Hey! It's The Luskos

From Cliffe getting pies thrown at him on a college quad while three-year-old Stuart clung to his leg, to preaching in Boston's red-light district as a seminary student, this episode is equal parts hilarious, theologically sharp, and genuinely moving. Father-son duo Cliffe and Stuart Knechtle — open-air apologists, church planters, and co-authors of Demolishing Doubt — join Levi and Jennie for one of the most wide-ranging conversations the podcast has ever had. Plus: the hardest question Cliffe still gets a flutter about, why miracles aren't actually defying nature, and the reason Stuart's eight-year-old already has Romans 8 memorized.

Connect with us on social!

Cliffe + Stuart: @Stuart_Knechtle

Levi: @levilusko

Jennie: @jennielusko

Fresh Life Church: @freshlife

[Links]

Order Demolishing Doubt: https://bit.ly/4x4R8Nc

Watch Cliffe's Passion Sermon: https://bit.ly/3PJcbnX

Get the 5 Gallon Bucket: https://bit.ly/sdl4sHY

Get the Lusketeer Sticker: https://bit.ly/sdl4sHY

Subscribe for more exclusive content: https://levilusko.com/hitl-subscribe

Time Stamps

00:00:00 – Meet Cliffe + Stuart Knechtle

00:05:12 – How a 14-person Bible study above a bar became a church

00:10:06 – Why memorizing scripture isn't obsolete — it's a lifeline

00:15:58 – Miracles don't defy nature — they restore it

00:29:47 – Preaching in Boston's red-light district (the seminary years)

00:43:49 – The hardest questions: suffering, doubt, and where God came from

Pastor Shawn and Jill Johnson from Red Rocks Church are back for their fourth appearance, and things get real fast — from the legendary canoe trip where Shawn sat on a dead mouse for four hours, to the honest, hard-won wisdom they've collected after nearly three decades of marriage. Levi and Jennie swap notes with the Johnsons on keeping it flirty, surviving hard seasons, knowing when comfort tips into neglect, and the "final draft" language that changed how Shawn and Jill communicate. Plus: Red Rocks Church's sold-out 20th anniversary service at Red Rocks Amphitheater, a son DJing his second-ever gig on that same stage, and Jill's surprisingly sweet trick for reconnecting with why she fell in love in the first place.

Connect with us on social!

Shawn: @shawnjohnsonrrc

Jill: @Jilljohnson03

Levi: @levilusko

Jennie: @jennielusko

Fresh Life Church: @freshlife

[Links]

Order Kiss The Fire: https://bit.ly/49C6bUF

Get the 5 Gallon Bucket: https://bit.ly/sdl4sHY

Get the Lusketeer Sticker: https://bit.ly/sdl4sHY

Subscribe for more exclusive content: https://levilusko.com/hitl-subscribe

Time Stamps:

00:00:00– The canoe trip that tested their friendship (and Sean's packing skills)

00:09:21 – Kiss the Fire update: what happens when a vulnerable book meets the world

00:14:11 – Austin the DJ opens Red Rocks Amphitheater (his second gig ever)

00:22:39 – The marriage conversation: humility, longevity & what 27 years teaches you

00:38:24 – The "I feel most loved when..." exercise from their counselor

00:50:15 – "Is this your final draft?" — the language that changed how they communicate

Jennie Lusko is the guest — on her own podcast — to celebrate the release of her new devotional Fresh Mercies Every Day, a 40-day book drawn from decades of her personal journals (yes, she has over 100 of them, all laid out chronologically on the floor). Levi, Jennie, and their firstborn daughter Alivia dig into the writing process, Jennie's lifelong journaling habit that started at age eight, and what it actually looks like to receive God's mercy instead of just trying to earn it. Plus: Jennie's most-prayed prayers, her quiet time hacks, and the Jurassic Park speech Levi somehow turns into a tribute to his wife.

Connect with us on social!

Levi: @levilusko

Jennie: @jennielusko

Fresh Life Church: @freshlife

[Links]

Fresh Mercies Everyday: https://bit.ly/4dPREWB

Passion + TAYA + Luskos on Tour: https://bit.ly/4fS5Lxa

Get the 5 Gallon Bucket: https://bit.ly/sdl4sHY

Get the Lusketeer Sticker: https://bit.ly/sdl4sHY

Subscribe for more exclusive content: https://levilusko.com/hitl-subscribe

Time Stamps:

00:02:27 – Levi confesses he secretly read the book before Jennie gave it to him

00:07:38 – Alivia's Japan mission trip

00:10:56 – The story behind Fresh Mercies Every Day

00:17:06 – Over 100 journals laid out across the floor

00:30:16 – How do you stop trying to earn mercy and just receive it?

00:36:33 – Jennie's quiet time ingredients (and the timer trick)

Women's minister, author, and Texas-born-and-proud Tasha Calvert joins Jennie for one of those conversations that just makes you exhale. Tasha gets honest about going through the motions for years — church attendance, all the programs, filling in every blank — while still missing the real thing, and how God used a crisis in her marriage to finally get through to her. They also talk about her new book Set Apart for More, why holiness has basically disappeared from our vocabulary, and why surrendering control is actually the most freeing thing you can do.

Connect with us on social!

Tasha: @tistashcalvert

Levi: @levilusko

Jennie: @jennielusko

Fresh Life Church: @freshlife

[Links]

Get Tasha's book Set Apart for More: https://bit.ly/4tXFtgw

Visit Tasha's website: https://bit.ly/42UsW2v

Get the 5 Gallon Bucket: https://bit.ly/sdl4sHY

Get the Lusketeer Sticker: https://bit.ly/sdl4sHY

Subscribe for more exclusive content: https://levilusko.com/hitl-subscribe

Timestamps

00:02:00 – Santa Fe, New Mexico, and why every American city is starting to look the same

00:05:18 – Meeting her Houston husband at church — and the Baylor vs. A&M rivalry that almost doomed them

00:08:26 – The hard season: lawsuits, depression, and a sister's wake-up call about marriage

00:12:28 – When God said "shut up" — and how silence saved her marriage

00:34:58 – Why holiness has vanished from our vocabulary (and Tasha's mission to bring it back)

00:46:04 – Tasha closes in prayer for the listener who's exhausted and ready to let go

Licensed counselor and author Debra Fileta is back for her third appearance, and this one hits different — she's here to talk about the skill we're all convinced we already have. Levi and Jennie dig into Debra's new book People Skills, unpacking why our tech-saturated world is quietly eroding our ability to connect, why most of us privately think this book is for someone else (spoiler: it isn't), and how communication styles — passive, aggressive, passive-aggressive, and assertive — show up in something as simple as a wrong order at a restaurant. Plus: Debra shares the moment God changed her perspective on public speaking anxiety, Jennie confesses she's a chameleon in social situations, and Levi admits cocktail parties are somehow scarier than 10,000-person crowds.

Connect with us on social!

Debra: @debrafileta

Levi: @levilusko

Jennie: @jennielusko

Fresh Life Church: @freshlife

[Links]

Get Debra's book People Skills: https://bit.ly/4fco6Vl

Get the 5 Gallon Bucket: https://bit.ly/sdl4sHY

Get the Lusketeer Sticker: https://bit.ly/sdl4sHY

Subscribe for more exclusive content: https://levilusko.com/hitl-subscribe

Time Stamps:

00:07:46 – Introducing People Skills — and Jennie's very tabbed-up copy

00:08:26 – Why we're losing the art of real human interaction

00:18:44 – The room full of strangers exercise: how do YOU show up?

00:25:45 – Stop focusing on what they give you, focus on what you can give

00:49:10 – Passive, aggressive, passive-aggressive, assertive