In Episode 104 (Part One of this double feature), Jerri Anne Blankenship and Mindy Lancaster (Whites Ferry Road Church of Christ, West Monroe, Louisiana) tell the story of how God rescued them from darkness and the downward spiral that happened after their father went to prison for the murder of their mother.

In this episode, Jerri Anne and Mindy describe how they accepted an invitation to tell their story to the women on the inside at a Louisiana state prison. Unsure at first, they found themselves caught up in in a mighty work of God, allowing themselves to be part of baptizing hundreds of women a year in a place that most of the world forgets or ignores.

Just in time for Christmas and long rides in the car to spend the holidays with family and friends, Jerri Anne and Mindy tell the second part of their story here.

Link to Episode 40 featuring Al Robertson

Link to Heartfelt Ministries

Link to Episode 30 featuring Joneal Kirby of Heartfelt Ministries

Link to One Kingdom Ministry 

Let yourself be formed and prepared to be the best minister you can be for the church and world God so loves. Explore the Freed-Hardeman University Master of Divinity at fhu.edu/chronicle.

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When Jerri Anne Blankenship and Mindy Lancaster (Whites Ferry Road Church of Christ, West Monroe, Louisiana) were young teenagers, their father received a life sentence in prison for murdering their mother. The trauma of this event sentenced Jerri Anne and Mindy to their own kind of prison, as they struggled for years in bitterness, confusion, darkness and oppression. But in a turn of events that could only come from the eternal faith, hope, and love of God, they are their father were born again into the life, light and love of the Christ.

Just in time for Christmas and long rides in the car to spend the holidays with family and friends, Jerri Anne and Mindy tell the first part of their story here.

Link to Episode 40 featuring Al Robertson

Link to Heartfelt Ministries

Link to Episode 30 featuring Joneal Kirby of Heartfelt Ministries

Link to One Kingdom Ministry 

Let yourself be formed and prepared to be the best minister you can be for the church and world God so loves. Explore the Freed-Hardeman University Master of Divinity at fhu.edu/chronicle.

The Solomon Foundation (thesolomonfoundation.org)

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Catechism is a word that Church of Christ folks may often associate with Catholicism, but its practice - which comes from the Greek catechesis (Greek for "instruction") - is happening all the time in Church of Christ congregations.

Author Dr. Brad East (associate professor of theology at Abilene Christian University) not only makes a case that catechism is part of every congregation's life, but that Church of Christ congregations and members might benefit from a fresh exploration and understanding of what they instruct and model for emerging generations.

To that end, East recently published Letters to a Future Saint: Foundations of Faith for the Spiritually Hungry (Eerdmans). The book, which was runner-up for Christianity Today's Book of the Year in 2024, places emerging generations of Christians in the great arc of God's story starting "in the beginning," passing through ancient Israel, and tracing 2,000 years of Christian history and tradition.

Drawing from his experience teaching honest young Christians (and those who are considering Christianity), East puts forward a fresh catechesis for these times.

Link to Letters to a Future Saint: Foundations of Faith for the Spiritually Hungry

Link to Dr. Brad East's author page

Link to The Christian Chronicle Podcast Episode 64: Brad East on Christian nationalism

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This is a long one, but the stories (and the voices who tell them) are important.

Since the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989 and the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, The Christian Chronicle has been especially active reporting how Church of Christ congregations started and grew in Ukraine. Over the last 30 years, many friendships formed and many stories (both good news and hard news) have come to The Christian Chronicle audience through Ukraine.

Beginning with Russia's invasion and annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in 2014 and second invasion and war in 2022, many Church of Christ congregations and members are suffering death and displacement. You can read The Christian Chronicle's extensive coverage here.

Many Ukrainian refugees (Christian and non-Christian) found their way to Houston, Texas over the last two years. As their numbers increased, Memorial Church of Christ stepped up to meet some of their most pressing needs. Because of Memorial Church of Christ, and one Russian member in particular, many Ukrainian refugees are making do as they sojourn in Houston. More important, some of them are coming to faith in Jesus Christ.

In this episode, you'll hear from Yulia Merchant, the Russian immigrant who is letting herself be a catalyst for Christ's ministry to his Ukrainian neighbors coming to Houston.

You'll also hear from two Ukrainian refugees, Oleksandr Voievoda and Liza Sharii-Yukabovska, who tell their stories in their own words.

Read Bobby Ross Jr.'s recent Christian Chronicle story on the Thanksgiving feast the Ukrainian refugees hosted for their Memorial Church of Christ friends

Link to a full archive of The Christian Chronicle's Ukraine coverage

Link to Bobby Ross Jr.'s June 2023 story about the beginning of the Memorial Church of Christ ministry with Ukrainian refugees

Link to Christian Chronicle Podcast Episode 26 featuring Yulia Merchant

Click here to donate to Memorial Church of Christ Urkaine ministry efforts

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Let yourself be formed and prepared to be the best minister you can be for the church and world God so loves. Explore the Freed-Hardeman University Master of Divinity at fhu.edu/chronicle.

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John Dobbs (Forsythe Church of Christ, Monroe, Louisiana) suffered the sudden and tragic loss of his 18-year old son, John Robert, in 2008. After that terrible event, John had to learn to live with his grief--and go on being a follower of Jesus Christ and a minister to his church.

From his experience of living with grief, John wrote two books to help fellow Christians who are also suffering through the loss of people they love. In this episode, John talks about the extraordinary difficulty of grieving through the holidays. He reveals how he continues to process his grief, even almost 17 years after his son's death. And he explains how he now helps others who are living with their own painful grief. Finally, John offers some practical advice for how those who are grieving can get through the holiday season.

Link to Merry Christmas to a Broken Heart: A Devotional Companion for December by John Dobbs

Link to Through Your Tears: Sorrow From Loss, Hope for Healing by John Dobbs

Link to Lord, Hear My Prayer: Prayers and Prompts From the Psalms by John Dobbs

Link to The Christian Chronicle's review of Lord, Hear My Prayer

Link to John Dobbs's author page on Amazon

Link to The Compassionate Friends: Supporting Family After a Child Dies

Link to GriefShare grief and loss support groups (find one near you)

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It's our 100th episode!

To help us celebrate (and get in the mood for a holiday season worthy of its name), Keith Lancaster and Anthony Lancaster of Acappella Ministries are here to talk about the state of a cappella worship among Church of Christ congregations and what they are doing to restore and revive "the best part of our heritage." That includes traveling the world to teach Christians and congregations how to sing together in harmony.

They also announce two opportunities for Christians to enjoy singing with them, including a "living room style" reunion concert featuring Acappella, AVB, the Lancasters and Vocal Union on New Year's Eve and an all-day singing marathon at Madison Church of Christ in Madison, Tennessee, on New Year's Day.

And they unveil Incarnate God, a new Praise & Harmony collection of 25 congregational arrangements for Christmas.

Link to sign up for the New Year's Day Singing Marathon at Madison Church of Christ in Madison, Tennessee

Link to Incarnate God, the new Christmas album from Praise & Harmony

Link to audition to be part of the Praise & Harmony recording in Fort Worth, Texas (August 2025)

Link to the Worship Leader Institute from Acappella Ministries

Link to sign up for emails from Acappella Ministries

Link to Episode 8 (April 2023) featuring Keith Lancaster and Anthony Lancaster

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Let yourself be formed and prepared to be the best minister you can be for the church and world God so loves. Explore the Freed-Hardeman University Master of Divinity at fhu.edu/chronicle.

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Most Christians in the United States know the saying that Sunday morning is the most segregated time in the country on any given week. Though they often think of segregation as segregation by culture, language, skin color or tax bracket, perhaps the most accepted, encouraged and practiced form of segregation is segregation by age.

During the 20th century, changes in developmental theory led congregations to sort themselves by age group or "life stage" (children, youth, college, young adult, young married, seniors, etc.).

Dr. Holly Catterton Allen makes a compelling case for restoring intergenerational Christian formation in intergenerational congregations. This means purposeful, thoughtful integration of all age groups and life stages in helping each other grow and mature in Christ. This conversation includes helpful how-to tips for leaders who want to try practicing intergenerational Christian formation in their congregations.

Link to Intergenerational Christian Formation: Bringing the Whole Church Together in Ministry, Community and Worship (Second Edition)

Link to InterGenerate Conference

Link to The Christian Chronicle's review of Intergenerational Christian Formation (First Edition)

Link to The Christian Chronicle's review of Intergenerate: Transforming Churches Through Intergenerational Ministry, edited by Dr. Holly Catterton Allen

Link to Christian Chronicle profile of Dr. Holly Catterton Allen (March 2009)

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Former Christian Chronicle intern (2021) Makyra Williamson (Tigard, Oregon) is a twentysomething-year old Christian professional who is open to marriage someday. In this episode, she talks about being single in the church in the U.S. in the 21st century. She also talks about dating, how to set her up on a date and how not to set her up on a date. And she reflects on how to be complete and full as a single person in a church culture that often presumes that marriage and parenthood are the fullest expression of Christian personhood.

Link to Makyra Williamson's Christian Chronicle guest op-ed on how to (and how not to) set her up on a date

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Coach Garth Pleasant (Horton Road Church of Christ, Jackson, Michigan) is one of the winningest college basketball coaches of all time (720 wins, 19 national tournament appearances and four national championships at Rochester Christian University, Rochester Hills, Michigan, over 38 years).

In all that time, Coach Pleasant and his teams never played a single home game ... because they didn't have a home court.

In this episode, Coach Pleasant, who is also a veteran Church of Christ preacher for more than five decades, answers whether he would choose coaching or preaching...and why.

He shares both his philosophy and practice of coaching that made him successful by his own standard: Transforming the lives of young men into Christians and citizens. 

Coach Pleasant also touches on:

• The current state of college athletics in the age of name-image-likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal (and how it affects private Christian schools like Rochester).
• How a greater dependence on intercollegiate athletics revenue is changing Christian college campuses.
• How the gospel he preaches (and how he preaches it) matured and seasoned over many decades in the church.

Link to Bobby Ross Jr.'s Christian Chronicle profile on Coach Pleasant (Sept. 20, 2024)

Link to the film documentary, Coach: Make the Bigtime Where You're At

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Note: We had some issues with the audio and recording on this one. We apologize for the "glitches."

Recorded immediately before the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Christian Chronicle editorial board member Trindi Mitchell opens up about what Kamala Harris' run for president means to her (and many others).

Mitchell expands on the theme on why representation matters, not only in national politics, but in the church.

Link to Trindi Mitchell's Christian Chronicle guest op-ed on why representation matters

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Let yourself be formed and prepared to be the best minister you can be for the church and world God so loves. Explore the Freed-Hardeman University Master of Divinity at fhu.edu/chronicle.

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