Frederick Faith Debate

It’s tax season.  Since they say all you can be sure of is death and taxes, and this is not a financial advice show, let’s turn our attention to death, which affects us all.  It’s true if we’ve lost a loved one to the “grim reaper”.  And it’s true even if we haven’t.  So, what is our eternal destiny?  What happens to us when we die?  This show’s panel has all the answers.    During this show we might need to define some terms, and possibly split a few hairs.  For example, is there a difference between “immortal” souls and “eternal” souls?   How is the immortality or eternality of God different (and/or the same) as our immortality or eternality?

The panel:

Troy Skinner.  930 WFMD Host/Moderator of The Faith Debate.

Jonathan Switzer.  Past-President of Frederick’s Evangelical Ministerial Fellowship, Founder of “Frederick 48”, former candidate for School Board in Frederick County, Founder of Crossroads Valley Church, and Co-Founder of The Faith Debate.

Morgan Kochenower.  Lead Pastor of Frederick Seventh-day Adventist Church and former missionary.

Do we exist eternally, in either heaven or hell?  Or does life, even spiritual life, cease when our fleshly bodies pass away in death?  And how does the Christian understanding of bodily resurrection fit into all of this?  When is the resurrection, and how does this shape our understanding of “The State of the Dead”?

The panel:

Troy Skinner.  930 WFMD Host/Moderator of The Faith Debate.

Jonathan Switzer.  Past-President of Frederick’s Evangelical Ministerial Fellowship, Founder of “Frederick 48”, former candidate for School Board in Frederick County, Founder of Crossroads Valley Church, and Co-Founder of The Faith Debate.

Morgan Kochenower.  Lead Pastor of Frederick Seventh-day Adventist Church and former missionary.

What do Christians believe about this?  What does the Bible say about it?  Does the answer change depending on whether the person is saved or lost?  These are just some of the questions to be addressed in the coming weeks on the Faith Debate.

Some notes about the panel that wrestles with teh question “Is the human soul immortal or not?”  Morgan Kochenower is Pastor at Frederick Seventh-day Adventist Church.  You might recall his predecessor, Robert Quintana (“Pastor Q” to his congregation), who was a friend of the program and guest panelist several times.  You might also recall that Jonathan Switzer has had a very frequent presence on the Faith Debate program over the years.

The panel:

Troy Skinner.  930 WFMD Host/Moderator of The Faith Debate.

Jonathan Switzer.  Past-President of Frederick’s Evangelical Ministerial Fellowship, Founder of “Frederick 48”, former candidate for School Board in Frederick County, Founder of Crossroads Valley Church, and Co-Founder of The Faith Debate.

Morgan Kochenower.  Lead Pastor of Frederick Seventh-day Adventist Church and former missionary.

When read from a particular point of view, the Third Epistle of John (verses 13 to the end) help Christians have something to say about the book and movie titled “The Shack”.  This is the first of a three part series that pulls audio from a sermon preached in 2017.  “The Shack” has proven to be very controversial.  It contains some things that are good, some things that are bad, and some things that are ugly.  Part One mostly focuses on “the good”.

The panel:

No panel this time, as Troy Skinner (930 WFMD Host/Moderator of The Faith Debate) shares this message delivered from a local pulpit.

A book called “The Apostle Jesus: The Kingdom Among You” works to address this question and argues for what its author says is the true church, the true Kingdom of heaven—and the true Jesus. One reviewer of the book says, “It is a difficult read for those still wrapped in the robes of religiosity, but for those who are seeking a new way of living and a new way of thinking, this book tackles the great issues that confront the modern church.” The panel talking about the issues raised in the book are: Troy Skinner. 930 WFMD Host/Moderator of The Faith Debate. Dr. Neil Acheampong. Pastor of Covenant Family Chapel and radio ministry preacher (as heard on WFMD each Sunday morning at 9:30a). Barry Robert Starliper. Author of “The Apostle Jesus: The Kingdom Among You” and blogger at ThinkKingdom.org.

In the book titled “The Apostle Jesus: The Kingdom Among You” it says that Jesus Christ is the first Apostle, or “sent one,” from God.  And that Jesus came to inaugurate the Kingdom of heaven, not to establish an institution.  The book also claims that, “Unfortunately, the body of Christ on earth got off track almost from the beginning.  Jesus came preaching the Kingdom, and what arrived was the Church.  After His ascension and the deaths of all the original apostles, the non-sectarian, egalitarian family of believers that Christ called together as His ‘church’ (His body on earth), well, it morphed into the ‘Church’ (a rigid, institutionalized religious edifice full of rituals, rules, and hierarchies of authority that are completely foreign to the Kingdom of heaven that Christ preached).”  Is the book right?

Here to talk about this question are:

Troy Skinner.  930 WFMD Host/Moderator of The Faith Debate.

Dr. Neil Acheampong.  Pastor of Covenant Family Chapel and radio ministry preacher (as heard on WFMD each Sunday morning at 9:30a).

Barry Robert Starliper.  Author of “The Apostle Jesus: The Kingdom Among You” and blogger at ThinkKingdom.org.

How can “self-styled apostles” who might be interested in exerting control over other people be distinguished from a true apostolic ministry which takes after the ministry of Jesus Christ?  A local author raises just these very questions in his book “The Apostle Jesus: The Kingdom Among You”.  He is joined as a guest on this show by another local author (and pastor) who has written “It’s Time to Dream Again” and “Maximizing the Power of Fasting”.

Our panelists are:

Troy Skinner.  930 WFMD Host/Moderator of The Faith Debate.

Dr. Neil Acheampong.  Pastor of Covenant Family Chapel and radio ministry preacher (as heard on WFMD each Sunday morning at 9:30a).

Barry Robert Starliper.  Author of “The Apostle Jesus: The Kingdom Among You” and blogger at ThinkKingdom.org.

Much of what is called “apostolic” in the church today does not measure up to the biblical model, says Barry Starliper in his book, “The Apostle Jesus”.  Well, what is the state of the “apostolic church” today, and how does it measure up to the church model that is found in the pages of the New Testament?

Here to talk about questions such as these are:

Troy Skinner.  930 WFMD Host/Moderator of The Faith Debate.

Dr. Neil Acheampong.  Pastor of Covenant Family Chapel and radio ministry preacher (as heard on WFMD each Sunday morning at 9:30a).

Barry Robert Starliper.  Author of “The Apostle Jesus: The Kingdom Among You” and blogger at ThinkKingdom.org.

Troy recently saw a stage play, a musical, that very accurately captured much that is true about life in the world. As the lyrics to “Seasons of Love” tell us, there is both laughter and strife. And our lives can pass us by quickly with meaninglessness, if we’re not careful. But “Rent” blends these helpful insights with a troubling outlook on the human condition. For example, these words from the song “No Day But Today”:

“The heart may freeze or it can burn The pain will ease if I can learn There is no future, There is no past

There’s only us, There’s only this No other road, No other way No day but today

There’s only yes, Only tonight We must let go, To know what is right No other course, No other way

I trust my soul, My only hope is just to be There’s only now, There’s only here No other path, No other way No day but today”

Believe it or not, these songs provide the perfect teaser for a Sunday sermon that recaps a previous sermon Troy preached on 2 John 1-11, and then embraces the wonderful theme of community in fellowship that is found in 2 John 12-13.

Panel: This week features the first half of a sermon message that Troy Skinner had the opportunity to share with a local congregation recently.

The Bible was written a really long time ago.  A really long time.  Before smart phones.  Before Twitter or Facebook.  Even before television, radio, newspapers.  The Bible is so old, it was written before there were typewriters, printing presses, or even books as we’d recognize them today!  So, how could it be relevant today?Actually, Jesus is pretty cool.  And the Apostle Paul, too.  So, maybe the New Testament is at least a little relevant.  But the Old Testament?  Come on!  All those rules and regulations.  All that so-and-so begat so-and-so.  All that moral law.  And ceremonial law.  And civil law…Well, undaunted and here to explain a few things about this sort of stuff are two longtime minister’s of God’s Word.  Our panel:Troy Skinner.  930 WFMD Host/Moderator of The Faith Debate.Peter Kemeny.  Pastor of Good News Presbyterian Church.Kent Ramler.  Pastor at People’s Baptist Church (Home to Frederick Christian Academy).