Redeemer Broadcasting : A Plain Answer

This is another fire side chat! The weather is getting cold outside now. We have had a few nights this past week, where there was some frost on the ground. Our guest lives in West Virginia and he says that the weather is not that much different than the Hudson Valley, depending on the elevation. Now the stores have Christmas stuff out. It used to be after Thanksgiving when this showed up. Our guest points out that we think about "harvest time." Harvest is a time of feasting and celebration. First Fruits was a time of joy in Israel and the 2nd feast was called Ingathering. We reflect on the Puritans coming over to America in the early days. We discuss the Wampanoag Indians.

The original American harvest feast took place in 1621. We discuss the importance of thankfulness. Our guest reminds us that the early Puritan settlers saw themselves as the new Israel. This has strong biblical precedent because of what Galatians 6:16 tells us. Christians are truly the Israel of God, now that Christ has come and was resurrected and ascended on high. Participants: Dr. John Vance, Dan Elmendorf

Today we talk about Communism. Our guest shares four points. He looks at the Communist view of history - Everything is horizontal. There is a concept of the oppressor and the oppressed. The Proletariat and the Bourgeoisie. One is the wealthy capital class who own the means of production. The other are wage laborers. Second, our guest points out that today's Communism not only deals with means and economic oppression, but now includes race and gender. Third is a view of discipleship. The notion of total commitment. However, all that Communism can offer is dead sacrifices, while the Christian faith has "living sacrifices." Finally, is Communism's view of the end. A Communist utopia. He mentions the typical mantra of from each according to his ability and to each according to his need. Participants: Bill Shishko, Dan Elmendorf, Tim Elmendorf

Today we talk with an ordained PCA minister who has the calling of "Ministry to State." For more information see:

https://www.pcamna.org/ministrytostate

"Ministry to State exists to minister to those serving in government. It seeks to achieve that mission through 5 objectives:

Gospel. Expose those in the government community to the transforming truths of the gospel through healthy relationships

Worldview. Provide encouragement and support in the development of a Biblical world and life view for those in government who make a profession of faith.

Conscience. Strive to be instrumental in establishing and maintaining a Biblical conscience throughout the government community who both create and implement policy

Church. Provide a healthy means to connect the church in a non-partisan manner with those in government

Prayer. Promote and facilitate specific and intelligent prayer by the body of Christ for those serving in government."

Participants: Pastor John Hanna, Dan Elmendorf

Today we interview the author of Loser Theology. On his substack, he notes that "Why do evangelical Christians have so little power in our society? According to some surveys, evangelical Christians comprise roughly 25% of the US population, and though we are known for our tendency to vote for conservative political candidates, we have little power outside of our political preferences." He further notes: "If evangelical Christians represent a quarter of our population, then where are the prominent evangelical entrepreneurs, up and coming business leaders, CEOs, innovators and tech pioneers? They�ve got to be out there somewhere. So why don�t we know about them?" Our guest explains the parable of Jesus' parable about a nobleman who went on a journey after giving minas to ten servants and instructing them to �engage in business until I come.� Our guest points out "The worthless servant�s biggest failure was his failure to take action because he did not trust the master. He did not account for the master�s grace. The master expected his servants to experience gains and losses, knowing that over time, the gains would exceed the losses and he�d receive the profit. But the worthless servant didn�t trust the master�s grace. He played it safe, put his mina in his piggy bank, and gained nothing." Bottom line, our guest counsels that instead of holding to loser theology, we should practice high agency Christianity. Participants: Rev. D. Michael Clary, Dan Elmendorf

Today we talk about aging and coming to Christ at all ages, and particularly as we grow older and may realize that our time is getting short. Our guest starts off by giving a piece of advice - that is, as we age, try not to overly focus on your age. Some folks will stop walking up stairs for example. Better to keep doing the things you normally did. Stay active and keep going. Our guest was involved in counseling early on in his career. He visited the burn unit at a local hospital. He learned that it is important to tell the truth and not give a false hope. He relates a story of a lady who knew she was dying, but she was ready to pass on to the Lord. Yet, she was sad that she would be leaving behind her 9 year old daughter. We discuss typical ages when people come to Christ. There is a group of folks who seem to come to Christ around the age of puberty. Also another time of deep spiritual reflection is when a couple have their first baby. No matter the time frame, it is very important to make the faith your own. Our guest relates that he is friends with a man who is age 92. He wants him to come to the Lord. As we were talking, our guest mentioned the phrase, "I love him." And we note how important this aspect it. Its really more important than being a polemical expert. Our guest notes that God is the God of all the seasons in life. We briefly touch upon those who have regrets. Participants: Dr. John Vance, Dan Elmendorf

In the Word we learn that "He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ," Today we reflect on the gift of evangelism in the church. Our guest is an evangelist. He goes out and regularly does open air preaching. He's been a pastor of multiple churches in the past. He has been in the PCA for many years, and is now with the Vanguard Presbytery. He currently serves as an Evangelist with Reformed Evangelistic Fellowship.

We ask him about the case of having a gift of ministry and finding balance in life so as not to neglect the family. How is that done? Some men work so hard at their calling that the family suffers. And once we lose our children, there is no going back. In fact the requirement of an elder is that he be "blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly." Please join us for an encouraging discussion. Participants: Pastor Al Baker, Dan Elmendorf.

The Scriptures use the phrase "Jesus is Lord." In fact that was one of the early church creeds. Before we die, God has given us a marvelous opportunity to serve Him in this world. Our guest points out that we have a beginning, a middle and an end. The Psalmist wrote: "So teach us to number our days,

that we may gain a heart of wisdom." That's found in Ps. 90:12. Our guest reminds us to always look up to Christ and the Scriptures. If we lose our convictions based on the Scriptures, as a society, we will lose the freedom to publicly worship the Lord. We mention the persecution story from Finland - that of a medical doctor who posted a scripture passage from Romans. She was arrested! And yet she is not giving up. We pause to consider the implications of the gospel into all areas. We are reminded of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, which asks "What do the Scriptures principally teach?" The answer is broader than we might think. It is: "The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man." That means that the principles of Christ are expected by God to flow into all of life. That is, our "Duty." Its very exhaustive. God wants his salvation and his principles to pervade into every area of our lives. That's the outworking of "Jesus is Lord." Participants: Dr. John Vance, Dan Elmendorf

Why is Communism fundamentally incompatible with faithful Christianity? Today we talk with a pastor, who in his early life before he was even a Christian, had gotten involved in Communism. Our guest admired greatly, Che Guevara. You sometimes see T-shirts with an image of Che Guevara on them. Other notable leaders of this movement

are: Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin, Fidel Castro. Modern leaders would be North Korean dictator Kim Il-sung (succeeded by his son Kim Jong Il ). Closer to home it would include Zohran Mamdani of New York City.

Our guest discusses the fact that Communism is a counterfeit of Christianity. Misguided woke pastors sometimes push a Socialistic/Communistic worldview. It's amazing to us how this happens and how on earth (!) they remain in the pulpit! Some of these pastors are more intellectual and come across as better than others in their head knowledge. They are deceivers. Regarding the social movement, today, we have the Democrat Socialists of America. They say it is not a party - perhaps not, but its a huge danger. Wikipedia says that "the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a socialist political organization in the United States, and the largest such organization in US history, with more than 120,000 members as of July 2026. A big tent on the left wing of the political spectrum, it is primarily organized around the principles of democratic socialism, with its members active in electoral politics, labor organizing, and direct action campaigns." Again, Socialism/Communism is a counterfeit of Christianity. Another huge point here... One of the reasons that we feel helpless, as Christians, as we deal with Communism within our ranks is because we have bought the lie of a pessimistic eschatology. You see, when you have that at your core, you have laid aside the ability to fight against godless Communism. Pessimistic eschatology is a handmaiden of godless Communism. Much to talk about! Participants: Pastor Bill Shishko, Dan Elmendorf

Are men�s roles in leadership unique to men? Is God serious when he assigns the role of eldership in the church to men only? What about the authority assigned to a man in a Christian home? Years ago, these roles were not questioned, but today they are. We have seen the destructive effects of egalitarianism. The church suffers and our homes suffer. The Bible speaks to how men and women should behave and it ties such roles to the natural biological differences between men and women. The Bible teaches primary tasks and duties God has given to men, and to women. Today we interview a guest who has studied this topic deeply, using the original languages. He not only is ordained as a minister of word and sacrament but also trained as a lawyer.

Today we interview the author of the book "Masculine Christianity. Here is what the Amazon writeup has to say: The Western church has gone feminist. God has given men authority in the home, church, and society. Yet the church has rebelled against God�s design and embraced the unbelieving world�s teaching that women should take on the same roles and duties as men rather than focus on the home and children. Christian scholarship and Bible commentaries are dominated by feminist arguments that both husband and wife should submit to each other (�mutual submission�), that women may be pastors and preach sermons to men, and that the Apostle Paul�s teaching on men and women was limited to Greco-Roman culture and has been transcended by our unity in Christ.

Sadly, the conservative response to feminism�complementarianism�compromised several historic Christian teachings and has thus given feminism an even stronger foothold in the church. Many complementarians fail to root gender roles in the differing natures of men and women. As a result, they have refused to apply the Bible�s teaching about men and women beyond the home and church, leading to the embrace of women in civil office and military combat. In addition, the vast majority of complementarians have adopted the novel interpretation of 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 (�the women should keep silent in the churches�) that Paul only prohibited women from evaluating prophecy, which has opened the door to women preaching and teaching men in the church.

The result is that the Western church has become effeminate and weak. Pastors are afraid to teach important Bible passages on the roles and duties of men and women, and it is no surprise that young Christian women are trading babies for careers outside the home and that churches are regularly capitulating to subversions of biblical sexual ethics. What the church needs is to recover its masculine calling, where men embrace their God-given authority�and responsibility�in the home, church, and society. This book affirms the historic Christian teaching on men and women, critiques feminist scholarship, and urges complementarians to hold a more robust and consistent position. This is a call to return to the Bible�s teaching on men and women. This is a call to Masculine Christianity. Participants: Rev. Zachary Garris, Dan Elmendorf

A few weeks ago, we heard of a prayer request for a container shipment of Bibles that had made its way to the destination in South Africa, but was being held up by the government. We were asked to pray that the officials holding things up would release the container to be delivered to Peter Hammond in South Africa. His group freely delivers these Bibles to many places in Africa. Finally, after much waiting and praying, the container has made its way to Peter's place where it is being gone through carefully, and the Bibles sorted for distribution. Some of the Bible's are in need of repair and the mission there, sees to it that these Bibles are taken care of properly. The Bibles help seminarians, churches, pastors and students of God's word. We praise God that the container was finally released by the authorities. The wait was frustrating, because every day that clicked by while the container was sitting there, Peter's mission was being charged a sort of rent - through now fault of their own. Learn some of the details of this missionary outreach. Participants: Dr. Peter Hammond, Dan Elmendorf