How to Die: Punk Rock, Monasteries, and the Scandal of Discipleship

August 11, 2025

00:00 52:31

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In a culture obsessed with self-optimization and curated spirituality, Joshua S. Porter offers a counterintuitive call: come and die. In this episode, James Spencer sits down with the punk-rocker-turned-pastor to discuss Porter’s new book, How to Die: Chaos, Morality, and the Scandal of Christian Discipleship. Together, they unpack what it means to reject a domesticated God, embrace an untamable Savior, and walk a path shaped not by personal branding but by the cross. Drawing from Flannery O’Connor, Bonhoeffer, monastic writings, and gritty pastoral experience, this conversation invites listeners into a disruptive, deeply human, and refreshingly orthodox vision of Christian faithfulness.

Whether you’re deconstructing, reconstructing, or just trying to figure out what dying to self actually looks like, this is a must-listen.

To purchase How to Die visit amazon.com.

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Meet Your Host

James Spencer earned his Ph.D. in Theological Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He believes discipleship will open up opportunities beyond anything God’s people could accomplish through their own wit and wisdom. As such, James seeks to help believers think Christianly about social, cultural, and political assumptions. His desire is to see Christians test God by trusting God so that they conform ever more closely to the image of Christ.

In addition to being a regular contributor to Christianity.com and Washingtontimes.com, James has published multiple works, including Christian Resistance: Learnign to Defy the World and Follow Christ, Useful to God: Eight Lessons from the Life of D.L. Moody, Thinking Christian: Essays on Testimony, Accountability, and the Christian Mind, and Trajectories: A Gospel-Centered Introduction to Old Testament Theology.

James currently serves as president of the D. L. Moody Center, an adjunct instructor at Wheaton College Graduate School, and faculty member at Right On Mission.

You can find out more about James at his personal website www.jamesspencer.com.