I sat down with artist, writer and friend Josh Nadeau to explore his path from theological precocity to personal crisis and ultimately, redemptive beauty. Josh shares how growing up steeped in Reformed theology didn’t insulate him from a slow descent into apathy, addiction, spiritual numbness, and walking through life “as a ghost”. It was beauty—raw, embodied, soul-stirring beauty—that woke him up. We talk about deconstruction, embodiment, addiction, the love of God, and why aesthetics — embodied faith — might be what Saints are made from. If you’re barely hanging on or wondering what a holy life could look like beyond checklists, I commend his book Room For Good Things to Run Wild to you.

In This Episode

Growing up “super Christian” and deeply catechized
University: the intellectual wrestling match of faith
Burnout, apathy, and alcohol: five years of slow unraveling
Rock bottom: bourbon at 5am and the call of hidden music
Churchy clichés and the need for something that can bear the weight
The boxing gym: embodied weakness and discipleship
Gnosticism, disembodied faith, and hunger for incarnation
Theology of the Body & rediscovering the sacred in flesh
Becoming a saint: not instant, not easy, but beautiful
God’s love beyond usefulness, the danger of returning to slavery
Why Josh wrote Room for Good Things to Run Wild
Beauty as the apologetic for a disenchanted age
Speaking to the silent middle: the “4 out of 10” Christian life

Guest Resources

Room for Good Things to Run Wild by Josh Nadeau
Josh’s Instagram
Josh’s Substack

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Ep. 303: Good fears for faithful pastors