Episode 154: But what if I’m Wrong? with Pastor Josh Scott

Meagan: Welcome everyone to today’s episode of Beyond the Shadow of Doubt. I’m Meagan Skidmore, your host. Today, I’m honored to have Josh Scott with me. Josh is the lead pastor of GracePointe Church in Nashville, Tennessee. Josh, thank you so much for being here.

Josh: Thanks for having me. I’m glad to be here.

Meagan: I actually first encountered your work through your sermon Unlearning Hell, which really impacted me. I remember the way you unpacked the context of Gehenna and emphasized the importance of understanding words in their historical setting. That really opened my perspective, and I know listeners can find that sermon on GracePointe’s YouTube channel or podcast.

Josh: Yes, our sermons are available there. Thank you for mentioning that.

Faith Journey Origins

Meagan: I’d love for listeners to hear more about your faith journey. Where are you from originally, and how did your path begin?

Josh: I grew up in the coal fields of Appalachia—Eastern Kentucky and Southwestern Virginia. My whole family were coal miners, railroad workers, or worked in related industries. Faith was central in our family; my grandfather was the pastor of our Free Will Baptist church. Free Will Baptists emphasize that salvation can be lost easily, so my upbringing was filled with religious fear and uncertainty. I lived with a sense that God was always ready to exclude me.

Meagan: That sounds deeply rooted and very intense.

Josh: It was. And then, when I was 11, my grandfather suddenly died of a heart attack during a church business meeting. I’d already lost my great-grandmother earlier that year. At 11, I couldn’t process it. I was taught that God causes everything, so in my mind God had killed my grandfather. That shook my faith to the core.

Navigating Doubt and Deconstruction

Meagan: How did that experience shape your relationship with God going forward?

Josh: For years, I felt angry at God. I didn’t have tools or language for what I was experiencing. Later, when my family moved to a Southern Baptist church, I got involved in youth group and even began preaching at 15 or 16. I preached what I had been taught, but deep down I knew the message didn’t feel like good news.

Eventually, in my 20s, the questions I had suppressed came flooding back. I wondered if I was even a Christian anymore. At that time (early 2000s), there wasn’t much conversation about deconstruction, so it was incredibly lonely. I found my way to voices like Rob Bell, Brian McLaren, Marcus Borg, and John Dominic Crossan, who gave me language and frameworks I lacked. But it was still terrifying—especially preaching every Sunday while wrestling with my own doubts.

Meagan: That must have been such an isolating experience.

Josh: It was. I didn’t want to lose my job or my faith community. And yet, those writings helped me realize there were other ways to be Christian. I discovered that my feelings and intuition mattered, and that began to reshape my faith.

Courageous Leadership Amidst Change

Meagan: You eventually became a pastor leading others while still navigating these shifts. What was that like?

Josh: It was both freeing and painful. I finally started preaching what I really believed—raising questions about LGBTQ inclusion, atonement, and the Bible. I told my church leadership, “This is where I am. If you’d rather I resign, I will.” To their credit, they supported me initially, but within a year, two-thirds of them had left. We lost many long-time members.

But at the same time, people who had been excluded from other churches started showing up. I remember one woman in tears after receiving communion, saying she’d been kicked out of her Catholic church when she came out. That moment was healing for her. So yes, we lost people, but we gained others who had nowhere else to go. That conviction—that church should be a place of flourishing—became my North Star.

Meagan: That took incredible courage.

Josh: It was hard, but necessary.

Finding Grace in the Mystery

Meagan: One theme of this podcast is rethinking doubt. How has embracing questions shaped your faith now?

Josh: I see faith much like the scientific method. It starts with a question, a hypothesis, and then exploration. Doubt has unleashed my curiosity and creativity. I tell my church that I write very little in Sharpie and most things in pencil, because our understanding should remain open to growth.

When people ask, “What if you’re wrong?” I respond: I’m sure I’m wrong about something. But I don’t believe I’ll be wrong because I’ve overestimated God’s love. If I’m wrong, it’s because I haven’t gone far enough into compassion, mercy, and generosity. My conviction is that God is always more loving than I can imagine.

Meagan: That’s such a freeing perspective.

Josh: Yes, it allows me to live in both worship and doubt simultaneously. Faith isn’t about absolute certainty—it’s about conviction and openness.

Recap and Closing

Meagan: This has been such a rich conversation. I love how you connect curiosity, creativity, and compassion. Before we close, I have a few quick get-to-know-you questions:

• Favorite book? Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time by Marcus Borg.

• Introvert or extrovert? Introvert at heart, but my work requires extroversion.

• Night owl or morning person? Night owl.

• Favorite artist? U2.

• Favorite beverage? Coke Zero (and sometimes sparkling water).

• Celebrity crush? Jenna Fischer (Pam from The Office).

• Furthest place traveled? Hawaii.

Meagan: Perfect. Josh, thank you so much. Where can listeners find you?

Josh: I write at joshscott.online, and I’m on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter/X at @josh_a_scott. My books are Bible Stories for Grown-Ups, Context, and my upcoming book Parables (coming February).

Meagan: Wonderful. Thank you again, Josh, for sharing your journey and wisdom.

Josh: Thank you, Meagan. Blessings to you and your listeners.