Never read a Bible verse....... out of context! We are delighted to have Alan Shlemon on the show today to talk about hermeneutics. Or, in other words, how to read and interpret the Bible. Alan speaks and writes on many different topics, but says hermeneutics is his favorite. Alan does an excellent job breaking this down for us - you do not need an MDiv to track with Alan. All Christians, of all ages, need to learn how to read and interpret the Bible properly. We go through 3 interpretive principles to help you do so; context, history and genre. We also talk about what can happen when we are not using these principles as we read the scriptures. A great discussion you don't want to miss! Check out Alan's STR U course in the links below.

Alan Shlemon has worked as an author and speaker for Stand to Reason since 2004. He trains Christians to share their convictions in a persuasive, yet gracious manner. Alan teaches about some of the most controversial issues of our time: abortion, evolution, homosexuality, bioethics, and Islam. He has been a guest on both radio and television, and has spoken to thousands of adults and students across the country at churches, conferences, and college campuses.

Alan’s training incorporates three components. First, he equips people with the knowledge to form a foundation of belief. Second, he teaches them to communicate their knowledge persuasively and clearly. Finally, he shows them how to communicate in a warm, friendly, and gracious manner. Alan makes complex issues accessible to both youth and adult audiences.

Alan's articles mentioned in show:
Twisting Jesus’ Words (str.org)

A Verse That Illustrates Three Interpretive Principles

Stand to Reason has two training classes now available!
Alan's course, mentioned in show, is "Never Read A Bible Verse"
The other is "Risen: The Case for the Resurrection" and is led by our guest from last week, Tim Barnett
Check them out here: STR U

Last week's episode with Alan's colleague, Tim Barnett: Deconstruction Movement

Episodes with STR's Chaos to Clarity Speakers:
J. Warner Wallace - Cold Case Christianity \\ Person of Interest
Monique Duson - Black Lives Matter
Megan Almon - Pro-Life & The Imago Dei

Also mentioned:
Foundation Worldview | Elizabeth Urbanowicz
https://freedomfamilies.buzzsprout.com/1739323/9646788

#Deconstruction ?? What is going on with this whole "deconstruction" thing? Is it a movement? What does it mean? Is it always a bad thing? How should we, as Biblical Christians, understand what's going on? Lastly, how can we think well and then speak well (with both truth and love) in such a relativistic and expressive individualistic culture? Mr. B joins the show to discuss!

Tim Barnett has worked as a speaker for Stand to Reason since 2015. He is a dynamic speaker who provides a perfect blend of expertise and humor in each talk. Using easy-to-follow and visually engaging presentations, Tim trains Christians to think clearly about what they believe and why they believe it.

Stand to Reason has two training classes now available!
Tim's course is "Risen: The Case for the Resurrection."
The other is led by our guest for next week, Alan Shlemon, and is called "Never Read A Bible Verse". 
Check them out here: STR U

Red Pen Logic with Mr. B!
We help you assess bad thinking by using good thinking. And we try to have some fun while we’re doing it.

Stand to Reason (str.org)
Equipping Christian Ambassadors with Knowledge, Wisdom, and Character

The two paintings Tim was referring to:
https://www.amusingplanet.com/2017/01/ecce-homo-botched-painting-that-saved.html

The Secretes of Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci

Episodes with STR's Chaos to Clarity Speakers:
J. Warner Wallace - Cold Case Christianity \\ Person of Interest
Monique Duson - Black Lives Matter
Megan Almon - Pro-Life & The Imago Dei

Super excited for you all to listen in on my conversation with Abbie Halberstadt. Abbie is a Bible-believing mother of 10 kiddos! Abbie and her husband, Shaun, did not come from big families. How did they come to have an open-handed approach to childbearing? What does scripture tell us about being a mom? How did Abbie have time to write a book? How many refrigerators do Abbie and Shaun have? How do they prioritize their marriage when they have 10 kids? Do they get ANY sleep? How do they train their children? Such a fun conversation!

M Is for Mama
Welcome to the unapologetically messy, maddening,
and miraculous world of motherhood.

Buy Abbie's book!
M Is for Mama: A Rebellion Against Mediocre Motherhood: Abbie Halberstadt: 9780736983778 - Christianbook.com

Meal Plans - M Is for Mama

The Reason Why We Have So Many Kids (Part 1) - M Is for Mama

Other Freedom Families episode mentioned in show:
Birth Control, Fertility & Womanhood | Grace Emily Stark

Run your home, and your dough, like a BIBLICAL BOSS!

Today you get to hear from one of E.J.'s favorite podcast hosts, Steven Manuel. E.J. and Steven talk about what a Biblical family looks like. They discuss why Jewish families stick together and find success no matter where they are globally despite being the most perpetually persecuted group of people in history. They juxtapose living the "American Dream" versus living Biblically as a multi-generational family team. Finally, you get to learn what everyone is wondering - WHY ABRAHAM??

Abe's Wallet is for family leaders and those who aspire to think multigenerationally about their money, culture, work, family and community. Living out a multigenerational mindset that embraces good stewardship as a building block of God’s Kingdom on Earth might produce Abrahamic levels of impact. Can you imagine?!

From Abe's Wallet -
"Now then: our Bottom Line and operating belief is that the God Of All wants you to get very very VERY good at handling and growing money. (And if you want to fight about it, that is totally cool and you’ll soon see we’ve given you ample opportunity with gobs of posts you can complain about.) Jesus spoke about money more than any other single topic. Maybe that’s old news to you, but did you know that when he talks finances – Jesus VERY RARELY mentions giving to the poor? Didja?? Probably not; this isn’t the kind of thing often hyped in the dependent-upon-charitable-contributions church house. My Southern Baptist upbringing would have me believe that the Bible’s counsel on money is mostly about giving it away. But NAY, friend. Tisn’t the case." Read the rest at What is Abraham’s Wallet? – Abraham's Wallet (abrahamswallet.com)

Series mentioned in show:
Wealth is Inevitable – Part 1 – Abraham's Wallet (abrahamswallet.com)

We have two main purposes with this episode:
1. Encourage, empower, bless and connect Christian single parents.
If you are a single parent, we see you. We are thinking of you. We are praying for you. We know that life can be really, really hard. We want this episode to be a lifeline for you. Michelle and PlusONE Parents want to connect with you. More than anything, we want you to know that Christ is your Savior, your Prince of Peace, your Bread of Life and your Good Shepherd. We want you to know, as a Believer, the Holy Spirit lives inside you and He is your Comforter, your Counselor and your Advocate. God made you, He knows you, He sees you and He cares for you.
2. Awaken and help equip the church (Christian brother or sister, that's YOU!) to serve, bless and love the single parents around us. We need to do a better job! We hope this episode is convicting and motivating. We pray that you would think of the single parents in your life and send them this episode. Let them know you're thinking about them and care for them. Better yet, use some of the practical tools given in this episode to bless a single parent in your church, family or community.


PlusONE Parents – We help single parents overcome overwhelm to rebuild God-empowered lives and raise up a new generation.

Check out the podcast!
Podcast – PlusONE Parents
The Christian Single Moms Podcast is a place where single moms who love Jesus can find hope, healing, and encouragement. We tackle the topics single moms want to know about from a biblical perspective, including divorce, domestic violence, abuse, parenting, dating, relationships, and more.

Buy the devotional mentioned in show!
Safe Haven: A Devotional for the Abused & Abandoned by Michelle Donnelly – PlusONE Parents

Donate to help bless and serve single parents:
PlusONE Parents | Kindful

In this much anticipated episode, we bring in one of the very best to discuss..... After 49 years, is Roe v. Wade going to finally be overturned? Dr. Marc Newman trains pro-lifers in speech and debate. Scott Klusendorf says he is the #1 guy. He's tough and he's very, very good.

Tune in to hear Marc and E.J. talk about the history behind Roe v. Wade, Doe v. Bolton ("sister" case of Roe, handed down on the same day as Roe, January 22, 1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992). They talk about the justices back then and the justices now. How should pro-lifers feel after oral arguments and before the court releases its opinion in June? What happens if Roe v. Wade is overturned? What if it's not? What can pro-lifers do locally to fight for the unborn? I know many of you have been eagerly awaiting this episode and we are grateful to Dr. Newman for taking the time to break things down with us!
Stick around after the discussion to hear some audio clips from the Dobbs oral arguments.  

Past prolife episode to check out:
Equip Minds to Save Lives | Scott Klusendorf 
Pro-Life & the Imago Dei | Megan Almon
SURVIVOR | Claire Culwell: Abortion Survivor
Abortion & Equal Rights for All

Dr. Marc Newman is president of Speaker for Life, a training firm dedicated to equipping pro-life advocates nationwide with public speaking skills. He has spoken at nearly every major pro-life convention in the nation and is in demand as a banquet keynoter. He is the former Director of Speech and Debate at the University of California at Irvine and is retired from teaching in the doctoral program in the School of Communication and the Arts at Regent University.  He has trained speakers in the public and private sectors for over twenty-five years. Additionally, he is the CEO of SpeechRamp, a company revolutionizing the way that public speaking is taught at colleges and universities nationwide. He has appeared on Fox News and in Time magazine. He recently relocated from North San Diego County in California to East Tennessee with his wife, Sharon, and their youngest son, Joel.

As I mentioned at the beginning of the year, I want to shift a little more of our focus to education. It is a huge topic that so many of you are wondering about and trying to figure out. I am there with you. For this first education-oriented episode of 2022, I went to someone I know and trust - Deb Fillman. I have been a part of Deb's locals community for over a year now and have learned so much from her. She is a mom, homeschooler, ex-teacher (master's in ed) and a self-described individualist. We cover much ground in this first episode and plan to have her on, again, to continue the conversation. Enjoy!

Mentioned in show -
Deb's video on Federalist article:
Homeschooling is political resistance

"Innocence is Overrated" - Indoctrination in our Classrooms - Wrong Speak Publishing

Deb's conversation with Truman:
Ongoing fight against corrupt school district

Follow Deb!
The Reason We Learn - YouTube

The Reason We Learn (locals.com)

Get help getting started and succeeding at homeschooling (debfillman.com)

Recent episodes you'll want to check out:
What your kids are NOT learning at school
America is flunking math and CRT is not helping
Our kids were suddenly trans
Is Your School Encouraging Mediocrity and Hiding Failure? - YouTube
What You Need to Know About Comprehensive Sex-Ed with Kelly - YouTube


Johnny the Walrus - RESERVE YOUR COPY TODAY! | The Daily Wire

Today, we have something special for you!

Here is E.J.'s first pro-life presentation. This was the final assignment for Scott Klusendorf's Ethics of Abortion class (Online Christian Courses).

E.J. highly recommends Scott's class to all. Worth it for EVERYONE. The next session is coming this spring. Save your spot now!
OCC- The Ethics of Abortion Premium Course (onlinechristiancourses.com)

When I was in high school and early into college, I had no idea that apologetics and the Christian Worldview were *a thing*. It wasn't on my radar; I had never been around anyone who talked like that or thought that way (to my knowledge). At some point, I will need to figure out how it all started for me. For now, I know that once I started reading and listening, I couldn't get enough. One of the first things I did, and most helpful things, was listening to the Colson Center's daily 5-minute Breakpoint podcast (there is a longer podcast called, Breakpoint: This Week). This is hosted by Colson Center president, John Stonestreet. Back in 2020, the Colson Center announced a new podcast adventure that would be co-hosted by John's wife, Sarah. Sarah and her co-host Erin Kunkle (whom we've had on) are now at 100 episodes for their podcast, Strong Women. It is a truly wonderful podcast with incredible guests. Virtually every episode is a life-changing story. Tune in to hear my conversation with Sarah about raising strong women.... and much more!
-Her growing up
-Mentors
-How she and John met
-Their 4 kiddos, 3 daughters and a son
-How the Stonestreets met the Kunkles
-Being a mom in our current culture

Our episode with Erin Kunkle

Strong Women on Apple Podcasts

Strong Women | Colson Center

Breakpoint Podcasts - BreakPoint

Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys - Stephen James, David Thomas - Google Books

You all know I LOVE books. We've talked about books to read for ourselves, but now it's time to tackle book discernment for/with our kids. I have called on expert, Anne Pasma, to help walk us through the world of children's and young adult literature. Anne can't remember a time when her parents weren't reading books aloud to her and her siblings. Her love for books goes back as far as she can remember. After spending 8 years as a librarian, she is now in a brand-new adventure that you can be a part of. Tune in to hear about it! 

Should we let our kids pick out any book they want at the library? 
All the board books and young readers are fine, aren't they?
Are the graphic novel reboots the same stories as the originals? 
What makes a book *good*? 
Is it OK for my kid to read the popular books all the other kids at school are reading?
My elementary or middle school child loves reading chapter books. How do I know which ones are appropriate? Better yet, how do I find chapter books that teach what is good, right and true? Are there books for their age that have a Christian worldview? 
I need help finding edifying books my kid will love!! 

Email Anne! [email protected]

All these questions and more - including a bit of Anne's crazy love story with her Canadian fiancé!