North Korea has returned the remains of US soldiers from the Korean War. This news is an opportunity to engage in conversations about what happens to our bodies after we die. Our physical bodies are important – even after death, because they will be resurrected at the return of Christ.

Carmen aired live from Chicago at the Lutheran Church Charities’ K-9 Conference. The Comfort Dog ministry connects their specially-trained golden retrievers with local congregations and sends the dogs with their handlers wherever they are invited in the community and the country for disaster response. The dogs provide a bridge to extending the mercy, compassion, presence and proclamation of Jesus Christ to those who are suffering and in need. Tobias was our special guest, in addition to founder and CEO Tim Hetzner

Carmen checked in with Morgan Lee who is covering the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom for Christianity Today. Morgan shared some of the stories that are being told at the gathering, including news on Andrew Brunson and the story of John Cao who was sentenced to 7 years in prison for his faith-motivated work of building schools in Myanmar.

Recording artist Plumb talked about the message behind her new book, Fight for Her. Every woman will be challenged to accept brokenness – our own, and others’ – to be open about it, and to fight for each other with truth, friendship and service. Carmen reflected on other interviews surrounding the topic of brokenness and encouraged Christians to dig deep to find your story, to find God in it, and to share it.

Resources:

Persecution of Andrew Brunson, John Cao Shared at Religious Freedom Ministerial

Connecting Faith 7-20-18 Stand Beautiful with Chloe Howard

Connecting Faith 7-17-18 I Can Only Imaging with Bart Millard

The Reconnect 8-3-16 Andrea Smith Scarred Beautiful

Conversation Tool: Beauty, not just a matter of taste

Should Christians be on social media, or should we all delete our accounts? If we remain, how then should we live virtually? Carmen touched on commentary about this important issue by Russell Moore, Karen Swallow Prior and others. Chris Martin of LifeWay Social joined the conversation to talk about the importance of intentionality and having a social media plan. Download our Social Media Manifesto for help creating a plan.

Bobby Schuller, host of the Hour of Power broadcast, discussed the motivation and message of his book, You Are Beloved. How might our days be revolutionized if we immersed ourselves in the truth that we are loved as we are – not as we should be – and became agents of that truth to others?

 

Resources:

9 Ways to Make Social Media More Christian

Can Your Soul Survive Facebook and Twitter?

Social Media, Gateway to Prayer?

Social Media Manifesto

The first ever ministerial to advance religious freedom taking place in Washington D.C. this week is a strong indication of a commitment to religious liberty. It is important to remember that true religious liberty requires the foundation of pluralism. Even as we have the freedom to bring the mind of Christ to bear on Ariana Grande’s new obscene music video for her song “God is a Woman,” she has the freedom for its creation and promotion.

Os Guinness, prominent social critic, speaker and editor and author of more than 30 books the latest entitled Last Call for Liberty,  talked with Carmen about what freedom really is, where it comes from, why it is threatened and what it requires.

Coach Dabo Swinney was asked about the place of faith in his life at the ACC Kickoff. He responded that it was the easiest question he’d been asked all day. We might be prepared for all kinds of questions related to our careers or areas of expertise, but are we as prepared for questions about our faith? Do we have a life verse or hope for the future that we are ready to whip out to explain why we operate the way we do?

Scott Patty, founding Pastor of Grace Community Church in Nashville, joined Carmen to talk about grace, discipleship and his new devotional book Words of Grace. Not only are we saved by grace, we are kept by grace. In the Connecting Point, we consider what would it look like if we treat grace as a verb.

Chloe Howard was born with a terribly deformed foot and her “normal” was a steady stream of surgeries, casts, wheelchairs, and doctor visits. After being assaulted due to her deformity, God did a transformational work in her life. Her book, Stand Beautiful, holds powerful truth about the myth of normal, rejecting labels and embracing uniqueness.

Carmen responds to a listener question on air about what kinds of questions to ask in order to change the course of a conversation about judges and justice, in particular regarding the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the Supreme Court. These questions help to get us thinking about what our judgement is and should be based upon.

Mateen Elass’s Muslim father kicked him out of the family when he converted to Christianity at age 20. During his search for truth, he found Jesus irresistible and far beyond any other prophet or religious leader he studied. He shared with us helpful things Christians should know about Islam. He is the author of Understanding the Koran: A Quick Christian Guide to the Muslim Holy Book and The Teachings of Jesus and Muhammad.  

Christians need to be prepared for conversations about surrogacy laws and the Universal Parentage Act. When we talk about children, we are talking about God’s design for human life. How should we respond when same-sex couples who have entered into a sterile union demand the right to have children?

Linda Gibson, sexual-abuse survivor, crisis intervention counselor and author of Through Tears and Sugar Cubes, wants to help as many women as she can to find the healing available at the Cross. Her book is a guidebook and roadmap to overcoming and moving into a hope-filled future that is not defined by sins done against you.

Where do we get our ideas of Heaven from? There is a lot of misrepresentation in the culture, but as people of the Word, we can be equipped to decipher fact from fiction through careful reading of Scripture. And with the knowledge of our eternal life expectancy, we can keep pressing forward as we imagine meeting our Heavenly Father face to face.

Songwriter and lead singer of Mercy Me Bart Millard joined us to talk about finding strength, shelter and comfort in Christ through the times of tragedy in our lives. I Can Only Imagine is the best-selling Christian single of all time, and the DVD release of the movie, which chronicles Bart’s life, debuted at #1.

 

Newsweek published a story about a new blood test that tells you how much older your body is acting than its biological age. This points to a conversation about life expectancy. Our life expectancy is in reality, eternal. Living as Galatians 2:20 people means living all out for the advancement of God’s kingdom, secure in our eternal hope.

Stacy Monson spoke transparently about the journey through Alzheimer’s with someone you love. There are many great resources available for churches and friends to make available as they walk alongside those who are bearing this burden that is too great for one to bear (including alz.org, actonalz.org and more). Stacy’s book, Open Circle, is a fictional story about book about loving the aged, restoring community and overcoming our divisions for the sake of doing what’s right for others.