The Circle Dwellers Podcast

About The Circle Dwellers Podcast

A podcast about living out the Gospel in an intentional Christian community. We are Life Mission Fellowship--a Protestant monastic order completely dedicated to Christ, His work, and His people. This is a podcast dedicated to the ins-and-outs of living the Benedict Option. You can learn more about us at https://life-mission.org

Publisher

Life Mission Fellowship

Category

religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

28 Mar 2025

Latest episode

18 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

56 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   18 Oct 2026

   Episode 51 - The Magician's Nephew trailer is... not great

   In this Circle Dwellers Podcast episode, hosts Matt Krell and Timothy Krell share their raw first reactions to Greta Gerwig’s Magician’s Nephew trailer from The Chronicles of Narnia, explaining why it misses the mark for dedicated C.S. Lewis readers and Narnia fans. The hosts break down the trailer’s mismatched rock music, Meryl Streep’s Aslan roaring rather than singing the world into existence, the off-key casting of Digory and Uncle Andrew, the jungle-like Wood Between the Worlds instead of its orderly, garden-like atmosphere, and the overall Doctor Who-style aesthetics that turn Lewis’s story of dangerous magic, intentional creation, and spiritual depth into something that feels more like superficial modern fantasy chasing emotional beats. For Christian pastors, laypeople, and anyone seeking stories that honor substance over contemporary updates, this Magician’s Nephew trailer reaction explores why faithful adaptation matters and why the original books remain unmatched.

2. 

   9 Oct 2026

   Episode 50 - The absolute brilliance of Kurosawa's "Ran"

   In this episode of the Circle Dwellers Podcast, Matt Krell and Timothy Krell discuss Akira Kurosawa’s Ran (1985), the Japanese director’s samurai retelling of Shakespeare’s King Lear, and why the film’s beauty and bleakness still matter. Drawing on Matt’s Arts and Culture presentation from their Sunday gathering, they trace Lord Hidetora Ichimonji’s decision to divide his domain among three sons, the banishment of the blunt youngest son Saburo, the color-coded siege in which the old lord walks out of a burning castle unable even to die with honor, and the final shot of the blind Tsurumaru dropping an image of Amida Buddha from a ruined cliff. They compare Kurosawa’s changes to the play: the fool survives, the blinded man is a victim of Hidetora’s own conquests rather than later court intrigue, and there is no Edgar—the figure in King Lear who works, in disguise, toward a remnant of hope. Kurosawa, they note, has the gods grieving and powerless while people destroy one another; the hosts contrast that vision with a Christian claim that human evil is real and freely chosen, yet not the last word. For pastors and laypeople who want serious film, Shakespeare, and questions of loyalty, fate, suffering, and redemption taken seriously, this is a close look at one of cinema’s great tragedies.

3. 

   2 Oct 2026

   Episode 49 - Why do people apostatize?

   In this episode of the Circle Dwellers Podcast, hosts Matt Krell and Timothy Krell ask why people apostatize and whether someone who has truly come to Christ can fall away. Continuing their series on open theism, foreknowledge, and salvation, they examine provisionism—a Baptist-rooted answer to Calvinism that says God has provided every means of salvation but does not cause anyone to believe—and its claim that apostasy is impossible because those who fall away were never really regenerated. Drawing on Gordon C. Olson’s moral government theology and his book Sharing Your Faith, they define apostasy not as ordinary sin or a bad week, but as a final, willful rebellion in which a person resists further light until God withdraws his gracious pursuit. They set “once saved, always saved” texts such as John 10:27–29, John 5:24, Romans 8:38–39, and Ephesians 1:13–14 beside Ezekiel 18:24, Revelation 3:5, the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18, John 15, Hebrews 3, 6, and 10, and the case of Judas, who they argue was sent out with the disciples and later crossed a line. The hosts contend that a forensic, legal theory of the atonement creates the apparent contradiction, while a relational, governmental view of the cross—Christ making it possible for God to forgive without violating moral order—keeps both Scripture and free will after conversion. For pastors and believers tired of systems that promise security while thinning out a living walk with God, the episode presses a practical claim: salvation is continued faith and repentance in relationship with Christ, not a transaction that ends free will at the moment someone gets saved.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Contact The Circle Dwellers Podcast

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.