The Common Good Podcast

Brian opens with a heavy reflection on catastrophic glacial flooding in Nepal, using the tragedy to talk about the fragility of life and living with urgency and eternal perspective. He calls out a Christian social media user who publicly declared Dolly Parton "likely in hell" within hours of her death, arguing that gentleness and humility should govern how believers speak about someone's eternal state. Brian shares a Wall Street Journal piece on the surprising mental health benefits of travel and disconnection, and a Russell Moore column praising Dolly Parton's self-respect and freedom from shame rather than shamelessness. He digs into Carl Vaters's list of assumptions big churches make that unintentionally harm small churches, and closes with a striking John Piper clip on "Christian hedonism" — the idea that sin is driven by desire for pleasure, and that the Christian life is won not through duty but through a superior joy found in Jesus.

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Brian, a former youth pastor himself, talks with Sarah Zylstra of The Gospel Coalition about her article investigating why so many church youth pastor positions sit unfilled. Sarah traces youth ministry's evolution from the evangelistic, games-and-pizza model of the 80s and 90s through the seeker-sensitive movement, and explains why today's culture — phones, AI-mediated friendships, isolation, kids not driving, and packed extracurricular schedules — has made the job significantly harder, even as many youth pastors say the last five years have been the most rewarding of their careers. They discuss the shifting perception of youth ministry as "unserious," why some churches are restructuring the role into broader family-discipleship positions, and practical encouragement for pastors and churches trying to keep student ministry moving forward, including smaller group settings and empowering parent volunteers.

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Brian talks with Dr. Winfred Neely, professor and author of A Love to Live By: Rediscovering Agape Love in Scripture. Winfred unpacks why he chose the term "agape" rather than "Christian love" — because the church hasn't always lived up to that name — and explains how the New Testament's vision of love extends radically to everyone, including enemies, without approving of everything they do. Drawing especially from the Gospel of John and 1 John, Winfred paints a striking picture of what could change if the church truly practiced agape love: healing across racial and ethnic divides, stronger marriages, healthier homes free of abuse, and a watching world taking notice of something genuinely different happening in the church.

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Brian pays tribute to the passing of Dolly Parton at 80, reflecting on her decades-long marriage, her genuine kindness, and closing the hour with nine of her most striking public statements about prayer, faith, and heaven. He shares a bizarre and troubling story of four Georgia pastors publicly apologizing after sending anonymous packets falsely accusing another pastor of plagiarism, reflecting on the need for churches to hold themselves to a higher standard. Brian digs into John Piper's teaching on "the pleasure trap" — how earthly pleasures are meant to point our hearts toward God rather than become idols — and shares Alan Noble's Gospel Coalition piece arguing that a Christian's suffering, while mysterious, is never meaningless. He closes reflecting on financial anxiety and contentment after reading about a Michael Jordan jersey expected to sell for $10 million alongside rising healthcare cost anxiety among ordinary Americans, along with the surprising power of nostalgic worship music to remind us of God's faithfulness over time.

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Brian shares an inspiring underdog story of an Alabama high school football team snapping a 101-game losing streak with a dramatic comeback win. He digs into a New York Magazine feature on the "pay-to-play childhood" of expensive, all-consuming travel youth sports, encouraging parents to weigh their own family's priorities rather than following outside pressure either way. Brian shares a Gospel Coalition piece on grieving well — honestly, patiently, in community, with gratitude and hope — from a pastor whose wife battled advanced cancer, and Randy Alcorn's reflection on investing in relational and eternal "riches" over earthly ones, illustrated by a powerful adoption story. He digs into Tim Challies's teaching on the discipline of good listening as an act of love and ministry, reflects on the danger of "performative" Christianity in a social-media-saturated culture, and closes with a story about Mike Pence's respectful treatment of a transgender former staffer as a model of holding convictions while extending genuine compassion.

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Brian opens with heavy hearts over the tragic death of a Wisconsin high school quarterback following a football injury, reflecting on the fragility and brevity of life. He shares insights from a sermon on what actually fuels a lifestyle of service — not guilt, but gratitude for what Christ has done. Brian discusses a Christianity Today review of the late Charlie Kirk's posthumous book on Sabbath-keeping, and its surprisingly countercultural call to unplug from the "endless noise" of modern life. He digs into a deeply personal Gospel Coalition article by a pastor with terminal brain cancer wrestling with the shame that can come when prayers for healing go unanswered, and a fascinating piece on why so few pastors quit ministry despite widespread burnout. Brian closes with Matt Redman's case for "vertical" worship songs that point to God rather than ourselves, and a Charles Stanley devotional on Jesus calming the storm as a picture of overcoming fear through God's presence.

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Brian welcomes back Dr. Lina Abujamra — physician, founder of Living With Power Ministries, and author of the new book All Your Life: What It Really Means to Live for Jesus. Lina discusses the encouraging wave of young people coming to faith today, but warns of a widening gap between spiritual awakening and true discipleship, fueled partly by social media's curated, outcome-based version of Christianity that leaves young believers disillusioned when God's plan doesn't match the highlight reel. She makes the case for a theology of suffering as part of genuine spiritual formation, and challenges older believers not to be "gun shy" about mentoring the next generation through the nitty-gritty, one-on-one work of discipleship. Lina closes with a word of hope for anyone listening who feels like they're barely holding on, pointing to Psalm 42 and the security believers have in Christ.

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Brian reflects on the whirlwind week of moving his son into Grove City College, wrestling with the mix of pride, sadness, and trust required to release a child into independence and let their faith become their own. He shares the surprising comeback of Christian music legend Sandy Patty, releasing new music a decade after her farewell tour at age 70. Brian reacts to a CBS/YouGov poll showing a striking number of Democrats holding a more favorable view of socialism than capitalism, and shares JD Greer's "Adore, Acknowledge, Appeal" framework for prayer drawn from Nehemiah. He digs into the "friendship depth gap" — the modern problem of having many shallow connections but few deep ones — and a Christianity Today piece cautioning against Texas lawmakers seeking to redefine Islam to strip it of religious liberty protections, warning that restricting freedom for one faith opens the door to restricting it for all. He closes with a thoughtful piece on how to forgive someone who never says sorry.

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Filling in for Adam Holz, Plugged In's Paul Asay joins Brian for a rich conversation on Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, discussing how the film softens Homer's original, more selfish Odysseus into a more sympathetic, regret-capable character, and pointing out surprising echoes of Christian themes — humility before a higher power, a quasi-baptism scene, and the Golden Rule woven throughout. Paul also recommends The Magic Faraway Tree, a new family film starring Claire Foy and Andrew Garfield about screen-addicted kids whose parents pull them into a magical, tech-free adventure, with some fantasy elements Christian families should weigh. He closes with an all-time classic recommendation for family movie night: The Princess Bride.

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Brian reflects on an emotional weekend leading up to taking his son to college, weaving in a review of The Odyssey and its theme of longing for home as a picture of the Christian's longing for heaven. He shares a deeply concerning survey finding that over half of Gen Z investors are redirecting retirement savings into sports betting, and covers a wild story of brawls erupting at the Wisconsin State Fair. Brian also digs into an Atlantic piece on the "romance recession" — the disconnect between young people wanting marriage and actually dating — and unpacks the viral term "LARPing" (performative, inauthentic behavior), applying it to the danger of "spiritual LARPing," or hypocrisy, that Jesus condemned in the Pharisees. He closes with a sobering but hopeful Nine Marks article on the Bible's repeated pattern of flawed fathers and the gospel's invitation to repentance and restoration, plus a rich walk through the hope of Romans 8.

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