Ministry Deep Dive

Travis and Kevin discuss Acts 8:1-2 and Acts 9:1-2 and what it means to be a follower of the Way. Do we believe that we really need God because our physical needs are being met? What does it mean to be a Christ-follower in the world that you live in? In the United States, for example, the expression of our faith may look different depending upon where we live: in the uber spiritual LA area, and the atheistic northeast requires slightly different approaches.

Travis and Kevin also discuss our need to be mere Christians-not celebrities, but simply faithful followers. They discuss the way we have veered off course from God's definition of success and developed a worldly one. They discuss how we can get back on course by rediscovering what "biblical success" really is. What does it mean to have success in your world? What is God calling you to be? What is God calling you to do? Listen in and find out!

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Travis and James Choung discuss revival (in Word, deed, and power), the need and our pursuit of it, returning to our first love, truncated Gospel understandings, multi-ethnic church, the fading idea of relevance, and how our mindset should transition from ministering to the culture to ministering to the remnant. They discuss evangelism in a society that is increasingly post-Christian and who is equally if not more so trying to evangelize us, ministering to Gen Z, and how commitment is inversely related to meaning.

James serves as Vice President of Strategy & Innovation — overseeing evangelism, discipleship, planting, growth, missions, multiethnic initiatives, and the Creative Labs — at InterVarsity Christian Fellowship USA. He is also infamous for doing a Jesse Jackson impersonation when he was in high school.

You can learn more about him and his book, Longing for Revival.

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Takeaways:

• Commitment is inversely related to meaning; without commitment, one cannot find true significance in life.
• In a post-Christian society, the fear of better options hinders individuals from making commitments.
• Revivals often begin with small, dedicated groups who are willing to pray and seek God earnestly.
• To experience revival, one must first seek personal transformation and commitment to God.
• The church must focus on the remnant—those deeply committed believers—rather than merely seeking cultural relevance.
• Understanding revival requires a holistic view that includes both spiritual and social dimensions of faith.

Travis has a deep conversation with James Choung on our need and desire for revival. Revival has had a lot of misunderstandings grow up around it over the years. Choung and his writing mate, Ryan Pfeiffer, have sought to restore the concept of revival by defining it and providing a way forward on how we can position ourselves so that true revival can happen.

Very few people are talking about true, biblical revival. Current conversations within contemporary Christianity are on deconstruction, social justice issues, vaccinations, masks, and the state of the church, but how many are talking about the need for revival? Very few. While the aforementioned subjects must be discussed, the only true hope for sustained change and reconciliation between people is a movement of the Spirit of God. Is revival even possible in our postmodern, technologically addicted, skepticism-filled world? Join Travis & James as they discuss our need for revival and how only God can truly make a sustained and lasting change.

James serves as Vice President of Strategy & Innovation — overseeing evangelism, discipleship, planting, growth, missions, multiethnic initiatives, and the Creative Labs — at InterVarsity Christian Fellowship USA.

You can learn more about him and his book, Longing for Revival.

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Takeaways:

• A genuine relationship with God necessitates two-way communication rather than a mere adherence to rules and principles.
• Revival, as discussed in the podcast, is characterized by a deep longing for God and a return to Holy Spirit-led transformation.
• The concept of revival should be redefined to encompass breakthroughs in word, deed, and power within the modern church context.
• Consecration is essential for creating space for God to work and facilitating a deeper connection with Him.
• The modern church often exhibits a complacency that stifles spiritual longing and prayer, leading to a need for revival.
• Through understanding our spiritual heritage and the importance of community, we can discern God's voice and foster a revival mindset.

What have we been up to? Not much. Just moving across states, finding and adjusting to new schools, missing church, dealing with biblical plagues, and getting covid :-)

Despite the setbacks, we go back to Scripture and pick up our study of Acts. If you want to understand a person, you need to know where they have come from and if you understand where they come from, their story goes from black and white into 4K-it's that way with Saul who later becomes Paul. In many ways, he becomes the template of life change, but that is for next week. 

This week Travis constructs Paul's backstory, piecing together his early ministry of persecution, then takes our contemporary idea of what makes a good person and uses them to ask Paul that question, "Are you good?" Listen in as Paul makes his answer via the ancient Scriptures and turns our contemporary conversation of good people upside down. 

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Travis has a conversation with well-known scholar Philip Jenkins. Jenkins is an award-winning author and scholar. Travis & Philip discuss Dr. Jenkins's book, Fertility and Faith, and how secularization may affect the institutional practice of religion worldwide.

Dr. Philip Jenkins has a doctorate from Cambridge in history, and taught at Penn State University and Baylor University's Institute for Studies of Religion. He is a well-known commentator on religion, past and present, having written about 30 books including The Next Christendom, The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South and God's Continent: Christianity, Islam and Europe's Religious Crisis, The Lost History of Christianity, Jesus Wars, just to name a few.

He has published articles and op-ed pieces in several media outlets across the U.S. and Europe, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, New Republic, Foreign Policy, First Things, and Christian Century. The Economist has called him “one of America's best scholars of religion.”

He has been interviewed on several television and radio shows, including CNN documentaries and news specials covering a variety of topics, such as global Christianity, the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, as well as serial murder, and aspects of violent crime.

Jenkins is much heard on talk radio, including multiple appearances on NPR's All Things Considered, and on various BBC and RTE programs. In North America, he has been a guest on widely syndicated radio programs such as NPR’s Fresh Air, as well as the nationally broadcast Canadian shows Tapestry and Ideas. His influence goes beyond North America to newspapers and radio stations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Brazil.

Now, in the highlight of his life ;-), he is on Apollos Watered! Travis & Phil discuss tacos, sushi, the 80's movie Matewan, and the possible correlation between secularization, religious institutions, birth rates, and gender roles in society. It's not just a European thing, but a global thing. It's truly a deep and heady conversation that helps us wrestle with our world and our place in it.

Takeaways:

• Fertility rates in the United States have declined to European levels, signaling a demographic shift.
• The relationship between secularism and declining birth rates is evident across various cultures.
• Understanding the trends in global fertility can provide insights into religious institutional health.
• The rapid decline of religious practices in Europe raises questions about the future of the American faith.
• As societies become more secular, the role of family structures and values is changing significantly.
• Immigration can introduce new religious communities, potentially reshaping the landscape of faith in the West.

Get Fertility and Faith and be sure to check out many of Philip's other books.

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The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. There are people ready to come to faith, but there aren't people who are willing to open up their homes, be vulnerable, and live an authentic life of faith in front of them. Are you?

Travis and Nik delve into ministering in our modern culture are not often as hard as we make it. It is rather simple but requires a certain degree of time and vulnerability. They discuss households coming to faith, the lost (but certainly re-discoverable) art of hospitality, listening to people, and more importantly to the Lord.

They also talk about the church wherever it is and rediscovering the burden of Jesus being known in parts of the world where He is not yet known.

This episode is filled with laughter, insight, heartbreak, hope, and practical tools to help you so that you can fulfill Christ's mission for your life.

Learn more about Nik Ripken Ministries, the book, and the movie.

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Travis & Nik continue their conversation with the persecuted church and our contemporary witness in the West. Nik shows us that it's at the point of witness that we identify with the persecuted or the persecutor. If we witness, we may well be persecuted, if we do not witness, we may never suffer. They also discuss modern western Christians' lack of desire to send children to the mission field, and how pagan parents bless their children who desire to be missionaries more than believing parents.

Additionally, they discuss Black Hawk Down, snow-plow parenting, modern-day Judas's, identifying with brothers and sisters in chains, suffering for your faith, and the need to change the flow of the river of current western ministry perspectives.

Learn more about Nik Ripken Ministries, the book, and the movie.

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Travis Michael Fleming and Nik Ripken engage in a profound exploration of the concept of Christian witness, particularly in the context of persecution, as delineated in Ripken's own experiences across various hostile regions. The discussion underscores the assertion that the act of witnessing is inherently tied to the potential for persecution; those who choose to remain silent about their faith significantly reduce their likelihood of facing adversity. This key point serves as a foundational premise for the dialogue, emphasizing the necessity of an active witness in the life of a believer.

Fleming and Ripken navigate through the dichotomy between the ease of practicing faith in Western societies and the harsh realities that many Christians endure in oppressive regimes. They present compelling narratives that illuminate the courage of believers who, despite suffering severe consequences, continue to proclaim their faith. These stories are not merely cautionary tales but serve as powerful reminders of the strength and resilience found in the global Church, particularly among those who face persecution.

The episode also invites listeners to reflect on their own practices of faith-sharing, challenging the complacency that can arise in environments of relative freedom. Ripken's emphasis on the need for an active witness resonates as a call to action for Christians, urging them to leverage their freedom to proclaim the Gospel boldly. Ultimately, the conversation is a stirring reminder of the responsibilities that come with faith, encouraging believers to embody the message of Christ in their communities and to honor those who have suffered for their convictions.

Takeaways:

• The essence of persecution is often determined by one's willingness to witness for Christ, reflecting a profound challenge to our faith.
• To share one's faith openly is to invite potential suffering, yet it is through this very act that the authenticity of faith is tested and revealed.
• The testimonies of persecuted Christians provide invaluable lessons on resilience and the unwavering commitment to witness amidst adversity.
• Understanding the experiences of believers in oppressive regimes can deepen our appreciation for the freedoms we possess in the West, and compel us to act accordingly.
• The narrative emphasizes that maintaining silence about one's faith may result in a lack of suffering, but it also stifles the transformative potential of the Gospel.
• Persecuted Christians often view their suffering as an integral aspect of their faith journey, illustrating that true discipleship involves both sacrifice and witness.

Is the blood of the martyrs really the seed of the church? Join Travis and special guest Nik Ripken as they talk about all things Kentucky, family, the persecuted church, and Nik's book, The Insanity of Obedience.

Growing up in Kentucky, obeying Christ's call to go to the nations, Nik & Ruth Ripken went to Malawi, South Africa, and Kenya. Sensing God's call to work among the Somalians, they did-and found themselves facing unfiltered evil, unimaginable family pain, and friends' martyrdom.

They discovered lessons of faith from brothers and sisters in persecution that challenge, encourage, and inspire us. This is a must-listen!

Learn more about Nik Ripken Ministries, the book, and the movie.

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Join Travis as he talks with Mike Goheen and how the Gospel needs to be lived out in the West that is infected with a consumer worldview. Travis and Mike discuss the Bible as the true story of the whole world and how we are invited into that story and how we can live that story out in our specific worlds.

They talk about Lesslie Newbigin (1909-1998), whom many consider having been a modern-day prophet, and how his insights are so relevant and applicable to us today.

They also talk about Mike's work in Phoenix with The Missional Training Center.

Listen in, it is insightful, it is deep, and it is what we all need to hear.

Learn more about Mike and the Missional Training Center and check out his books.

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