Episode 16: The Theology of Slight of Hand

Wherein Them Pastors are joined once again by Jimmy Bruce Dykstra to talk about seeing the “tricks” of church and how it makes you see the rest of the world. 

We also explore J’s passionate dislike of DC Talk which leads us into another minisode of “Good Christian Stuff” which leads us into a history of the band Gungor.  They also visit the brilliant Instagram of “PreachersNSneakers,” discuss the importance in acknowledging racism, identify the problem with “raising awareness,” and ask the important question of where we fit into the church.

“Tyler, I never forget that you are 14 years older than me.’”

Episode 15: The Theology of Tom Cruise

Wherein Them Pastors are joined by the one and only Jimmy Dykstra, who is desperate to talk about the one and only Tom Cruise.  In a journey that leads through some very strong feelings about dodgeball, the sordid tale of wallet bean toss, the brilliant premise for Groundhog Day 2, the correct way to say “GIF,” Mariah Carey’s irresistible “All I Want For Christmas is You,” the best movie of the 2010’s, and suddenly, Ryan Gosling - we end up in a conversation about emotional authenticity.

“At least every three years, Tom Cruise wakes up and says, ‘You know what this world needs? Another Mission: Impossible movie.’”

Episode 14: The Theology of Doubt Night

Wherein Them Pastors are once again joined by the brilliant Rev. Laura Bentley as they dig into the topic of doubt.  Along the way, they offer up some unused baby names, discover how Bentley came to be known as “Bentley” vs. “Laura”, and hear the tale of the most important rock-paper-scissors game.  J tells how youth pastor laziness led to the genius of “Doubt Night” and how that event moved from the youth room to the bar.   They discuss the essential importance of doubt and questions in a healthy life of faith,  the helpful role model of “Doubting” Thomas, the necessary broadening of community needed in the church, and wrestle with existential questions from a six year old.

“Can I see your toes?”

Episode 13: The Theology of the 2019 World Cup

Wherein Them Pastors are joined by their first actual guest:  the very awesome and very Rev. Laura Bentley!  We talk about how Bentley and J met (it involved J’s Carter Beauford-like drumming prowess), how Bentley and Tyler met (involving how they were fast friends before they ever actually met), and all sorts of other bric a brac and rare knick-knackery.  They also cover Daddy/Daughter Dances, sexism & gender inequality in sports (and the church), and the rough waters navigated by women in ministry.

Also - platupi fun facts, the satisfactorily barely adequate American accent of Emma Watson, and the precious secret origins of AIM screen names - and that’s just in the first 25 minutes!

“My patronus is a death-eater.”

Episode 12: The Theology of Han Shooting First (or Biblical Inerrancy)

Wherein Them Pastors use the infamous deviation from Star Wars orthodoxy as a jumping off point for a robust conversation about how literally we are supposed to read the Bible.  Along the way, they take some trips into who the coolest letter is, why worship is set up the way that it is, whether or not there is water in space, and get a visit from THEIR VERY FIRST GUEST (who has a very confusing accent).

There’s also a breakdown of which version of “Take Five” is the correct one and a walk through an important chapter of the Bible that’s about three parties no one wants to go to.

“MEXICO!”

Episode 11: The Theology of Napping

Wherein Them Pastors take things a bit less controversial by talking about naps.  Seriously.  They also breakdown what the best song is to walk into a room, mercifully sidestep a lengthy conversation about Dave Matthews Band, the confusing myth of the “coffee nap,” and highlight how hard it is to say “yes” to anything without saying “no” to something else.

“I’ve never experienced a couch that’s more comfortable than any couch in a youth room.”

Episode 10: The Theology of Ice Cream & Cow Manure, Part 2

Wherein Them Pastors CONTINUE to play with fire!  POLITICS!  They journey through the J’s regular subtweeting of a certain president, why the US economy isn’t really a capitalist system, the dangers of autofill, and the necessity of the separation of church and state.  This episode is PART 2 of the discussion from earlier this week, so listen to that one first (Theology of Ice Cream & Cow Manure, Part 1).

“There was a time when Japan was really on target to be the dominant world power, but then their economy imploded - mainly because of the Sega Dreamcast.”

Episode 9: The Theology of Ice Cream & Cow Manure, Part 1

Wherein Them Pastors play with fire!  POLITICS!  OH NO!  This is such a big topic that there will be TWO episodes this week: Part 1 on Monday, and Part 2 on Thursday.  Part 1 has J & Tyler walking through their political biographies, trying to figure out whether Tyler’s parents would vote for Pat Robertson or Jesse Jackson, how much SNL impersonations influenced how we voted, why George W. Bush would be a fun guy to spend the day with, and parse out who voted for Barack Obama more.  Overall, the goal is to have a conversation about things that we “aren’t supposed to talk about,” but in reality that we desperately need to have.  We also have a first in that we beep out a bunch of swears (mostly from J).  Join us for Part 1, and look for Part 2 to drop on Thursday!

“As a kid you think, ‘the president is the president.  Everybody likes him or he wouldn’t be the president.’”

Episode 8: The Theology of Children’s Television

Wherein Them Pastors break down J’s master plan on how to defend against bullies when he was a kid, explain why Elmo is the ruination of most everything, and prove that they are smarter than those fools on the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  They also break myths about Mister Rogers and perpetuate ones about Bob Ross.  And, they tie kids’ shows back to Game of Thrones (naturally). 

“That domino didn’t fall right - but look at all the ones that did!”

Episode 7: The Theology of Being at the Game

Wherein Them Pastors save the world with impressions, discuss Jason’s true religion, how Tyler knows that there are three periods in hockey (and that’s about it), and living in a world of over abundance.  They also start a new limited segment called “Good Christian Things” (with actual recommendations of “Christian” things) and deal with how Netflix keeps trying to get Tyler to watch The Human Centipede.

“We should just call this podcast ‘All That!’”