Small Town World

Listening to the Rise & Fall of Mars Hill was sobering and disturbing.  Some claim the mega church is just big business masquerading as church and in the case of Mars Hill, maybe it was. This week we look at the rise of the mega church and what that looks like in our world.  What are the dangers and pitfalls? What are the benefits? Because there are real benefits to acknowledge! Mainly we discuss this issue so that we don't stay in our safe bubble and not know what's going on in churches across our nation. 

Hot topic at the moment! And maybe a buzzword that's too vague as we point out during this episode. We look at spiritual abuse versus church hurt. As with so many things we have researched, the stories of abuse and hurt are painful to hear. We hope this episode gives you some frame of reference if you have had a negative experience. We also look at leaving a church versus leaving the faith.  Above all, we are praying that if you don't have a church home that you find a church home! 

Have you ever heard of a cold-case or a no-body homicide? In his new book, Person of Interest, former homicide detective J. Warner Wallace looks at the case of Christ as a person of interest. He begins with his techniques and approaches for solving a case when there is no body and walks the reader through the process. We can't recommend this book enough!! It answers questions, solves mysteries, fills in gaps, and gives a person real answers to real questions that everyone ask when it comes to Jesus. 

With so so many things in the news right now regarding this issue, we felt like it was a timely moment to discuss this topic. We tried to give some resources for information to anyone who wants to get educated on what is happening culturally. We discuss why experts believe there is such a dramatic shift in the number of people "transitioning".  We only touch the tip of the iceberg in our small town episode, but the topic is looming large worldwide! 

Finding Deep & Wide is such a special book written by author Shellie Tomlinson. This book refreshed and renewed my desire to go deeper with our Lord in 2020 and again this past weekend. We had a beautiful time with Shellie Tomlinson out on the lake discussing her book, some new projects  and talking about Jesus.  Shellie's sub-title for the book says it best, stop settling for the life you have and live the one Jesus died to give you. 

This week we explore the sanctity of life and what that looks like from several different angles.  Self-protection is hard-wired in each human. But the world doesn't seem to place the same value on other's life as it does on self. We discuss being made in the image of God. We touch on abortion and euthanasia.  Why is sanctity of life important? The simple answer is in God's word,  love God and love your neighbor as yourself.

We set out to inspire others to listen to the call to share the good news of Jesus! Give, serve and reach one person like Svea Flood! 

This week we address the accusing questions that people ask on platforms and in social media. I have seen these questions repeatedly on different sites, in newsfeeds and in twitter threads. Our world is so overcome with evil, how can a God who loves us allow all the suffering?  Kayla shares a "mic drop" moment as we talk & discuss Christian hypocrisy.  We talk about common misconceptions about God, His nature and His character. 

We look at Matthew 5 and the Beatitudes simply because these are wonderful life goals for everyone but especially for us as God's children. In a topsy turvy world, maybe we can strive to be these beautiful things. Peacemakers, poor in spirit or  humble, meek, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, merciful, and pure in heart.

In part 2,  the goal was to compare and contrast social justice and Biblical justice. We chased a few rabbits but all related to these topics! Kayla gave us some Bible verses and some great resources for folks who want to listen to people smarter than us! (By the way, the book Propaganda was written in 1928.)