I believe love is credible. I believe it is the only thing that truly stands the test. And if I am honest, it can stink to love people.

In this episode of the No BS Bishop Podcast, I talk plainly about the cost of loving others when it hurts. I have been betrayed. I have had promises broken. I have watched people disappear. I have felt fear, disappointment, and exhaustion show up fast and loud. And still, love remains the call on my life.

I draw from decades of pastoral life, personal heartbreak, and the example of Jesus to explore what it really means to love when it would be easier to shut down or walk away. Love is not soft. It does not always protect us from pain. It demands courage, patience, and a willingness to stay present when things get hard.

I talk about loving neighbors who disappoint us, frighten us, disagree with us, or wound us, and choosing love anyway. Not denial. Not sentimentality. A grounded, determined love that refuses to turn into hate.

If you have ever wondered whether love is worth the cost, if you have been hurt by people you tried to care for, or if you are tired of fear and anger running the show, this episode is for you.

Some days love stinks. I still believe it is the way forward.

I hear people ask all the time, “What is God’s purpose for my life?” and while I can’t tell you whether you should be a veterinarian or a stay-at-home dad, I can tell you that the purpose of life is not to seek pleasure and avoid pain. The real purpose is to be aimed at Love—love for ourselves, our neighbors, our families, our communities, and even our enemies. We get so easily distracted and beset by the struggle to find meaning through a paycheck or the daily grind of holding down a job. While those things are practical and necessary, let’s be honest: they fall short of filling the human soul with real satisfaction. We are on this earth for the far greater joy of Love.

I honestly doubt that Michelangelo dragged himself up onto that scaffolding to paint the Sistine Chapel or carved the famed Pieta just because he had to pay his rent. I don’t think Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa hoping to win his mother's approval or to cover his taxes; he did it out of a deep love for the gift inside his heart, using it to capture the unique, rye beauty of an everyday person.

Each and every one of us carries gifts and talents that bring us joy when we exercise them, and something in us comes alive when we do. Whether you are farming to feed a nation or teaching future leaders in a classroom, the truth is that others will fall in love with your gift because you love your gift. I have always said there is no task so small that it cannot be performed with great love. Even if you are a street sweeper or a night-shift janitor, if you perform that task with a radiance of love, everyone who sees you will be inspired to say, “My, my, they sure seem to love life.” No matter where you are or what you do, join me in being done with the BS and start living for Love alone.

Reflecting on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I share how his writings saved me as a young teenager navigating the astronomical racial tensions of 1960s Milwaukee. I’m unpacking his profound idea of a "soul generated by love," exploring how a heart full of grace is the only true requirement for greatness. We often mistake our lives for a competition, thinking we have to conquer others or win arguments, but a soul lit up by love knows how to pause, listen, and refuse the "dance of enmity."

I also dive into the concept of Love and Tolerance as a code for living. Using the world of engineering as a metaphor, I explain how we must be like skyscrapers or bridges—built with the "tolerance" to bend and bounce in the gale-force winds of strife without ever breaking.

The episode concludes with a practical moment of centering: a breathing exercise to inhale love and exhale fear, and a challenge to use the three most "holy and magical" words we have: I love you. We don't have the guarantee of time, so the moment to be present, flexible, and kind is right now.

Connect: If you’d like a copy of Love’s Creed to keep in your own inner dialogue, email me at RandyDeanMinistries@gmail.com. There is no bait and switch and no BS—just the creed, sent from my heart to yours.

This world can feel like a dangerous place—not just because of those who do evil, but because of the rest of us who see it and do nothing. In this episode, we cut through the noise and get to the heart of what it truly means to live a life that matters.

I’m here to talk about The Way of Love, and I believe it demands three things from us: Kindness, Action, and Change. It’s not a soft or passive idea. It’s a courageous path that requires us to listen when we want to fight, to move when we want to stay comfortable, and to transform ourselves before we try to change the world.

We’ll explore why lovers—not just theologians—know the most about God, and how practicing simple, daily kindness can disarm conflict and build something beautiful. I’ll share why saying “I love you” is a sacred contract, and why the biggest mistake we make is thinking we still have time to start.

If you’re tired of the bait-and-switch and hungry for a faith that is alive, active, and authentically kind, this conversation is for you. Let’s get up and do something beautiful in this weary world.

In this episode, I’d like to share something I believe is essential for our time: the evolution of love. Love isn’t static—when it stands still, it stops being love at all. Just as humanity has grown in strength, understanding, technology, and faith, so too must our grasp of love deepen, widen, and mature.

I’ll reflect on how our understanding of God, Scripture, and human relationships has gently unfolded over the centuries, and why clinging to a rigid, paper-thin version of faith can trap us in fear, violence, and division. Even the Bible reveals this beautiful movement—from bloodshed toward transformation, from swords toward plowshares. That evolution doesn’t happen by chance; it happens as we grow.

Drawing from my own marriage, from history, Scripture, and mystics like Teilhard de Chardin, I invite you to imagine what it could mean to truly harness the energies of love—to let love grow up, demand less, listen more, and refuse to “bait and switch.” This isn’t about leaving faith behind, but about growing up within it. Love that evolves becomes credible, powerful, and truly world-changing.

Consider this episode an invitation to breathe deeply, lay down the sword, and grow into a love that is patient, nonviolent, free from condemnation, and fully alive. Our future depends on it.

Connect With Me

If you’d like a copy of Love’s Creed or the Lord’s Prayer for your journal or daily meditation, I’d be delighted to send it to you. Just email me at: RandyDeanMinistries@gmail.com

Now, go do something beautiful today—because heaven knows, “ugly” has had enough airtime.

In this episode, I’m stripping away the "bait and switch" of lesser values to focus on the highest magnetism in human existence: The Sacred Word of Love.

Inspired by the spiritual jazz of John Coltrane’s legendary album, I explore why we must stop treating the word "love" as a glib, throwaway cliché. I share a moving observation of a family interaction that reminded me how easily we "miniaturize" this mountain-range power into a casual "Love ya" while walking away. We dive deep into the importance of being present, the creative "nuclear power" that holds our universe together, and the courage it takes to look someone in the eye and speak those three most holy, magical words.

Join me as we recite the 2026 Love’s Creed—a resolution to stay locked into everything that is love and remain unavailable for anything less. It’s time to stop living at "zero" and start living on the plus side of life.

Connect with the No BS Bishop If you would like a copy of Love’s Creed for your own meditation and study, please email me at randydeanministries@gmail.com.

Go out and do something beautiful today—because ugly is getting done to death.

"Love is the only answer, but medieval talk about love does nothing."

I’ve been sitting with those words from the mystic Thomas Merton, and they’ve hit me right where I live. If you’ve been with me for the last seven years, you know my creed: I am alive to love, and I believe all lesser values devolve easily into "BS"—that bait-and-switch that keeps us from the reality of how we are meant to live.

As we approach the final days of 2025, I’m feeling a fire in my heart to raise an alarm. The ancient, dusty discussions of love just don’t cut it anymore for the "wild and wooly" world we’re living in. Life is a beast; it shoves us around, and if we don't have a practical, radical reality of love to lean on, we get reckless.

We are closing out the year in the spirit of Advent—celebrating the silence. I want to help you build your own "fortress of solitude" where you can be hit by the radiant supremacy of God’s love, far away from the noise of the world.

Let's stop the ancient talk and start the new walk. Let’s rise and shine and go do something beautiful.

Advent invites us to celebrate the multiple paths of how Love is defined by this greatest of all stories in Christmas. “For God so loved the world…that He gives us His Son.” SO LOVED that He gave.

SO LOVED that the virgin Mary was visited by the angel of the Lord to announce that she had been chosen. SO LOVED that shepherds keeping watch over their flocks at night were serenaded by a choir of angels singing, “Good news, of great joy, which shall be to all people.” SO LOVED that the Magi/Kings of the east were drawn by a Star hovering over Bethlehem and the newborn King. SO LOVED that we have been given the greatest story ever told!

In this episode, I distinguish between the Advent season (the coming of Christ, His first coming) and the Christmas season, urging you to embrace the original revelation of Christ. I share reflections on the radical inclusivity of God's love, extending to "all people" from a humble peasant girl like Mary to the working-class shepherds and the mystical Magi (Wise Men). I also explore the power of the Lord's Prayer and the personal challenge of Love's Creed: “I am unavailable for anything less than love.”

I conclude with a call to end the "Christmas Wars" by leading with love and deference, choosing to say "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas" based on a spirit of inclusion and kindness.

The power of love veritably floods the airwaves of our churches, radio, TV, and social media. The power of Love is shining in brilliant colors throughout our neighborhoods. The power of Love is delightfully celebrated in children’s Christmas programs in our schools and churches.

Let's do something beautiful this season. Ugly is getting done to death. Let's rise to the shining of love.