300th Special

This week, we celebrate 300 episodes of For People! 300 episodes in, we’re still surprised by what happens when you pair a simple setup with a clear purpose: offer people a Jesus-shaped invitation that doesn’t rely on shame, fear, or gatekeeping. 

In this milestone episode, Bishop Wright sits down with producer and co-founder Easton Davis to share behind-the-scenes stories from the early days and reflect on how For People grew from a small investment into a podcast with 400,000 downloads, reaching listeners in thousands of cities across 184 countries.

They discuss candidly why digital evangelism matters right now and how online spaces have become the new front door of the church. For many, a short-form video or a podcast is the first step toward faith, especially for those who have only heard harmful theology that says they are not enough. We dig into what it looks like to communicate the gospel with clarity, creativity, and consistency, and why we believe scripture can be shared in ways that respect questions, nuance, and real life. Listen in for the full conversation.

Easton serves as Canon for Communications and Digital Evangelism for the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, where he has been a member of the Bishop’s Staff since 2015. Since 2020, in his current role, he has helped shape the diocese’s voice and presence across digital platforms. A passionate storyteller, Easton believes deeply in the power of the visual arts to connect, inspire, and share the Gospel.

Transcript

Celebrating 300 Episodes

Easton 0:00

There's lots of Christians pumping that message that if you don't believe it this way, if you don't follow God this way, then you're not enough. And we're coming at from another angle, and that is that all of us are God's beloved. So we've got to figure that out together in community. And so these digital spaces can invite people in that otherwise they may never give God, they may never give Jesus a chance because they're hearing it in all these other ways. This is just never gonna align with who I am.

Bishop Wright 0:30

Hi everyone, this is Bishop Rob Wright, and this is for people. Uh, today is a special day, uh, an absolutely special day, a banner day, high watermark for us. Today we celebrate uh having reached 300 episodes. And uh and so Melissa, who's my regular conversation partner, is sitting this one out. And I get to talk to Easton Davis, who is the producer and actually co-founder of this podcast, to talk about where we've been, uh what's happening now and where we're going. So, Easton, good morning.

Easton 1:13

Hey, man, good to be with you.

Bishop Wright 1:16

We were there together at the beginning. So let's uh well, first of all, before we go to that story, why don't you give us a couple of factoids about uh uh this podcast and and how it's doing?

Easton 1:29

Yeah, man. So four people to date has been downloaded over 400,000 times. It's reached people in 7,700 cities and in 184 countries. And I had to do some research on this. There are 195 countries in the world, so we're looking for the next 11.

Bishop Wright 1:51

We need the next 11. There you go. That that's pretty incredible. And and just to refresh everybody's memory, uh, or maybe new information for some folks, I believe our initial investment was like $1,500 just in equip equipment.

Easton 2:05

That's right. Something like that. Yeah.

Starting During COVID

Bishop Wright 2:08

Yep, yeah, just for microphones and uh uh and cameras, et cetera. And so that is an amazing return on investment. Being able to talk about Jesus Christ and leadership uh across uh, you know, on this platform, you know, literally across the globe. We we really kind of started off wanting to respond in COVID, but we we had the idea previous to that.

Easton 2:32

Yeah, we actually designed a podcast studio prior to COVID that we wanted to use for to do a podcast with you, but time just never really lined up. You're you're traveling all over the diocese, all over the country. Um, and so that really became a podcast studio that we used for a youth ministry podcast at the time, which also did really well. But it was it was really during COVID. I was your director of youth ministries at the time, and we got a chance to step back as things were shutting down. And I remember coming over to your house and we were just brainstorming ideas, and that was the main idea that I came with was I think that this is the time to start your podcast. So that was in 2020, and I knew what I was doing from having produced the youth ministry podcast, but this was something that was brand new. And I mean, the reason behind why I wanted to start it back in 2017-2018, right, was true in 2020. And that's that I knew that the way you looked and shared your message of faith and of Jesus Christ out into the world was not only unique to the Christian faith, but it was unique to the way we do it as Episcopalians. We ended up with a a real opportunity during COVID to get started on this, um, but it was there all along with the message that you had for the world.

Guests And Moral Leadership Conversations

Bishop Wright 4:02

Yeah, it was incredible. And, you know, I there's a reason why Jesus sent them out two by two, right? And so, and so any gifts that I have uh have worked wonderfully well with with the gifts that you have, the many gifts that you have, and and you know, that combination has brought us to today. You know, what's been exciting about this is the journey. You know, when we started this off, you know, we did some of the research and you had done some of the research and had the technical ability, but we literally prayed about this at the beginning. We really uh invited uh you know, asked God to use this and to bless our endeavor. Uh, and we've done a lot of learning along the way. Um, you know, I I think that's I've certainly have uh learned a lot, not only the technical bits and pieces, but just just how to um ask people and invite people to join us. We've had, you know, the sitting governor of Georgia, we've had sitting senators, uh, we're we're looking to get our second senator, Senator Osoff, uh here in the state of Georgia. We've had the great and the small uh with us. We've had people who who uh had different viewpoints than we had on many uh many issues. And I love that actually, just to have a forum to have conversations about uh about Jesus Christ and particularly about moral leadership.

Easton 5:17

I think one thing that makes you unique as a bishop is that every Friday you've been committed to sharing with people what your thoughts are on the lectionary.

Weekly Scripture Meditation As Ministry

Bishop Wright 5:27

Yeah, so I'm in my 14th year of being bishop, soon to be in my 15th year, and uh and and every week I offer a meditation. Uh and I did that when I was a priest before I was elected bishop, but uh when I was uh a candidate for bishop, a lady came up to me randomly and said, If if we elect you as bishop, will I hear from you? Uh and and and so that really that really rang my bell. And and so I realized that the first job uh of bishop among the many jobs, uh uh parts of the work is to be communicative. And and and just given the turbulence of the world as it is, et cetera, um, you know, I think that uh it requires uh us to really um be communicators. Uh and so and so that's one of the driving forces for me. I think what is unique is that you know, we we have decided to do it with the frequency we have decided to do it. Um, you know, some people do some things occasionally, some people write occasionally, but we have decided that that's a centerpiece of our work uh, you know, in the dice of Atlanta and and and beyond. And so I think I think that's something that's important for me is to stay fluent in the gospel. Uh and I think that as I meet people all around who are in the church and outside of the church, I think people are actually hungry now, perhaps now more than ever, for meaning and purpose uh and uh and for an invitation from the gospel uh that is not based on litmus test or condemnation or shame or guilt, but is invitational. Um, and that's how I see Jesus. I see Jesus walking around making invitations to people, uh, inviting them to take a long walk uh and uh and to find new ways. And so I I want to echo that. And that's that message has changed my life uh about being invited. Uh, and I just want to sort of commend that. And as I uh go out and I visit lots of places uh around the country, uh, and certainly around my own diocese, I'm always surprised and humbled, very frankly, that people listen uh and that uh and that people have decided that our 20 or so minutes uh every Friday uh provides some buoyancy for their life. And so we we thank God for that. I think just our fluency, the practice that we have at this, um, staying in scripture, commending scripture, I think that makes it unique, but sadly unique, because I think this is this is something that that anybody could really do. Um and I and I think just given the way the world is, um, short form video or um, you know, uh short uh audio gifts uh made uh around scripture that are timely um and demonstrate the grace of God, I think that's exactly what the doctor ordered for right now. And I think lots of people can do this.

Easton 8:17

I agree. I I think that what makes this offering so unique is that there's not as many voices out in these spaces that have a different way of looking at who Jesus was and is. And that's what we're giving to people, and we're giving them language to enter into conversations with folks about just another way that we don't have to look at the Bible in such a literal way, right? That it's nuanced and that Jesus approached things with so much love because we see a lot of hate going on in a lot of ways, man, and it's scary.

A Jesus Without Shame Or Litmus Tests

Bishop Wright 8:56

If there's 11, if there was an 11th commandment, it would be something like don't make Jesus boring, right? So so Jesus is actually really a dynamic figure, and uh, and I think to give him back uh, you know, to the world, to to unlock the vaults of the church, so to speak, and give him back to the world is what the work is right now. Uh, I think that's the medicine that is required. And I think we'll be surprised that this Jesus actually builds bridges and is not as divisive as some of us would prefer him to be. Uh, he actually agrees with lots of people, and there's nobody he wants to bomb or kill or or uh you know, or strap to a table and shoot poison in their veins like we do in Capital Punishment. I think this Jesus is uh is pursuing truth and liberation for us. And that's that's the Jesus I want to stay connected to and I want to I want to talk about. You know, what I what I've admired about you, Easton, uh, over this journey is that you you've worked really hard on this uh from the technical standpoint, and you've been uh uh you know a conversation partner and imagination partner the whole way long. And then what people decided to do was from other places and other dioceses and other bishops, they've decided to to invite you in to help them think about the ways in which they could do that work. And you've got this one phrase that I love, and you're saying that this digital evangelism, this social media work that we're doing, is the new red door of the church. And and so is that what you think of when you think of the podcast?

Digital As The New Red Door

Marketing As Gospel Seed Sowing

Easton 10:27

I think where this podcast has changed me uh over the years is the conversations that I've had with people. I mean, I I think everywhere I go to whether it's a church visit or in another diocese, I meet people that listen to the podcast and they talk about what it means to them and their spiritual journey, the inspiration that they walk away with. But what it's taught me is that we've got a message that the world desperately needs, and we've got to do the best job we can at getting that message out into the world because we know that there's lots of siblings in the Christian faith that have a harmful theological message, and they're really, really, really good at getting their message out into the world. Yes, very good. Yes, and there's there's just not enough of that, man, in the Episcopal Church. And I think what we're doing is one of the best and in some ways the easiest forms to get this message out, and that is inviting people into these red front doors, right? I mean, your website matters, your social media matters, the look of your brand matters in inviting people in. I can speak for my generation and the generations that are coming up that they're paying attention to what these things look like and how we're communicating these messages out into the world. And that's why when we talk about red front doors, it's because so many Episcopal churches have red front doors uh for their buildings and you know, into their sanctuaries. And when we're talking about these new red front doors being digital, we're talking about the ways that people are meeting you uh and meeting what your congregation represents before they ever step foot into that building. And there are people that simply stumble into a building on a Sunday morning, and thanks be to God that there are folks that are still just looking for a church and they might just pop in to see what's going on. But that's not the case for most people. One of the ministries that we offer in the Diocese of Atlanta is I help congregations create a welcome video for their website. Yes. And what that looks like is I sit down with people and I hear all the time, well, uh I've been here for three years, and uh I was I was checking out their website and I liked what their priest had to say. It was different from what I was hearing in other spaces. They were allowing us to ask questions, right? And that's what's beautiful about the Episcopal Church is we don't claim to have all the answers to all your questions, and we can write, we we can wrestle with those questions together. That's what I mean when I talk about the new doors are digital, is people are finding us online and in digital spaces before they're stepping foot in our buildings.

Bishop Wright 13:12

You know, for the people who are suspicious of this kind of talk where we're talking marketing and brand, et cetera, uh I think that, you know, they're missing uh some real opportunities to think deeply about it because, you know, when the woman by the well has a long conversation with Jesus and then she goes off, she goes to the community and says, I met someone, right? Someone enigmatic, someone who touched her, uh, someone who had a compelling message, someone who was amazingly gracious, et cetera. And she ends up going off and being one of our great first evangelists. And so, so while the the, you know, marketing and brand and all that sort of stuff is not there, uh, it's all over the gospels. Um, people met Jesus and then responded, and then that created energy in the community, that created hope, that created a buzz. And then people found Jesus in new ways uh and came to see him. I mean, that's how a couple of friends become crowds of 5,000. Uh and same with John the Baptist, et cetera. So I see this really as not crash. Some people have a sort of a tall wall between uh what happens on Sunday and the way that we speak on Sunday and these other ideas about marketing and campaign and all that sort of stuff. I don't. I I think the earth is the Lord's uh and the fullness thereof. So whatever our best is that we can throw at making Jesus, you know, increasing Jesus' celebrity, uh, I think that's the work that we should be doing. That will look different. Uh, and I can just imagine those people uh some centuries back for the first time when the Bible was, you know, the printing press and the Bible was now uh in the hands of everybody. I can imagine how some people, for some people, that was absolutely scandalous. And I think we're at another one of those moments where there's the, you know, we can put this good news uh in people's hands and chop it up in ways that are useful for them, like a podcast. They're out walking the dog, people tell me they're driving, people telling me to work, um, you know, for lunchtime meditations, they're doing this and other things. And so I guess what I want to do, you know, and what occurs to me also is podcasts and social media and those sorts of things. Uh some people say, well, they're they're they're vain or you're looking for clicks or whatever. Again, I think you're missing the point. The point is more to the to the point of the parable of the sower. And you know, our job is to sow as many seeds as we can and let the Holy Spirit do the rest do the rest of it. And and I think that's the good work. Um, I mean, I and I realize the church sometimes is very slow to adaptation to its own detriment, frankly speaking. Um, uh, and I realize also we don't want to be sort of uh uh trend chasers either. So, but there's a sweet spot, I think, uh, where we can be authentically followers of Jesus, tell out his good news, uh, and not be these uh sort of cheap commercial uh sort of things.

Inclusion For The Church Hurt

Easton 16:02

God made us into highly creative beings, right? And so with every iteration of a new way to tell a story, so we had spoken word and then we had written word, and then you've got the radio and the television, right? And so, like now, here we are in the current age, and it's just a new iteration of that, right? Attention spans are down, right? So people are looking for 60, 90 seconds of this, right? And that may be all we get with someone that's standing on the outside looking in, and we don't know what they're going through in life, right? That's what I think that we're doing in new ways and important ways, more than anything else, is bringing this message of a God of justice, of a God of radical inclusion and welcome. And we know that there's lots of Christians that disagree with us on that, right? But we can still stand strong and firm and knowing that this may be coming across uh a young person that is struggling with their sexual identity or their orientation or that their life matters less than someone else's life. And there's lots of Christians pumping that message that, yeah, like that's exactly the way it is. If you don't believe it this way, if you don't follow God this way, then you're not enough. And we're coming at it from another angle, and that is that all of us are God's beloved. So we've got to figure that out together in community. And so these digital spaces can invite people in that otherwise they may never give God, they may never give Jesus a chance because they're hearing it in all these other ways of, well, this is this is just never gonna align with who I am.

What Comes Next For The Podcast

Bishop Wright 17:51

No, you said that's perfectly said. You know, we want to cooperate with the Holy Spirit, is what we want to do. And we think we can do that by enlarging the conversation, deepening the conversation. We know that that lives literally, literally are hanging in the balance. Marriages are literally literally hanging in the balance. People are standing at intersections, which are difficult. Um, loneliness is uh, you know, uh is a pandemic, suicide is a pandemic, et cetera. We know that there are lots of people who are church hurt. Um uh they've been shamed and uh obligated and browbeat by church, and and and they've left those churches, but they they somehow still know that God is real uh and uh and that God is loving, and uh and they and they're looking for somebody to sort of uh just say that much um and to acknowledge the wounds uh and uh and to invite them into uh perhaps a renewed relationship uh with a loving uh Christ uh who sees them, honors them, uh, and uh and is inviting them uh to join him in his uh in his purposes. So so I like being a part of that enterprise. Um uh it's a you know, I uh in another life I was a search and rescue diver uh in the Navy. Uh and uh in many ways, uh this podcast is a bit of a search and rescue mission. Uh we're we're trying to search out for ears uh and hearts uh who need some good news um and uh who realize that intellect uh as well as heart and hand are all parts of what it means to follow Jesus. Uh and uh and I I hope and pray that uh you know, of the 400,000 or so uh downloads that we're we're improving the quality of people's uh life and their understanding of who they are, their own dignity, and uh and uh this amazing God who is closer uh than our next breath. And so that's the exciting part of this. I I think maybe before we wrap up, we should, we should just say, you know, what do you what do you think you want, where do you think we're going? Uh we've we've got 300 episodes now behind us. And now, you know, now what's going on uh for us? What are we thinking about?

Easton 20:06

We're always thinking about conversation partners. We've got we've got some exciting conversation partners on the horizon. Um we're thinking about new names of some people that may have a few years ago felt out of reach. Uh they don't feel so out of reach anymore. So we've applied for some grant funding so that we can expand our reach more in in some different places. In the 300 episodes and the five years we've been doing this, we've never asked for money. We we've never done it. We've been able to do all of this on basically uh $1,500. I mean, the the cost really has not changed in these last five years.

Bishop Wright 20:44

Yeah, I mean, I would just say amen to all of that. And that's what's exciting. So, so really I'm saying, you know, to if you've been a listener, uh, thank you for your support. Uh, thank you for making time. Stay tuned. Uh, we've we've got some ideas, uh, some exciting things up ahead. Uh so we just we look forward to staying in conversation with you. Uh, you know, at the end of the day, uh the title of this podcast should be revealing to everybody that we believe it's for people, right? And uh we believe that God is for people. Uh, and so we're just trying to stay aligned to that uh and be a blessing to people. Certainly, uh both Easton and I have been blessed in doing this good work.