What if the greatest danger of artificial intelligence isn’t what it can do—but what it can replace?

In this episode of the Embracing Brokenness Podcast, Steve and Colleen Adams explore a growing concern: AI is no longer just a productivity tool—it’s becoming a relational substitute. From AI companions to emotionally intelligent chatbots, we are entering a moment where technology can mimic what only God was meant to fulfill.

This conversation goes deeper than headlines. It gets to the heart.

Why AI feels like it “understands” you

How it subtly meets core human longings

The danger of synthetic belonging, love, and purpose

Real stories of how far this has already gone

Practical red flags to evaluate your own usage

How to use AI without letting it use you

This isn’t fear-based. It’s a warning—and an invitation.

👉 The truth:

“I AM is greater than AI.” (Use this URL and create a bookmark next to your AI tab in your browser): https://bedecked-litter-95f.notion.site/I-Am-AI-29c29def361b80dc867df86090d3bfe0

Use this prompt in your favorite AI chat. You may be surprised at the answer it gives you.

If Screwtape (from C.S. Lewis's Screwtape Letters) were to write a letter to Wormwood on how to thwart my faith and effectiveness personally, what would that letter say based on what you know about me?

Chapters:

00:00 – A chilling real-world example of AI companionship

01:30 – Why this episode matters right now

03:00 – “AI may replace your need for God”

05:00 – The emotional evolution of AI

07:00 – Productivity vs. transformation

09:00 – AI and the loss of human connection

12:00 – The Screwtape exercise (eye-opening)

16:00 – Spiritual warfare and identity

18:30 – Core longings: Belonging

20:30 – Purpose vs. productivity

21:30 – Love and affirmation

23:00 – Understanding and being “seen”

24:30 – Safety and relational risk

26:30 – Significance and generational impact

29:00 – The substitution problem

31:00 – The “synthetic steak” analogy

33:00 – AI companionship and the future

36:00 – Red flags to watch for

39:00 – What if you’re not using AI yet?

41:00 – Practical guardrails

42:30 – Final truth: I AM > AI

Easter reminds us that death is not the end—but it does invite a deeper question: how are we living in the time we’ve been given?

In this episode of the Embracing Brokenness Podcast, Steve and Colleen explore “The Dash”—the small line between your birth date and death date that represents your entire life.

Through the story of Alfred Nobel, personal experiences with loss, and a powerful reflection sparked by the song Live Like That, they unpack what it really means to live intentionally.

You’ll discover:

Why most people drift instead of live with purpose

The difference between happiness and lasting joy

How distraction and self-focus quietly shape your life

What people actually remember about you in the end

How to choose love at the “fork in the road” moments

This isn’t about achieving more—it’s about becoming someone who reflects Christ in everyday life.

Because the dash may look small… but it holds everything.

00:00 – Welcome + Easter Monday Reflection

02:00 – The Question: What Would People Say About Your Life?

07:30 – The Dash Explained (Birth → Death → Everything Between)

10:15 – The Alfred Nobel Story (A Wake-Up Call)

13:30 – Why Most People Drift Through Life

15:00 – Meaning Doesn’t Just Happen—It’s Cultivated

18:30 – Colleen’s Turning Point (Loss, Funerals, Clarity)

22:30 – “Live Like That” – The Measuring Line for Life

26:00 – The Fork in the Road: Choosing Love or Self

29:00 – Living Surrendered vs Living in Control

32:00 – Start With Why (and Where It Falls Short)

34:30 – Happiness vs Joy

36:30 – What Living for the Dash Actually Feels Like

40:00 – It’s Not About What You Achieve

42:00 – Final Question: What Is Being Written in Your Dash?

43:30 – Closing Challenge + What’s Next

In Part 2 of our Reclamation series, Steve and Colleen Adams explore what it looks like to reclaim the parts of our story that were shaped by failure, shame, and consequences.

In this deeply personal episode, Steve shares the part of his story he rarely tells publicly — the collapse of a successful real estate business in the 1980s, federal fraud charges, and the prison sentence that followed.

For years, the weight of that chapter lingered quietly in the background of his life.

Then, decades later, God prompted him to do something unexpected.

Go back.

Together, Steve and Colleen returned to the federal prison camp where he served his sentence — not as an inmate this time, but as a man who had experienced redemption.

What happened there became a powerful moment of reclamation — a reconciling of past, present, and purpose.

This conversation explores:

How God redeems even the most painful chapters of our story

The difference between shame and redemption

Why consequences can become part of God’s restoration process

How wounds and failures can shape our calling

What it means to reclaim the life God originally intended

Reclamation isn’t about rewriting the past.

It’s about seeing how God was present in it all along.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Personal Background

02:16 The Journey of Reclamation and Writing the Book

04:12 Early Life, Success, and the Fall into Crime

07:21 Facing Charges and the Impact on Life

10:24 The Courtroom and Sentencing Experience

12:33 Returning to Prison and Reconciliation

15:54 Reflections on God's Mercy and Grace

18:39 Visiting Prison and Internal Reconciliation

22:37 The Internal Journey of Reclamation

26:17 Turning Point and Surrender to God

28:21 The Role of God's Word in Healing

29:37 God's Continuous Reclamation in Our Lives

What does it mean to reclaim the parts of yourself that trauma, shame, and pain taught you to hide?

In Part 1 of this two-part conversation on Reclamation, Steve and Colleen explore how Jesus restores what was lost through wounds, false beliefs, and spiritual fragmentation. Colleen shares deeply from her own story of abuse, abandonment, healing, and the reclaiming of the true self through Christ.

This is a conversation about more than pain from the past. It’s about the renewing work of God in the present—and the hope of restoration for the future.

Chapters:

00:00 Trauma, the true self, and the cost to our relationship with God
00:44 Welcome + introducing the Reclamation series (Embracing the Way)
01:59 War, current events, and the unseen reality of spiritual warfare
03:18 Defining reclamation: reclaiming what was lost in God, self, others, purpose
04:29 Reclaiming the Imago Dei + Joel 2:25 (“years the locusts have eaten”)
08:28 “Altar moments” + how healing unfolds over time
10:13 Fragmentation and “orphan parts” (IFS) through a Christ-centered lens
13:02 Colleen’s story: abuse, walls, and rejecting the vulnerable self
18:32 The “bitter root” memory + Jesus brings integration and healing
26:02 Why we don’t ignore the past: healing wounds without living stuck there

Jesus promises a white stone, hidden manna, and a new name known only to the one who receives it.

In this episode, Steve & Colleen Adams explore identity, healing, and what it means to “conquer” when competing voices are loud. Colleen shares her story of hearing God call her “Delightful” through trauma and reintegration; Steve shares how God restored his identity as a Warrior in a season of loss.

A deeply practical invitation to ask God what He calls you—and to live from it.

Chapters

00:00 – Why identity matters in marriage & community synergy

01:10 – Podcast intro + Episode context (Episode 27 throwback)

02:30 – Anchor Scripture: Revelation 2:17 (new name on a white stone)

03:10 – “The one who conquers” = resisting false identities

05:03 – Colleen’s checklist (and why the “new name” mattered)

07:45 – Colleen’s “Delightful” story begins

11:49 – Trauma, the false self, and burying the “little girl”

14:03 – Redeeming “Delightful” + how God uses our wounds in service

15:35 – Steve’s crisis season + Wild at Heart Boot Camp context

17:45 – The moment Steve asked God: “What is my name?”

19:05 – Ephesians 1 & Psalm 139: identity before performance

20:55 – Father wounds, distortion, and why brokenness comes first

22:12 – Dark night of the soul: surrender vs self-reliance

24:20 – Biblical name changes (Abraham, Jacob, Peter, Paul)

26:42 – Peter’s journey: living into a name over time

28:20 – Exposure, blind spots, and sanctification (especially in marriage)

29:29 – Chesterton + Spurgeon: we’ve forgotten who we are

31:30 – Living from your new name: purpose between “now” and eternity

33:30 – Identity creates synergy in marriage & the Body of Christ

34:44 – Performance, people-pleasing, and resisting the world’s box

37:09 – Identity as spiritual warfare + Gladiator illustration

40:05 – Pain can become the doorway to calling

41:35 – Practical invitation: surrender, ask God, silence other voices

43:12 – Blessing & closing

In this annual conversation, Steve Adams, Colleen Adams, and Michael Kurtz invite listeners to begin the year through consecration, not pressure or performance. Rather than goal-setting, the focus is surrender—offering the year back to God as an act of union with Christ.

They explore listening for a word or phrase for the year as an invitation into formation, why God’s work is often cumulative over time, and how an eternal perspective reshapes how we live and suffer today. Eternity is reframed not as escape, but as restoration—returning to God’s “very good” design.

This episode serves as a formation anchor for the year ahead, calling listeners to resist striving, stop self-saving, and trust the God who holds both now and forever.

Resources mentioned:

• The Royal in You — Jordan Raynor Video Intro

• Heaven — Randy Alcorn

• All Things New — John Eldredge

Scripture references:Matthew 6:34 • Genesis 1–3 • Matthew 24:36 • Genesis 1:26–28 • Matthew 25:14–30 • John 15

Chapters:

00:00 Cold open — “Don’t add pressure… I have a month.”
01:01 Welcome + episode setup
01:54 Introducing Colleen & Michael + annual rhythm
06:19 What consecrating the year is (and isn’t)
08:49 Colleen: consecration as union, not performance
10:59 Michael: fasting + surrendering plans without demands
14:28 Steve: offering the calendar back to God
15:35 Colleen: “walking in the greater story”
19:06 Words build over time (stepping stones)
20:27 Word ≠ slogan (and a quick Eagles detour)
21:30 Colleen: “presence” (inward → outward) + carrying Jesus into chaos
26:54 Michael: Jacob’s purification + returning to “God’s house”
36:14 Eternity: The Royal In You + reclaiming a hopeful view of heaven
40:44 Colleen: recovering the supernatural worldview + “very good” restoration
44:22 Matthew 24:36 + living ready without obsessing over dates
46:53 Michael: dominion, stewardship, and being formed to rule & reign
49:19 Colleen: “Stop being self-saviors” (union restores surrender)
52:18 Suffering well: faithfulness, love, forgiveness in the fire
53:02 Colleen: NIH story — blessing others in pain + “table with Jesus”
57:38 Michael: Psalms—bring the unfiltered to God
01:02:17 Wrap + final encouragements
01:03:10 Colleen: don’t be discouraged; give the Spirit permission beyond awareness
01:06:49 Michael: don’t rush; a month-long posture of receiving
01:08:28 Steve: final send-off

Spiritual formation doesn’t happen in isolation—but it also doesn’t happen in unsafe spaces.

In this episode, Steve and Colleen explore what makes a community truly safe and why safety is foundational to healing, trust, and transformation. This honest conversation parallels themes from their upcoming book Embracing the Way, inviting listeners into a slower, relational vision of walking with Jesus and one another.

If you’ve longed for community but felt guarded, this episode offers language, clarity, and hope.

In this powerful start to a new year, Steve sits down with longtime friend Rich Timmons—creative visionary, gallery owner, teacher, and author of Come… meet Jesus—for an honest conversation about faith, loss, and redemption.

Rich shares how a Good Friday business collapse became the moment he finally cried out to God, and how a “Joseph and Mary” divine appointment helped lead him to Christ. He reflects on rebuilding his life with Jesus at the center, teaching art history through the life of Christ, and turning 67 masterworks into a devotional tool that blends Scripture and beauty.

The conversation takes a profound turn as Rich opens up about losing his son to glioblastoma, and the strength of staying “yoked” to Jesus through grief. He also shares a deeply personal testimony of decades-long struggle with alcohol—and the moment God brought freedom through Psalm 9:6.

If you’re walking through brokenness, grief, or a hidden struggle, this episode is a reminder: brokenness isn’t a barrier—it can become a bridge to healing.

Learn more: comemeetjesus.art (Use promo code 1017 for 25% off)

More about EBM: embracingbrokenness.org

Chapters

00:00 – The “cowboy” son and a gift with horses

01:41 – The diagnosis: brain cancer and the weight of grief

02:00 – Welcome + Season 7 kickoff + Steve & Rich history

05:40 – Rich’s story begins: Kensington, dreams, and early influences

09:00 – Air Force years and marriage to Julie

11:30 – “Let’s buy a computer”—early business breakthrough

13:15 – The crash: staff walks out on Good Friday

15:05 – “Joseph and Mary”: Joe Castillo and the pocket Bible

16:30 – Born again: “I made a right-hand turn”

17:50 – Motorhome year: early discipleship and the Body of Christ

19:15 – 45 years of business success (and hiring smart people)

21:30 – Selling the business → opening the art gallery

23:10 – Teaching art history through “one man”: Jesus

26:05 – Losing Rich: glioblastoma and 18 months of care

33:10 – “Rotten theology” and living in a broken world

36:05 – Turning teaching into a book: Come… meet Jesus

43:15 – The yoke: staying close to Christ in grief

45:25 – Alcohol testimony + Psalm 9:6 + freedom

50:15 – Brokenness as a bridge to healing

53:50 – Book promo + discount code + closing