In this conversation, Christian welcomes Courtney Trotter—a Beeson Seminary MDiv, language nerd (Greek/Hebrew), youth-ministry veteran, and now an Orthodox catechumen—to talk about growing up Southern Baptist on the Gulf Coast, discovering creed and calendar, and why “church that doesn’t feel like church” quietly hollowed out our formation. We trace Courtney’s path from Beeson through youth ministry, the shock of DEI language inside a church context, and the slow, estuarial work of hospitality-driven evangelism in North Carolina’s Triangle. Along the way: Jordan Peterson, Verveke’s 4Ps, “Big Eva,” the trend-train of worship, and how catechesis + liturgy give people a faith they can sing at a deathbed.

My substack about “Sacrotheonomy” - https://open.substack.com/pub/christianbaxteryt/p/sacrotheonomy-a-long-remembering?r=433pnb&utm_medium=ios

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 – Intro: Courtney Trotter & coming out of the lurk

05:30 – Growing up Southern Baptist with Brazilian–Jewish roots

12:45 – Called to ministry & early love for the Bible

20:10 – Beeson Seminary, languages, and interdenominational formation

28:20 – Youth ministry in a liturgical Baptist church

36:00 – Jordan Peterson pipeline → Verveke’s 4Ps → youth discipleship

44:50 – Moving to Durham: culture shock in the Research Triangle

55:10 – DEI framework clashes with baptism call in youth group

1:05:40 – From startup church culture to estuarial table ministry

1:17:00 – Why “church that doesn’t feel like church” fails seekers

1:28:20 – Deathbed hymnody & the case for stable liturgy

1:40:00 – AI in church planting, techno-theocracy, and sacramental ontology

People and Organizations mentioned:

Jordan Peterson; John Vervaeke (4Ps of knowing); Tim Keller/Gordon-Conwell; ARC / Acts29 / TGC; Alister McGrath; Tom Holland (anti-Christianity thesis); DEI / “safe space”; Real Presence; Revised Common Lectionary; Orthodox catechumenate.

#Orthodoxy #Evangelicalism #Liturgy #YouthMinistry #JordanPeterson #Verveke #BigEva #DEI #Catechesis #BeesonSeminary