Podcast

The Emanuel AME church shooting cut short the lives of nine people. Rev. Anthony Thompson lost his wife, Myra. He was also the first to publicly offer the shooter, Dylann Roof, forgiveness.

On the topic of singleness, Sam Allberry says most in the church would be happy to have Paul as their apostle, but not necessarily as their pastor. Join us as we talk to Sam about does and does not qualify someone for ministry.

“A lot of churches will see discipleship as a program whereas in reality when you look at the Scriptures, discipleship is actually more about the direction you’re moving in rather than the destination that you’ve arrived.”

Jim Martin with International Justice Mission says engaging in God's work of justice doesn't have to be controversial. Who doesn't want to see things like poverty and human trafficking come to an end?

Pastor Charles Stone talks about the research pointing to the benefits of practicing mindfulness. Which leads to the question: Is there such a thing as Christian mindfulness?

Kara Powell of the Fuller Youth Institute addresses parents' concerns over teens leaving the church. Powell says what may seem like a teen turning from faith may actually be a young person turning from forms of church that make sense to the parent, but not the child.

“If the Christian life was only about trying to get you out of earth, into heaven, then why in the world would Jesus leave us here after conversion?” Robby Gallaty discusses this question in our conversation about the kingdom of heaven.

Almost half of Christian millennials say sharing their faith with someone is wrong, yet almost all of them agree knowing Jesus is the best thing that could happen to someone. What’s going on here? Craig Springer, the leader of Alpha USA, unpacks the statistics for us in our conversation.

“Just as the spirit of God was with Christ on the cross, so he is with us in the depths of our agonies, reminding us that there is something ahead of us," Ken Costa says. Our discussion focuses on the things we may have overlooked about the cross.

Justin and Scott discuss the need for pastors to embrace their humanity and they believe spiritual disciplines can help them do that.

Drew Dyck read 62 books and conducted 14 interviews to write a book on self-control. Drew talks to us about the science and spirituality behind self-control and how its practice will lead you toward freedom.

"In the noise of culture, we can’t just speak truth louder," Matt Brown says. In our conversation, Matt addresses the crisis of influence the church is currently experiencing in the world.

“What we have to understand is that discernment is not a weapon we use against each other," Hannah Anderson says.

"I always say my primary ministry is my family. Everything else I do is from the overflow of that," Shane Pruitt says. When his own family experienced difficulties, Shane learned some things about ministering to others during times of hardship.

“We have to accept the fact that peace isn’t magic, and you can love Jesus and still be struggling profoundly with inner peace," Erwin McManus says.

“Instead of an institution, people come to, [the church should be] a way of life cultivated in a place,” David Fitch says. Listen to our conversation with David as he discusses what it looks like when a church is "on mission."

“We need to be planting about 8,100 churches per year just to keep up with the population and the closure rates," Justin Moxley of Stadia says. Justin shares the latest research on church plants, including how they reach unreached people.

Kent Annan is the director of humanitarian and disaster leadership at Wheaton College. In our conversation, Kent addresses the fears that often come up when societies consider welcoming refugees and immigrants and the facts he learned about the impact they have on the nations who welcome them.

“There’s never been a life lived that didn’t have regrets. There’s never been a life lived that didn’t fail on some level or another," Brent Crowe says. In our conversation, Brent encourages leaders to shift their paradigm on regret and failure.

Scott Sauls discusses how a battle with depression during his time as a pastor brought about his greatest contribution to the Kindom of God.