Faith Angle

If you’re an evangelical insider, the name Mike Cosper and his “Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” podcast series, published by Christianity Today in 2021, is almost certainly familiar for its artful retelling of the story of a Seattle megachurch pastored by Mark Driscoll. In this episode, Cosper, who is the director of podcasting for Christianity Today, is joined by Jon Ward of Yahoo News. Together, they examine what it is about the structure of megachurches that leaves them prone to the quick rise and fall of a charismatic leader. How does that compare to American politics—especially when our parties have weakened? And how does Mike’s 15-year experience as a pastor temper what he and his colleagues chose to see, and hold up, in this magnificent podcast that took American listeners by storm last year?

Guests

Mike Cosper 

Jon Ward

Additional Resources 

The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill Podcast, by Mike Cosper 

Testimony: Inside an Evangelical Movement that Failed a Generation, by Jon Ward

On this episode, we are joined by Simran Jeet Singh, Executive Director of the Aspen Institute’s Religion and Society Program, and Ari Goldman, Professor of Journalism at Columbia Journalism School, for a nuanced conversation about American religious pluralism and identity through the lens of Sikh theology and practice. Our guests explore themes from Simran’s recently-released book, The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life, and discuss how Sikh religion invites us to find joy in humility, sacrificial love, and service towards our neighbor, practices with profound implications for broader American society.

Guests

Simran Jeet Singh

Ari Goldman

Additional Resources

The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life, by Simran Jeet Singh

The Search for God at Harvard, by Ari Goldman

The purpose of Faith Angle is to connect religious leaders with leading journalists, and today's conversation comes at it from both sides. The setting for this conversation was a group of 19 journalists who gathered three days after the Supreme Court ruled on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. This conversation features one of the country’s most thoughtful, publicly-minded evangelical leaders, Dr. Russell Moore, who is now a year into directing the Public Theology Project at Christianity Today. He is joined by Molly Ball, TIME Magazine’s national political correspondent.  

Guests

Russell Moore 

Molly Ball

Additional Resources 

Faith Angle West Session: Evangelicals and America's "Abortion Wars"

"Tim Alberta Worries Politics is Poisoning the Church," on The Russell Moore Show 

"How Politics Poisoned the Evangelical Church," by Tim Alberta 

"Will Overturning Roe v. Wade Change Everything?", with Molly Ball

Pelosi, by Molly Ball

In this episode, twice-elected U.S. Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) joins Rev. Dr. Sam Ferguson for a nuanced discussion of power and public service, contemporary media, spiritual disciplines, political stewardship, and the liturgical aspects of social media and public worship. Sen. Sasse names some fascinating things – including when and how he starts the workday; how many Elmers are in his Lutheran circle of grandparent farmers; his perspective on churchgoing; and how he looks back differently, now, on the stretch-years of early parenting. Ben is sometimes called “the intellectual of the Senate,” in the vein of the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan, whose desk on the Senate floor he now occupies. Conversing with him is Rev. Dr. Sam Ferguson, who in May 2019 became rector of The Falls Church Anglican – a congregation where in 1791, George Washington served on the vestry.

Guests:

Ben Sasse

Sam Ferguson

Additional Resources:

"A Time for Choosing" by Ben Sasse

Them: Why We Hate Each Other - And How to Heal by Ben Sasse

Falls Church Anglican Sermons by Sam Ferguson 

Episode Transcript

This episode explores how “masculinity” has shaped elements of white evangelicalism in America. As evangelicals frequently make headlines for their voting patterns and outsized political influence, this discussion will peel back the layers and go deeper—especially on issues of gender equality, racial justice, historic Christian orthodoxy, global expressions of evangelicalism, and the possibilities and limits for evangelical renewal. American evangelicalism is today navigating an important moment of reorientation and reexamination of its identity, and as our speakers highlight, it has much to learn from the history and witness of its global counterparts.

Guests

Kristin Kobes Du Mez

Walter Kim

Additional Resources 

Jesus and John Wayne: How Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation, by Kristin Kobes Du Mez 

National Association of Evangelicals 

On this episode, we are joined by Christine Emba, opinion columnist for The Washington Post, and Kimberly June Miller, a licensed marriage and family therapist. Christine has just written a fascinating new book called, Rethinking Sex: A Provocation, which opens with this moral quote: “It is only by asserting one’s humanness every time, in all situations, that one becomes someone rather than something. That, after all, is the core of our struggle.”

In this provocative book, Christine raises profound questions about meaning and connection, sexuality and even spirituality, as she traces shifting generational views of sex and sexual practices in America.

Guests

Christine Emba 

Kimberly June Miller 

Additional Reading 

Rethinking Sex: A Provocation, by Christine Emba 

Boundaries for Your Soul, by Kimberly June Miller and Alison Cook

How much of a role does religion play in the war Vladimir Putin launched in Ukraine? It's a complicated question, but the answer may very well be: more than most Western experts think. Our guests on this episode of the Faith Angle podcast bring decades of military, foreign policy, and peacemaking expertise to help us make sense of the horrible war now unfolding in Ukraine. Dr. Kori Schake is Director of Foreign and Defense Policy at the American Enterprise Institute, and Dr. Chris Seiple is Founder of the The Sagestone Group, as well as principal advisor to the Templeton Religion Trust. The picture in Ukraine is complex, and today's guests help us see more clearly. 

Guests

Kori Schake 

Chris Seiple

Additional Resources

"Putin Accidentally Revitalized the West's Liberal Order," by Kori Schake

The Routledge Handbook of Religious Literacy, Pluralism, and Global Engagement, by Chris Seiple 

Twitter Links 

Julia Ioffe 

Lawrence Freedman

Michael Kofman 

Rob Lee 

Shashank Joshi

In this episode, we are joined by a world-class Anglican theologian, Dr. Sarah Coakley, and a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist for The New Yorker, Eliza Griswold. Dr. Coakley's scholarship looks at the Trinity, "New Asceticism," Christology, power, sexuality, and the distinction of the self. Today, she is continuing her trilogy in systematics, aiming in a forthcoming volume at a robust theological examination of race. In this episode, Dr. Coakley and Eliza connect the wisdom of historic Christian thinkers with the urgent issues of a world that is today perhaps more in need of justice than ever. 

Guests

Sarah Coakley

Eliza Griswold 

Additional Resources 

God, Sexuality, and the Self: An Essay "On the Trinity," by Sarah Coakley 

Powers and Submissions: Spirituality, Philosophy, and Gender, by Sarah Coakley

Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America, by Eliza Griswold 

"The Unmaking of Biblical Womanhood" by Eliza Griswold 

On February 2, EPPC’s Faith Angle Forum had the privilege of hosting a fascinating online conversation with Dr. Francis Collins, the country’s first Presidentially appointed Director of the National Institutes of Health to have served for more than one administration in that role.

Alongside BioLogos president Dr. Deb Haarsma and EPPC Senior Fellow Peter Wehner, who contributes regularly to The Atlantic and New York Times, Dr. Collins joined 11 journalists in conversation that included a firsthand window into the development of the mRNA vaccine, and as well as the spread of vaccine resistance among many Americans. The conversation moves swiftly and covers a lot of ground, from sociology to political religion, evolution to creation-science, choices about singing in church to assessing American institutions.

Guests

Dr. Francis Collins

Deborah Haarsma

Pete Wehner

Additional Resources 

Integrate: A Faith and Science Curriculum

In this episode, Kelefa Sanneh, staff writer for The New Yorker, is joined by John Azumah, Founding Executive Director of the Sanneh Institute, to discuss the legacy and witness of Kelefa's father Lamin Sanneh, a leading expert in Christian theology and missions as well as Christian-Muslim dialogue. Lamin's legacy continues on through the work of the Sanneh Institute, which seeks to educate and equip religious leaders, scholars, academic institutions, and the broader public on Christian and Muslim history, theology, and possibilities for interfaith partnership. 

Guests

Kelefa Sanneh

John Azumah

Learn More 

The African Christian and Islam by John Azumah 

My Neighbor's Faith: Islam Explained for Christians by John Azumah

Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres by Kelefa Sanneh 

"The Plan to Build a Capital for Black Capitalism" by Kelefa Sanneh