Podcast

“I think Christians sit on the sidelines of a lot of conversations," says Craig Gross. Craig's latest venture is a Christian cannabis website, and this week on our podcast, he talks about his personal journey with using marijuana and why it's important for Christians not to be afraid of this topic.

"Churches need to develop a very specific evangelism strategy and a very specific evangelism training program," says Garry Poole. This week, Garry shares with us about why churches in the U.S. are struggling with evangelism and what pastors can do about it.

"I believe that God wants us to have a life that’s actually balanced," says Jimmy Dodd. But drawing healthy boundaries is a challenge. On this week's podcast, Jimmy shares with us out of his extensive experience of being a pastor himself, as well as ministering to other pastors across the world.

Understanding world religions is important for every believer, especially since Christianity is declining in the Western world. This week, Dr. Irving Hexham challenges some of our assumptions about sharing our faith and explains why Christians can be hopeful, even in a post-Christian culture.

Ministry matters, no matter how caught up we get in the daily grind. Luis Palau shares a lot of wonderful advice with us about the importance of unity and value of the local church. But one of his greatest passions is reminding pastors of the grandeur of their calling.

“The local experience is not going anywhere,” Jay Kranda says. As the leader of Saddleback Church Online, Jay talks to us about the goal of online church, which is surprisingly supportive of local churches and their evangelism efforts.

“We have an opportunity to treat our young people as prophets rather than pariah," Steven Argue of the Fuller Youth Institute says.

“One of the things you find out in the Bible is that needs are a good thing...you need to need," Dr. John Townsend says.

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.