Navigating Doctrinal Shorthand Between Faiths

Jeff McCullough is an ordained minister and has served in ministry for over 25 years, including 15 years in pastoral ministry. He holds a Master’s in Biblical Studies from Moody Theological Seminary. Now serving in Utah, Jeff previously spent two decades preaching and leading in the St. Louis area. He focuses on using online platforms to create content that fosters curious, honest, and respectful interfaith conversations about faith, Jesus, and scripture. Jeff and his wife, Joy, have four children.

Links

@HelloSaints on YouTube
@Hello.Saints on Instagram
Fitting in With Other Christian Churches | A Discussion with Jeff McCullough
When a Pastor Explores The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | An Interview with Jeff McCullough
Allowing Our Pain to Turn Us to Christ | An Interview with Joy McCullough
A Latter-day Saint Bishop Sits Down with Four Evangelical Pastors
Transcript available with the video in the Zion Lab community

Highlights

Jeff discusses the evolution of his content creation, and his intentions regarding the Latter-day Saint community. The conversation centers on the dynamics of interfaith dialogue, the pitfalls of theological simplification, and the challenge of keeping Christ—rather than cultural rules or personal motives—at the center of Christian faith and ministry.

Key Insights

A Shift in Intent: Jeff’s channel has evolved from initial exploration to intentionally maintaining a safe space for sustained, nuanced dialogue between Protestants and Latter-day Saints. His primary goal is to foster a conversation where all parties focus on the shared desire to see Christ “high and lifted up” [48:44].

Authenticity Over Stereotype: To improve dialogue, Jeff’s method is to learn to recognize the authentic core beliefs of the Latter-day Saint tradition. This allows him to push past misconceptions and stereotypes, making for more efficient and productive conversation [06:13].

Beware of Theological Shorthand: Both traditions are guilty of using “theological shorthand,” which reduces complex doctrine (e.g., heaven, grace) to superficial, culturally driven explanations. They encourage leaders to move past these simplifications to grasp the deeper, more complex theological concepts [12:42].

Bridging vs. Converting: They discuss the idea of Jeff converting, concluding that his ongoing role as a non-Latter-day Saint bridge-builder and model of interfaith respect is a more fruitful endeavor for the greater Kingdom than a simple conversion [52:03].

The Dangers of Cultural Gatekeeping: Jeff shares his concern over “cultural Christianity” in the Evangelical world, where non-essential cultural rules and political positions become the “litmus test” for faith, resulting in toxicity and obstructing the clarity of the gospel [57:33].

Faith Maturity: A mature faith should be able to sit with the complexity of opposing views and challenging historical or doctrinal issues. Viewing such dialogue as a threat indicates an opportunity for spiritual inoculation and growth [46:10].

Leadership Applications

Prioritize the “Point”: Leaders should distinguish between things that “matter” (secondary doctrinal debates, value systems) and “the point” (the centrality of Christ and the message of redemption), ensuring that cultural expectations do not overshadow the core gospel message [01:02:25].

Model Curiosity, not Criticism: Leaders should approach different faith traditions, complicated church history, and internal member struggles with curiosity over criticism to foster a culture of sincere, thoughtful engagement [01:04:40].

Address Motives Directly: Leaders should push back against cynical or superficial tropes like the misuse of the word “priestcraft,” instead encouraging members to seek to understand a person’s heart and genuine intentions [23:29].

00:02:30 – The Dynamic of Content Creation
00:03:35 – Mr. Rogers and Early Influences
00:04:31 – Pastor Jeff’s Journey with Hello Saints
00:05:46 – Understanding the Latter-day Saint Paradigm
00:08:06 – Advice to Early Content Creators
00:10:23 – Theological Shorthand Explained
00:12:23 – Engaging in Interfaith Dialogue
00:16:46 – Addressing Skepticism from Both Sides
00:19:00 – The Financial Aspect of Ministry
00:24:55 – The Importance of Heart in Ministry
00:28:09 – Future Content Ideas for Hello Saints
00:31:49 – The Role of Evangelical Churches in Utah
00:36:30 – Navigating Church Visits as a Latter-day Saint
00:40:09 – Advice for Visiting Evangelical Churches

The award-winning Leading Saints Podcast is one of the top independent Latter-day Saints podcasts as part of nonprofit Leading Saints’ mission to help Latter-day Saints be better prepared to lead. Find Leadership Tools, Courses, and Community for Latter-day Saint leaders in the Zion Lab community. Learn more and listen to any of the past episodes for free at LeadingSaints.org.

Past guests include Emily Belle Freeman, David Butler, Hank Smith, John Bytheway, Reyna and Elena Aburto, Liz Wiseman, Stephen M. R. Covey, Benjamin Hardy, Elder Alvin F. Meredith III, Julie Beck, Brad Wilcox, Jody Moore, Tony Overbay, John H. Groberg, Elaine Dalton, Tad R. Callister, Lynn G. Robbins, J. Devn Cornish, Bonnie Oscarson, Dennis B. Neuenschwander, Kirby Heyborne, Taysom Hill, Coaches Jennifer Rockwood and Brandon Doman, Anthony Sweat, John Hilton III, Barbara Morgan Gardner, Blair Hodges, Whitney Johnson, Ryan Gottfredson, Greg McKeown, Ganel-Lyn Condie, Michael Goodman, Wendy Ulrich, Richard Ostler, and many more in over 800 episodes.

Discover podcasts, articles, virtual conferences, and live events related to callings such as the bishopric, Relief Society, elders quorum, Primary, youth leadership, stake leadership, ward mission, ward council, young adults, ministering, and teaching.