminded me how easily we "miniaturize" this mountain-range power into a casual "Love ya" while walking away. We dive deep into the importance of being present, the creative "nuclear power" that holds our universe together, and the courage it takes to look someone in the eye and speak those three most holy, magical words.Join me as we recite the 2026 Love’s Creed—a resolution to stay locked into everything that is love and remain unavailable for anything less. It’s time to stop living at "zero" and start living on the plus side of life.Connect with the No BS Bishop If you would like a copy of Love’s Creed for your own meditation and study, please email me at [email protected] out and do something beautiful today—because ugly is getting done to death.

"Love is the only answer, but medieval talk about love does nothing."I’ve been sitting with those words from the mystic Thomas Merton, and they’ve hit me right where I live. If you’ve been with me for the last seven years, you know my creed: I am alive to love, and I believe all lesser values devolve easily into "BS"—that bait-and-switch that keeps us from the reality of how we are meant to live.As we approach the final days of 2025, I’m feeling a fire in my heart to raise an alarm. The ancient, dusty discussions of love just don’t cut it anymore for the "wild and wooly" world we’re living in. Life is a beast; it shoves us around, and if we don't have a practical, radical reality of love to lean on, we get reckless.We are closing out the year in the spirit of Advent—celebrating the silence. I want to help you build your own "fortress of solitude" where you can be hit by the radiant supremacy of God’s love, far away from the noise of the world.Let's stop the ancient talk and start the new walk. Let’s rise and shine and go do something beautiful.

Advent invites us to celebrate the multiple paths of how Love is defined by this greatest of all stories in Christmas. “For God so loved the world…that He gives us His Son.” SO LOVED that He gave.SO LOVED that the virgin Mary was visited by the angel of the Lord to announce that she had been chosen. SO LOVED that shepherds keeping watch over their flocks at night were serenaded by a choir of angels singing, “Good news, of great joy, which shall be to all people.” SO LOVED that the Magi/Kings of the east were drawn by a Star hovering over Bethlehem and the newborn King. SO LOVED that we have been given the greatest story ever told!In this episode, I distinguish between the Advent season (the coming of Christ, His first coming) and the Christmas season, urging you to embrace the original revelation of Christ. I share reflections on the radical inclusivity of God's love, extending to "all people" from a humble peasant girl like Mary to the working-class shepherds and the mystical Magi (Wise Men). I also explore the power of the Lord's Prayer and the personal challenge of Love's Creed: “I am unavailable for anything less than love.”I conclude with a call to end the "Christmas Wars" by leading with love and deference, choosing to say "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas" based on a spirit of inclusion and kindness.The power of love veritably floods the airwaves of our churches, radio, TV, and social media. The power of Love is shining in brilliant colors throughout our neighborhoods. The power of Love is delightfully celebrated in children’s Christmas programs in our schools and churches.Let's do something beautiful this season. Ugly is getting done to death. Let's rise to the shining of love.

For six years now, this show has been a labor of love for me, a discussion of the pinnacle of life: Love, and love alone. It is the credible, supreme value for my entire religion.Today, I’m diving deep into my topic: the transcendent supremacy of love. I'm convinced love is this power, this supreme, nuclear force that stands above all others. It’s what launches lives, families, and churches. Even if I deeply disagree with someone or find their behavior repugnant, I refuse to act in any way other than love. It is the ground of all existence—God is love, and love is God, and that's why everything was created!Love is a force of nature, an unchanging founding principle. Just like gravity holds you down, or the sun's light travels across space, love is simply there. I don't have to decide if it will or won't be; I just have to decide whether I will join this existential reality.I liken us to the Wright brothers and sisters of love. We're still launching our little paper airplanes into this incredible aerodynamic wonder. But just like they harnessed the laws of nature to fly, we are called to cooperate with the force of love, to throw our sail up to catch the wind. Love requires our participation. It takes intention, authenticity, and a purpose-filled mind to fully step into this supreme power.In this tumultuous, fear-filled culture, let us be people who stretch our wings out into the laws of love’s aerodynamic beauty, flying above the hate and the vitriol. The laws of love are in existence, just waiting for our discovery. Let’s be present, be kind, and love more, love now.Go into the world today and do something beautiful. May everyone we meet encounter love, and know that they’ve been breathing rare air when they’re around us.

In this episode, I am asking you two fundamental questions: Who do you love? And what do you love? Believe it or not, there is a lot more there than meets the eye. I invite you to sit down and actually make a list. Whether it is your spouse, your friends, your "fur baby" like my dog Dixie, playing a guitar, or even just a solid nap, identifying these loves establishes your priorities. I explore the principle that love will find a way to return to you because what you plant, you will reap. Karma can be your best pal if you plant love, so you must ensure you are giving at the level you hope to receive.I also challenge you to normalize the power of saying "I love you" with full intention and attention. It is easy to get into the habit of just rapid-firing it out, but I am asking you to go deeper. Love is the food we are emotionally starved for, and saying it authentically breaks us free from the prisons of fear. Even if it feels awkward, let your presence light new light in the hearts of others. We don't change the world by standing on a big stage; we change the world simply by changing the moment we are in. Ugly is getting done to death, and it is time for the people of love to do something beautiful. Rise and shine with me—love more, love now.

I'm here to tell you, love is a far more sustaining human practice when it's taken into a practical work of our life. It's the heavy lifting of life the mountain climb, the marathon, because if we don't succeed at the project of love, far too many other things just don't matter.Listen in as I give you these 10 practical practices, including: Being a hospitable person, welcoming to all; Listening beyond the ordinary; Creating an advice-free zone; Making room for an unpopular response, because labeling is lazy; Listening with silence; Knowing how to suspend judgment; Learning to turn to wonder when stuff gets tight; and Recognizing that all voices have value.Join me in this great adventure. Let's go out there and do something beautiful every day, every blessed day, because ugly is getting done to death. It's time for the people of beauty and love to insert that beauty and love into every moment of every day.

I believe a hard truth: We, folks of faith, are not here to defend the institutions of Christianity, nor are we here to defend the institutionalized leaders who demand unquestioning allegiance.Institutional Christianity has its own "spiritual asbestos" that needs to be removed. All the passion we spend defending the institution should be redirected only to love God, to love our neighbors, and to love our enemies.Unquestioning followership has led to crisis and a loss of credibility. The credibility of Christianity is in love, not in our organizational charts. We must be brave enough to look at the painful truth and live our lives for love alone.The biggest mistake we are making is we continue to think we've got time. Be present. Be kind. Love, more love. Now.

This week I'm challenging us all to stop making life about being right and start making it about being loved and being loving.I believe the real issues we face are all found in the nuclear core of the power of love activated inside us. But too often, we've let our culture devolve into division and fighting. I’m inspired by one of my favorite authors, Felicia Murrell, who writes:“I think the broad sweeping generalizations on both sides are killing us all... As a society, we’ve made life about being right instead of being loved.”We have all suffered from love deprivations—deficiencies of love that we’ve accommodated as normal. It leads to fighting, resentment, and a relentless need to prove a point.But as Presiding Bishop Michael Curry says, this love thing is not owned or controlled by anyone: The source is God. No one votes it in or out.I'm calling on you to join me in the relentless pursuit of love.Confront your deprivations and recognize where love has been withheld.Practice the Love's Creed to keep love on your daily to-do list.Be courageous and disrupt the awkwardness by saying the three most holy words: I love you.Let’s turn this anxious ship around, folks! It's going to take all of us to change the world, one breath and one act of love at a time.Are you ready to join me and make the U-turn: stopping the fight to be right and starting the work of being loved?

I'm diving deep into my life’s purpose today: Preach Love hotter than any religious flame. Live Love more outrageous than any political rage. Lift Love higher than the heavens and deeper than any hell.This is a direct challenge to the noise in our world.Preach Love Hotter: Don't let rigid doctrines or religious passion overshadow the fierce, pure fire of love. We shouldn't be preaching hellfire; we should be preaching a love that burns with the flames of heaven's beauty. I walk you through the Lord's Prayer and my Love's Creed to help you keep love as the one true target.Live Love More Outrageous: When faith and political rage mix, the result pushes people away. I’m telling you: you can’t serve two masters. Stop letting political fury set your agenda. We are called to be outrageous lovers showing a radical love for our enemies, our neighbors, and those on the "other side." This love must be more extreme than any rage you see.Lift Love Higher and Deeper: Heaven and hell are not just things to worry about when you die; they are realities we live now. The key to eternal life is letting go of the selfish hell that is eating you alive. As I always say, where you're going is where you are. I believe there is no hell so deep that the love of God cannot reach it.This isn't about signing a card; it’s about a life you choose to live. Give up what's choking you be it wealth, hate, or rage and come live love higher than the heavens and deeper than any hell.Take this challenge: Today, risk saying the three most holy words to someone: I love you. It's a risk that will change you.I'm Bishop Randy Dean, your No BS Bishop.#NoBSBishop #LoveDeeperThanHell #PreachLove #LiveLove #LoveIsTheOnlyWay #RandyDeanLive It Now

I'm sharing the message I recently delivered live at Chain of Lakes Church in Blaine, MN. We need to talk about Love in a Time of Crisis. Every one of us is either in a crisis, coming out of one, or heading into another. And the Church? We've lost our focus.Jesus gave us just one commandment to define us: Love one another. But we've replaced that heavy lifting with political squabbles and the sickness of codependency—trying to fix, manage, and control others instead of simply loving.I get personal this week, discussing my own journey as a spiritual refugee and what I learned from a childhood riddled with crisis.This isn't just bumper-sticker love. It's a call to action. I break down how we can rescue love from silly sentiment, making it our safe place and a transcendent target above all the constant rage and existential dread in the world.Join me for this powerful special edition and take ownership of Love's Creed. It's time to be known as the people who love like crazy.

Welcome, beautiful people! I'm Bishop Randy Dean, and this week, I'm getting personal. I'm tackling The Church—not just a single denomination, but the entire body of believers. Why? Because I believe we've gotten ourselves tangled up in too much BS (Bait and Switch).Jesus gave us one, clear, essential commandment: Love one another as I have loved you. That's the epic call of Christ to us, The Church. But honestly? We've been distracted. We've focused on political agendas, trying to pass laws, and admiring our glorious architecture instead of investing in the architecture of love itself.My challenge to you—and to myself—is this: We must get back to the heavy lifting of Love.We need to stop using "truth" as a weapon and start speaking the truth in love through empathy and incarnation. We need to ask ourselves: How can we make Love our daily practicum? How can we preach love hotter than any religious flame and live love more outrageous than any political rage?I'm telling you, it's time we heal our intimacy issues and have the courage to say those three most holy, charmed words to the world without caveat: I love you.Join me this week. Let's make this quality the single, defining mark that shows the world we are, indeed, The Church. God bless you and happy trails!

I'm Bishop Randy Dean, the No BS Bishop, and I'm Alive to Love. I believe anything less is potential BS (Bait and Switch), and for six years, I've been calling you upward and onward to a life of Love alone.In this episode, I lay out my most important challenge: the courage to say the three most holy, charmed, and magical words in the human language: "I love you." We're living in a time of suffocating tribalism, chaos, and confusion, where we act as if we're alive to hate and throw emotional grenades. That ain't life! Love is our treasure, the hard work we must do.I share personal stories of being love-starved and emphasize that this simple act is a constructive stand—a way to step aside from the vitriol and build genuine human connection. I challenge you to put down the phone, make eye contact, and stop treating love like a quick "Love ya" or a Post-it note.We're going deep on why we have such a profound fear of intimacy that makes those three words so awkward, and why "the greatest mistake we make in life is thinking we still have time." Join my Love Revolution and learn to activate the power of love in every room you enter, because ugly is getting done to death, and it's time for the people of beauty to do something beautiful.

I'm utterly convinced that love has been short sheeted and treated like a comic book version of life, when in reality, love should be seen as an Encyclopedia Britannica. Love demands of me and from me the truth beyond my personal bias because love cares more about what is right rather than who is right.Here's the truth: you have an ego, I have an ego. The ego is like a psychological eardrum; if it's been beat up and bruised, it translates incoming information in a faulty way. If you're constantly on a crusade to prove others wrong, your ego is expressing its deep woundedness.I am proposing to you that love is your ego aid—it's the freedom from that damage and a clear vision of your truest value. Let's get some love on our egos, all around us and in us, so that we're finally able to feed others with that same nutritional value.The biggest mistake we all make is thinking we have more time. Let's all of us be done with BS and be filled with love! Go out there, be strong, be kind, be beautiful. Be a lover, and be it right now.

In this episode, I’m talking about a direct and commanding message that Jesus gave, a message of warning: "Woe to you." But I'm challenging us to stop pointing that finger outward at religious leaders and at others. Instead, I want us to turn that scrutiny inward.When you squeeze a lemon, you get lemon juice. When the squeeze is on in your life, you get what’s on the inside. So what's in you? What dwells in the hidden hallways of your heart?Join me as I encourage us to look within, not for self-condemnation, but for a great exchange: to cleanse our inner world so that what comes out is love, not misery or filth. I’m here to live for love alone, and I want you to be that beautiful person who lets love shine in an ugly world.

I’m inviting you to breathe slow and live love in an age of violence. In this episode I talk about how “your inner world will eventually become your outer world,” why “hate is murder,” and how we can guard our souls from the bloody scenes that surround us.I remind you that “love and tolerance is our code,” and call you to “drop seeds of beauty” in a world where ugly is getting done to death. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you still have time—love more, love now, and be the people of beauty.

This episode, I'm laying out Three Realities of Love That Will Change Your Life.First, you'll see the world with new eyes, shedding the "us versus them" mentality. Second, you'll deepen your thoughts and grow more wise, transforming knowledge into wisdom. And third, you will let go of failures, foibles, and the fickleness of people, because when you recognize your own, love sets you free.I'm just Randy, and I wanna challenge you to join me. Let's do something beautiful in an ugly world. Let's be the people of love.

Love is the only value worth building on. Everything else falls apart.This episode looks at the strength, security, and strategy of love. Life is a mix of triumph and tragedy, calm and chaos. Love is the power that carries us through it all.Hear why Martin Luther King Jr. was right that “unconditional love and unarmed truth will have the final say on reality,” and why even dipping your paddle into the river of love can keep your canoe upright in the roughest waters.Love has the final word. Let’s live it and let it shine.

Welcome to the NO BS BISHOP, where we're tackling the fine print we often attach to the most important thing in the world: love. On this episode, I'm calling for a no-holds-barred conversation about what it truly means to love without conditions. This isn't about some cheesy ideal; it's about the real, hard work of getting rid of our excuses and embracing a pure, unfiltered love.Today, I want to talk about getting rid of the fine print of love. It’s time to burn the conditions and live in a world where we simply love. We're often adding conditions to love, like saying, "I'll love you, but I don't approve of your lifestyle." This is nothing but fine print, and it creates speed bumps on our road to loving one another. Jesus commanded us to love, and by this, all people will know we are His disciples. But we, especially us church folks, have gotten in the way with all our rules.Inspired by a friend, I'll share a profound quote from Les Misérables: "To love another person is to see the face of God." This applies to everyone—even those whose appearances or choices might challenge us. We are all made in the image of God. So, what are you going to do when you see someone with purple hair, piercings, or tattoos? Will you dare to love them and see the face of God, or will you let your fine print get in the way? I'll also share a personal story from a recent trip to Texas, where my wife and I faced a scary moment on the highway. This experience forced me to confront how I respond to fear and whether my actions truly align with the unconditional love I preach. This isn't about easy answers; it's about doing the heavy lifting of love.Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things—that's what 1 Corinthians 13:7 tells us. There's no fine print there. So, join me as we learn to shed our conditions, build healthy boundaries, and practice a genuine, beautiful, and sometimes challenging kind of love. It's time to get rid of the "buts" in our love and simply love, because the biggest mistake we make is thinking we have time. Until next time, be present, be kind, and love more. Love now. Happy trails, y'all.

I'm here with Scott Morfitt, a former parishioner, a "stray sheep" that I love dearly, and the producer of this very show. We're talking about spiritual refugees, the 40 million people who have exited the brick and mortar church since the turn of the century. This is a significant shift in the spiritual season of the United States, and we need to have an exit interview. I'm not here to judge or crack a whip, but to listen and love.Scott and I get into the real reasons behind this exodus, from the rote "three songs, a money ask, and a speech" routine that lost its appeal, to the church's historical failure to reconcile its message with loving the entire world, especially our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters. We tackle the uncomfortable truth that the church has often found itself on the wrong side of history, hanging on too tight to what it knows while the world moves on.This is an adult conversation about the heavy lifting of love, the toxicity of claiming "empathy is woke," and the surprising hope found in some liturgical traditions that are learning to adapt. We also get real about the cost of doing ministry and what it takes to keep these vital conversations going.Join us for a no BS discussion about leaving a legacy that's more than just hanging on tight to what was evaporating. This is about finishing the work so we can genuinely express the heart of the fellow we call Jesus.

In this episode, I share a word that’s been on my heart about identity, healing, and the kind of freedom that changes everything.Not long ago, I had the privilege of connecting with Gene Morfitt from the Spiritual Program Retreat, a long-standing community rooted in the original spiritual principles of the 12 steps.Since 1981, thousands have come through the Spiritual Program Retreat and walked away changed. It’s not about surface-level solutions it’s about facing truth, working the steps, and finding a new way to live.If you're feeling stuck, burdened, or just ready for something different, this episode and the story of this retreat may be exactly what you need to hear.

In this episode, I’m not just talking about love — I’m talking about why real love is a high-risk, high-reward endeavor. We’re not sugarcoating it. Love, when it's genuine, puts you out there. It demands courage, vulnerability, and the willingness to be misunderstood, rejected, or even hurt. That’s why so many people back away from it, settle for less, or hide behind excuses like “righteousness” or “truth.” But I’m telling you — love is the truth.You’ll hear stories from real-life tragedy where love became the last thing spoken — in the floods of Texas, the tornado in Joplin, and even the final moments aboard 9/11 flights. We'll explore why those words, “I love you,” rise to the surface when everything else is stripped away. I also pull in wisdom from Thomas Merton and Maya Angelou to help us confront how love must adapt and thrive in today’s complicated world.This isn’t some soft, sentimental ideal. This is brave love — love that climbs mountains, runs marathons, and faces rejection without folding. I’ll also lead you in The Lord’s Prayer and Love’s Creed — because that’s our grounding.If you’ve ever struggled with how to love in a world that often makes it dangerous or costly, this one’s for you.Find the podcast, donate, or grab Love’s Creed at: https://linktr.ee/nobsbishopWant a copy of the creed? Email me at [email protected]

Well, friends, this one jumps right in. No fluff. No fanfare. Just two pastors mid-stream, wrestling out loud about the sacred, the cosmic, and the painfully personal. This week on No BS Bishop, I sit down with Pastor Justin Arnold in the church basement—with coffee in hand and hearts wide open—to talk about what it means to follow Jesus in 2025.We get raw. We get real. We discuss the atomic interconnectedness of Christ and the crash test dummy wall that the church has hit. We unpack racism, LGBTQ+ inclusion, tribalism, Constantine, and even yard signs—yes, literal signs in the front lawn—and how our kids can sometimes see the Gospel better than we do.Pastor Justin doesn't hold back. He talks about the real cost of love: not love as cheap sentiment or easy slogans, but the kind of love that incarnates. That walks across the chasm. That listens. That suffers. That lays down its life. You know—the Jesus kind.And yeah, we talk about truth. But not the weaponized version that gets flung in Facebook DMs with all-caps and no context. We’re talking about truth rooted in mercy. Truth Pastor Justin reminds me why I have hope. He’s doing the work. The hard, slow, relational, incarnational work. And in this episode, I pass him the torch and ask what will you do with it?This one’s not a period, it’s a dot. Just a continuation. So pour a cup of something warm and settle in. Because the way forward isn’t through shouting across the void. It’s through eye contact. Coffee. And a little No BS.And if this kind of conversation stirs your spirit and your soul, consider supporting the show so we can keep bringing these voices to the table:paypal.me/randydeanministriesUntil next time,I’m the No BS Bishop—alive to love.Because all lesser values than love?They devolve into BS. Let’s not go there.Let’s do something beautiful.Ugly has had its day.

"You say you want a revolution? Well, love is the only revolution worth fighting for."Beloveds, this is Bishop Randy—your no-BS, straight-talking, love-obsessed friend—and I’m here to tell you: we’ve been wasting our time.We argue. We post. We debate. We scream into the void. And for what? More noise. More division. More BS.Enough.In this episode, I’m calling for a bloodless coup of the heart—a revolution where love isn’t just a nice idea, but the oxygen in your lungs, the fire in your bones, the non-negotiable rule of your life.I’ll take you through Love’s Creed—words I’ve lived by for over a decade—not because I’ve mastered them, but because I’m desperate for them. You’ll pray the Lord’s Prayer with me and feel it fresh, like it’s the first time you ever dared to mean it.And yeah, we’ll even talk about the Beatles. (Because if John Lennon could imagine a world without religion but couldn’t shake the need for love, maybe we should listen.)Here’s the truth: Love isn’t weak. It’s the hardest work you’ll ever do. It’s easier to hate, to judge, to scroll and snarl. But hate never healed a wound. Never fed a soul. Never changed a damn thing.So let’s cut the crap. Let’s be dangerously kind, recklessly compassionate, and stubbornly tender in a world that rewards the opposite.This is your invitation.This is your rebellion.This is the only way out."Love alone is my walk. Love alone is my thought. Love alone is how I measure my days."Join me. The revolution starts now.

Alright, folks, get ready for Part 2 of my powerful conversation with the brilliant historian, Dr. Selika Ducksworth-Lawton. We're not just talking about history here; we're grappling with where we're headed in 2025, examining the entire "circumnavigation" of history. Selika lays out her deep concerns about violence and the tough truth about non-violence in the face of authoritarianism. You know, history doesn't just repeat itself; it rhymes, and we're seeing those echoes right now.We ain't holding back as we dive into the corruption that can creep into institutions, from our police forces to even our churches. Selika reminds us that these are human-made, and if we're honest, they can get twisted. I'm with her when she challenges us to look at the Bible through a historian's eyes, stripping away the comfort that makes us twist truth. You'll hear how even Paul used rhetorical devices, and why getting to the real meaning of ancient texts is crucial for our faith today.My goodness, this conversation gets real as we confront the enduring patterns of prejudice and that deep "psychological tug of war" that shapes our society. Selika shares some truly poignant personal stories, from seeing Jim Crow signs as a child to facing stereotypes as a Black Catholic. She pulls back the curtain on how anti-immigrant rhetoric from generations past is the "exact same rhetoric we see today." It's a stark reminder of why we must see individuals beyond stereotypes and embrace the non-violent call to understand even those who cause pain.So, how do we bring it home in a world that's so polarized? We discuss the importance of "adult conversations" and how to provide genuine, constructive feedback rather than merely playing "gotcha." Selika and I stress the critical importance of being discerning about the media we consume and, most importantly, our ongoing obligation to "bend the arc of the universe towards justice," just like Dr. King taught us. This episode is a challenge to get uncomfortable, seek genuine connection, and actively push for a more just and loving world. You don't want to miss this.

Join Bishop Randy Dean as he explores love, urging you to engage with Love's Creed and make it your legacy. This episode addresses the 21st-century loneliness epidemic, distinguishing between digital noise and genuine human connection, while offering practical tools such as setting boundaries and diaphragmatic breathing for stress management. Drawing from addiction recovery, Bishop Dean emphasizes that "the opposite of addiction is connection," highlighting the essential role of self-love. Discover how simply vocalizing "I love you" daily, both to yourself and others, can strengthen connections and foster a more loving mindset.

In this powerful episode, Bishop Randy Dean tackles a pressing question: what truly cooks in the kitchen of your soul? With recent tragic events in Minnesota as a backdrop, Bishop Randy cuts through the BS to declare that love is the only credible answer to the human condition. He unpacks Jesus's Sermon on the Mount, revealing how hatred in the heart is the insidious beginning of murder, even when cloaked in religious justification. Join Bishop Randy as he challenges listeners to examine their hearts, offering "Love's Creed" and a fresh perspective on prayer to help you cultivate love as your governing law. Don't miss this urgent call to choose love over the destructive path of hatred.

In a thought-provoking episode of the No BS Bishop podcast, Bishop Randy Dean and historian Selika Ducksworth-Lawton explore the struggles of modern Christianity. Bishop Dean highlights a significant decline in evangelicalism, attributing it to the church's reluctance to engage in "adult conversations" about issues like race, LGBTQ+ rights, and gender roles.Ducksworth-Lawton, a Black Catholic and civil rights historian, shares her unique perspective, drawing from personal experiences of integration in the South and discussing the historical intertwining of faith and social justice movements. She underscores the importance of seeking common humanity through dialogue, contrasting it with the divisiveness often seen in contemporary discourse.The discussion delves into the "hubris of certainty" prevalent in some religious circles, where a lack of challenge can lead to insular views. Both guests advocate for a faith that is open to scrutiny and engagement with diverse perspectives, arguing that true faith should be robust enough to withstand exposure to differing ideas. They emphasize the need for Christianity to move beyond performative beliefs and instead focus on action and service, as exemplified by the Sermon on the Mount.

Bishop Randy delves into the challenging yet profoundly rewarding work of love, distinguishing it from codependency and urging us to remove all limitations on its efficacy. Drawing inspiration from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s timeless message of loving our enemies, he emphasizes that love is not about agreeing with harmful ideas, but recognizing the inherent humanity in everyone.Discover how embracing love can free us from the "prison of self" and empower us to inject a "new dimension of love into the veins of civilization." Bishop Randy encourages listeners to practice rhythmic breathing for inner peace and challenges them to boldly say "I love you," recognizing the profound impact these words can have.Tune in to learn why love is the hardest—and most beautiful—work you'll ever do, and how choosing love can conquer all.

In this episode, Love is Enough, Bishop Randy Dean reflects on what it really means to live a life grounded in love. He invites us to look beyond the noise of shame, politics, and institutional religion—the "small c church"—and instead embrace the heart of the "capital C Church," where love is the driving force.With honesty and warmth, Bishop Dean shares personal stories about the hard work of loving others—even when it’s not easy—and the heartbreak of rejection. He reminds us that love isn’t just a feeling; it takes wisdom, patience, and daily intention.You’ll also come away with practical ways to lean into love, from simple breathing exercises to small acts of kindness. This episode is a powerful reminder that love, when practiced consistently, can heal, connect, and transform our lives.

In this episode, Bishop Randy Dean explores the notion that love is more than just a warm, fuzzy feeling; it requires effort and ongoing growth, much like the experience of lifting weights. He discusses how we can apply love in our daily lives, emphasizing the importance of avoiding ego-driven behaviors that focus on being right instead of fostering genuine connections with those around us. It's a thought-provoking conversation that encourages us to rethink how we engage with others. Dean references biblical commandments about love and encourages listeners to actively practice love through daily affirmations, such as reciting 'Love's Creed,' listening with intention, responding constructively to criticism, expressing affection to loved ones, managing stress through mindful breathing, and committing to daily acts of kindness.

In this episode, I delve into what it means to live a life free from BS and centered on love. I unpack the idea of ontological repair—restoring the very core of who we are—and how love serves as the filter that shapes everything. Think of your inner life like a kitchen: what’s inside will come out under pressure. I also share how tools like Love's Creed and the Lord’s Prayer can ground us spiritually and personally. Finally, I challenge the divisive labels and political obsessions of our time, calling both individuals and the church to a deeper, more honest engagement with love and awareness.

In this episode, you're invited to explore what it means to live a life rooted in love. You'll learn to move beyond negativity and labels, encouraging a profound reflection on your identity as a loving being. Through the recitation of Love’s Creed and a discussion of the Lord’s Prayer, you’ll discover tools to stay spiritually grounded, find strength in daily challenges, and reconnect with the essence of love that transcends occupation, background, or beliefs.You’ll also be guided to practice love in tangible ways—whether through mindful breathing, eye contact, or simply saying “I love you.” The episode emphasizes love not as a fleeting feeling but as a powerful, enduring commitment that requires boundaries, resilience, and intention. You’re called to be alive for love and unavailable for anything less, stepping into the present moment with kindness, compassion, and the courage to love universally, just as Mother Teresa did.