The Deep End With Lecrae

"I made an idol out of John Piper." Lecrae doesn't say that lightly. For years, John Piper shaped the way he read the Bible, understood God, wrote music, and approached ministry. His sermons became the soundtrack to an entire season of Lecrae's life. When he finally met Piper, after meeting celebrities, athletes, and presidents, no one left him more starstruck. But admiration has a way of becoming something else. In this episode, Lecrae opens up about growing up without a father. He shares why he was unknowingly looking for affirmation from older spiritual leaders. He reflects on how John Piper became the father figure he didn't realize he was searching for, and explains what happened when racial tension, church hurt, and life experience forced him to reevaluate everything he once accepted without question. Lecrae also shares how his view of Piper has changed over the years, why he believes gratitude and critique can coexist, and what it looks like to honor the people God used in your life without expecting them to carry what only Jesus can. Step Into Reconstruction: https://reconstruct-u.com/ 📱Connect with us on Instagram! - / deependlecrae 📱Connect with Lecrae -https://linktr.ee/Lecrae Stream the Deluxe Album: / reconstruction 👕 Shop Lecrae Merch: https://lecrae.store/ Go to myskylight.com to save $30. Your family needs to be in sync. Sign up for your $1/month trial today at shopify.com/deepend Get 20% off your first order, plus free shipping during the Memorial Day Sale at BollAndBranch.com/deepend

From the time he was 7 years old, his dad told him: people like you and want to hear what you have to say. Judah Smith spent the next four decades finding out what that actually meant — and what it cost. He became one of the most recognizable preachers in America. Known as Bieber's pastor. Called America's sexiest pastor. Put on the Mount Rushmore of celebrity pastors. And now, sitting across from Lecrae, he says the scariest thing he's ever admitted out loud: his critics might be right about him. In this episode, Judah opens up about growing up 7th generation in a preaching family with real darkness in its history, the moment he realized he'd been preaching about a Jesus he wasn't sure he actually knew, what happened with Mark Driscoll, the spiritual father who asked to get paid, the friends who disappeared when his circumstances changed, and why he's giving the rest of his life to the 50% of Americans who say they'll never step foot in a church. He also announces a Netflix deal live on camera. Nobody in the room knew it was coming. Step Into Reconstruction: https://reconstruct-u.com/ 📱Connect with us on Instagram! - / deependlecrae 📱Connect with Lecrae - https://linktr.ee/Lecrae Stream the Deluxe Album: / reconstruction 👕 Shop Lecrae Merch: https://lecrae.store/ Reclaim your faith from OCD. Book a free 15 min call at https://www.treatmyocd.com/ Protect your family today at meetfabric.com/lecrae Apply for your Master's in Counseling or Ministry Today: https://admissions.richmont.edu

Dr. Anita Phillips spent 27 years married, went through a divorce, and still woke up the next day believing God is good. That's not a talking point. That's a testimony. In this conversation, the NYT bestselling author of The Garden Within, trauma therapist, and lead pastor joins Lecrae for one of the most wide-ranging, deeply personal episodes of The Deep End yet. They go everywhere. From her unlikely journey starting as a math and physics major, to why she'd rather have a spiritually open Hollywood than a religiously closed church. From why anxiety is actually a scarcity mindset, to the moment she was told in her PhD program that she was "misusing the Bible." From a deep breakdown of why the five stages of grief were never designed for survivors, to what it actually looks like to heal when you have every tool and still hit the floor. Dr. Anita doesn't just bring frameworks. She brings receipts from her own life. This one goes deep. The Garden Within is available now wherever books are sold. __ Step Into Reconstruction: https://reconstruct-u.com/ 📱Connect with us on Instagram! - / deependlecrae 📱Connect with Lecrae - https://linktr.ee/Lecrae Stream the Deluxe Album: / reconstruction 👕 Shop Lecrae Merch: https://lecrae.store/ _____ Apply for your Master's in Counseling or Ministry Today: https://admissions.richmont.edu Stay hydrated throughout your day. Use code lecrae for 20% off at dripdrop.com Sign up for your $1/month trial today at shopify.com/deepend Get 20% off your first order, plus free shipping during the Memorial Day Sale at BollAndBranch.com/deepend Reclaim your faith from OCD. Book a free 15 min call at https://www.treatmyocd.com/

Some of what you've said about me is right. I want to say which parts, specifically. When Reach Records partnered with Phillip Anthony Mitchell and 2819 Church, it cracked something open — years of assumptions, questions, and criticisms about Lecrae that people had been carrying quietly suddenly got loud. So instead of guessing what people were thinking, he asked. Voice memos. Real questions. No prepared statements. In this episode, Lecrae listens and responds in real time — to the secular collab criticism, the Cross Movement distance, the Reformed theology departure, the Warnock rally confusion, the people who think his music got watered down, and the Christians who've been watching him for 23 years wondering which direction he's really headed. He also speaks directly to the people who are done with church but still craving community — and to anyone who's ever felt like they just can't win on either side. No PR answer. No saving face. Just an honest one. Topics covered: Why the 2819 partnership brought everything to the surface Secular collabs: missionary or compromiser? Why he stepped back from Reformed theology circles Cross Movement, the Ambassadors, and the bitterness he had to own Growing up in public without a roadmap "Die for the Party" and what it costs to be rebuked by the church Mental health stigma in the church For the 24-year-old stuck between the 9-to-5 and the dream A public apology — and what he'd do differently Step Into Reconstruction: https://reconstruct-u.com/ 📱Connect with us on Instagram! - / deependlecrae 📱Connect with Lecrae - https://linktr.ee/Lecrae Stream the Deluxe Album: / reconstruction 👕 Shop Lecrae Merch: https://lecrae.store/ Go to Baskandlather.co and use code: deepend for 20% off Get paid EARLY. with the Earn In App. Use code: DEEPENDWITHLECRAE_PODCAST: https://tinyurl.com/3veyjh6j Get 20% off your first order, plus free shipping during the Memorial Day Sale at BollAndBranch.com/deepend

She grew up in one of the most famous families in American sports — and somehow didn't fully realize it until Deion's Hall of Fame weekend. Deondra Sanders sits down with Lecrae to talk about growing up as Primetime's daughter, losing herself in a relationship, navigating a high-risk pregnancy, postpartum depression, a very public breakup, and what it actually looks like to rebuild when the whole world is watching. She gets honest about the moment she got angry with God. About choosing to come back anyway. Deondra Sanders is the eldest daughter of NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. An entrepreneur, philanthropist, and athlete manager, she's built her own lane far from the spotlight — until life pulled her into the middle of it. In this episode, Deondra and Lecrae cover: Growing up as Deion's daughter and not realizing what that meant until she was 21 How a privileged childhood quietly killed her ambition Losing herself in a relationship — and having to forgive herself for it The pregnancy her family didn't take well, and why her dad surprised her Postpartum depression: what nobody tells you, and what it actually felt like The public fallout — what she wishes she'd done differently, and why she responded the way she did Getting angry at God for giving her the blessing she prayed for the wrong way Where she is now, and why she knows she's moving in the right direction