Win Today: Your Roadmap to Wholeness

You said you were fine, but fine is not a spiritual condition—it's a managed one. Fine means you've stopped expecting anything, stopped reaching for anything, and settled into the low hum of a life that moves without going anywhere. You're not in crisis. You're not walking away from the Lord. You're just less hungry than you used to be, less expectant, less alive. And because nothing is dramatically wrong, you've convinced yourself nothing needs to change.
Dr. Chris Palmer joins me for a conversation that names what that condition actually is—and it's not a season. Dr. Palmer is Dean of the Barnett College of Ministry and Theology at Southeastern University and the author of A World Without God (Zondervan), a work of narrative philosophy that takes the reader into Novemberton, an allegorical town in the grip of something it cannot name. What he argues is that the despair overtaking our culture isn't arriving as a manifesto—it's arriving as a mood. Nihilism, as he frames it, is not the dramatic philosophy-class version; it's the quiet, functional, show-up-to-church version—passive surrender dressed as stability, apathy wearing the clothes of peace. We talk about why values are on sale right now, what practical polytheism looks like inside a congregation, how self-centered spirituality masquerades as devotion, and why the only thing durable enough to bear the weight of our emptiness is not our own shoulders.
This conversation will not give you a strategy. It will give you a mirror—and what you do with what you see in it is the entire question. Come ready to be honest about what you've been calling fine.
Guest Bio
Dr. Chris Palmer is Dean of the Barnett College of Ministry and Theology at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida, where he teaches at the intersection of New Testament studies, philosophy, and cultural theology. He holds a PhD from Bangor University in Wales and is the author of several books, including his latest, A World Without God (Zondervan)—a work of narrative philosophy that examines what happens to meaning, purpose, and the human soul when God is not forgotten so much as he is treated as one option among many.
Show Partner
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Episode Links
Show Notes
Buy my book "Healing What You Can't Erase" here!
Invite me to speak at your church or event.
Connect with me @WINTODAYChris on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

You know the feeling. The world that once held shape around you — the role, the identity, the thing you built or pursued or believed about yourself — has come apart. And instead of leaning into the chaos and learning what it has to teach you, you've found a more comfortable option. You've constructed a story. A controlled version of events where you're still the hero, where the failure makes sense, where the disruption is somebody else's fault. The snow globe stays intact on the countertop. You shake it and admire the beauty. And you tell yourself the simulation is real.
Geoffrey Cain joins me for one of the most unusual and honestly riveting conversations this show has ever produced. Geoffrey is a national columnist and the author of Steve Jobs in Exile, the definitive account of the twelve wilderness years between Jobs's ousting from Apple in 1985 and his legendary return in 1997. What emerged from that research is something that has far less to do with Silicon Valley than it does with the interior architecture of every human being who has ever hit rock bottom and had to decide what to do next. We cover four lessons the wilderness teaches every person who enters it — how it harnesses potential, tests motivation, forces maturity, and compels you to finally confront yourself. We dig into ego death: what it actually is, why the ego is not the enemy it's made out to be, and why the unchecked ego eventually destroys every relationship it touches. We examine the moment Jobs stood at the edge of personal bankruptcy, nearly broken by his own brilliant volatility, and chose — slowly, painfully, imperfectly — to start releasing control and trusting the people around him. And we talk about the universal human tendency to choose fantasy over reality, comfort over confrontation, and the seductive lie that we can trick ourselves into maturity without ever doing the actual work of being transformed.
Here is what this conversation will ask of you: it will ask you to look honestly at the place where you are substituting the snow globe for the actual world. It will ask you to name the interior flaw you have been circling and avoiding rather than confronting. It will ask you to consider that the wilderness you are in right now is not a detour from your story but the very place where your story is being written. You can leave this conversation inspired, or you can leave it changed. Those are two very different exits.
Guest Bio
Geoffrey Cain is an award-winning author and national journalist whose work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Time, The Economist, Wired, and The Spectator. His previous books — Samsung Rising and The Perfect Police State — established him as one of the most rigorous and compelling chroniclers of technology, power, and human behavior writing today. His newest book, Steve Jobs in Exile, draws on previously unpublished documents, unbroadcast footage, and new interviews with Jobs's closest colleagues to tell the definitive story of the twelve years that transformed a volatile, brilliant young founder into one of the most consequential leaders in modern history. Geoffrey writes the Substack newsletter The Burner Files and is a managing partner at Alembic Partners.
Show Partner
SafeSleeve designs a phone case that blocks up to 99% of harmful EMF radiation—so I'm not carrying that kind of exposure next to my body all day. It's sleek, durable, and most importantly, lab-tested by third parties. The results aren't hidden—they're published right on their site. And that matters because many so-called EMF blockers on the market either don't work or can't prove they do. We protect our hearts and minds—why wouldn't we protect our bodies too? Head to safesleevecases.com and use the code WINTODAY10 for 10% off your order.
Episode Links
Show Notes
Buy my book "Healing What You Can't Erase" here!
Invite me to speak at your church or event.
Connect with me @WINTODAYChris on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Sexual addiction is often treated as a behavior problem. Stop the behavior. Remove the temptation. Try harder next time. But what if the behavior is not the real issue? What if the patterns that bring shame, secrecy, and self-sabotage are actually revealing something deeper about the story you carry? This week on Win Today, therapist and researcher Jay Stringer joins me to unpack the anatomy of sexual addiction and unwanted sexual behavior. Drawing from research involving more than 3,800 men and women, Jay explains why these patterns are rarely random and how the unresolved parts of our past often shape them. We talk about why shame keeps people trapped in destructive cycles, why curiosity is often the first step toward healing, and why grief has the surprising power to reshape what we desire. Sexual struggles are not simply moral failures to suppress. They can become a roadmap that leads us toward the healing we have avoided. If you are stuck in patterns you cannot explain, if shame has kept you silent, or if you've tried to manage the behavior without understanding the story behind it, this episode will help you see why real freedom begins with honesty.
Guest Bio
Jay Stringer is a licensed therapist, minister, and researcher who helps men and women understand and outgrow unwanted sexual behaviors. He is the author of the award-winning book Unwanted: How Sexual Brokenness Reveals Our Way to Healing, based on a multiyear research study involving more than 3,800 men and women exploring the roots of sexual addiction and compulsive sexual behavior. Jay is also the creator of the Sexual Behavior Self-Assessment and The Journey Course, a five-month program designed to help individuals identify and transform the deeper drivers behind destructive patterns. He holds an MDiv and a master's degree in counseling psychology from The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology and completed post-graduate training under Dr. Dan Allender while serving as a Senior Fellow at The Allender Center.
Show Partner
SafeSleeve designs a phone case that blocks up to 99% of harmful EMF radiation—so I'm not carrying that kind of exposure next to my body all day. It's sleek, durable, and most importantly, lab-tested by third parties. The results aren't hidden—they're published right on their site. And that matters because many so-called EMF blockers on the market either don't work or can't prove they do. We protect our hearts and minds—why wouldn't we protect our bodies too? Head to safesleevecases.com and use the code WINTODAY10 for 10% off your order.
Episode Links
Show Notes
Buy my book "Healing What You Can't Erase" here!
Invite me to speak at your church or event.
Connect with me @WINTODAYChris on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

We talk about healing as though it's inevitable. As though proximity to Scripture, therapy language, or Christian community automatically produces transformation. But God does not force anyone into wholeness. He invites. He confronts. He calls. And too many believers confuse awareness with growth. This week on Win Today, Debra Fileta joins me for a sober conversation about emotional health and spiritual maturity. We examine why so many Christians remain emotionally immature while sounding spiritually fluent, how "trauma-informed" has in some circles become trauma-defined identity, and why you cannot become spiritually mature if your mental and emotional life is neglected. Healing is not passive. It is participatory. If your faith is sincere but your reactions are volatile… if you know the right language but keep repeating the same patterns… or if you've mistaken self-protection for self-awareness, this episode will clarify what real growth actually requires.
Guest Bio
Debra Fileta is a Licensed Professional Counselor specializing in relationship, marital, mental, and emotional health. She is the author of five books, host of the Love + Relationships Podcast, and founder of TrueLoveDates.com, a widely read relationship advice platform reaching millions worldwide. Known for her candid yet compassionate voice, Debra integrates clinical insight with Christian faith to help individuals and couples pursue emotional health and stronger relationships. Her work has been featured in outlets including Christianity Today, Focus on the Family, Relevant Magazine, Crosswalk.com, Charisma Magazine, and more.
Show Partner
SafeSleeve designs a phone case that blocks up to 99% of harmful EMF radiation—so I'm not carrying that kind of exposure next to my body all day. It's sleek, durable, and most importantly, lab-tested by third parties. The results aren't hidden—they're published right on their site. And that matters because many so-called EMF blockers on the market either don't work or can't prove they do. We protect our hearts and minds—why wouldn't we protect our bodies too? Head to safesleevecases.com and use the code WINTODAY10 for 10% off your order.
Episode Links
Show Notes
Buy my book "Healing What You Can't Erase" here!
Invite me to speak at your church or event.
Connect with me @WINTODAYChris on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

We live in a moment where difficulty is quickly labeled as damage and discomfort is often treated as pathology. While trauma is real and serious, not every hard moment is trauma—and confusing the two can quietly undermine resilience, clarity, and growth. When every struggle is interpreted as injury, we lose the ability to endure, discern, and respond wisely. This week on Win Today, Dr. Lee Warren returns to continue our Self-Brain Surgery conversation. We talk about what it actually means to take a thought captive, why anxiety spirals feel uncontrollable even when they're not, and how automatic thinking patterns quietly shape the brain. Dr. Warren also challenges common scientific blind spots that ignore meaning, responsibility, and agency in the healing process. This episode helps you separate pain from pathology, suffering from trauma, and awareness from action—so you can move from mental reactivity to intentional renewal.
Guest Bio
Dr. W. Lee Warren is a practicing neurosurgeon, author, and speaker known for integrating neuroscience, faith, and personal experience to help people heal from trauma and transform their lives. A survivor of profound personal loss, he has spent decades studying how thoughts shape the brain and how intentional mental practices can lead to lasting emotional and spiritual renewal. He is the author of multiple books, including The Life-Changing Art of Self-Brain Surgery.
Show Partner
SafeSleeve designs a phone case that blocks up to 99% of harmful EMF radiation—so I'm not carrying that kind of exposure next to my body all day. It's sleek, durable, and most importantly, lab-tested by third parties. The results aren't hidden—they're published right on their site. And that matters because many so-called EMF blockers on the market either don't work or can't prove they do. We protect our hearts and minds—why wouldn't we protect our bodies too? Head to safesleevecases.com and use the code WINTODAY10 for 10% off your order.
Episode Links
Show Notes
Buy my book "Healing What You Can't Erase" here!
Invite me to speak at your church or event.
Connect with me @WINTODAYChris on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.