The Pastor’s Studio with Paul Basden cover art

The Pastor’s Studio with Paul Basden

The Pastor’s Studio with Paul Basden

Written by: Paul Basden
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About this listen

The Pastor’s Studio is a space for honest conversations, meaningful questions, and stories that reveal how faith meets real life. Hosted by pastor and author Paul Basden, this podcast brings together authentic dialogue, spiritual reflection, and real-life experiences to help listeners navigate what it means to follow Jesus in a complex world.

Across every season, the aim is the same: to help listeners see God more clearly, understand themselves more deeply, and live out their faith with wisdom, humility, and grace.

Thoughtful, grounded, and full of heart, Pastor Paul invites you to slow down, listen well, and pay attention to the story God is writing in and around you.

Season 1: Uncomfortable Conversations with Christians
Season 2: Why Do I Do What I Do - Exploring the Enneagram
Season 3: This is My Story


Paul Basden is an author and serves as co-senior pastor of Preston Trail Community Church in Texas. A native of Dallas, Texas, Paul earned his BA from Baylor University and his Master of Divinity and PhD from Southwestern Theological Seminary. Paul also served as university minister and a professor of theology at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. He and his wife, Denise, have two grown daughters and four grandsons.

Copyright 2026 All rights reserved.
Christianity Ministry & Evangelism Spirituality
Episodes
  • S3E16: Unshakable Faith: Trusting God Through Parkinson’s, Cancer, and the Unknown with Jamie Bryson
    Apr 30 2026

    What do you do when life doesn’t go the way you planned—and the questions feel bigger than the answers?

    In this episode, Paul sits down with Jamie Bryson to explore a story marked by faith, doubt, resilience, and an unshakable trust in God. From a late introduction to faith in high school to pursuing a PhD in Hebrew Bible, Jamie’s journey was rooted in a deep desire to understand God and help others do the same.

    But along the way, things shifted.

    A season of intellectual questioning led to years of wrestling with belief, identity, and calling. And just as clarity began to return, life took an unexpected turn. In 2021, Jamie was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s and kidney cancer—within the same year.

    What follows is not a story of easy answers, but of steady faith.

    In this conversation, Jamie shares what it looks like to keep showing up, to let go of needing certainty, and to trust that God is present—even in suffering. His story is a powerful reminder that faith is not about having everything figured out, but about knowing where to turn when you don’t.

    In This Episode, You’ll Hear:

    • What it looks like to wrestle honestly with doubt
    • How perspective on suffering reshapes faith
    • The role of community, love, and consistency in hard seasons
    • Why faith can grow stronger, not weaker, in uncertainty

    You don’t have to have all the answers to have real faith. Sometimes the most powerful faith is simply choosing to stay.

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    35 mins
  • S3E15: When Faith Is Tested: Trusting God Through Grief with Matt & Mary Beth Bridges Pt. 2
    Apr 23 2026

    What happens when God doesn’t answer your prayer the way you hoped?

    After fighting to save their marriage, Matt and Mary Beth believed the hardest chapter was behind them.

    But then came a diagnosis no parent is prepared for.

    Their unborn daughter had a fatal condition. No cure. No chance of survival.

    And they were faced with an unthinkable decision.

    In Part 2 of their story, Matt and Mary Beth share:

    • Walking through a devastating prenatal diagnosis
    • Choosing to trust God in the face of loss
    • Experiencing grief and joy at the same time
    • Witnessing God’s presence in their darkest season
    • What it looks like to lead, love, and serve from a place of surrender

    This isn’t just a story about loss.

    It’s a story about faith in the unknown. Hope in the middle of grief. And a God who is still present — even when the outcome breaks your heart.

    References

    Song: Held by Natalie Grant

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    37 mins
  • S3E14: How Distance, Work & Resentment Slowly Break a Marriage with Matt & Mary Beth Bridges
    Apr 16 2026

    What happens when a marriage slowly drifts… and no one realizes how far it’s gone?

    Matt and Mary Beth Bridges both grew up in church.

    They knew about God. They believed the right things. They started their marriage with love and good intentions.

    But underneath the surface, cracks were forming.

    Distance. Unmet expectations. Lack of communication. And a growing loneliness neither of them knew how to fix.

    Until everything broke.

    In Part 1 of this story, Matt and Mary Beth share:

    • Growing up around faith but missing true relationship
    • How ambition, work, and identity pulled them apart
    • The quiet build of resentment in early marriage
    • How loneliness opened the door to betrayal
    • The moment everything began to unravel

    This isn’t just a story about failure.

    It’s a story about how marriages don’t collapse overnight — they drift slowly… until something forces them to face the truth.

    If you’ve ever:

    • Felt distant in your marriage
    • Struggled to communicate what you actually need
    • Watched small frustrations turn into deep hurt
    • Wondered how things got so far off track

    This conversation is a reminder:

    What feels small now… can become everything later.

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    41 mins
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