Podcast

David Curry says that when we look at the history of Christian oppression, "this is the time that has the most persecution to date.” David is the president and CEO of Open Doors and this week on our podcast, he explains why global persecution is increasing and how the church in the U.S. should respond.

Jesus, says Dave Willis, is our perfect example of godly masculinity. This week on our podcast, Dave shares his insights on why women are so disrespected in our culture and what church leaders can do to help restore a godly view of masculinity and femininity in their congregations.

Barna president David Kinnaman says, “We’re becoming more post-Christian by a lot of measures." This week on our podcast, David shares why, even though our culture is becoming increasingly secular, he is optimistic about the faith of the next generation.

JD Greear says, “Church-defining issues are the gospel, and we can disagree on secondary matters even with unity in primary ones.” At times this might seem impossible, but this week on our podcast, JD shares how to prioritize the gospel over any other issue...even politics.

Tim Lucas says, “Jesus calls Himself the living water, and so we really believe church should be refreshing.” Tim is the pastor of Liquid Church in NJ, and on this week's podcast, he shares how he sees the Holy Spirit moving in his ministry and across the nation.

Rachael Denhollander says, “There is so much beauty in a gospel-filled response to abuse.” This week on our podcast, Rachael shares how pastors can avoid doing further harm to sexual abuse survivors and instead point them to the hope found in Jesus.

“Every follower of Jesus is a masterpiece work of God with a general calling and a unique calling," says Todd Wilson. This week on our podcast, Todd explains how calling often becomes an idol for Christians and why churches need to move away from a "programmatic" growth strategy.

“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?