The Common Good Podcast

May is National Foster Care Month, and the numbers are staggering — over 400,000 children are currently in foster care, many of them waiting for a family to say yes. Brian From sits down with Dr. Kimberly Offutt, Executive Branch Director for Bethany Christian Services, for an honest conversation about what foster care actually involves, why it's hard, and why it's worth it. Dr. Offutt brings 24 years of experience to the table — and a deeply personal perspective as a foster and adoptive mom who raised four children who entered the system. She breaks down what the training process looks like, why foster families are asked to care not just for the child but for the whole struggling family around them, and what it means to hold open the door to adoption. Then she closes with a direct challenge to churches: there's a church on every corner, and if each one identified just one family to step in for one child, the body of Christ could solve this crisis alone. James 1:27 was never just a verse. It's a call to action.

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Two major studies just dropped a finding that should reshape how churches think about discipleship: the number one reason Americans leave Christianity isn't church hurt, politics, or scandal — it's that they stopped believing. Brian From unpacks what that means and why it points to a discipleship crisis hiding in plain sight. Then: repentance. Not the vegetable-eating, obligatory kind, but the gift kind — the one Luther put first in his 95 theses and the one Scripture consistently frames as a reason for joy. Plus, a pencil is running for governor of Oregon to protest the state's worst-in-the-nation fourth grade reading scores, and somehow that becomes a meditation on Sabbath rest and why recess matters as much for adults as it does for kids. A sobering update on the ongoing slaughter of Christians in Northern Nigeria — a reminder of what it costs to follow Jesus in other parts of the world — and a close look at the calling of Peter: what it means to leave your nets immediately, and what step of faith might be waiting for you right now.

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The tabernacle wasn't designed by committee — every measurement, every furnishing, every detail was a blueprint from heaven itself. Rabbi Kirt Schneider, host of Discovering the Jewish Jesus, joins Brian From to unpack his new book The Mystery of the Tabernacle: Ancient Secrets for Experiencing the Divine Presence, and the conversation is one you won't want to rush. The fence with one entrance. The brazen altar and the transfer of sin. The brass laver made from mirrors, and what it means to let the Spirit show you who you really are. Rabbi Schneider makes the case that understanding the Hebrew roots of the faith isn't just an academic exercise — it's what solidifies your confidence that Jesus is the only way, especially in a cultural moment when even many Christians are quietly beginning to doubt it. A rich, fast conversation that barely scratches the surface. Pick up The Mystery of the Tabernacle wherever books are sold.

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The Chosen has become one of the most remarkable storytelling phenomena in the history of Christian media — and the biggest moments are still ahead. Brian From sits down with Stacey Baxter, Senior Director of Marketing Growth and Engagement at Come and See, the organization behind The Chosen, to talk about what makes the show connect with believers and skeptics alike, how it's being translated into 600 languages to reach every corner of the world, and what's coming next. Season six arrives on Amazon Prime this November, a theatrical crucifixion film hits theaters in spring 2027, and the resurrection gets its own film in spring 2028 — timed, not coincidentally, with Easter. Stacey also explains how the show pushes viewers back to scripture rather than away from it, and why Come and See is actively looking for church partners to use The Chosen as an outreach tool. If you've never started watching, Stacey's advice is simple: season one, episode one, and don't plan on sleeping.

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Brian From is fresh off a monumental weekend — his oldest daughter Madeline's college graduation at Hope College in Holland, Michigan — and the joy of that milestone runs through this whole hour. But the reflections go deeper than cap and gown. The chaplain's baccalaureate message on 2 Corinthians 2 leaves Brian with a simple, searching question: when people are in your presence, do they get a whiff of Christ? Then, a throwaway line from Nike's new CEO — "we struggle when we forget who we are serving" — turns into a pointed word for the church and for anyone whose life has quietly drifted toward self. Plus: a Wall Street Journal piece on the rise of the "beta mom" and why the pendulum may have swung too far, new survey data suggesting peak life satisfaction hits at age 52 (good news for Brian at 49), a Gospel Coalition piece on the most alarming political divide in Gen Z — and it's not Democrat vs. Republican — and a closing devotion from Charles Stanley on what it actually means to be aware of God's presence in your daily life, not just on Sundays.

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Mother's Day Sunday is one of the most emotionally loaded mornings on the church calendar — joyful for some, quietly devastating for others. Brian From gets personal about his own family's experience with miscarriage and brings in Dr. Deana Thayer, marriage and parenting associate at Focus on the Family, for an honest conversation about the women who often get left out of the celebration: moms who've experienced infertility or infant loss, stepmoms, foster and adoptive moms, caregivers, and women whose relationship with their own mother carries deep pain. Deana offers practical guidance for pastors, worship leaders, and churchgoers on how to honor Mother's Day without inadvertently causing harm — and issues a gentle but clear warning about the well-meaning platitudes that almost always make things worse. 

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This week was Brian's birthday — and it turns out he shares it with Star Wars Day. That's all the excuse needed to bring Plugged In's Adam Holtz into the conversation for a deep dive on George Lucas's galaxy far, far away. How did a $10 million film with an uncertain release become a cultural watershed that changed cinema forever? What did Lucas actually borrow from — Joseph Campbell, Kurosawa, Flash Gordon, Eastern religion, the Bible — and what does that mean for Christians trying to engage it thoughtfully? Adam breaks down the Force as a theological concept, why the original trilogy still holds up for family viewing, and what went so wrong with the sequel trilogy that Disney may be looking to erase it from canon entirely. A fun, fast conversation perfect for any Star Wars fan trying to think Christianly about one of the most enduring stories in pop culture. Find more of Adam's work at pluggedin.com.

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What if your social media addiction is actually telling you something profound about eternity? Russell Moore makes a startling case in Christianity Today that the infinite scroll isn't just bad for your attention span — it's a counterfeit heaven, and in some ways, a picture of hell. Brian From unpacks that idea alongside a convicting piece from JD Greear on false positive Christianity: if the gospel has changed everything about you, why would your wallet be the one thing left untouched? Then: it's the National Day of Prayer, and Brian makes the case for why political fatigue is no excuse to stop praying for your leaders. Plus — aliens, the Christian faith, and why discovery should embolden belief rather than threaten it. And the story Brian never knew: how Stephen Colbert lost his father and two brothers in a plane crash at age 10, and what 25 years of grief taught him about gratitude.

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What's the sin hiding in plain sight — the one we've dressed up as confidence and call leadership? Brian From tackles pride head-on, drawing from Trevin Wax's convicting piece on why the Church has largely given arrogance a pass even as it ravages our culture and our leaders. Then: a look at altar calls — are they entry points or endpoints? Joseph Woraru's challenge from the Gospel Coalition Africa edition raises the harder question: why do so many respond but so few remain? Plus, Tim Keller on how to spot the idols you didn't know you had, John MacArthur's final sermon and what he chose to say about heaven, a word on the Church — broken, faithful, and still God's Plan A — and a closing devotion on why slowing down to meditate on God's Word is time better spent than almost anything else on your calendar.

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What does it actually mean for a church to be successful? Host Brian Fromm draws on years of pastoral experience to push back on the idea that attendance numbers are the ultimate measure of a church's health — and offers a more honest framework for what thriving congregations actually look like. Plus: three practical encouragements for Christians walking through a hard season, a look at how to worship God when he feels distant, and the remarkable true story of a BYU offensive lineman who turned down a $1.5 million NFL contract to become a $22,000-a-year math teacher — all because of his convictions. Brian also reflects on the Savannah Bananas' origin story, what it means to take a real risk on something you believe in, and why joy in God was never meant to be a solo experience.

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