The Eikon Podcast

In Mark 10:32-45, Jesus lays out the way of the cross for the third time, culminating in his unmistakable direction that does not include using power over others. The Eikon team welcomes special guest Shara Saget from the DFW Church as they wrestle with Jesus' challenge and discuss how seductive power can be for Christians, Christian leaders, and churches. Have we far too often given into its temptations and allowed power and manipulation into the church?

The account of Jesus' interaction with the rich young man is one of the more well-known of all the Gospels. It's a tragic tale of a man who could not let go of the thing that he loved the most when Jesus gave him one of the most difficult challenges for anyone he called to follow him. It leaves us to wonder if we would have responded more faithfully than he did. But was the call all that unusual? Was it any different from the call we receive to follow Jesus? The Eikon team looks a little deeper into what Jesus was trying to tell this man and anyone who would be his disciple. But first, they take a look at the student loan forgiveness plan in the US and discuss those using biblical reasoning for their position on this new policy.

The disciples of Jesus wanted to keep children away from him. The Eikon team considers why that happened, what Mark wanted to convey in recounting this misunderstanding on their part, and the warning present for the church today. Can we become an obstacle to the younger generation or any other marginalized group, all the while thinking we are doing the right thing? They also discuss the church's response to what is often called postmodernity and how that plays into this conversation.

The Eikon team dives into Mark 9:38-41 and discusses the implications of Jesus' challenging of the disciples assumptions about those that are not part of their small circle.

One of the more memorable interactions with Jesus in Mark's Gospel involves frustrated disciples, a demonically attacked young man, and a desperate father struggling in the murky ground between faith and doubt. The Eikon team enters this story, challenging us to see doubt for the positive force it can sometimes be and to enter this narrative in the way that Mark wants us to. They discuss how, once again, this passage in Mark is deeply relevant to today's issues like progressive theology and deconstruction.

The transfiguration is one of the more puzzling passages in the Gospels. Moses and Elijah appear, and Jesus is suddenly glowing? What is that all about? When we are rooted in the background of the Hebrew Bible and the ongoing context of Mark, it all makes much more sense than we might normally suspect. The Eikon Team jumps into this passage and shows this passage makes perfect sense in Mark's ongoing challenge to the church. They then consider how this passage both encourages and calls the contemporary church higher. They even explain how Paul's baptism for the dead in 1 Corinthians 15:29 might play into all of this.

Mark 8:34-38 is one of the most well-known and often referenced passages on discipleship. Yet, points out the Eikon team, we have grown so accustomed to making assumptions about the meaning of common English phrases and skipping over the context of passages to apply them directly to us as individuals today, that we often neglect the true challenge and significance of what the author wants us to see. So, what was Jesus saying about discipleship? It might be even more applicable to our current situation of culture wars, division, and power struggles than we have imagined.

Psychologist Jordan Peterson, a self-proclaimed agnostic, released a video message to Christian churches last week that had gone viral in some circles of Christianity. Is he on point or off base? The Eikon team discusses what they believe about that and the importance of being able to tell the difference.

The Eikon team arrives at our discussion at the turning point of Mark's Gospel. Jesus finally makes plain the life to which he is calling his disciples. And they immediately reject it. We often chuckle at Peter's boldness to reject and rebuke Jesus, but do we do the same thing in our lives? Have large portions of Christianity done just as Peter did as we engage in the so-called culture wars?

Mark 8:22-26 contains one of the strangest events in Jesus' life. Why does Mark record an interaction between Jesus and a blind man that seems to go terribly wrong, at least at first. The Eikon team breaks down this important enacted parable and discusses why it was so important to the disciples and to the church today. Is it possible that we have missed the primary meaning of carrying our cross and what should be our response if that is indeed the case?