Faith & Clarity - Biblical Perspectives and Biblical Wisdom on News & Cultural Issues

Michael McDonald, director of strategic relations at BibleProject, Dr. Mark Turman, and Mark Legg discuss how BibleProject approaches interpreting the Bible, communicating to the modern generation, how to face deconstruction, and why art communicates the Bible’s message so well. 

Michael McDonald begins by sharing what BibleProject is and its heart to show how the Bible is a unified story that leads to Jesus (3:27). McDonald discusses how BibleProject videos and podcast approaches interpreting the Bible, and why they spend so much time in Genesis (10:00). They discuss how deconstruction can be healthy, and why BibleProject appeals to many unbelievers as well as Christians (13:26). They consider why the BibleProject’s videos exploring spiritual beings is so popular, and why we shouldn’t avoid hard questions (20:32). They turn to reflect on how BibleProject uses art so effectively to communicate deep truths (28:48). McDonald explains their new app, and why it’s unique as it provides wholistic learning (38:15). They discuss how the Bible is not a kid’s book, but how to teach children about the Bible (41:43). They close by reflecting on the history of BibleProject (45:08).

• BibleProject website
• BibleProject spiritual beings video series’
• BibleProject App 
• “From papyrus to pixels: How BibleProject’s videos unpack the Bible” - Mark Legg
• Lucas Cranach’s art and the Reformation - Ryan Denison

Jim Denison, Ph.D., is an author, speaker, and the CEO of Denison Ministries, which is transforming 6.8 million lives through meaningful digital content. 

Dr. Mark Turman is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church. 

Mark Legg is the Associate Editor for Denison Forum. He graduated from Dallas Baptist University in 2021 with a degree in Philosophy and Biblical Studies. 

About the guest 

Michael McDonald is Director of Strategic Relationships for BibleProject, a crowdfunded nonprofit animation studio dedicated to communicating a single, powerful message to the world: the Bible is one unified story that leads to Jesus.

McDonald is a former pastor. Prior to joining BibleProject, he served for over a decade in more than 15 countries working to improve people’s daily lives. He focused on educational, micro/macro financing projects, conflict resolution, and economic development, he was able to impact over 100,000 people in over 60 communities. McDonald lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife Melissa.

BibleProject is a nonprofit animation studio that produces short-form, fully animated videos to make the biblical story accessible to everyone, everywhere. We create videos, podcast, and study guides that explore the Bible's unified story by focusing on its overarching themes and each book's literary design. We are committed to understanding the Bible in its historical context and communicating its wisdom for the modern world. Ultimately, we want to change how people read and use the Bible.

Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman discuss Dr. Denison’s unique role and calling, apologetics and theology, “Loving your neighbor,” how to manifest our faithfulness well, and how Christians must avoid dualism.  

Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman discuss Dr. Denison’s various roles he’s taken on (including his job at Dairy Queen) and God’s calling on his life (2:00). They reflect on the meaning of apologetics and theology, especially in reference to culture (7:32). They turn to talk about how to shine our light into the world by manifesting faithfulness well, and how to love our neighbors (13:19). After this, Dr. Denison talks about the pitfall of dualism and Gnosticism, which says that the body doesn’t matter in this life as they unpack Jesus’ saying to Love God with “all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength” (32:31). They conclude by talking about whether we can measure our spiritual health and three steps on how to draw closer to God (46:45). 

• “Toward a Theology of Faithful Presence” - James Davison Hunter

• How to Bless God by Blessing Others - Dr. Ryan Denison

• The Coming Tsunami - Dr. Jim Denison

• Know What You Believe - Paul E. Little

• Know Why You Believe - Paul E. Little 

Jim Denison, Ph.D., is an author, speaker, and the CEO of Denison Ministries, which is transforming 6.8 million lives through meaningful digital content. 

Dr. Mark Turman is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church.

In tandem with the release of Denison Forum’s latest book, What Are My Spiritual Gifts?, Dr. Ryan Denison and Dr. Mark Turman discuss spiritual gifts, how they are powered by the Holy Spirit, how we can know our spiritual gifts, the difference between talents and gifts, and how the Lord uses them.

Dr. Ryan Denison and Dr. Mark Turman discuss Dr. Ryan Denison’s new book, What Are My Spiritual Gifts: How to Discover, Understand, and Apply Your Spiritual Gifts (2:11).

They talk about what spiritual gifts are, how the Bible talks about them, the motivation behind using them, and how they’re used in the church. They talk about how the Spirit uses our talents, personality, and experience to develop our gifts (10:06).

They turn to discuss the spiritual gifts inventory we’ve developed at whataremyspirituagifts.com.

Denison also discusses how to use the test, how it’s not the final say, and why you might want a friend to fill it out for you (22:46).

They also consider why Dr. Ryan Denison divided them up with his categories of “Public, Personal, and Paradigm.” (31:49) They hone in on music as a more unique gift that Dr. Denison identifies (37:31).

They end on specifically thinking about the gift of giving (55:40).

• What Are My Spiritual Gifts?, the latest book from Denison Forum
• Take the spiritual gifts assessment at WhatAreMySpiritualGifts.com.

Jim Denison, Ph.D., is an author, speaker, and the CEO of Denison Ministries, which is transforming 6.8 million lives through meaningful digital content.

Dr. Mark Turman is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church.

Dr. Ryan Denison is the Senior Editor for Theology at Denison Forum. He holds a Ph.D. in church history from B.H. Carroll Theological Institute. He’s written four hundred articles for the Denison Forum in addition to other works, including How to Bless God by Blessing Others and the recently released What Are My Spiritual Gifts? Dr. Ryan Denison is Dr. Jim Denison’s son. He is married to his wife Candice; they have two children and live in East Texas.

Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman discuss the difference between cultural missionaries and cultural warriors, how to engage with woke businesses, whether our souls are “sent to earth,” and how to make sense of the Uvalde massacre. 

Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman discuss how we define the difference between cultural missionaries and cultural warriors and why we should exemplify humility as well as boldness (1:29). They discuss the difference between spiritual war and loving people (10:00). 

One listener asks whether they should write to the CEO of a grocery store they love expressing displeasure with the LGBTQ support shown by the company, and Dr. Denison responds with how to actively engage in cultural change (19:25). They then consider why businesses feel the need to make statements about LGBTQ issues in culture (24:24). 

They turn to another listener question that asks why our souls were “sent to earth” if our goal is to be in heaven (34:10). Dr. Denison responds by addressing some possible confusion in the question, showing the influence of dualism in some Christian theology. 

They answer a final question about the problem of evil: How can God redeem the Uvalde tragedy and SBC abuse (39:56)? They continue by talking about how we can lament while ensuring we’re not overwhelmed with compassion fatigue (46:30).

You can submit a question too at [email protected].

• The Denison Forum Podcast Episode 8: If God is sovereign, why does evil exist?
• ‘Exhausted by the news? You may be “doomscrolling”’ - Mark Legg
• Making Sense of Suffering - Jim Denison
• Wrestling with God: How Can I Love a God I'm Not Sure I Trust? - Jim Denison
• “The latest on the Uvalde school shooting” - Jim Denison
• “The SBC enacts abuse reform, but have they addressed the real problem?” - Mark Legg

Jim Denison, Ph.D., is an author, speaker, and the CEO of Denison Ministries, which is transforming 6.8 million lives through meaningful digital content. 

Dr. Mark Turman is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church.

Radio show host, pastor, and writer Chris Brooks joins Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman to discuss urban ministry, discipleship and evangelism, and how the Bible defines the church. 

Chris Brooks begins by giving his background and how he got into the world of pastoring and urban apologetics (6:13). They discuss the importance of evangelism and social justice—the advancement of salvation and living well in this life (10:54). They turn to talk about Marxism and Nietzsche’s ideas on human nature, and how Christianity responds to their claims (24:30).  They talk about church membership, church leadership, and the connection between theology and practice (31:04). Brooks considers the importance of anthropology in the Bible in particular. They finish by reflecting on how God’s love for us can fight the despondency felt in our culture (47:12). 

• Urban Apologetics: Why the Gospel Is Good News for the City - Chris Brooks
• Kingdom Dreaming: Unleashing Your God Given Purpose and Passion - Chris Brooks
• “Equipped with Chris Brooks,” Moody Radio.

Jim Denison, Ph.D., is an author, speaker, and the CEO of Denison Ministries, which is transforming 6.8 million lives through meaningful digital content. 

Dr. Mark Turman is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church. 

Chris Brooks is the Senior Pastor of Woodside Bible Church, a multisite congregation across the metro-Detroit area. He served as the campus dean of Moody Theological Seminary in Plymouth, Michigan. A popular Detroit radio host since 2005, Chris is the author of Kingdom Dreaming and Urban Apologetics. He graduated from Michigan State University with a BA in Finance, completed his MA in Christian Apologetics at Biola University, and graduated from the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. He and his wife, Yodit, are the proud parents of 6 children, Christopher, Zewditu, Cameron, Judah, Sophia, and Christyana.

Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman reflect on the most meaningful mentor figures in their life, Dr. Denisons talking about Dr. John Newport, while Dr. Turman talks about the first church he ever pastored.

Dr. Denison and Dr. Turman briefly discuss certain mysteries of the Christian faith (2:41). Then, they turn to talk about mentors in their lives, Dr. Denison reflecting on Dr. John Newport’s academic and pastoral mentorship (10:41). Dr. Turman talks about his experience as a church pastor of five people and how the deacons mentored him (18:14). They conclude by talking about how eternally significance can come from present faithfulness. 

• Dr. John P. Newport’s books

Jim Denison, Ph.D., is an author, speaker, and the CEO of Denison Ministries, which is transforming 6.8 million lives through meaningful digital content. 

Dr. Mark Turman is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church. 

Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman continue the “summer favorites” series. In this episode, they each discuss the most impactful time they met someone and their recent trips to Israel. 

Show notes: Dr. Denison and Dr. Turman talk about Jim's most recent experience in Israel and what he learned on this trip (1:03). Then, they talk about their most impactful meetings with heroes of the faith (11:42). For Dr. Denison, it was meeting with Billy Graham, and for Dr. Turman, it was meeting Jim Henry (16:03). 

• To Follow in His Footsteps - Dr. Jim Denison

Jim Denison, Ph.D., is an author, speaker, and the CEO of Denison Ministries, which is transforming 6.8 million lives through meaningful digital content. 

Dr. Mark Turman is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church.

Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman continue their summer favorites series by discussing their favorite vacation spots, favorite books, and the way Dr. Jim Denison reads.

Show notes: Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman begin by reflecting on their favorite vacation spots (1:43). They then discuss their favorite books, how Mere Christianity impacted Dr. Denison, and about C.S. Lewis’ life (5:00). They also discuss Dr. Denison’s reading habits, which includes reading or skimming about five books a week (25:45).

• Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis
• The Cross of Christ, John R. Stott
• Out of Solitiude, Henry Noumen 
• Factfulness, Hans Rosling
• Where the Light Fell, Philip Yancey
• Tracks of the Fellow Struggler, John Claypool

Jim Denison, Ph.D., is an author, speaker, and the CEO of Denison Ministries, which is transforming 6.8 million lives through meaningful digital content. 

Dr. Mark Turman is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church.

In their "summer favorites" series, Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman discuss their favorite summer movies, summer eats, and summer vacations before delving into more spiritual matters and sharing their preferred Bible translations, favorite Bible verses, and their favorite Bible characters—not named Jesus.

• Favorite summer movies (2:08)
• Favorite summer food and vacations (5:16)
• Favorite Bible translations (7:50)
• Favorite Bible verses (12:44)
• Favorite Bible characters not named Jesus (22:06)

Jim Denison, Ph.D., is an author, speaker, and the CEO of Denison Ministries, which is transforming 6.8 million lives through meaningful digital content. 

Dr. Mark Turman is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church.

Summary: Pastor Bruce Miller is the author of Leading a Church in a Time of Sexual Questioning. He joins Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman for a robust and honest discussion on how Christians can relate to those in the LGBTQ+ community without sacrificing truth or love.

Show notes: 

• Why is June 28 important to the LGBTQ+ movement in America? (2:56)
  
  
• What led Bruce Miller to write Leading a Church in a Time of Sexual Questioning? (6:04)
  
  
• With regards to LGBTQ+ issues, where are we as a culture? As a church? (8:33)
  
  
• Is the LGBTQ+ movement the same as the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s? (17:38).
  
  
• How can Christians relate to those in the LGBTQ+ community without sacrificing truth or love? (25:41)
  
  
• Should Christians disassociate from other professed Christians who are knowingly living out of alignment with God's will? (38:53)
  
  
• What does it mean that we're all "broken sexually"? (47:23)

• Leading a Church in a Time of Sexual Questioning: Grace-Filled Wisdom for Day-to-Day Ministry by Bruce Miller
  
  
• "What does the Bible say about homosexuality?"
  
  
• "Strange New World by Carl. R Trueman is the best historical explanation of our current cultural crisis"
  
  
• The Denison Forum Podcast Episode 3: The rise of the sexual revolution

• Grace/Truth 1.0: Five Conversations Every Thoughtful Christian Should Have About Faith, Sexuality and Gender by Dr. Preston Sprinkle

• Grace/Truth 2.0: Five More Conversations Every Thoughtful Christian Should Have About Faith, Sexuality & Gender by Dr. Preston Sprinkle

About the hosts 

Jim Denison, PhD, is a cultural theologian and the founder and CEO of Denison Ministries, which is transforming 6.8 million lives through meaningful digital content. 

Dr. Mark Turman is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett Seminary at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church. 

About the guest 

Bruce Miller has been the pastor of Christ Fellowship Church in McKinney, Texas, since 1997. He founded Centers for Church Based Training and helped develop The WISDOM Process©, a systematic way to think through issues and make decisions. Bruce taught theology at Dallas Theological Seminary and is the author of six books. He speaks at churches, organizations, and conferences about the culture’s changing views on human sexuality and the impact on the church. Bruce and his wife, Tamara, have five grown children and live in McKinney, Texas