The Common Good Podcast

Brian talks with Pastor Andrew Fetzer of Alpha Baptist Church in Livonia, Michigan, about his path from conversion at 18 through four years in the United States Marine Corps before entering pastoral ministry, training under faithful churches in the Detroit area and continuing his education at Moody Theological Seminary. Andrew reflects on how the Marine Corps' emphasis on stripping away personal identity for the sake of a larger mission became unexpected preparation for a life of gospel service. He describes the DNA of his congregation — marked by hospitality, humble service, and a hunger for God's Word — and walks through the church's ministries, including expository preaching through the Gospel of Mark, new small fellowship groups replacing traditional midweek Bible study, an engaged young adult ministry, and the Alpha Family and Foster Closet, which serves foster and families in need throughout western Wayne County.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brian recaps a whirlwind weekend driving to visit his college freshman son, watching Sunday Night Football together, and reflects on how family time reorders priorities better than anything else in life. He digs into a Christianity Today piece pushing back on the popular but misattributed C.S. Lewis quote that humility is "thinking of yourself less," arguing true Christian humility is self-sacrificial love modeled on Christ rather than mere self-forgetfulness. Brian raises alarm over the growing "no contact" trend of adult children cutting off parents over relatively minor disagreements, drawing on a new book critiquing the ideology behind it and calling the church to model grace, forgiveness, and the hard work of reconciliation instead. He discusses a Tim Challies piece arguing the Bible's power isn't tied to any physical medium — book, scroll, or phone screen — and a related Christianity Today article on the return of hymnals, arguing the real question is theological substance, not format. He also reflects wryly on 1990s evangelical culture-war panics over Pokémon and Harry Potter as a caution against losing focus on the church's true calling, and closes with JD Greer's teaching on the warning signs of spiritual lukewarmness — prayerlessness, minimized sin, and a transactional relationship with God.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brian talks with Dr. Margaret Diddams, former provost at Wheaton College and co-author with Shirley Mullen of the new book Tried and True: The Countercultural Virtues of Christian Leadership. Drawing on her background in organizational psychology and years consulting with senior pastors, Margaret describes what she calls the "four horsemen of self-deception" — exhaustion, isolation, defensiveness, and entitlement — that drive so much of the moral failure and burnout plaguing church leadership today. She diagnoses the root problem as an individualistic, strengths-based leadership model borrowed from the business world rather than one oriented toward God's kingdom, and uses the life of John Wesley as a case study in surrendered, God-facing leadership rather than self-reliant leadership. Margaret unpacks the book's framework of surrender, stewardship, and servanthood, connecting it to the biblical vision of the "common good" — humanity made in God's image to steward creation toward flourishing and shalom.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the 25th anniversary of September 11th, Brian shares a deeply personal memory of Jerry Paskins, a kind, ordinary man from his home church in New Jersey who was killed in the North Tower while on a business trip, putting a face to the tragedy's staggering scale. He wrestles with Colin Hansen's Christianity Today piece on the problem of evil, affirming that evil is real, death is inevitable, God remains sovereign, and God remains good — even when we can't reconcile all three. Brian discusses a Gospel Coalition article revisiting theologian J. Gresham Machen's 93-year-old argument against teaching the Bible in public schools, applied to Texas's new mandated curriculum, making the case that Scripture belongs with parents and the church rather than the state. He closes the hour reading extensively from Tim Keller's sermon delivered at Redeemer Presbyterian Church just days after 9/11, "Truth, Tears, Anger, and Grace," reflecting on Jesus's example of entering into grief before offering resurrection hope.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ahead of Grandparents' Day on September 13, Brian talks with Dr. Joannie DeBrito, licensed marriage and family therapist with Focus on the Family, about the unique role grandparents play in discipling the next generation. Joannie describes grandparents as "secondary parents" whose greatest gift to their grandchildren is modeling respect for the children's own parents, even when navigating disagreements. She offers practical ideas for long-distance grandparents — weekly video calls, parallel neighborhood walks over the phone, and old-fashioned cards and care packages — and addresses the painful and increasingly common trend of estrangement between adult children and grandparents. Joannie encourages grandparents in that situation to keep communication open where possible, examine their own role honestly, and lean on prayer, sharing that reconciliation often comes when adult children realize the value of what their parents offered. She closes by pointing listeners to resources through Legacy Coalition, a ministry dedicated to helping Christian grandparents disciple their grandchildren.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Brian catches up with Adam Holz of Plugged In to discuss the best films for remembering that day and passing its history on to a generation too young to have lived it, recommending Flight 93, World Trade Center, and Zero Dark Thirty. They reflect on how differently the tragedy would unfold in today's smartphone and social-media-saturated world compared to 2001. Adam also shares that Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ is returning to theaters for a limited one-week release through Fathom Events ahead of its upcoming sequels, The Resurrection of the Christ, and he and Brian wrestle candidly with the film's unmatched spiritual power alongside its brutally graphic depiction of the crucifixion. They close with Brian's own belated review of The Odyssey, which he finally saw in theaters.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the eve of the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Brian reflects on that day's lasting impact and shares the inspiring story of Wells Crowther, "the man in the red bandana," who saved up to 18 lives in the South Tower before losing his own. On the one-year anniversary of Charlie Kirk's assassination, Brian laments how quickly the killing of a young husband and father became politicized and memed rather than mourned as an act of senseless violence. He raises alarm over recent comments from a former Anthropic employee warning AI could threaten humanity within a decade, and calls for greater regulatory attention. Brian digs into a Gospel Coalition piece calling American Christians to reclaim the term "evangelical" from its political connotations and reconnect with the global evangelical movement, shares Paul Washer's reflection after a near-fatal heart attack on regretting not loving more rather than not working more, and discusses new Lifeway research showing church attendance growth concentrated in larger churches at the expense of shrinking smaller ones — a shift researchers attribute more to transfer growth than new conversions. He closes with a story about R.C. Sproul's humble response when pressed to say Billy Graham wouldn't be in heaven, modeling grace across theological disagreement.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brian partners with Daniel Patino of Food for the Poor to raise awareness and support for families devastated by recent earthquakes in Colombia. Daniel, who is Colombian himself, describes the scale of the disaster — families living in tents beside piles of rubble, losing homes and belongings in seconds — and explains how Food for the Poor's decade-long local partnerships allow them to deliver food, hygiene supplies, and clean water directly to the hardest-hit communities even after the story has faded from the news cycle. He shares that a $30 gift provides a family with a week of urgent food, $75 covers hygiene kits for five families, and $120 feeds four families for a week, and makes a personal appeal for listeners to respond with compassion to a crisis still unfolding weeks after the earthquakes struck.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brian talks with twin brothers Chad and James Hampton, pastors and co-founders of Hunt the Truth Ministries, about their new devotional, 100 Days of Strength for Hunters: Lessons from the Hunt That Lead to God's Greatest Harvest. They unpack the connection between hunting and the Christian life, noting that the Hebrew words for "hunt" and "seek" are essentially the same, framing pursuing God as life's most important hunt. Chad addresses common misconceptions about hunting, explaining their focus on wildlife management and their ministry's partnership providing processed venison to families in need, along with a new animal rescue division. They share the heart behind their devotional, aimed at giving hunters and non-hunters alike daily spiritual strength through Scripture, and describe one of their ministry's most meaningful efforts: a multi-year partnership with the U.S. Army at Fort Benning mentoring Gold Star children who lost their fathers in active duty through hunting trips.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brian reflects personally on the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, sharing his own memory of that day and encouraging listeners not to let the tragedy fade from memory, while affirming that God remains good even amid national and personal cataclysmic events. He digs into a Crossway article outlining three marks of true repentance — clear-headed conviction, brokenhearted contrition, and open-handed confession — drawn from Psalm 51 and David's response to his sin with Bathsheba. Brian shares a Desiring God piece making the biblical case for church membership as a mutual, ongoing commitment between believer and local congregation, and discusses a Christianity Today article on North Carolina's growing school choice funding fueling enrollment surges at Christian schools, reflecting on his own family's choice to send his kids to a Christian high school out of opportunity rather than fear. He closes with a Charles Stanley devotional on Daniel's faithful, humble defiance of the king's food and the promise that God honors wholehearted devotion, plus an update on the show's Bible League International fundraising goal to provide Bibles to believers worldwide.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.