What Francis Learned About Mountain Biking!

There is a difference between knowing the gospel and being moved by it. In this conversation with Pastor Francis Chan, that difference becomes hard to miss. What starts as a moment of raw honesty as Francis watches Candace respond to the gospel with tears opens into something much bigger: what it actually means to stay inside the love of God, not just visit it. Francis shares the mountain biking story from his new book (written with his daughter Mercy) that says everything about where we fix our eyes and what happens when we don't. They talk about the distinction between conviction from the Holy Spirit and condemnation from the enemy, why those two things feel similar but lead in completely different directions, and what it looks like to keep coming back to the gospel like it's the first time you've heard it. A listener named Candice (with an i) asks about scripture for recurring struggles, and Francis answers with the kind of honesty that actually helps. And Candace shares a season of her own life when she wanted God at arm's length and knew exactly why. The awkward line breaks from what looks like a copy-paste from a PDF or narrow text box are all cleaned up! Connect with Candace and Francis  Candace on Instagram @candacecbure  Follow the Podcast on Instagram @candacecameronburepodcast  Follow the Podcast on TikTok @ccbpodcast Francis on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/DWT8kswCPMj/ Francis on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@CrazyLoveMinistries Website: https://www.crazylove.org/ Sponsors For This Episode Lovebird lovebirdfoods.com/bure and use code BURE for 25% off IFCJ ifcj.com 316 Financial bank316.com/ccb, Vanman vanman.shop/bure and use code BURE for 15% off NuEthix https://nuethix.com/collections/candaces-favorites Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some questions have been argued in seminaries for centuries. Others just feel personal. In this episode of the Candace Cameron Bure Podcast, Candace and pastor Francis Chan sit with both. The conversation opens with listener questions on free will and prayer, and Francis does something refreshing: he admits what he doesn't know, and explains why that's actually a gift. From there the episode moves into something close to Francis's heart right now: identity. Not the kind built on reputation or accomplishment, but the one that holds when everything else falls apart. Francis talks about the disciple John, who called himself "the one Jesus loved," and why that used to seem odd to him. Now he sees it differently. John wasn't being arrogant. He was living by faith. One of the most striking moments is a story Francis shares about a seminary friend who spent decades trying to earn God's love through sheer effort and discipline. He ended up in the hospital. His body gave out. It was only when he finally stopped performing that something broke open. Francis connects that story to a trap a lot of believers fall into without ever naming it out loud: a good week quietly feels like it earns more love, and a bad week creates distance. The episode closes with Francis walking through the full gospel. Not a summary. The whole thing. And it lands exactly the way it should. Connect with Candace and Francis  Candace on Instagram @candacecbure  Follow the Podcast on Instagram @candacecameronburepodcast  Follow the Podcast on TikTok @ccbpodcast Francis on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/DWT8kswCPMj/ Francis on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@CrazyLoveMinistries Website: https://www.crazylove.org/ Sponsors For This Episode Vanman vanman.shop/bure and use code BURE for 15% off IFCJ ifcj.com GCU gcu.edu NOCD nocd.com NuEthix https://nuethix.com/collections/candaces-favorite Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Francis Chan is back with Candace, and before anything else, he stops to pray, asking God to do what no conversation can do on its own. It doesn't matter whether someone grew up with parents who loved them well or with parents who didn't, he says. Either way, experiencing God's love takes a miracle, so he's asking for that miracle as they begin. From there, Francis gives a glimpse of his life right now: seven kids, five grandkids, his four oldest are all worship leaders, and he loves how much the family will end up in the living room with their instruments and singing. He's been married to Lisa for 32 years and says he misses her more when he travels now than he ever has. Francis is 58 and still giving most of his energy to the generation coming up. He talks about how that shift started at 50, when he read Numbers 8 and realized God had told the Levites to step back from temple service at exactly that age, not because they'd run out of usefulness, but so they could pour into the 25-year-olds behind them. He didn't want to hear it. He was in the best shape of his life. But the more he sat with it, the clearer it got. There's a candle illustration he uses: at some point, the wisest thing the old candle can do is stop trying to stay lit and just light the new one. Olivia writes in saying prayer feels awkward to her, even when she's alone. Francis says that's more common than people admit, because most of us were never actually taught how to do it. He starts with Ecclesiastes 5, which says don't rush into God's presence with a flood of words. Stop first. Think about who you're talking to. From there he moves through awe, then grace, then what it looks like to sit quietly and let God work. The episode closes with two stories about that last part: a moment in Hawaii where Francis heard something he couldn't explain and a stranger sitting next to him said the exact same thing out loud, and a moment Candace had while reading Beloved, when she felt God’s direct encouragement.  Connect with Candace and Francis  Candace on Instagram @candacecbure  Follow the Podcast on Instagram @candacecameronburepodcast  Follow the Podcast on TikTok @ccbpodcast Francis on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/DWT8kswCPMj/ Francis on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@CrazyLoveMinistries Website: https://www.crazylove.org/ Sponsors For This Episode Lovebird lovebirdfoods.com/bure and use code BURE for 25% off IFCJ ifcj.com Vanman vanman.shop/bure and use code BURE for 15% off GCU gcu.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode opens with Candace welcoming pastor Francis Chan for the first of a six-week series built around his book Beloved and the theme of God's love. The two share history going back to Candace's teenage years at Cornerstone Church, and that context shapes the conversation from the start. Francis has written several books, including Crazy Love, and Beloved is the anchor for everything this season covers. A lot of this episode focuses on Francis's early life. His mother died when he was born, his father gave him up, and he was raised by his grandmother in Hong Kong before being returned to his dad at age five. Francis remembers arriving in a home where he felt like an interruption, not speaking English, with older siblings who didn't know what to do with him. His stepmother died in a car accident when he was seven, and his father died when he was twelve. Francis connects that history directly to the reason he wrote Beloved: accepting a holy, sovereign, judging God came naturally to him, but believing that God personally loved him was something else entirely. Candace comes to the conversation from a different starting point. Growing up with a loving earthly father, she says she absorbed God's love almost by default and never stopped to think too deeply about whether it was real or not. She reflects that believing something and actually sitting inside it aren't the same thing. Francis responds that this is its own kind of distance, and that he sometimes tells his own children he worries they'll miss out on the particular dependence on God that came from having no one else to rely on. The episode closes with a listener theology question from Vicky about Moses interceding when God threatens to destroy the Israelites. Vicky asks how a sovereign God who knows everything can be genuinely angry about things He already knew would happen, and whether Moses actually changed the outcome. Francis points to Isaiah 55, acknowledges the tension honestly, and draws out what the passage teaches about prayer, intercession, and how scripture uses narrative to communicate what neat answers alone can't. Connect with Candace and Francis  Candace on Instagram @candacecbure  Follow the Podcast on Instagram @candacecameronburepodcast  Follow the Podcast on TikTok @ccbpodcast Francis on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/DWT8kswCPMj/ Francis on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@CrazyLoveMinistries Website: https://www.crazylove.org/ Sponsors For This Episode GCU gcu.edu IFCJ ifcj.com  Lovebird lovebirdfoods.com/bure and use code BURE for 25% off Toups & Co toupsandco.com/candace and use code CANDACE for 25% Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season 14 of The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast starts next Tuesday! This season, her guest host is pastor, church planter, and bestselling author Francis Chan, a personal friend joining Candace for six weeks of conversation around one of the most important questions for someone following Jesus: do you truly believe that God loves you? Connect with Candace and Francis  Candace on Instagram @candacecbure  Follow the Podcast on Instagram @candacecameronburepodcast  Follow the Podcast on TikTok @ccbpodcast Francis on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/DWT8kswCPMj/ Francis on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@CrazyLoveMinistries Website: https://www.crazylove.org/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this final episode of Season 13, Candace and co-host Madi Prewett Troutt wrap up the conversations they have had over the last three months, and Candace shares what it has meant to get to know Madi, one of her daughter Natasha’s close friends, in this setting. Madi closes out the season with her thoughts on what it looks like to live free as a daily practice rather than a one-time decision. Drawing from Galatians 5:1, she talks about why freedom in Christ requires ongoing, intentional choices, and what it means that freedom is not just for us but for something greater than ourselves. The episode also includes a listener Q&A covering a wide range of topics: go-to meals, handling mean girl drama with your kids, the question of whether hair dyeing is a spiritual issue, how to share a difficult testimony without re-traumatizing yourself, workout guilt during busy seasons, wardrobe tips for petite women, and how to balance a public platform with family and personal time with God. Connect with Candace and Madison Candace on Instagram @candacecbure  Follow the Podcast on Instagram @candacecameronburepodcast  Follow the Podcast on TikTok @ccbpodcast Follow Madison Prewett Troutt on Instagram: @madiprew Website: https://www.madiprew.com/ YouTube:@madiprewett2381 Sponsors For This Episode IFCJ ifcj.org GCU gcu.edu Vanman https://vanman.shop/?discount=BURE - use code BURE for 15% off 316 Financial https://bank316.com/candace Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Candace and Madi are in the final stretch of their season together, and this conversation feels like a warm, honest wrap-up of everything they have been building toward. There is genuine emotion as they acknowledge having only two weeks left, the kind of sadness that comes from investing deeply in someone over a shared season of life. Before they get into the heavier stuff, they take a detour into laughter, swapping stories about crawling into tight spaces on a dare. Candace shares the time she climbed into a dryer with actress Marilu Henner, and Madi confesses to getting herself locked in the front trunk of a Tesla. It is the kind of belly laugh moment that makes this podcast feel like time with old friends! The conversation turns to a listener question from Jennifer, a stay-at-home mom who recently moved abroad for her husband's job and is grieving the loss of her church community. Both Candace and Madi speak to the challenge of building community from scratch, offering practical encouragement about plugging into a local church, joining a small group, and staying connected with old friends through calls or video chats. Candace gives a piece of advice she has lived by herself: give it a year. It takes time, but community is worth pursuing. Madi shares how her sense of calling has shifted with different seasons of life, and how entering motherhood has prompted a fresh conversation with her husband about how to channel her gifts in a new way. Candace reflects on how a decade at home with her kids radically changed the way she thought about work, ambition, and who she was trying to impress. Together, they land on something simple but countercultural: purpose is not about building your name. It is about glorifying God with what is right in front of you, whether that is a podcast, a stage, a barista counter, or a school pickup line. The episode wraps up with a listener question from Jessica, a new Christian who struggles with decision-making and worries about missing God's will for her life. Both Candace and Madi offer honest, grounded perspective. Most of the time, there is no sign in the sky. You pray, you take a step, and you trust that God will redirect you if needed. It is a reassuring note to end on, and a fitting close to a season that has consistently pointed listeners back to faith, faithfulness, and the quiet power of everyday obedience. Connect with Candace and Madison Candace on Instagram @candacecbure  Follow the Podcast on Instagram @candacecameronburepodcast  Follow the Podcast on TikTok @ccbpodcast Follow Madison Prewett Troutt on Instagram: @madiprew Website: https://www.madiprew.com/ YouTube:@madiprewett2381 Sponsors For This Episode Vanman https://vanman.shop/?discount=BURE - use code BURE for 15% off IFCJ ifcj.org GCU  https://gcu.edu NOCD  nocd.com 316 Financial https://bank316.com/candace Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does your circle actually look like? Who is your community? Candace and Madi talk about the loneliness of post-college life, navigating new seasons as a wife and mom, and share the real challenges of finding and keeping the right people around you. Candace and Madi open up about moments when the people they chose to spend time with led them in the wrong direction, and the friends who pointed them back toward Jesus. Madi shares a vulnerable story about a night that went sideways and what it taught her about the power of peer influence. Candace reflects on the crazy underground Hollywood party she and Val stumbled into, and the lifelong friend who sat her down and asked the question that changed her trajectory: 'How is your walk with God? They explore what it looks like to build community in every season, whether you are newly single after college, settling into marriage, raising littles, or starting fresh in a brand new city. Candace reminds listeners that online community counts, that technology makes it possible to have deep friendships across the miles, and that you are never too old to make new friends. (Her dad at 82 proves it in the most adorable story you will hear today. They close the episode by tackling a listener question about what to do when a close friend isn’t willing to forgive and make up. Their answer is full of grace, honesty, and hope for anyone carrying the weight of a broken relationship. Connect with Candace and Madison Candace on Instagram @candacecbure  Follow the Podcast on Instagram @candacecameronburepodcast  Follow the Podcast on TikTok @ccbpodcast Follow Madison Prewett Troutt on Instagram: @madiprew Website: https://www.madiprew.com/ YouTube:@madiprewett2381 Sponsors For This Episode Vanman https://vanman.shop/?discount=BURE - use code BURE for 15% off IFCJ ifcj.org GCU  https://gcu.edu MASA CHIPS https://www.masachips.com/ 316 Financial https://bank316.com/candace Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Candace and Madi sit down for a heartfelt conversation about purity culture and their personal experiences. From listener questions about managing work stress as a new mom to a candid discussion about what it really means to live a life of purity, this episode is a combo of vulnerability and practical wisdom. Madi opens up about her personal relationship journey during high school and college, sharing how her early mindset was rooted in fear and reputation rather than a genuine love for God. She reflects on how experiencing God's grace completely transformed the way she views purity, not as a list of rules, but as a beautiful gift that leads to more of God's presence and a life of real freedom. She shares openly about past struggles with pornography, and how confession and accountability were key to walking in freedom. Candace brings her own perspective as someone nearly 30 years into marriage, broadening the conversation beyond sexual purity to include thinking more carefully about the way we talk and think. Candace and Madi tackle the hard questions: how to have a healthy sexual relationship in marriage, how to deal with public scrutiny, and what practical steps someone can take if they want to commit or recommit to a life of purity today. Whether you are single, dating, engaged, or married, this episode is for you! It is a reminder that shame doesn’t get the last word for anybody. Connect with Candace and Madison Candace on Instagram @candacecbure  Follow the Podcast on Instagram @candacecameronburepodcast  Follow the Podcast on TikTok @ccbpodcast Follow Madison Prewett Troutt on Instagram: @madiprew Website: https://www.madiprew.com/ YouTube:@madiprewett2381 Sponsors For This Episode IFCJ ifcj.org GCU  https://gcu.edu NOCD  nocd.com MASA CHIPS https://www.masachips.com/ 316 Financial https://bank316.com/candace Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does a vibrant prayer life really look like? In this episode, Madi Prewett Troutt sits down with Candace to talk about one of the most powerful yet often intimidating aspects of faith: prayer. Fresh from a Unite event where thousands of college students gathered for worship and baptisms, Madi shares her journey from feeling awkward praying for an hour to craving even more time with God. This conversation gets real about the practical side of prayer—how to start when you don't know what to say, why it sometimes feels like you're talking to an empty room, and what to do when life gets so busy that prayer becomes an afterthought. Candace and Madi both vulnerably share where they are in their own prayer journeys, offering encouragement that prayer isn't about having perfect words or the right formula. Whether you're recommitting to prayer after a season of drifting, navigating the challenges of a new life stage, or feeling spiritually attacked when you're pursuing God most faithfully, this episode will meet you right where you are. You'll walk away with actionable steps to deepen your connection with God and a fresh perspective on why prayer is worth prioritizing, even when it feels hard. If you've ever wondered how to make prayer less intimidating and more intimate, or if you're ready to move from discipline to delight in your time with God, this conversation is for you. Connect with Candace and Madison Candace on Instagram @candacecbure  Follow the Podcast on Instagram @candacecameronburepodcast  Follow the Podcast on TikTok @ccbpodcast Follow Madison Prewett Troutt on Instagram: @madiprew Website: https://www.madiprew.com/ YouTube:@madiprewett2381 Sponsors For This Episode GCU https://gcu.edu IFCJ ifcj.org Vanman https://vanman.shop/?discount=BURE - use code BURE for 15% off 316 Financial https://bank316.com/candace Lovebird lovebirdfoods.com/bure - use code BURE for 25% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices