S7 Episode #18- Zach Windahl

THE ONE WITH ZACH WINDAHL

This week on The Collected Podcast, we are excited to welcome author and content creator Zach Windahl, whose latest book, The Bible Simplified, walks readers through the entire Bible story with clarity and context. In this episode, Zach shares fresh insights and powerful stories about his personal journey—wrestling with doubt, finding renewed depth, and cultivating intimacy with the Lord. Whether you're navigating uncertainty or seeking to strengthen your faith, this conversation has something meaningful for you. Join us as we geek out about the Bible and explore practical steps to deepen your relationship with God.

A Little more about Zach

Zach Windahl is an author and content creator focused on helping his audience grow in their faith. He is the founder and former CEO of The Brand Sunday, a company that creates tools and resources to hold your hand as you read through the Bible for yourself.

Marrying his passion for entrepreneurship and making faith simple and attainable has landed Zach in a unique place in the Christian landscape, where he reaches hundreds of thousands of followers on social media every day. He wrote his latest book, “The Bible, Simplified” (coming July 1, 2025), to help others be less overwhelmed by the Bible and more confident in their faith.

A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE BOOK

Go from feeling lost with the Bible, to becoming confident in your faith.  

You want to understand the Bible and feel a deeper connection to God, but busyness, relationships, and everyday distractions seem to crowd out Bible reading most days. Not to mention it’s hard to know where to start— and deep down you might even wonder if the Bible is relevant to your modern life. It’s overwhelming. It’s confusing. And it’s easy to feel frustrated on your faith journey. 

Too often you find yourself walking away from reading Scripture, feeling lost instead of

encouraged, something Zach Windahl experienced firsthand. Even though he grew up going to church, his Bible often remained on the shelf. It wasn’t until he discovered the joy of reading the Bible that he became passionate about helping others do the same. 

In his relatable and easy-to-read style, Zach has simplified Scripture to help you—especially if you’re a new Christian—understand the Bible’s message in a way that’s approachable and life-changing.

In The Bible, Simplified, you will learn how to: 

1. understand the entire storyline of the Bible,

2. gain clarity and confidence in your faith, and

3. incorporate the Bible’s teachings into your daily life.

If you’re feeling lost with Scripture, this book will be your guide. You no longer need to be confused, disconnected, and overwhelmed in your faith. Take the first step to understanding God’s story—and your remarkable role in it.

L I S T E N

W A T C H

S H O W N O T E S

Zach grew up in the church and saw God perform miracle after miracle. When he hit college, Zach fell away from his faith for years. He realized that his faith wasn’t fully his own. He decided that he would take two years to move to Australia and intensely study the Bible and see if God would show up. By day two of the program, God completely took hold of Zach’s heart and left him forever changed. 

After Australia, Zach found a passion for making the Bible accessible to everyone. He wrote his first book, The Bible Study, to take people on a one-year journey through the Bible. He also launched The Brand Sunday to give people more tools and resources to help the Bible come alive in their hands.  

OFF THE MOUNTAINTOP 

Our faith isn’t meant to live forever in a “mountaintop” experience. Being consistent and steady for long periods of time and what wins the race and helps us grow in intimacy with Jesus. 

Don’t chase the mountaintops. Instead, take a step back and try to consistently show up to God everyday. Peace will be found in the consistency and the mundane. God will take you through a variety of seasons, and He is present through each one. You may see Him move in mighty ways in one season, but then feel like He is silent for years. Remember that God doesn’t experience time the same way that we do. To Him 20 years is like a day and in the blink of an eye we will be with Him in Heaven. This perspective can help us keep our eyes fixed on Him throughout all seasons. 

REMAINING ROOTED IN YOUR TRUE IDENTITY 

Create habits that you can do back to day in and day out that will bring you closer to God. It’s not about checking a box, but about building consistency. 

Zach shared that he spends time in Scripture, prayer and listening prayer with God every morning. Our relationship with God is a two-way relationship and God wants to speak to you. 

It’s easy to get so busy and caught up in life, but there is something so beautiful about being able to slow down for 10 minutes and rest in The Lord. Our culture has a hard time sitting in silence, but there are incredible things to be learned in the stillness. 

THE BIBLE SIMPLIFIED 

The Bible Simplified is 40 short chapters that help walk readers through the entire Bible story– providing history and context to help the story make sense. 

It is not to replace the Bible, but rather to help you build your foundation. This will help the Bible make more sense and come to life in new ways! 

COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE BIBLE

People can often get stuck in the belief that the Bible is nothing more than a rule book. In reality, the Bible is 50% story, ⅓ poetry, and the rest is prose discourse explaining things. We must shift to reading the Bible as God’s love story of his interactions with humanity and the direction that we are heading– which is full of hope and restoration. 

We look at Scripture through a very Western/Greek mindset, which is very focused on facts and data. However, the original audience would have had a Hebrew/Eastern mindset, which is all about stories, symbols and poetry. It’s important to put everything into the context of the original audience. 

THE HEART OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE 

At the root of everything is that God is holy. He is calling us to a life of adventure with Him. It is a love story. Most of life is about fearing The Lord– having awe and reverence for who He is, and hearing His voice and having the confidence to obey it. If we want to live in a place of wisdom, we must start with fearing The Lord and recognizing His holiness above all else. From there, we are partnered with God to bring His kingdom to the world and the true adventure begins! 

We can get so caught up in wanting to oversimplify things for new Christians, but people are looking for something real. We are called to be set apart from the world, and we can learn how to do this through the words of Jesus and obedience to Him. 

WRESTLING WITH DOUBT 

It is very common in the church to have doubts and there is often a shame associated with asking tough questions. However, to truly grow in your faith, you need to be able to ask the tough questions and dig into the Bible to see what God has to say about them. God is not afraid of your questions. 

It’s so easy for us to allow people in the church to hurt us, causing us to leave the church and blame God for the actions of others. 

Doubting is common, but it’s about what you do with the doubt. You can allow it to pull you away from God, or draw you closer to Him. 

In Matthew 28, Jesus had already risen from the dead and was about to ascend to Heaven and the Bible tells us that some people still doubted, even though they had seen the risen Jesus! So for us today, of course some doubt will be normal, but it’s about what we do what the doubt. 

The Lord is personal and wants to make himself known to each of us in personal ways. 

Get into the Bible! 

OUR CHALLENGE TOGETHER 

For the months of June and July we commit to: 

  1. 10 minutes a day for 2 months in listening prayer. 

  2. In 2 months, read the whole New Testament. 

FINAL THOUGHTS 

Do anything you can to not be overwhelmed by the Bible. Take a deep breath. God wants to grow with you for the rest of your life. You don’t have to know everything right away. 

Try to understand how every piece fits into the bigger picture so you can see what role you have to play in God’s grand story! 

N E X T S T E P S

Here are a few action steps to help you dip deeper this week!

Join us in our Summer Soak Challenge: 

    1. 10 minutes a day for 2 months in listening prayer. 

    2. In 2 months, read the whole New Testament. 

Thank you, as always, for listening! Please remember that everything we do is funded by those who benefit from our ministry. Our ministry a 501(c)3, so your contribution is tax-deductible.

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  • The Collected Podcast is a production of Collected Ministries, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping disciples of Jesus discover and live from their true identity in Christ, recognize and walk in their divine purpose within the Kingdom of God, and experience growth in their capacity for mature, healthy relationships.

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  • The Collected Podcast is produced by Jes French and edited by Jacob Early. Cover art designed by Ben Biondo.

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