In this episode Waterstone pastors, Larry Renoe and Paul Joslin, have their final conversation on the podcast and discuss the recent presidential election with hopes to provide a space to process this 2024 political season.

Waterstone’s Lead Pastor, Larry Renoe, interviews Dr. Scott Klingsmith, who is the Assistant Professor of Intercultural Studies at Denver Seminary and also has over 35 years of missions experience overseas. Scott brings a global perspective to our podcast this episode and the focus of their conversation is on the history of Christians in politics. What has the political engagement of Christians throughout history looked like and how should Christians engage today? They also cover the much debated topic of whether or not America is a Christian nation. We hope this is a helpful discussion as we approach the presidential election in November 2020 and again in 2024.

A rerun of episode 2, season 2 from 2020 where we hear from Waterstone's Lead Pastor, Larry Renoe, and Teaching Pastor, Paul Joslin. Their conversation doesn't tell you WHO to vote for but HOW, and recognizes the tension that we encounter when filling out our ballots. Our voting options at the polls often feel incongruent with our personal beliefs and don't quite reflect our convictions. We like to think of voting and politics as being a space of self-expression, however, our consciences don't always align with our parties and choices. This tension often causes us to feel that our integrity is threatened. So, what should we do? How do we vote? Join us for the conversation. 

We first aired this episode in October 2020 and it is surprisingly still very applicable to our current political environment. We live in a country where our Gospel-identity is challenged by our political system. With heightened cultural stress about an election we find ourselves being weighed down by fear or misplacing our hope in a political candidate. How do we navigate this tension and remain true to our identity in Christ? Paul Joslin, Teaching Pastor at Waterstone Church, and Dr. Mark Young, President of Denver Seminary, take on this important conversation.

To conclude our season on deconstruction we invited licensed counselor, Mark LaFleur, to join the conversation. Mark has walked this path with many of his clients and is able to give a little insight on how we can meet someone in their journey of deconstruction and offer a safe place to process.

Guest: Mark LaFleur, for contact information, visit www.marklafleur.com

Deconstruction around suffering often happens because our theology and lived experience do not match up. Why would a loving and good God allow so many terrible things to happen in the world? Paul, Alyssa and Larry take on this challenging topic and talk about their own experiences.

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In this episode Paul, Alyssa, and Larry discuss and deconstruct the cultural system of patriarchy and look to see how this hierarchy of power has been reinforced by mainstream Christianity. As followers of Jesus what does the Bible say about gender? And are there expectations of our roles within society? Listen and join the conversation today!

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What is the meaning behind Jesus’ death and resurrection? Christians believe that Jesus’ sacrifice reconciled the relationship between humankind and our creator, God. However, it is not quite that simple. Over thousands of years, theologians and followers of Jesus have tried to articulate this nuance through metaphors, emphasizing some aspects of Jesus’ sacrifice over others. In this conversation, we aim to dissect the different theories of atonement and bring clarity to the larger picture of the gospel.

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If you grew up in the church in the ‘90s, you probably experienced purity culture—it was the church’s response to the increasing promiscuity in society. Unintentionally, purity culture caused significant harm and didn't fully capture God’s heart towards sex and individual value. In this episode, we share what we believe to be a more biblical view of sex and relationships. We hope you enjoy the conversation.

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Is the Bible trustworthy? Is the Bible true? Scripture has been misused and abused, so deconstruction of the Bible often centers around these two questions. In this episode, we discuss what the Bible is, and how it might apply to our life today.

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