Welcome to The Perspectivalist, where we help you think more clearly as a Christian by grounding all of life in the normativity of Scripture.

In this episode, host Uri Brito sits down with Ryan Lauterio, studio artist, theologian, and founder of the Maker Institute—an initiative dedicated to rethinking art, design, and creativity from a distinctly Christian and Kuyperian perspective.

They explore the often-neglected relationship between theology and the arts in the Protestant tradition, the dangers of idol-fearing disengagement, and how reclaiming beauty and craftsmanship can harmonize the poetic and the practical.

Ryan unpacks the theological backbone of the Maker Institute and the importance of cultivating imagination as part of the cultural mandate—whether you’re a painter, a father building a Hobbit hole, or a homeschool parent raising the next generation of makers.

Tune in for a conversation that challenges assumptions, broadens categories, and inspires faithful creativity rooted in the lordship of Christ over every square inch.

• The Maker Institute – Learn more about the fellowship programs, theological integration, and opportunities for Christian artists:
  https://www.makerinstitute.org

• Maker Christian Art & Design Education (K–12 Curriculum) – A biblical, integrative art and design platform for homeschooling families and Christian educators:
  https://www.mademakers.com

• Remnant Church Richmond (Partner Church) – Learn more about the local church community supporting the Maker Institute's efforts:
  https://www.remnantrva.com

🎙️ Episode Overview

• Podcast: Perspectivalist S6 E3

• Host: Uri Brito

• Guest: Dr. Scott Aniol, Executive VP at G3 Ministries

• Location: Church of the Redeemer, Monroe, LA

• Occasion: 12th year of Jubilate Deo Music Camp

🔗 G3 Ministries Website
🔗 Scott Aniol's Author Page
🔗 Jubilate Deo Music Camp

• Dr. Aniol shares his long-term involvement with Jubilate Deo and the shift from traditional VBS to Bible and Music Camp.

• Camp includes folk dancing, choral singing, and music literacy through dance.

• Emphasis on beauty and coherence in worship rooted in theology, especially starting from childhood.

• Initial hesitation from some Christians about dancing due to secular connotations.

• Folk dancing is a joyful and wholesome expression of faith and embodiment of Psalmic worship (e.g., Psalm 149:3).

• Dance is viewed as an overflow of Sunday liturgy, not a replacement of it.

• Raised in a musically and theologically rich environment.

• Influenced by Jonathan Edwards and C.S. Lewis, emphasizing beauty, truth, and goodness in worship.

• Pursued theological reflection on art, music, and liturgy across evangelicalism.

• The unchanging liturgy of the church offers stability amid cultural and social media volatility.

• Warning against virtual ecclesiologies and the danger of losing real, embodied church community.

History & Mission

• Started in 2013 as a local church conference led by Josh Buice at Pray’s Mill Baptist Church.

• Grown to include:

  • G3 Press – publishing theological books and devotionals
    🔗 G3 Books

  • G3 Plus – streaming platform with sermons, lectures, and courses
    🔗 G3+ Streaming

  • G3 Church Network – ~215 churches subscribing to 1689 Baptist Confession
    🔗 Church Directory

  • Family worship resources, theological journals, and more.

Leadership Transition

• Josh Buice's resignation handled with transparency and speed, widely praised by constituents.

• G3's structure allowed it to continue uninterrupted, avoiding personality-centered collapse.

New Logo & Vision

• Rebranding started before the resignation but accelerated after.

• Vision Statement published to affirm the continuity and a renewed commitment to resourcing the church.

🔗 G3 Renewed Vision Statement (2025)

• Emphasis on:

  • Unity over competition in the evangelical world

  • Collaboration among ministries and local pastors

  • Spotlighting faithful unknown pastors (e.g., David DeBruyn in South Africa)

• Addressing the problems of celebrity culture in evangelicalism:

  • Not faulting godly men like MacArthur, Piper, or Voddie Baucham

  • Critiquing the culture that idolizes them

• The most important ministry: faithful local presence—family, church, liturgy.

• Social media should be a tool, not a substitute, for embodied Christian life.

• G3 remains committed to Scripture-rooted, theologically rich content for families and churches.

🏕️ Music & Liturgy💃 Dance in Christian Life📖 Aniol’s Theological Background🏛️ Church Stability vs. Cultural Shifts📡 G3 Ministries: Past, Present, and Future🔄 Future Direction✝️ Final Reflections

In this episode of The Perspectivalist, Pastor Uri Brito welcomes Rev. Benjamin Glaser of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP) to talk all things ARP—from its rich confessional heritage to its present role in the American ecclesiastical landscape.

🔹 Topics include:

• 📜 The history of the ARP — How a 1782 merger formed one of the oldest continually operating Reformed denominations in North America.

• 🏛️ Synodical polity explained — Why the ARP remains a Synod, and how its governing structure encourages fellowship and simplicity.

• 🔐 The visible church as Christ’s appointed institution — A defense of the church’s organic, not optional, role in God's kingdom.

• 🚫 The modern drift toward anti-discipline and DIY ecclesiology — What happens when Christians disconnect from accountability and structure.

• 🕯️ Worship and sacramental practice in the ARP — From exclusive psalmody and grape juice to a revival of weekly communion and wine.

• 🤝 Fraternal relations with OPC & beyond — Encouraging signs of confessional renewal and partnership among like-minded churches.

• ✍️ Rev. Glaser’s essay on the visible church
  → Read the Substack article here

• 🏛️ History of the ARP Church
  → Visit the official ARP Church website

• 🤝 NAPARC (North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council)
  → Learn more about NAPARC denominations

“The church is not an accident or a pragmatic structure—it is the ordinary means Christ uses to draw and mature His people.” — Rev. Benjamin Glaser

In an era when many young Christians are drawn to atomized, personality-driven spirituality, this conversation serves as a timely call to embrace the visible, historic, and confessional church. Rooted in Scripture and governed by wisdom, the church remains God’s chosen vessel to disciple the nations.

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Season 6 of the Perspectivalist! Today, I’m joined by Mr. Jarrod Richey, Director of Music at Church of the Redeemer in West Monroe, Louisiana, and Academic Dean of the Redeemer School of the Arts.

This past year, RSA launched its first-ever Arts Certificate Program, designed to equip students in the creative arts through a distinctly Christ-centered lens.

In our conversation, we discuss what exactly the creative arts are, how this program distinguishes itself from typical fine-arts degrees, and why something like this is so necessary, not just in Louisiana but in the broader Christian community, including those in the CREC.

We also cover the kind of students who thrive in the program, what success has looked like after year one, and how you or someone you know can apply.

To learn more, visit RSALA.org or email [email protected].

Note: I would like to extend my gratitude to Perspectivalist resident musician, Mr. George Reed, for the introduction and outro, and to Mr. Leo Ehrenstein, who designed our new logo.

The CREC has been growing significantly in the last few years. As a result, some have been striving to ensure that our signals align and that our work is not lost among the plethora of online options.

Dr. Jeffery and others have worked to streamline our resources, making it easier for people to find us in the U.S.

I hope this episode will enlarge this vision and that many will have a better sense of the locations of our churches and perhaps even consider joining them.

Steve and I offer salient pastoral advice towards the end of the podcast. So, listen to the end!

You can find the project here: https://allsaintskirk.com/hotspot/

Chase Davis returns to the podcast to discuss the identity of the newly minted Evangelicals for Harris. Every election cycle gives us a new elite of evangelicals who support the pro-abortion candidate because they are tired of partisan politics.

⁠Chase names these individuals as well as notes their backgrounds and damaging contributions to this movement.⁠

From the article:

"Thus, we see these Evangelicals for Harris for who they really are: Cogs in the machine of a well-funded dark money effort to fracture the evangelical vote—the lone bulwark preventing Democrats from turning America into a socialist hell hole. Their mission is not to advance Christian love or align their political preferences with King Jesus but to ease their conscience when they vote for Kamala and trick others into doing the same. They are the progressives who hollow out our Christian religion and wear it as a skinsuit in the pursuit of political power. They’ve traded in the cross of Christ for the transgender flag and the call to defend the unborn for the satanic sacrament of abortion."

Pastoral ministry has gone through hard times. The fall of many pastors has only exacerbated the epidemic in our culture.

In this interview, Pastor Michael Clary elaborates on his excellent piece at Sola Ecclesia where he defines the problem in pastoral ministry:

Unfortunately, many neutral-world churches built with neutral-world tools have been thoroughly leavened with destructive unbiblical ideas. It will take courage and discipline for faithful pastors to correct them. Otherwise, gangrenous ideas are normalized as unspoken expectations in the church. These unbiblical ideas are eventually institutionalized as those who hold them assume leadership posts.

This conversation is incredibly sobering, and I trust it will prove beneficial to pastors and parishioners alike.

Michael Clary is the lead pastor of Christ the King Church in Cincinnati, OH.

My interview with Lutheran theologian Dr. Jordan Cooper touches on fundamental pillars of Western civilization. Jordan has been a great resource to me personally, and I know you will enjoy our discussion of the restoration of the three transcendentals of goodness, beauty, and truth.

You can purchase Jordan's book.

You can follow Jordan on X.

The modern Western world is full of confusion. Divides over religion, politics, and ethics continue to grow faster by the day. In the midst of this turmoil, a number of proposals have been offered as to why this is happening, along with a variety of solutions to these problems. Jordan Cooper argues that most treatments of our cultural condition do not go far enough in capturing the essential philosophical and theological shifts that have shaped the modern world.

Cooper contends that the crisis faced by Westerners in the twenty-first century cannot be rightly discussed apart from the three transcendentals that shaped the Western tradition from Socrates through the Protestant Reformation: truth, goodness, and beauty. Western man's greatest need is not more technological development, better politicians, or radical revolution; our need is to be connected to the transcendental ground of our own being: God himself.

In this work, these three transcendentals are discussed first as they were developed in classic Western thought, and second, as their importance has declined in the modern world.

Thousands of Christians are moving away from contemporary-style praise music and are reviving hymn and psalm singing. However, many people are not equipped with musical training, and this can make learning and singing traditional worship music extremely difficult.

So, what do we do?

I spoke with Isaiah Holt about their app called Sing Your Part. The app facilitates singing, especially in parts in churches and families.

You can bring the sheet music and the audio parts to any occasion and sing great hymns and psalms at all times and in all places.

As our society declines morally, trust in institutions also declines. But should we view this as an unaltered reality? Should we cease to work for a trusting society?

I contend there is no institutional longevity unless trust is inherent to its mission.

In this episode, I offer five recommendations for restoring a high-trust culture.

Post Script: The article mentioned by Aaron Renn is here.