The Common Good Podcast

Most Christians believe in evangelism. Very few actually do it — and the fear isn't hard to understand. Mark Teasdale, president of United Theological Seminary and author of Socially Awkward Evangelism: Overcoming Fear in Sharing the Gospel, joins Brian From to diagnose why the word alone makes so many believers anxious, and what to do about it. The short answer: we've been taught that evangelism requires confrontation, and almost nobody wants to bludgeon someone to Jesus. Mark unpacks what healthy evangelism actually looks like — relational, patient, non-judgmental, and built over time rather than executed in a single beach encounter. He also shares a fascinating finding about Gen Z: they're strongly in favor of evangelism as an idea, but terrified of coming across as one of those Christians. And his most practical starting point for anyone who wants to grow? If you're not ready to talk to another person about Jesus, start by talking to Jesus about another person. Free exercises from the book are available at the InterVarsity Press website — no purchase required.

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Everything is shifting under our feet — social norms, acceptable speech, cultural standards — and the result is a generation drowning in anxiety and uncertainty. Alan Noble, professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University and author of To Live Well: Practical Wisdom for Moving Through Chaotic Times, joins Brian From to make the case that the seven classical virtues offer a grounding that goes deeper and older than any TikTok life hack. He unpacks fortitude — why facing suffering for the sake of the good is one of the most countercultural things a person can do right now — and prudence, the practical wisdom that gets stuck not in the deliberating but in the failure to act resolutely. Alan also shares what he's seeing in his college students: plenty of faith, but a desperate hunger to know how that faith speaks into the actual struggles of daily life — choosing a career, asking someone out, managing social anxiety. They don't want abstract theology. They want to know if any of this is real enough to help them today. The answer, Alan says, is yes. Find To Live Well wherever books are sold.

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A new survey says 48% of Americans feel the fun has disappeared from their lives — and the number one thing they call "fun" is watching more TV. Brian From unpacks what that actually says about how we're living and what we're missing. Then: the Enhanced Games happened in Las Vegas, where athletes competed on cocktails of performance enhancing drugs for prize money up to a million dollars, and it raises some uncomfortable questions about human nature and the lengths we'll go to get ahead. A Wisconsin driver removed a road closed sign, drove into fresh concrete, and became an accidental parable. Daniel Darling's Christianity Today piece on whether Christians should smoke weed — and why most of the same arguments apply to alcohol. The story of missionary Davy Lloyd, who was kidnapped and beaten in Haiti, and still preached Christ's love and forgiveness to the men who would kill him. A deep dive into agentic AI and whether it could replace your pastor — spoiler: it already can write your sermons and call your congregation in your voice. And a closing challenge from Randy Alcorn and C.S. Lewis on the question that changes everything: who do you say Jesus is?

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What does a church with over 300 ministries actually look like — and how does one congregation build that kind of reach? Bishop Charles H. Ellis III, senior pastor of Greater Grace Temple in Detroit, joins Brian From for a conversation about third-generation Pentecostal ministry, a 20-acre campus built on the old Edgewater Amusement Park site, and a simple philosophy: ministries exist for needs, not for the church's own satisfaction. Bishop Ellis talks about taking Sunday services outside from Fourth of July to Labor Day, weekly outreach downtown to the poorest neighborhoods, the David Ellis Academy charter schools his father's vision made possible, and why the future of Detroit requires the church to partner with Fortune 500 companies, elected officials, and philanthropists — not just pass the offering plate. He also makes the case that Greater Grace, for all its size, has never lost its blue collar feel. A warm, energetic conversation about what it looks like when a church decides its impact should be felt far beyond its walls. Learn more at greatergrace.org.

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Do you follow God because He's worthy of worship, or because of what He can give you? Brian From lands on that question after a Sunday sermon about Eli and Samuel — and it sticks. Is God a vending machine, a cosmic Santa Claus, or the one who is worthy of praise even when circumstances are bad? That's the challenge at the heart of this hour. First though: Memorial Day reflections on Dietrich Bonhoeffer's costly grace and what it actually means to be called to "come and die" — a word that cuts against a culture obsessed with comfort. A poignant piece called "Judson's Last Ride," a father's reflection on his autistic son's last school bus ride, and what every parent faces when their kids move into a new season. A study on pro chess players that becomes a personal confession about paralysis by analysis. The agonizing .02-second finish at the Indy 500 and what it means to get back in the car. Why youth group attendance is down and what youth ministers can actually do about it. Gas at $4.74 feeling like a victory. And a summer charge: be intentional, or it will pass you by before you know it.

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What's actually standing between most people and a genuine relationship with God? Pastor Peter Philippi, author of You and God: How to Establish a Personal Relationship with God and a Clear Understanding of His Word, joins Brian From in studio to work through the objections, the confusion, and the keys that open up all of Scripture once you understand what God is actually doing. Peter breaks down why salvation has nothing to do with religion or works, what it means that we were once God's enemies and are now reconciled to him, and why every believer carries the identity of ambassador — whether they know it or not. He also makes a compelling case for the reliability of God's Word: of the 1,000 prophecies in the Bible, 500 have already been fulfilled exactly as written, which makes the remaining 500 a pretty safe bet. A practical, grounded conversation for seekers, new believers, and anyone who has picked up their Bible, put it back down, and wondered if they're missing something. Find the book and learn more at pbmusa.org.

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The Knicks trailed by 22 points with seven minutes left and a 0.1% chance of winning. They won in overtime. Brian From takes that improbable comeback and turns it into the lesson we all need: don't quit until the final buzzer sounds, and remember that your God never gives up on you either. Then, three years after Tim Keller's death from pancreatic cancer, Brian revisits what may be his most powerful message — not one preached from a pulpit, but lived out loud as he faced death. Keller's words on resurrection hope, fighting sin rather than cancer, and why suffering strips away respectable illusions of piety are as gripping as anything he ever wrote. Randy Alcorn follows with eight myths about heaven that most Christians quietly believe — from spending eternity in clouds to heaven being boring to not recognizing the people we love. The biblical picture, it turns out, is far more concrete, physical, and extraordinary than most of us have been taught. Plus: discipleship starts with delight, not curriculum; why a master's degree isn't the job guarantee it used to be; and Brian gets personal about the wave of emotions that comes with kids leaving the nest.

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Mark Zuckerberg thinks AI companions can solve the loneliness crisis. Researchers say it may actually make it worse — and the church needs to pay attention, because a chatbot can simulate friendship but it can never become a neighbor. Brian From digs into what's really at stake when people outsource emotional connection to algorithms. Then: John Piper on resentment, and why expecting to be treated fairly might be the root of more anger than we realize. Brian gets personal about his own struggle to let go after a painful job loss, and Piper's challenge lands hard — why would you expect to be treated better than Jesus was? A piece on Gen Z anxiety that expands well beyond one generation: four commitments that can make anyone less anxious, starting with following the real Jesus and ending with self-denial. The forgotten figure of John the Baptist and his most important line — he must become greater, I must become less — and what it actually looks like to live as an ambassador of Christ. Plus: a 1,300-year-old sword found by a six-year-old on a school field trip, the OJ Simpson trial's Detective Mark Fuhrman passing away, and a closing devotion on what it means to plant your feet on a firm foundation when the storms come.

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