Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
What happens when an Evangelical pastor begins seriously studying the early Church — and realizes modern Christianity looks very different from ancient Christianity?
In this episode, I chat with Father David Hovik to discuss his remarkable journey from Evangelical ministry into the Orthodox Church, and how that journey ultimately brought much of his congregation with him. This story is truly captivating.
We talk about the spiritual hunger that exists beneath modern life, the limits of contemporary Christianity, and why more people are searching for something ancient, rooted, and sacramental.
Fr. David reflects on the risks, resistance, and transformation that came with leaving behind familiar forms of Christianity in pursuit of what he became convinced was the historic Church founded by Christ and preserved through the centuries.
This conversation explores:
Fr. David’s path from Evangelical pastor to Orthodox priest
The role of Church history in his conversion
Why modern Christianity can feel spiritually fragmented
The difference between “personal faith” and historic Christianity
Liturgy, sacraments, and the ancient Christian worldview
Bringing an entire congregation into Orthodoxy
Spiritual formation in a distracted modern age
Why people are increasingly drawn to the ancient faith
Fr. David brings a calm, pastoral, and deeply grounded perspective to questions many modern Christians are quietly wrestling with.
Fr. David Hovik's Parish:
saocc.org
Sponsors:
Podsworth App: podsworth.com
Code: BUCK50 for HALF off your first order!
Clean up your recordings, sound like a pro, and support the Counterflow Podcast!
Full Ad Read BEFORE processing: youtu.be/F4ljjtR5QfA
Full Ad Read AFTER processing: youtu.be/J6trRTgmpw
Please consider supporting me on Patreon: patreon.com/counterflow
Visit my website: counterflowpodcast.com
Audio Production by Podsworth Media: podsworth.com
Leave us a review and rating on iTunes! Thanks!
The Counterflow Podcast is a weekly show featuring discussions and interviews with people who are outside of and critical toward mainstream liberal and conservative politics. Counterflow challenges the conventional right/left binary and is concerned with the more important distinction of free vs unfree. The show will feature thinkers from all backgrounds, who do not fit into the narrow framework of fashionable opinion. The show will address cultural and lifestyle issues as well as philosophy and politics. Host Buck Johnson (formerly of The Death To Tyrants Podcast) is a musician and firefighter and has always had an interest and drive to go one way while everyone else runs the other direction.
What happens when an Evangelical pastor begins seriously studying the early Church — and realizes modern Christianity looks very different from ancient Christianity?
In this episode, I chat with Father David Hovik to discuss his remarkable journey from Evangelical ministry into the Orthodox Church, and how that journey ultimately brought much of his congregation with him. This story is truly captivating.
We talk about the spiritual hunger that exists beneath modern life, the limits of contemporary Christianity, and why more people are searching for something ancient, rooted, and sacramental.
Fr. David reflects on the risks, resistance, and transformation that came with leaving behind familiar forms of Christianity in pursuit of what he became convinced was the historic Church founded by Christ and preserved through the centuries.
This conversation explores:
Fr. David’s path from Evangelical pastor to Orthodox priest
The role of Church history in his conversion
Why modern Christianity can feel spiritually fragmented
The difference between “personal faith” and historic Christianity
Liturgy, sacraments, and the ancient Christian worldview
Bringing an entire congregation into Orthodoxy
Spiritual formation in a distracted modern age
Why people are increasingly drawn to the ancient faith
Fr. David brings a calm, pastoral, and deeply grounded perspective to questions many modern Christians are quietly wrestling with.
Fr. David Hovik's Parish:
saocc.org
Sponsors:
Podsworth App: podsworth.com
Code: BUCK50 for HALF off your first order!
Clean up your recordings, sound like a pro, and support the Counterflow Podcast!
Full Ad Read BEFORE processing: youtu.be/F4ljjtR5QfA
Full Ad Read AFTER processing: youtu.be/J6trRTgmpw
Please consider supporting me on Patreon: patreon.com/counterflow
Visit my website: counterflowpodcast.com
Audio Production by Podsworth Media: podsworth.com
Leave us a review and rating on iTunes! Thanks!
The Counterflow Podcast is a weekly show featuring discussions and interviews with people who are outside of and critical toward mainstream liberal and conservative politics. Counterflow challenges the conventional right/left binary and is concerned with the more important distinction of free vs unfree. The show will feature thinkers from all backgrounds, who do not fit into the narrow framework of fashionable opinion. The show will address cultural and lifestyle issues as well as philosophy and politics. Host Buck Johnson (formerly of The Death To Tyrants Podcast) is a musician and firefighter and has always had an interest and drive to go one way while everyone else runs the other direction.
