Ep 180: Why Growing Up Religious Isn't Enough (ft. Alex Quist)

Ep 180: Why Growing Up Religious Isn't Enough (ft. Alex Quist)

From The Doug Elks Podcast by Doug Elks

July 14, 2026 · 26 min

About this episode

Alex Quist shares his journey from performing faith to truly knowing God during a live recording in Jerusalem.

Knowing the rules doesn't mean you know God. Alex Quist spent years doing everything right but missing God.Most people who grew up in church know how to perform faith. They know the prayers, what to avoid, how to look like a believer around believers. What they often don't know is what it feels like when faith stops being performance and becomes real.Alex Quist lived both sides. This episode is about what flipped it: a junior year of college, a community whose joy didn't add up, and a slow realization that knowing about God and knowing God are not the same thing.Recorded live in Jerusalem during a week-long trip through Israel's holy sites, Alex and Doug also discuss marriage, fatherhood, what a toddler charging at an electrical outlet has to do with trusting God, standing at the Mount of Beatitudes, Bible open, tracing three chapters of Scripture across the actual landscape where they happened, Alex says, “these aren't Bible stories, they're Bible events. The evidence is everywhere.”This conversation is grounded in the conviction that Jesus is real, community is essential, and the gospel is genuinely good news.-- Donate to DOUG ELKS MINISTRIES One-Time or Monthly! (TAX…

People in this episode

Host: Doug Elks

Guest: Alex Quist

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: DOUG ELKS MINISTRIES

Places: Jerusalem, Mount of Beatitudes

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