This Is What the Gospel Sounds Like: A Podcast on K-Pop Demon Hunters

In Episode 13 of This Is What the Gospel Sounds Like, Sarah Crowder and Andy explore the theological echoes within Wake Up Dead Man and its connection to the world of Knives Out and K-pop Demon Hunters.
What does grace sound like in a story shaped by mystery and moral tension?
Where does forgiveness break in?
How does transformation unfold in unexpected ways?
From the Road to Damascus to the quiet work of redemption in everyday life, this episode reflects on how contemporary storytelling carries the deeper music of the gospel.
Blending Lutheran theology, cultural analysis, and personal reflection, Sarah and Andy invite listeners to hear Christ’s promise of grace even in modern film.

In Episode 12 of This Is What the Gospel Sounds Like, teacher Sarah Crowder and pastor-writer Andy Jones begin with awards-season excitement around K-Pop Demon Hunters before turning to a deeply moving scene in Wake Up Dead Man.
This episode explores pastoral presence, the power of listening, and the meaning of confession and absolution in the Christian tradition. What happens when someone hears, “You are forgiven,” and believes it?
They discuss:
• The ministry of presence in crisis
• Confession and absolution explained clearly
• Private vs. corporate forgiveness
• The symbolism of the missing cross
• Fortitude vs. grace in the life of the church
Spoiler warning: major plot details from Wake Up Dead Man are discussed.
At its heart, this conversation asks: What does the Gospel actually sound like?

Sarah Crowder and Andy Jones discuss Wake Up Dead Man and what it reveals about faith, culture, and the church’s calling.
This episode explores compassion versus culture wars, ministry among strangers, and how Jesus engaged the world with love and presence.
This is what the gospel sounds like: you’re not alone!

Can a K-Pop Demon Hunters echo the gospel?
In this finale of This Is What the Gospel Sounds Like, teacher and PhD student Sarah Crowder joins Lutheran pastor and author Andrew Jones for a deep, joyful conversation on loving our enemies, language, and the Trinity in K-Pop Demon Hunters.
Together, they unpack what happens when faith meets culture; from the way language shapes how we hear Scripture to how grace defeats hate when nothing else can. You’ll hear reflections on church life, translation, Trinity analogies, and fan theories about Celine and Jinu that reveal something profoundly human and divine.
What you’ll learn:
• Why hate can’t heal the real enemy and what Jesus gives us instead
• How biblical languages and cultural context shape faith
• Where our favorite Trinity metaphors fall apart
• Why stories like K-Pop Demon Hunters sound like good news
• What hope might look like in the next chapter of this world
Featuring clips from classroom conversations and pastoral insight, this episode brings together heart, humor, and theology, reminding us that grace is the last word.
🎙 This Is What the Gospel Sounds Like - where film, faith, and friendship meet to explore how ordinary stories echo extraordinary grace.

In Episode 9 of This Is What the Gospel Sounds Like, Sarah Crowder and Pastor Andrew Jones dive into Take Down, one of the most intense songs from K-Pop Demon Hunters.
What happens when faith meets failure, or when the desire to do right becomes another form of control? Sarah and Andy unpack how this scene captures the tension Luther called the life of the sinner and saint.
They trace how Rumi’s fight echoes the human struggle to master what only grace can heal. Along the way, they explore what true Gospel sounds like, how vulnerability can turn from performance into healing, and why love always dismantles what power cannot.
✨ In this episode you’ll hear:
What makes Take Down a song of Law, not Gospel, and why that matters

Rumi’s internal fight as a picture of the Christian life

How safe confession contrasts with forced vulnerability

Why the Gospel doesn’t destroy the sinner but restores the person

The rhythm of grace that disarms both pride and fear

📖 Scripture and Themes: Romans 7, the two natures of believers, confession, freedom, forgiveness, and the communion of saints.
💬 Reflection Questions:
When have you felt the pull between control and grace?

How does community help you confess honestly and live freely?

🙏 Thanks for listening to This Is What the Gospel Sounds Like.
If this episode helped you hear grace in a new way, share it or leave a quick note. Each listen helps others discover the beauty of the Gospel in unexpected places — even in K-Pop.