How to Rebuild Your Faith When It’s Been Shaken

Summary

Living Influence with Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd

Episode: How to Rebuild Your Faith When It’s Been Shaken
Date: April 9, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode, "How to Rebuild Your Faith When It's Been Shaken," centers on the deeply personal and often painful experience of lost or shaken faith. Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and their guest (referred to humorously as "Bold Nicole") discuss the practical journey of rebuilding faith after hardship, challenging the performance-driven aspects of Christian practice. They focus on embracing one’s true identity in God, trusting grace over self-effort, and imagining a life defined by God’s view rather than shame or performance.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Role of Imagination and Faith (02:00–03:30)

• Scott Boyd introduces the theme: using imagination in faith, tying it to Hebrews’ definition ("faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen").

• He poses a central question:

  • "Imagine I could stop working on my life and step into a life that's already mine." (02:42, Scott Boyd)

• The idea is that faith isn’t about striving for acceptance or worth, but stepping into the identity and reality God has already provided.

2. The Problem with Performance-based Faith (04:40–07:20)

• Both Bill and Scott challenge the culture of "sin management" — Christianity focused on self-effort and rule-following.
• Scott uses the example of Billy Graham:
  • “Every time you saw him, he had this one message that he would speak about Jesus…Why did he have so much effect? It’s because of Jesus.” (04:24, Scott Boyd)
• They discuss giving themselves permission to let go of performance, such as feeling guilty for not reading the Bible out of obligation:
  • “I gave myself permission, praise God, to stop my doing.” (07:10, Scott Boyd)

3. The Identity God Gives Us (07:24–10:08)

• Bold Nicole shares struggles with "never being enough," referencing upbringing and internalized performance pressure.
• He reframes identity:
  • “Who does God say I am? What he says is... I’m perfectly loved, I’m pure, I’m righteous, there’s nothing I can do to make him love me more or less.” (08:39, Bold Nicole)
• Emphasizes learning to accept and even like oneself through God’s eyes:
  • “I’m kind of a cool person, actually, at least through the eyes of those I trust.” (09:45, Bold Nicole)

4. How Shame Shapes Our Theology (10:08–11:45)

• Bill Thrall:
  • “The statement that ‘I’m not enough’ has its root in yesterday’s shame.” (10:08)
• He argues that environments focused on "sin management" reinforce shame; some churches even teach that Christians are still "sinners at their core." This leads Christians to continually doubt their worth and identity.
• Bill shares his personal past belief:
  • "I personally believed that I didn’t matter... and living in the lie of ‘I don’t matter’... gave me permission to be self-debasing.” (12:27, Bill Thrall)

5. The Trap of Sin Management Theology (14:08–17:09)

• Scott references Galatians 5: the danger of adding requirements (“if you accept this one thing that you have to do... you have to do them all… you’ve fallen from grace”). (14:08–14:35)
• The pursuit of controlling sin through personal effort severs believers from grace.
• Bill summarizes:
  • “Whenever we add the human participation to the process of our maturing, it is no longer grace.” (15:10, Bill Thrall)
• They define "sin management theology" as the false belief that we can or should control sin and become responsible for who we are becoming before God.

6. Trusting God for Change, Not Ourselves (16:40–18:09)

• Bold Nicole quotes from John:
  • “As you received him, so continue to walk in him.” (16:40)
• They explain that the Christian life continues as it began: by trusting God, not shifting back to self-effort.
• Bill:
  • “The minute I take part in who I am becoming, I have lost my need to trust him.” (17:09)

7. The Power of Authentic Storytelling and Grace-Filled Relationships (18:09–19:21)

• Scott states:
  • “If you’re ever in a room with another person and they authentically tell your story, you cannot help but fall in love with that person.” (18:11, Scott Boyd)
• Bill underlines the role of grace and courage in building trust-based relationships, necessary for living out one’s true identity.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Scott Boyd (02:42):
  “Imagine I could stop working on my life and step into a life that's already mine.”

• Bold Nicole (08:39):
  “I'm perfectly loved, I'm pure, I'm righteous, there's nothing I can do to make him love me more or less.”

• Bill Thrall (10:08):
  “The statement that ‘I’m not enough’ has its root in yesterday’s shame.”

• Bill Thrall (15:10):
  “Whenever we add the human participation to the process of our maturing, it is no longer grace.”

• Scott Boyd (18:11):
  “If you’re ever in a room with another person and they authentically tell your story, you cannot help but fall in love with that person.”

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:00–03:30] — The nature of faith and imagination: stepping into what God has already given.
• [04:40–07:20] — Addressing performance-based Christianity and giving permission to let go of striving.
• [07:24–10:08] — Embracing God's definition of who we are; personal stories about battling not-enoughness.
• [10:08–11:45] — How shame and poor theology reinforce each other and contribute to spiritual exhaustion.
• [14:08–15:10] — The dangers of sin management theology per Galatians 5.
• [16:40–18:09] — Living by trust as the ongoing mode of the Christian life.
• [18:09–19:21] — The invitation to authentic, grace-filled relationships as the pathway to living out true identity.

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Key Takeaways

• Rebuilding faith after it is shaken is not about fixing yourself, but trusting and stepping into your God-given identity.
• Performance and self-effort ("sin management theology") actually distance Christians from grace and reinforce shame.
• Moving beyond shame requires accepting God's unchanging love and redefining the basis of our worth.
• Authentic relationships, where stories are shared with vulnerability and grace, help reinforce our identity in Christ.
• Trust in God and grace must be the starting and sustaining force—as it was at the beginning, so it remains throughout the Christian walk.

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This episode combines theological depth, vulnerability, and practical advice, challenging listeners to trade striving and shame for trust, grace, and authentic community. If you’ve ever wondered how to really rebuild your faith, Bill, Scott, and Bold Nicole offer a compassionate, practical roadmap.

Transcript

[Scott Boyd]

Hey, guys, I just want to tell you about something else that Bill Voldemort and I are working on. It's called Living Influence Leadership. It's for business leaders who also happen to be Christians. We think we've got some great stuff that can be amazing in your company as it was in mine. Check us [e-mail] welcome to Living Influence. I'm your host, Scott Boyd, along with my two friends again, Bill Thrall and Bold Nicole. Thanks for being here. Before I dive in the episode, I want to tell you that we've got a book coming out. It's called Living Influence.

[Bill Thrall]

Yes.

[Scott Boyd]

Authors are Bill Thrall and John Lynch.

[Bill Thrall]

Yes.

[Scott Boyd]

It's an exciting book. We're really, I'm really excited about bringing it to you. Check that out on Livinginfluence.com, we're going to have some information on our website as I'm speaking today. It's not there, but it's in faith that I'm saying that we're going to have information about the book on our website. And the other thing is we've got some conferences for leaders who are Christians. There's going to be one in September and one in November Right now that we're scheduling an exclusive time with the three of us and this material on how it could transform your business. And you'll find that information out on livinginfluenceleadership.com so check that out. I hope the. I hope that we see a lot of you at one of those conferences. So we've been talking about the people that have been listening to our podcast.

[Bold Nicole]

Yes.

[Scott Boyd]

And thinking about what are the questions that you guys face in your life. Of course, we really want to lead you to continue to listen to our podcast and engage in the books, because that's where we, I think we've given more treatment to how can you deal with something like this? So the first one we're going to talk about is, for me, how do I rebuild my faith? Sometimes things happen in life that rock your faith. So how do I rebuild my faith when things that are difficult happen? And the word I'm going to talk about is the word imagine. And imagine has an interesting definition that mirrors the definition of faith and in Hebrews. Faith in Hebrews is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. So to imagine something that doesn't exist as if it does kind of sounds like faith.

[Bill Thrall]

Amen.

[Scott Boyd]

So my faith has been rocked. Imagine that I could stop Working on my life and step into a life that was already mine.

[Bill Thrall]

That's a great statement.

[Scott Boyd]

Imagine I could stop working on my life and step into a life that's already mine.

[Bill Thrall]

Well said.

[Scott Boyd]

Imagine I could step into a life that had joy. Would that be something desirable to step into? And that's kind of this thing. Our logo on our website is this upside down mountain. And why did we do an upside down mountain? Because there's this one thing doesn't have to be very big. It could be mustard seed sized called faith. That if I begin to trust this one thing, everything else comes from that.

[Bill Thrall]

Absolutely.

[Scott Boyd]

And so instead of having this mountain of all of these principles I lay in my life and the things that I've got to remember and, and do, it's just now I just have to trust that God's already given it to me.

[Bill Thrall]

Amen.

[Scott Boyd]

Through what Jesus Christ did on his cross for us.

[Bill Thrall]

Thank you.

[Scott Boyd]

Sometimes my friend Bill sounds like a broken record because it's like you can talk about any topic possible and he's going to say, well, you just have to remember how God sees you, you know, and it's like, and it's like, wait, that's the solution to everything. It caused me to think of Billy Graham. And over my life, I saw Billy Graham on TV a lot. Not as much as people older than me, but I still saw him enough. And presidents would have them to pray. And every time you saw him, he had this one message that he would speak about Jesus.

[Bill Thrall]

Absolutely.

[Scott Boyd]

It was the same message. It never changed.

[Bill Thrall]

Never changed.

[Scott Boyd]

And it was all he said. And why did he have so much effect on so many people? It's because of Jesus.

[Bill Thrall]

Amen.

[Scott Boyd]

So I'm struggling. My faith got rocked and now my behavior, I'm worried, I'm fearful, I'm like, my addictions show back up. And what do I do? Well, imagine that my life is based on who God says I am and not my behavior.

[Bold Nicole]

Amen.

[Scott Boyd]

What would happen if I did that in that moment? And that's the interesting thing is in that moment of faith, it takes me away from that need to want to fix that thing and to want to think I'm not enough. And it takes me to a place of like, wow, what if I already have been changed? It's this one little move can like put me into my old self or actually put me where God sees me all the time.

[Bill Thrall]

Amen.

[Scott Boyd]

So my statement I wanted to talk about, imagine I could step into a life instead of working on my life, a life that was already Mine.

[Bill Thrall]

For some reason, the church in the majority preaches the truth that Jesus died for their sin. They preach that truth faithfully. Yeah, but they get end up in that dynamic you're talking about. It's because they haven't yet learned to trust Jesus with their person, with their life, with their life. Did the Jesus who died for my sin actually change my person? And you're so right, Scott. Can I a little bit of faith. But can I by faith move into my new reality the way he sees me?

[Scott Boyd]

I mean, this is where it started for me. Can I move into that reality of trusting? He's already changed me. And if I don't wake up tomorrow morning and want to read my Bible, I'll still be okay. Are you sure you'll still be a Christian? Will I still be a Christian? Is it okay? Is it okay with God if tomorrow I'm just kind of tired and I didn't read my Bible? And when I first started to get this grace message for me, it was like, all right, I'm not going to read my Bible unless I want to. Do I actually.

[Bill Thrall]

Did you actually have permission to not

[Scott Boyd]

have to read your Bible? I did. I gave myself permission, praise God, to stop my doing. Yeah, exactly. Because I had such a doing radar. I measured everything for doing Voldemort. How about you? I'm going to put you in a hot spot.

[Bold Nicole]

Yeah, well, thank you. I'll build on what you said about this idea of not being enough. That's what I had written down. Is this idea of I'll never be enough or do enough something I've wrestled with for quite a bit of my life? Many episodes back, I talked a little bit about my background. So just this more of a performance for love environment at home that affected me, of course, just my own personality and how I'm wired. But that concept of will I be faithful enough? Will I be spiritual enough? Will I be a good enough father? Will I maximize all these incredible gifts and blessings that God has bestowed on me? Will I make a difference? Do I have enough significance in life? For me it's all about the challenge of am I going to maximize all the opportunity and giftedness? I don't think so. I'm worried I won't. And so my imagined statement from the book is imagine the significance of who God says I am ties back to everything that we talked about. But very specifically, who does God say I am?

[Bill Thrall]

Amen.

[Bold Nicole]

What he says is, and can I believe it? I'm perfectly loved, I'm pure, I'm righteous, there's nothing I can do to make him love me, more or less. Really, Nothing. So you're stuck in perfection. I can't lose or gain. It's in the blood and the message. In the epistles. There's. I'm an original. Each one of us is an original.

[Bill Thrall]

Amen.

[Bold Nicole]

Highly unique, gifted, perfectly loved. And if I extend that, then to trusted friends and an environment of grace, I can start to listen and believe that I'm a good dad. I'm very loving and compassionate, that I'm good at giving wisdom and guidance, that I can help other people discern their pathways in life. So many other skills that I can listen well and coach, that I'm creative. All these good things. I think we talked before about moving into that place where you can start to actually like yourself.

[Bill Thrall]

Amen. Well said.

[Bold Nicole]

Actually, you know, kind of a. It's kind of scary. Like. Yeah, it's kind of a scary. I'm not. It's a scary statement. But I'm kind of a cool person, actually, at least through the eyes of those that I trust. Like, I'm kind of interesting. That Interesting guy. That's very powerful. So that imagine statement, will I ever be enough or do enough? I'm enough.

[Bill Thrall]

Amen. Good for you. And Voldemort, even those examples you rattled off about who you really are, they are all statements of being enough. They are. And just because of. We'll get to mine in a minute, but I want to address something you just did. That statement that I'm not enough has its root in yesterday's shame. One of the questions, one of the statements I picked was, as a Christian, why I'm so tired all the time, but I want to feed it off of what you said.

[Scott Boyd]

When

[Bill Thrall]

my shame tells me I'm not enough, this is a tragic. Next statement. I often am in an environment where sin management theology is reinforcing my shame, where sin management theology is declaring Voldemort, you still got more to do. Voldemort. There's a reason you're not enough. You failed at this and you didn't coach that, and you didn't love this. You didn't do that. And so we have an entrapment. People will look at me going, bill, you're so strong on that. Well, I am. I'll just say this. Lots and lots of churches are still teaching that Voldemort, even though you're a Christian, at the core of your person, you're still a sinner.

[Bold Nicole]

Yeah.

[Bill Thrall]

They're teaching you that. And because at the Core of your person. You are still a sinner. Your shame is being fed. And when your shame is being fed, you will constantly remind yourself that your circumstances are validating the view you have of you. I want you to say that very clearly. Your circumstances are validating the view you have of you. But you ended your statement so beautifully in reminding us in yourself how God's view of you. That's called grace. Could I trust God that my circumstances no longer get to define me? But he does. What if I let my God define me? And you said it so well, Voldemort, I want to echo your story. In my own life for many, many, many years, I personally believed that I didn't matter. It just. The circumstances of my childhood gave me this sense I don't matter. I lived tragically in the lie of I don't matter for a long time. And living in the lie of I don't matter. It did something. It gave me permission to be self debasing. It gave me permission to be self debasing. It was a huge transformation in my life for me to be able to trust Bill Thrall, because I had to learn that in order for all of this insight, wisdom, whatever you call these giftings, I have to have their opportunity. Somebody had to trust me. And as people have learned to trust me, God has used everything we're talking about, these podcasts to have an incredibly positive effect on other people. Absolutely. But just, just those words, I'm not enough. They're the words of shame. And, And I. I'll say this. Could we say to our audience, are you aware of the damning effect your theology is having on your life?

[Scott Boyd]

Yeah, it's. I mean, to me, what's screaming is in Galatians 5, Paul says, if you accept this one thing that you have to do.

[Bill Thrall]

Yeah, just one thing.

[Scott Boyd]

Just this one thing that you have to do. You have to do them all. And then he follows.

[Bold Nicole]

It'll close the door to everything else.

[Scott Boyd]

You have to do everything.

[Bill Thrall]

Yeah.

[Scott Boyd]

And then he says, you've fallen from grace and you've been severed from Christ.

[Bold Nicole]

That's extreme.

[Scott Boyd]

It's so extreme. And so it's like when the sin management comes in and it's like, oh, no, God saved me of my sins, but now my. I'm responsible for my behavior. Yeah. I've got to. And my shame's good because it helps me to keep this in check. Reminds me how screwed up I am. Yeah. But it cuts us off from God.

[Bill Thrall]

Absolutely.

[Scott Boyd]

From Jesus and what he can do for us.

[Bill Thrall]

Thank you.

[Scott Boyd]

And when we imagine, it lets us enter into this place that God created for us to live.

[Bill Thrall]

As you say that, Scott, I want to remind us all, whenever, according to Galatians, whenever we add the human participation to the process of our maturing, it is no longer grace. I'll say it again, whenever we add the human participation to our maturing, it is no longer grace. Sin management is a theology that wants you to become responsible for who you are becoming. And that's tragic. And as you said at the very beginning in the first one this afternoon, you said, this isn't about my becoming. I already am. Grace says I already am. And you listed those things that God says to you that you already are.

[Bold Nicole]

That's right.

[Bill Thrall]

You listed them. That's our reality. That's your reality. So it's like, oh, gosh, spirit of God, keep me from a theology that makes me responsible for who I'm becoming.

[Bold Nicole]

And just to add in, for those who maybe haven't listened to all the podcasts, this definition of sin management is that I can manage the wrong I do is my sin, that I can somehow control it and manage it. And of course, that's a falsehood.

[Bill Thrall]

Exactly.

[Bold Nicole]

The other verse that comes to mind in the Book of John, I believe, is this, so, as you received him, so continue to walk in him.

[Bill Thrall]

Right, Exactly.

[Bold Nicole]

And, boy, that's been resonating in my mind over and over again because we've trusted him with our sin. But I kind of want to walk with the ability to manage just a little bit of, oh, no, it's all on me now. You know, it's all, now I'm responsible for everything.

[Scott Boyd]

Yeah.

[Bold Nicole]

And that's what happens.

[Bill Thrall]

Well, that's well said. Let's not leave that too quickly, because that is a problem. As you have received Christ Jesus, so walk ye in him. What does that mean? I received him on one basis. I trusted him. That's how I received him. And as we said in one of our earlier podcasts, whenever a human being makes the decision to trust God, that human being will experience grace. So as you have trusted him and you will experience grace, continue to live by trusting him, and you'll continue to live in grace. And the minute I take part and who I am becoming, I have lost my need to trust him.

[Scott Boyd]

Yeah. Yeah. That's amazing.

[Bill Thrall]

It's an amazing truth.

[Scott Boyd]

What I know to be true is if you're ever in a room with another person and they authentically tell your story, you cannot help but fall in love with that person.

[Bill Thrall]

Amen.

[Scott Boyd]

That's a true statement. When we watch someone else tell their story authentically, it's also a true statement. When you tell your story authentically, the person you tell it to will fall in love with you.

[Bill Thrall]

Amen.

[Scott Boyd]

And right. There will be two people that have created an environment of grace.

[Bill Thrall]

Thank you.

[Scott Boyd]

It takes courage, but it's so worth it.

[Bill Thrall]

It really is. It really is. The person who asked that we commented on it is doing what you just said worst. The who have the courage to walk up to somebody and say to them, do you think we could try trusting each other? What would that take? Tell your story as you just said. Let them tell their story. Begin with somebody. Because we are absolutely convinced you cannot solve you on your own.

[Scott Boyd]

That's so true.

[Bill Thrall]

Just can't do it.

[Scott Boyd]

Yeah, but I want to know how it's going to work exactly. Well, you really can't know how it's going to work until you just actually try it. Get in the middle of it. Yeah. Thanks again for listening to Living Influence. We appreciate you. We'd love it if you'd go to livinginfluence.com, contact us and send us an email. We'd love to know what you're thinking. See you next week.