Church & Culture Podcast

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a question that has been debated quite a bit within the church: Can someone lose their salvation? While there are some Christians who would say, “once saved, always saved,” the Bible clearly points to cases of apostasy, defined as “the abandonment or renunciation of a religious or political belief.” Jesus Himself even said that, at the end of time, “many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other” (see Matthew 24:10, NIV).

As Alexis mentioned at the top of the podcast, this year marks the 10th anniversary of the release of Dr. White's book The Rise of the Nones. The “nones” represent people who, when asked to define their religious affiliation, simply respond by choosing "none of the above". Since the release of the book, the nones have only continued to rise. This was the topic of a past podcast episode that we'd encourage you to go back and listen to: CCP32: On a Non-Christian America. There has also been a growing trend with people “deconstructing” their faith - the process of rethinking foundational stances related to lifestyle, associations and beliefs, and usually in relation to a previously held spiritual faith. For more on this topic, again we'd suggest that you listen to CCP28: On Deconstructing or check out a series delivered by Dr. White at Mecklenburg Community Church called “The Deconstruction Zone.”

Many who argue against the possibility that people can lose their salvation point to the idea of election - that God has decreed already those who will (or will not) be saved. This is one of the central doctrines of Calvinism, yet another past podcast episode. In fact, this has been one of the most popular episodes of the Church & Culture Podcast, and you can find CCP59: On Calvinism HERE.

Finally, if you know of someone who has walked away from the faith, someone who has essentially returned the free gift of their salvation, Dr. White encouraged us to continue to try to evangelize them. There are a number of series that Dr. White has given at Mecklenburg Community Church that may help you to be able to share with someone wrestling with their faith. They are gathered under the category of “Evangelism & Apologetics” HERE.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the findings of a Lifeway Research study titled “Churchgoers Want to Hear Pastors Address Current Issues.” The study revealed that 80% of churchgoers believe their pastors need to address modern cultural issues to help them better understand the state of the world. So, are pastors taking on this challenge?

Many people today are truly confused about how to think about cultural issues of our day, especially when there are moral implications. At Mecklenburg Community Church, Dr. White has tried to speak out on a number of cultural issues over the years. Whether you are a pastor looking to craft a series on cultural topics or just someone wanting to learn how to engage some of the issues of our day, we've gathered these sermon series under the banner of “CULTURE” on the Church & Culture website HERE. Some of these hot topics also spill into the areas of another message category - “MARRIAGE AND FAMILY.”

There were two specific sermon series that Dr. White mentioned during today's podcast that we wanted to direct you to as well. He explained that we recently had a series at Meck where we allowed Meck members and attenders to vote for the topics they wanted to hear the church discuss. The series was called “What the Bible Really Says About…” and counted from the fifth topic selected to the first choice. You can find that series HERE. Dr. White also mentioned that he often works a cultural topic into a series about the Bible. For example, in our recent series “Bad Girls of the Bible” (borrowed from and attributed to the books and research of Liz Curtis Higgs), one of the installments focused on “The Medium of Endor.” In this installment, he was able to address the cultural topic of the occult and the practice of witchcraft. You can find that series HERE.

Finally, they discussed the importance of pastors building trust with those who attend their church in order to be able to speak with authority on cultural issues of our day - and to do the important research required. The problem is, many people do not place a lot of trust in clergy. This was the topic of a previous podcast episode: CCP94: On the Growing Lack of Confidence in Clergy.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.

With the results of the 2024 presidential election now determined, we felt it would be helpful to release an early podcast conversation this week. This will hopefully serve as a helpful reminder that we are called to be Christians first, and Republicans or Democrats second - a distant second. And also to remind us that no matter whether the outcome of the election was what you hoped for, that Jesus is still on His throne and that He is bigger than any election.

Part of today's discussion included Dr. White reading this past Monday's Church & Culture blog titled “A Presidential Prayer.” You can read that blog in its entirety HERE. You may also be interested in listening to a past series that Dr. White delivered at Mecklenburg Community Church called “Where Angels Fear to Tread: Meck Talks Politics.” You can find that series HERE. Also, you may be interested in two past podcast episodes that took a deeper dive into how Christians should engage the political world: CCP82: On Christians and Politics and CCP83: On Christians and Government.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the growing cultural force of social media influencers. Given what these influencers can make for simply sharing their opinions through their social media platform of choice, it's led many young people from Gen Z and Gen Alpha to aspire to become influencers themselves - a goal that a very minuscule percentage will attain. It's also interesting to note how willing people are to take the advice of influencers who, quite frankly, sometimes know very little about what they are even promoting.

Today's discussion was prompted by a Pew Research article titled “Who U.S. Adults Follow on TikTok,” revealing that users in the United States follow pop culture and entertainment personalities at a far greater rate than politicians or news organizations. And as mentioned earlier, young people today are increasingly saying they want to follow in the footsteps of social media influencers to become internet stars themselves. We'd encourage you to check out these articles to read more about that:

Jacob Dirnhuber, “Children Turn Backs on Traditional Careers in Favour of Internet Fame, Study Finds,” The Sun.

Tanith Carey, “Can Social Media School Make Your 16-Year-Old a Star?” The Telegraph.

They also discussed how pastors and clergy are losing their influence on culture as more and more people have witnessed moral failings of pastors. This was discussed in CCP4: On Pastors and Moral Failings and CCP31: On Celebrity Pastors.

Finally, when Alexis asked what the church could do to increase its reach and influence, Dr. White stressed the urgency for churches to have a stronger presence online - meeting culture where they are at in the world in which they live. You can read more about this in his book Hybrid Church: Rethinking the Church for a Post-Christian Digital Age.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how misunderstood the cultural history tied to Halloween really is. For many people, Halloween offers an excuse to dress up in a costume, for kids to rack up an insane amount of candy, or a reason to dust off an old horror film for a night's worth of adrenaline. But there are a lot of Christians who grapple with whether they should stay clear of any and everything tied to Halloween. To really understand it, you need to be familiar with its history and its background. Because its Christian roots run deeper than you may realize.

Dr. White began today's discussion with a very helpful overview on the history and traditions that have led to our modern day celebration of Halloween. There is an article that you might find interesting written by Sophie Dickinson for The Telegraph titled “The origins of Halloween, from trick-or-treat to pumpkin carving.” And while a New York Times article from 1986 predicted that Halloween was on its way out as a cultural celebration, a recent article written by Aimee Ortiz highlights how it has quickly become a “retail monstrosity.” You can read that article HERE.

Dr. White has blogged in the past about how while many children embrace the fun and childlike innocence that Halloween can hold, it's often parents who are making it dark through their hyper-sexualized costumes. You can read that past blog HERE, as well as the article that Dr. White referenced titled “Good Girls Go Bad, for a Day.” And if you're interested in knowing what the most popular costumes will be this year, you can find the list from Frightgeist HERE.

Finally, at the top of today's episode, Alexis mentioned how another holiday is coinciding with Halloween this year - the celebration of Diwali. Dr. White wrote a recent blog titled “Should I Attend a Diwali Celebration?”, which you can read HERE. This was also the topic of a past podcast episode that we'd encourage you to go back and listen to: CCP38: On Attending Diwali Celebrations and Gay Weddings.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a topic that was highly requested by our faithful podcast listeners - why are there so many translations of the Bible out there? Some common follow-up questions are: Do all of these translations mean that we've deviated from the original texts? Is there one translation that is better than all the others?

The truth is that unless you are reading the Old Testament Scriptures in Hebrew, and the New Testament Scriptures in Koine Greek, any Bible that you read is a translation of the original text. And this is true not only for the Bible, but also for countless historical writings that have been translated into modern languages.

Dr. White mentioned two books during today's conversation that would be extremely helpful to deepen your understanding of the various translations of the Bible. The first is The Bible: A Global History written by Bruce Gordon, which you can find HERE. The second is How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth written by Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, which you can find HERE. Both include very helpful information on the various translations of the Bible.

Not all translations are created equal, however. There are some that exist without a reputable team of scholars behind them, and others that are produced to undermine other translations - usually created by cult forms of religion. A good example of this is the “New World Translation” produced by Jehovah's Witnesses. For more on this, we'd encourage you to listen to the Church & Culture Podcast episode CCP18: On Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses.

Finally, we'd encourage you to explore a series given by Dr. White at Mecklenburg Community Church titled “How to Bible.” The installments of this series walk you through: How to Get Oriented, How to Read and Interpret It, How to Apply It and How to Believe It. You can find it on Church & Culture HERE.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss both the startling rise of cultural Christianity in the West, as well as the incurably churchy desires of our souls. While there is an upward trend in America for people to identify themselves as religiously unaffiliated, they don't actually seem to want to disaffiliate themselves from all things related to religion. In fact, there are many traditions and symbols associated with Christianity that they seem to long for. So what causes this spiritual hunger?

Dr. White recently blogged about this topic, which is part of what prompted today's conversation. We'd suggest reading “The Rise of Cultural Christianity” and “Surprising Mourners for the Decline of Christianity.” There was also an article written by Madeleine Davies for The New Statesman titled “The rise of cultural Christianity,” which you can find HERE.

Dr. White also mentioned the surprising commentary made recently by famed atheist Richard Dawkins stating that he would consider himself to be a cultural Christian. You can watch the LBC video post of Richard Dawkins on X HERE, as well as read the article written by Walter Sánchez Silva titled “Famous Atheist Richard Dawkins Says He Considers Himself a ‘Cultural Christian'.” There was another article Dr. White referenced written by Derek Thompson - who considers himself to be an agnostic - in The Atlantic. You can read “The True Cost of the Churchgoing Bust” HERE.

There were a few books that Dr. White noted related to today's conversation: The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order by Sam Huntington, Mr. Jones, Meet the Master: Sermons and Prayers of Peter Marshall by Catherine Marshall and How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill.

There are a couple past podcasts that you may be interested in checking out related to today's conversation. One is CCP106: On Atheists and Agnostics and the other is CCP9: On Unchurched Christians. The first explores the rise in Americans saying “no” to organized religion and the second focuses on this desire that so many have to find church-like experiences in other settings. There is also an article written by Marc Ramirez in USA Today titled “As Millions Leave Organized Religion, Spiritual and Secular Communities Offer Refuge.” You can read that article HERE.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a recent statement made by the Surgeon General that parenting is now considered a health hazard. He said that stress, loneliness and financial woes are so acute as to limit the ability of parents to function in every day life. To be sure, there are some new parenting dynamics today that parents haven't had to face before. So how can parents navigate these challenges and come out on the other side intact?

There is pressure on today's parents to provide everything for their children - Dr. White mentioned the term “intensive parenting.” There are several articles that have talked about the impact this is having on parents, and we'd suggest you take a look at those:

Julie Jargon, “Parenting Is Hazardous to Your Health, the Surgeon General Warns,” The Wall Street Journal, August 28, 2024.

Clair Cain Miller, “Today's Parents: ‘Exhausted, Burned Out and Perpetually Behind',” The New York Times, September 16, 2024.

“Surgeon General Says Parenting is Horrible For Your Health,” The Skimm, August 29, 2024.

Even those outside of the U.S. have a consistent opinion that while the U.S. is an incredible land of opportunity, it is not a good place to raise children, with a lot of the problems stemming from the overprotectiveness of American parents. This was the subject of an article from The Atlantic that Alexis mentioned titled, “Why Parents Struggle So Much in the World's Richest Country.” She also mentioned a book written by Jonathan Haidt titled, The Anxious Generation.

One of the most difficult challenges facing parents today is the impact the online world is having on our children, and particularly social media. It's led to a culture of comparison for parents, and increased levels of anxiety for both parents and their children. The impact of social media was discussed in a past podcast, CCP25: On “Doing” Social Media. Social media has also been a contributing factor in the loss of childhood. This was discussed at length on the podcast in episode CCP43: On American Girl Dolls and the Disappearance of Childhood.

There are several series that Dr. White has delivered at Mecklenburg Community Church on parenting. You can find those messages in .mp3 and .pdf formats on the Church & Culture website at the following links: “Parent Traps,” “The Under Protective Parent,” and “Parent-Child Turning Points.”

Finally, finances play a big role in some of the stress that parents face when raising children today. For many Millennials and those in Generation Z, these concerns are fueling a desire to not have children to begin with. You can check out the article “Almost 1 in 4 millennials and Gen Z-ers say they won't have kids due to finances” from CBS News HERE.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they continue last week's conversation on why people get divorced. If you missed the previous episode, we encourage you to go back and listen to that first. You can access that podcast HERE. In today's episode, we turn to what the Bible has to say about divorce and remarriage. Jesus essentially delivered a bombshell in His teaching on this as He took on the easy divorce culture of His day.

As mentioned last week, what kicked off this conversation was a USA Today article exploring the current divorce rates in the United States. We'd encourage you to take a look at the article's findings if you haven't done so already. Dr. White also mentioned a book written by Dr. Willard Harley called His Needs, Her Needs: Building an Affair-Proof Marriage that noted the importance of love and respect within marriage. You can find that book on Amazon HERE.

Dr. White also discussed the need for the church to teach regularly on marriage, grounding people in a solid understanding of the Bible's view on the sanctity of holy matrimony. If you need help developing a marriage series at your church, you may be interested in checking out the following series given by Dr. White at Mecklenburg Community Church on this topic:

Marriage Hacks

Don't Do Stupid: Marriage Edition

The Lies We Believe About Marriage

Holy Matrimony

Marriage Mentoring

And the Two Shall Be Done

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a recent USA Today article exploring the current divorce rates in the United States. The stats seem to vary based on state, religious affiliation, race, sexual orientation, occupation… even the number of times that someone has been married. They also noted that divorce rates tend to peak around the 5th year of marriage, and then again around the 15th to 20th year of marriage. Dr. White weighs in on why people get divorced.

Dr. White noted that a big shift happens in people's mindset when the romance fades and reality sets in. This was actually an installment of a series that he gave at Mecklenburg Community Church called “Marriage Mentoring.” You can find that entire series HERE. Another factor that can play a big role surrounds marking the dawn of the 30s. Another series that you may be interested in looking at is called “Seasons of Life,” and in particular the installment called “30s - The Age of Second Thoughts.” A final series that Dr. White delivered at Meck and which he mentioned in today's episode is called “The Lies We Believe About Marriage.” You can find that series HERE.

Finally, Dr. White wrote a blog about how couples cohabiting before marriage can actually increase the rate of divorce, and why this is something that the church needs to teach on more often. Be sure to read “The Importance of Knowing Why and Casting Vision.”

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.