The Christian Chronicle Podcast

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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This episode brought to you by the Freed-Hardeman University Master of Arts in Old Testament and Master of Arts in New Testament. Listeners to this show can apply for free. Learn more at fhu.edu/chronicle.

OnlineSpanishChurch.com can help your congregation connect with your Spanish-speaking neighbors. Learn more at OnlineSpanishChurch.com.

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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This episode brought to you by the Freed-Hardeman University Master of Arts in Old Testament and Master of Arts in New Testament. Listeners to this show can apply for free. Learn more at fhu.edu/chronicle.

OnlineSpanishChurch.com can help your congregation connect with your Spanish-speaking neighbors. Learn more at OnlineSpanishChurch.com.

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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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This episode brought to you by the Freed-Hardeman University Master of Arts in Old Testament and Master of Arts in New Testament. Listeners to this show can apply for free. Learn more at fhu.edu/chronicle.

OnlineSpanishChurch.com can help your congregation connect with your Spanish-speaking neighbors. Learn more at OnlineSpanishChurch.com.

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In this episode recorded before a live audience at the Church of Christ in Falls Church, Virginia, The Christian Chronicle's Erik Tryggestad interviews C.W. Goodyear, author of President Garfield: From Radical to Unifier(Simon & Schuster).

Garfield, the 20th president of the United States, served in office for only 200 days before he died from an assassin's bullet (he was only the second U.S. president to be a victim of assassination).

Before becoming president, Garfield gained notoriety as the youngest brigadier general in the Union army during U.S. Civil War and the youngest member of the U.S. Congress.

More important to The Christian Chronicle's audience, however, is Garfield's parallel career as a preacher in Stone-Campbell Movement congregations (known interchangeably as Churches of Christ and Disciples of Christ in the 19th century).

As Goodyear points out in the interview, there are politicians who claim membership in certain churches just to burnish their public image. Garfield, however, was not one of them. He was a devoted Christian and member of his local congregation wherever his career took him.

And, when he sinned, he repented and made things right (as you will hear).

Find more news and stories at christianchronicle.org

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This episode brought to you by the Freed-Hardeman University Master of Arts in Old Testament and Master of Arts in New Testament. Listeners to this show can apply for free. Learn more at fhu.edu/chronicle.

OnlineSpanishChurch.com can help your congregation connect with your Spanish-speaking neighbors. Learn more at OnlineSpanishChurch.com.

Make The Christian Chronicle part of your estate plan. Our partners at PhilanthroCorp make it easy. Start now at christianchronicle.org/legacygiving

Learn more about how your investments can grow churches at thesolomonfoundation.org

From the Norton Colloquium at the 101st Harding University Lectureship, The Christian Chronicle's editor-in-chief Bobby Ross Jr. leads a panel of preachers as they discuss how (and whether) to talk about politics in the local church.

Dr. Jeremie Beller is The Christian Chronicle's opinions editor. He serves as dean of the College of Bible at Oklahoma Christian University and minister with the Wilshire Church of Christ in in Oklahoma City.

Dr. Nathan Guy is associate professor of philosophy, theology and ethics at Harding University, preaching minister with West Side Church of Christ in Searcy, AR, and chair of the Center for Christian Studies.

Patrick Odum is minister with Northwest Church of Christ in Chicago, IL.

Find more news and stories at christianchronicle.org

Donate to support this ministry of "information and inspiration" at christianchronicle.org/donate

Send your comments, ideas, and suggestions to [email protected]

This episode brought to you by the Freed-Hardeman University Master of Arts in Old Testament and Master of Arts in New Testament. Listeners to this show can apply for free. Learn more at fhu.edu/chronicle.

OnlineSpanishChurch.com can help your congregation connect with your Spanish-speaking neighbors. Learn more at OnlineSpanishChurch.com.

Make The Christian Chronicle part of your estate plan. Our partners at PhilanthroCorp make it easy. Start now at christianchronicle.org/legacygiving

Learn more about how your investments can grow churches at thesolomonfoundation.org

Liza Corso is a two-time Team U.S.A. Paralympic medalist in the women's 1500m (Silver, Tokyo, 2020 and Bronze, Paris, 2024). She is also a senior psychology and nutrition major at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee.

In this episode, Liza talks about what it is like run at a world-class level while seeing through her vision impairment. She also talks about how her faith and her running developed and formed together.

Link to The Christian Chronicle's report on Liza Corso's Bronze Medal race in the 2024 Paris Paralympics

Find more news and stories at christianchronicle.org

Donate to support this ministry of "information and inspiration" at christianchronicle.org/donate

Send your comments, ideas, and suggestions to [email protected]

This episode brought to you by the Freed-Hardeman University Master of Arts in Old Testament and Master of Arts in New Testament. Listeners to this show can apply for free. Learn more at fhu.edu/chronicle.

OnlineSpanishChurch.com can help your congregation connect with your Spanish-speaking neighbors. Learn more at OnlineSpanishChurch.com.

Make The Christian Chronicle part of your estate plan. Our partners at PhilanthroCorp make it easy. Start now at christianchronicle.org/legacygiving

From the Norton Colloquium at Harding University's 101st lectureship, members of The Christian Chronicle news team bring stories of what God is doing around, and through, God's people...in some of the hardest and scariest circumstances.

Audrey Jackson, Bobby Ross Jr., Sawmi Sektak and Erik Tryggestad give eyewitness reports of what they've seen as they cover the news among Christians and congregations in every part of the world.

Links to the stories from this panel discussion:

War in Ukraine: Links to The Christian Chronicle's coverage, by Erik Tryggestad

'God is crying with us: Despite being devastated by the earthquake, Turkish Christians are still working to serve the Lord' by Audrey Jackson (Feb. 15, 2023)

'For Cuba, a time of stress - and salvation: Amid an economic crisis, ministry and music propel a native son devoted to sharing the bread of life,' by Bobby Ross Jr. (Nov. 14, 2023)

'Momma, I can see Jesus: Matt and Macy Collins launched the Magnolia Foundation to honor their daughter, Hattie Jo, who died in a tornado,' by Bobby Ross Jr. (Feb. 8, 2024)

'Amid rubble, Turkish churches build foundations,' by Audrey Jackson (April 15, 2024)

'Divine power saves minister: Despite severe burns, Minnesota preacher remains devoted to fulfilling God's purpose for his life,' by Bobby Ross Jr. (June 18, 2024)

'These Christians not afraid to address sexual trauma: Ministry educates missionaries in training - and believers around the world - about the good and bad of sex,' by Bobby Ross Jr. (Sept. 11, 2024)

Christian educator teaches displaced Israeli children' by Audrey Jackson (Sept. 24, 2024)

Find more news and stories at christianchronicle.org

Donate to support this ministry of "information and inspiration" at christianchronicle.org/donate

Send your comments, ideas, and suggestions to [email protected]

This episode brought to you by the Freed-Hardeman University Master of Arts in Old Testament and Master of Arts in New Testament. Listeners to this show can apply for free. Learn more at fhu.edu/chronicle.

OnlineSpanishChurch.com can help your congregation connect with your Spanish-speaking neighbors. Learn more at OnlineSpanishChurch.com.

Make The Christian Chronicle part of your estate plan. Our partners at PhilanthroCorp make it easy. Start now at christianchronicle.org/legacygiving

Learn more about how your investments can grow churches at thesolomonfoundation.org

From the Norton Colloquium at Harding University's 101st Lectureship, Heritage 21 Foundation's Stan Granberg, 21st Century Christian's Carl Royster and The Christian Chronicle's Erik Tryggestad discuss what current trends portend for the future of Churches of Christ.

They also reveal plans for the Church Research Council, a new joint venture of The Christian Chronicle, Heritage 21 Foundation, Siburt Institute and 21st Century Christian.

Link to The Christian Chronicle's report on the formation of the Church Research Council

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Donate to support this ministry of "information and inspiration" at christianchronicle.org/donate

Send your comments, ideas, and suggestions to [email protected]

This episode brought to you by the Freed-Hardeman University Master of Arts in Old Testament and Master of Arts in New Testament. Listeners to this show can apply for free. Learn more at fhu.edu/chronicle.

OnlineSpanishChurch.com can help your congregation connect with your Spanish-speaking neighbors. Learn more at OnlineSpanishChurch.com.

Make The Christian Chronicle part of your estate plan. Our partners at PhilanthroCorp make it easy. Start now at christianchronicle.org/legacygiving

Almost half of the world's migrants claim Christianity according to new research from Pew Research Center.

In this episode, we hear from two Christian immigrants, Eduardo and Odalis Vasquez, Church of Christ members who are part of the 7.7 million people who fled Venezuela over the last few years.

The Vasquezes talk about why and how they left their home behind and what it is like to try to make their new home in Montevideo, Uruguay.

They also share the story of how immigrants (from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela) are breathing new life into the Montevideo Church of Christ (which was struggling before the arrival of so many immigrants in recent years).

Link to Erik Tryggestad's recent story about the Montevideo Church of Christ (featuring Eduardo and Odalis Vasquez).

Link to an archive of The Christian Chronicle's complete coverage of the "diaspora" of Church of Christ members from Venezuela as they migrate around the world.

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This episode brought to you by the Freed-Hardeman University Master of Arts in Old Testament and Master of Arts in New Testament. Listeners to this show can apply for free. Learn more at fhu.edu/chronicle.

OnlineSpanishChurch.com can help your congregation connect with your Spanish-speaking neighbors. Learn more at OnlineSpanishChurch.com.

According to Pew Research Center, immigration is the second-most important issue to White evangelical Protestants who plan to vote in the November 2024 U.S. presidential election. Note: Pew places White Church of Christ members (7 out of 10 Church of Christ members nationwide) in the "White evangelical Protestant" research cohort. So, then, immigration may be one of the top issues for Church of Christ members in the United States today.

In this episode, Dr. Stephanie Kramer (Pew Research Center) shares what a new study reveals about the faith of the people who choose to migrate (almost half claim to be Christian) and how that faith influences where they go.

Frank Meza and Preston Pratt, ministers with Berry's Chapel Church of Christ in Franklin, Tenn., share the story of how their congregation is coming alongside and joining the growing Spanish-speaking community nearby. In addition to opening and sponsoring a community center in a Spanish-speaking neighborhood, the congregation did away with its separate English- and Spanish-speaking assemblies on Sunday morning and now has one bilingual assembly every week.

Link to Pew Research Center's latest report on the faith of the world's migrants

Link to Berry's Chapel Church of Christ in Franklin, Tennessee

Link to The Christian Chronicle's archive of reporting on U.S. congregations and immigration

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Donate to support this ministry of "information and inspiration" at christianchronicle.org/donate

Send your comments, ideas, and suggestions to [email protected]

This episode brought to you by the Freed-Hardeman University Master of Arts in Old Testament and Master of Arts in New Testament. Listeners to this show can apply for free. Learn more at fhu.edu/chronicle.

OnlineSpanishChurch.com can help your congregation connect with your Spanish-speaking neighbors. Learn more at OnlineSpanishChurch.com.

Make The Christian Chronicle part of your estate plan. Our partners at PhilanthroCorp make it easy. Start now at christianchronicle.org/legacygiving