Faith and Honor

Famed hymn composer Keith Getty recently made critical remarks about the state of the worship music "industry." Johnny Simmons joins us on the podcast to evaluate Getty's claims, explore how worship music came to be in its current state, and what worship music should be and do.

On this episode, we are joined by Jeff Walton of the Institute on Religion and Democracy's Anglican Action program to discuss a recent controversy in the ACNA regarding the works of Gustavo Gutiérrez. What is liberation theology, how has it been historically applied by ecclesiastical institutions, and what criticisms has it received from various Christians? We also discuss the importance of Christian liberty, responsible pastoral behavior with regard to political and economic issues, alms-giving and compassion upon the poor, and church renewal vs. socio-political revolution.

On this episode, we study the secondary option for the collect and propers for Christmas-day. These are to be used first if there are more than one Communion service on Christmas day (including Christmas Eve vigils). We discuss various types of Christmas celebrations, sobriety in conviviality, having confidence in the hope of salvation, being counter-cultural in our festal celebrations, the scandal of historical specificty in the Christian faith, Jesus as the Messiah of Israel, and God's good will towards men.

While popular culture seems to think about the Feast of Stephen only when singing "Good King Wenceslaus," this saintly feast informs the Church about the themes of holy martyrdom. We discuss suffering and dying for the truth of the Gospel, seeing the glory of God by faith, praying for our enemies, the motivations of the Church's persecutors, entrusting ourselves and our loved ones to the Lord, and the dread judgment that comes down upon unrepentant evildoers. Throughout, we are reminded again of Christmas' theme of light shining in darkness.

On this episode, we discuss the important topic of fraud and similar scandals in churches and ministries. Warren Cole Smith shares his experience and expertise to shed light on what makes ministries vulnerable to corruption, how Christians should approach unflattering stories of ministries and leaders, and how the Scriptures should inform how we react to such evils.

On this special episode, we explore the themes of the first collect and propers assigned for Christmas day. We discuss amazing, fundamental Christian themes such as the only begottenness of the Son, the Virgin Birth, regeneration, adoption, the Incarnation, the Trinity, Mary's identity as Theotokos, and the Light of the World.

On this episode, we discuss the now notorious instance of crowds chanting "Let's Go Brandon" in San Antonio's Cornerstone Church. Mark Tooley of the IRD shares his thoughts on how we as Christians can navigate such issues and what we can learn from this rather embarrassing event.

On this episode, we discuss the collect and propers for the Third Sunday in Advent, which reinforce the themes of the Ember Days. We will explore the stewardship of the mysteries of God, serving the flock of Christ as a pastor, and the biblical parallels between the prophets (particularly St. John the Baptist) and the apostles.

On this episode, we are joined by Mark Horne to discuss his book, Solomon Says. This excellent introduction and overview of Proverbs presents rich insights regarding the background, main themes, aims, and truths we find in the book. We discuss these issues, plus the Christological and practical significance of Proverbs and the Bible's Wisdom literature in general.

On this episode, John Ehrett discusses his recent article published in American Reformer. 
We assess how evangelicals are struggling to navigate what Aaron Renn has called a "negative world," a context in which traditional Christian faith and practice are seen a low status, undesirable, and downright evil. We also explore how that, for many today, theology is no longer the queen of the sciences, but rather a mask for power dynamics. We then think about how to overcome religious self-loathing and how to pursue faithfulness in an often-confusing world filled with temptations to religious and moral infidelity.