Do you envy happy sinners?
On the days when I sit down and read listener emails to the Ask Pastor John podcast , I brace myself for impact. I know that by opening those emails I enter into some of the darkest trials, sins, and relational struggles I can imagine: churches splitting, marriages ending, children dying, teenagers rebelling, men and women being haunted by memories of physical, spiritual, and sexual abuse . The darkest stories are always the most complex and complicated stories, making them least likely to make it to the podcast (a medium best served by brief questions with broad applicability). Every one of those tough emails reminds us that our podcast will never substitute for the labors of pastors and brothers and sisters in local churches. Losing a Grip A woman (I’ll call her Julie) recently emailed to say, “For about 23 or more years, I genuinely thought I was a Christian. I thought I wanted God , I thought I believed in God, and I thought I needed God. After a 20-year battle wi