Red Rocks Austin

AfterThoughts x YA Podcast. Two shows, one conversation. Expect plenty of laughs, a few hot takes, and some surprisingly deep wisdom on faith, calling, and how to stay resilient when life gets hard.

In Week 1 of our brand-new series, Rowdy Church! Pastor Doug Wekenman unpacks what it means to be a church of imperfect people who can't stay quiet about Jesus. Based on Acts 4:20, this series captures the heart of Red Rocks Church culture: we're not a Christian country club—we're a party for prodigals, a hospital for the broken, and a family on mission to make Heaven more crowded.

From Mario Kart theology to real stories of spiritual warfare, this episode dives into what it means to be awake and aware in the spiritual arena. We talk about personal encounters, why not everything “spiritual” is from God, and how to recognize counterfeit gifts and practices. You'll hear about overcoming fear, renewing your mind, and walking in the authority God has already given you. Plus: the 100th Episode Live is happening Friday, September 12 at 7 PM (Red Rocks Austin) — free to attend! Optional donations will go toward building a home for a family in Honduras. RSVP today!

We have a real enemy that wants to kill, steal and destroy. It's time we battle back and take up the weapons Jesus gave us to fight with!

What does God's voice actually sound like? In a noisy world, how do we hear from God? In week 2 of Can We Talk? Ryan Wekenman reminds us that prayer isn't a monologue, it's a dialogue. He gives us one thing God's voice always sounds like, and three things God's voice often sounds like. If you have a big decision to make or need hear from God, this message is for you.

From AI potty training anthems, Lego savings goals, and bald eagle bedtime prayers, the guys discuss what to do when prayer feels flat. They talk lap seven faith, pushing past the shallow end, and finding a PRAYS rhythm that keeps it real.

Prayer isn't a monologue; it's a conversation. Doug kicks off “Can We Talk” by showing how to hear God and pray like sons and daughters with bold, specific prayers that actually change things.

Just three away from the big 100—Doug closes Neurotheology with how dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin reveal God's design for mind, body, and spirit, why faith and science can work together, and how Elijah's crash shows rest can be holy.

From Mount Carmel's fire to the quiet under a broom tree, Doug reminds us that even prophets can run on empty. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do isn't fasting or fighting…it's a nap, a meal, and finding the unforced rhythms of grace that refill a soul.

Join us for the 100th Episode Party

Why is community so challenging? Why are we so prone to hide? And what can we learn from God's design for our brain?In week 2 of Neurotheology. Ryan teaches us about oxytocin and God's design for community, connection, and confidence.

James Keathley (our biggest fan) joins the pod! We talk sabbaticals, sabbath joy, and why McDonald's might actually be sacred. He opens up about parenting, pastoring, and to stop feeling guilty with God. In conclusion...Social media = bad. McDonald's = good. Unity = worth fighting for.

Dopamine is the feeling of purpose and the passion to pursue it. In Week 1 of Neurotheology, Doug Wekenman unpacks the gospel's blueprint for your dopamine-wired brain showing why Spirit-powered self-control, not quick hits, produces joy that sticks. What's fueling your mind today?

Ezra, Zeke, and Ray take over the pod with geckos, skunk stories, and the kind of faith that moves mountains. This is what Jesus meant when He said, become like kids.

Ethan Matott crashes the Young Bucks series with a word straight from the heart: we're not waiting on revival—we're in it.From awkward teen years to unlikely leaders, from spiritual apathy to full-on celebration, this message calls us out of the sidelines and into the move of God already happening.

Ethan Johnson, Ethan Moroles, and Jordan Halbleib join Ryan for a youth ministry takeover. Smoked pies, beans-in-bins, and one Kingdom Conference story that proves Gen Z is hungry for truth and primed for revival.

Ethan Johnson brings a message that zooms out from our selfie-centered lives to remind us that the reason we are here is to give God glory. From creation to calling, from pain to purpose—he challenges us to stop waiting for a move of God and start being one.

Just days after preaching, Chris Roob, Stefani Matott, and AJ Norman sit down with Ryan to reflect—what it stirred in them, what it cost, and what they're still carrying. They talk vulnerability, identity, and the quiet weight of standing on stage with nothing to hide.

Riley Fuller joins the pod—and it's more than a conversation. From multiple arrests and a month in jail, to building homes and hope in the most forgotten corners of Honduras, Riley's story is one of deep transformation. We talk about chasing power vs. living with purpose, what it means to win the birth lottery, and how $20 and a heartbeat can change a generation. humanityandhopeunited.org @humanityandhope

Worship Pastor Emily Roob and Youth Pastor Ethan Moroles share a tag team word for every generation.Emily speaks on being planted and prosperous—choosing deep roots over surface faith. Ethan follows with the truth about pruning: sometimes God cuts what's killing us so we can grow into who we're called to be. From redwood roots to Wednesday night revival, this one's for anyone hungry to bear fruit that lasts.

Kory Miller overslept and nearly missed the pod—but showed up just in time to talk K-pop, King David, 10 million streams, and the wild presence of God at his album recording.We get into what it means to burn for Jesus, lead worship with reverence, and why being known as “a man after God's heart” still outweighs every title.

We're watching a generation fall in love with Jesus— but ghost the very book that breathes His story. Kaci Mexico preaches a revival call to Gen Z: to open the Word again, not out of duty, but hunger. Not because it's rare, but because it's alive. Not because it's trending, but because it still speaks.

Porn fatigue. Dopamine crashes. A thousand singles ditch their phones to look each other in the eye. We tear into swipe culture's empty promises, dare you to risk real-life rejection, and chart a path toward God-designed connection.

Marriage isn't a fairytale—it's a fight worth choosing.Doug and Sam tag-team this one with honesty, laughter, and a whole lot of truth. From fighting on Valentine's Day to rebuilding after broken seasons, they debunk the myths and remind us: love isn't found, it's built.

In episode 89 of the pod, we are joined by Shawn Johnson—senior pastor, amateur boxer, part-time scorpion wrangler. We talk air-conditioning-less barns, near-terminal diagnoses, how to Kiss the Fire and cry more.

4 Couples. 4 Services. Decades of wisdom.We live in a world with infinite information and very little wisdom. In this special edition of How To: Relationships, Ethan sits down with kingdom couples to download real learned and earned wisdom and to find practical ways to build world changing, Jesus centered marriages!

4 Couples. 4 Services. Decades of wisdom.We live in a world with infinite information and very little wisdom. In this special edition of How To: Relationships, Ethan sits down with kingdom couples to download real learned and earned wisdom and to find practical ways to build world changing, Jesus centered marriages!

4 Couples. 4 Services. Decades of wisdom.We live in a world with infinite information and very little wisdom. In this special edition of How To: Relationships, Ethan sits down with kingdom couples to download real learned and earned wisdom and to find practical ways to build world changing, Jesus centered marriages!

Clingers, but not the kind you're thinking—Doug unpacks how most of us are in a dysfunctional relationship… with our phones. From phantom vibrations to stolen joy, this message exposes how the device in our pocket might be what's quietly breaking our connection with God and the people we love most. A wake-up call to live with intention, not just good intentions.

Greg Larson walked away from everything—social media, smartphones, even Google Maps. No internet, no distractions, just a landline, a library, and a deeper kind of Presence. We talk about the loneliness that broke him, the silence that healed him, and the spiritual clarity that came when he finally unplugged.

Culture tells us keep her happy. The Bible says keep her healthy. The design of marriage is challenging but beautiful. To find it we have to go to the designer to learn how to love each other.

Dating apps, gender gaps, and why the real questions are never about the dishes.Am I enough? Do I have what it takes?

Today's dating dilemma is real—we've idolized romance, over-spiritualized choices, and filtered real people through fake expectations. Ryan calls us back to the firm foundation for our relationships, reminding us that marriage isn't the finish line—Jesus is.

In episode 86, the guys sit down with comedian Donald Gee—touring comic, fake Frenchman, and possibly the most powerful Donald in America. We talk stand-up, SXSW, throwing phones through walls, and why faith still holds up in a world that laughs at it.

It's controversial to say, but men and women are different. Culture pits our differences against each, when they should be an invitation to collaborate with each other. We're not at war—we're wired different. From pink suitcases to the wounds we carry, Doug unpacks how men and women were formed, fractured, and filled up differently… yet finished the same by a God who knows exactly what we need.

In episode 85, the guys unpack baptism weekend, skydiving faith, and why following Jesus never gets old. Featuring special appearances: Kyler the After Thinker, Uncle Greg, Johnny Austin, and a whole lot of revival.

In episode 84, the guys cover draft-day disrespect, spiritual hangovers, and why God's way really is better. Featuring special appearances: Chris Roob, Doug the Dog, and Mount Eastermore.

The world promises fulfillment and leaves us empty. But Jesus offers a new life—one we could never earn and can never lose. From wake-up calls to prison walls, this is the story of a Savior who calls the least likely and breathes resurrection into dead places. What are you waiting for?

From scars to resurrection, from shame to truth, Easter reminds us that the tomb is empty… and love still walks through walls.In this Easter message, Pastor Doug Wekenman shows how Jesus meets us in our doubt, carries our pain, and invites us to lead our hearts to something greater than our feelings—truth.

In this week's episode, the guys give us some behind the scenes of The Newscast, the differences, Olive Garden and Texas Roadhouse, how to gaslight yourself and a deeper look on the decisions Jesus made during the week leading to the cross.

Peter failed. Judas betrayed. But only one of them made it back. In this Holy Week message, Pastor Doug Wekenman unpacks how Jesus responds to our failure—and why love, not law or logic, is what leads us to the cross.

Emily Roob from Red Rocks Worship joins the pod! We talk married life, Monarchs, worship leading, and the power of Mary's sacrifice as she poured out her perfume on Jesus.

What's Jesus really worth to you? In Week 4 of Holy Week, Ethan Matott walks through a story of worship and betrayal—where one disciple sells Jesus out, and one woman pours out everything she has.

QuestionsWithKayla… replaced by AnswersWithAJ??? Breaking news?Ep 81 is packed—Coach Prime, Tiger bets, and real talk about surrender during Holy Week - Week 3. Ryan breaks down the altar moments, Doug's writing a book, and Ethan's gecko finally has a name.

What impresses Jesus? In Week 3 of Holy Week, Ryan Wekenman answers that question by unpacking the story about paying taxes to Caesar. Jesus flips the question and reminds us what actually impresses Him: surrender and sacrifice.

The crew is finally back. In episode 80, the guys cover the hard hitting topics we've all been waiting for: Spiderman the Gecko, WatchDoug vs. The Little Mermaid, stupid holidays, and what tables Jesus might be flipping in our lives.

Jesus walked into the temple and flipped the whole thing upside down. But Jesus wasn't just making a scene, He was making a statement. In Week 2 of Holy Week, Ryan Wekenman explains why Jesus cleared the temple and what that means for you.

We want a king—but do we really want this King? In Week 1 of Holy Week, Ethan Matott unpacks why Jesus' entry into Jerusalem wasn't just a celebration, but a confrontation that we all need to wrestle with.

For the first time ever, AfterThinkers join the podcast LIVE from SXSW in Austin, Texas. In partnership with SVC, the guys are joined by comedians Donald Gee and Andrew Stanley to talk about the challenges of clean comedy, Doug cussing on stage, and Ethan giving Andrew's dad a new fear for his life. All filmed in front of a live studio audience.

Why is it so hard to pray? In Week 6 of MORE, Ryan Wekenman breaks down why prayer feels so hard, why guilt keeps us from praying more, and what Jesus actually says about talking to our Father.

For this special AC Project Reunion episode, the guys reunite with their former co-star and best friend, Matt Fons. They share an exclusive look at their year abroad filming the documentary, diving into stories about life, mental health, artificial intelligence, and their high school rock band.