The Shock Absorber

It's time to delve into one of Stu's favourite eras: the nineties! Joel and Stu walk through experiences of the time and how many people found hope and meaning when you were supposed to not care and never sell out. They also continue to trace the evangelical line and how it lead to fresh ministry ideas such as the incarnational approach and the youth ministry discussions. While skateboarding and grunge music defined a generation, the priority was still to never sell out the gospel.

01:17 Cultural Artefact - Skateboards
05:25 The 1990s
17:36 Tracing the evangelical line
30:43 Ministry ideas of 1990s and inviting a response
44:44 Are fresh ideas a marker of an evangelical?
54:40 Youth Ministry discussions in 1990s and not selling out the gospel

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DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE

Episode with Andy Stephenson
Dogtown and Z-Boys
Time's Preceding with Caution article
Kurt Cobain
Penny Loafer
The Nineties: A Book, by Chuck Klosterman
Seinfeld
Friends
Tall Poppy Syndrome
Generation X
Grunge music
Christian Coalition of America
Clinton–Lewinsky scandal
Scopes Monkey Trial
Losing My Religion, by R.E.M.
Spice Girls
The Coming Revolution in Youth Ministry, by Mark Senter
Pantera

CONTACT US

Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/jTD5KNAYVE
Website: shockabsorber.com.au
Soul Revival Shop: soulrevival.shop

Tim, Stu and Joel are finally back in the Third Space Studio, from the Moral Majority, to Monty Python, from John Chapman to John Wimber, they continue to discuss history, culture and it's influence on how we evangelise today. They further delve into the difference between an evangelical and fundamentalist and why it may be unhelpful to hold so strongly to such labels. We also answer a thought provoking question from Andrew around such labels.

02:08 Cultural Artefact - The Great Evangelical Disaster, by Francis Schaeffer
08:06 Defining evangelical/fundamentalist and the end of the Moral Majority
24:38 Unbundling Christian morality from political agendas
28:50 Christians coming to terms with changes in culture
31:05 Australian evangelicals and music
50:01 QUESTION from Andrew

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DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE

Affogato
Francis Schaeffer
The Great Evangelical Disaster, by Francis Schaeffer
L'Abri
Jerry Falwell
Life of Brian
Fred Nile
The Book of Mormon (musical)
Monty Python
John Chapman
Phillip Jensen
Two Ways to Live
Ministry Training Strategy
Peter Jensen
John Wimber

CONTACT US

Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/jTD5KNAYVE
Website: shockabsorber.com.au
Soul Revival Shop: soulrevival.shop

We're still being affected by some of our hosts being stuck in COVID isolation, but we didn't want to leave you hanging! We're merging the Shock Absorber and the Chip Lunch podcasts for one time only! Join an intergenerational cast of Tim, Ethan and Hudson as they discuss evangelism and Generation Z.

04:18 Why the crossover?
08:34 Chatting evangelism with Hudson
23:40 Generation Z statistics
53:04 Inviting a response
1:02:14 Which generation is which?

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DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE

The Zebra Hotel in Masaka, Uganda
Chip Lunch with Jabish
Australia's Generation Z Study
The Religious Life of Gen Z

CONTACT US

Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/jTD5KNAYVE
Website: shockabsorber.com.au
Soul Revival Shop: soulrevival.shop

SORRY GUYS! No Shock Absorber episode this week. Joel fills you in on why...

CONTACT US

Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/jTD5KNAYVE
Website: shockabsorber.com.au

Tim, Stu and Joel were able to reconvene in the Third Space Studio and continue the discussion on the evangelical line through history, in particular the rise of Christian fundamentalism from the 1960s to the 1980s and how it set the stage for how we evangelise today.

That's not bad audio you can hear either, just the heavy rain on the roof of Soul Revival Church!

01:20 We're Not Gonna Take It, by Twisted Sister
14:36 How the '60s set the stage
26:34 Where the Jesus Movement fit within American culture and the Homogeneous Unit Principle
32:48 Christians being politically active
34:12 The leftovers from Christendom within America
39:13 1970s and Christian countries
45:30 Evangelism and fundamentalism
49:09 Prioritising Jesus over political engagement
56:55 Francis Schaeffer

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DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE

Rock Censorship: Big Brother Meets Twisted Sister
Parents Music Resource Center
MTV
PMRC’s ‘Filthy 15’: Where Are They Now?
Twisted Sister
Dee Snider
Dee Snider's PMRC Senate Hearing Speech
Unit, by Regurgitator
TIME's Is God Dead? at 50
The Great American Novel, by Larry Norman
Roe v Wade
Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks about faith
Jerry Falwell
Rage Against The Machine Protest “PMRC” Naked On Stage
Roman Exposure of Infants

CONTACT US

Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/jTD5KNAYVE
Website: shockabsorber.com.au

Joel and Stu continue their tour throughout history and evangelism, with a particular focus on the 1950s. By looking at the legacy of famous evangelicals of time such as Billy Graham, John Stott, J.I. Packer and others bolster the argument that evangelicals, who make Jesus and the gospel their main focus, hold a continuous line throughout history from Christendom onwards.

We also answer a question from Leonie, sent in via our Discord server.

01:31 Story/Cultural Artefact - Stu went to the Billy Graham Crusade at Randwick Racecourse
10:06 The through line of evangelicalism
24:58 When the fundamentalists became more politically active
31:15 Billy Graham's legacy
44:15 John Stott's legacy
49:52 Jim Rayburn, Josh McDowell, J.I. Packer
56:40 QUESTION from Leonie

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DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE

The day Billy Graham transfixed a massive MCG crowd
Billy Graham crusade in Sydney
Navigators
The Crusader Union of Australia
George Marsden (historian)
Moving beyond the shock absorber: The place of youth ministry—past, present and future, by Stuart Crawshaw
Billy Graham
Amsterdam 2000 Called the Most Multinational Event Ever
John Stott
The 2005 TIME 100
Jim Rayburn
Josh McDowell
J.I. Packer
Knowing God, by J.I. Packer

CONTACT US

Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/jTD5KNAYVE
Website: shockabsorber.com.au

We continue to take a break from looking at evangelism throughout church history for Joel and Tim to speak to another one of our friends! Jenn Phillips is Children's Minister at Jannali Anglican Church and joins the discussion around evangelising to children - why it's important and why it should be a priority for all churches.

04:07 Cultural Artefact - EzyDVD website
12:34 Are we uncomfortable with evangelism?
19:31 Talking to children about evangelism
28:48 What are children noticing?
34:42 The family is formative and making children's ministry a priority
48:14 Practical steps and intergenerational ministry
1:05:33 Standing before Christ at the end

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DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE

Jannali Anglican Church
Youthworks
EzyDVD website
Compact Discs
DVDs
Teaching My Children to Hate Me, by Tim Beilharz
How To Talk About Jesus, by Sam Chan
Episode on Evangelism in Youth Ministry w/Andy Stevenson

CONTACT US

Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/jTD5KNAYVE
Website: shockabsorber.com.au

We're taking a break from looking at evangelism throughout church history for Joel and Tim to have chat to Andy Stevenson, Head of Ministry Support Team at Youthworks. With Andy's vast experience in youth ministry, that's what we focus on. We hear about why how the youth ministry thinkers shaped how Andy does ministry, why he feels it's currently a lot harder to evangelise, but also why what is offered in Jesus is appealing to young people.

08:26 Cultural Artefact - Andy's youth ministry story of late night rock climbing
13:08 The state of evangelism in youth ministry
28:34 Listening to young people
34:10 Andy's ministry and the impact of the youth ministry thinkers
49:51 Principles of youth ministry
55:06 Youth ministry has become harder
1:04:48 There are cultural issues, but no need to be fearful
1:15:32 Looking to the future

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DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE

Research on evangelism by Barna:
Almost Half of Practicing Christian Millennials Say Evangelism Is Wrong
Sharing Faith Is Increasingly Optional to Christians
Is Evangelism Going Out of Style?
The Stats behind “Re-thinking Evangelism”

Episode with Dave Lovell from Christian Surfers

Youthworks
The Effective Ministry Podcast

CONTACT US

Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/jTD5KNAYVE
Website: shockabsorber.com.au

Stu, Tim and Joel are back in the Third Space Studio to continue their tour through church history. Looking at the time from the Industrial Revolution, to Darwinism and the emergence of Communism, up to the Scopes Monkey Trial, where the battle between modernism vs fundamentalism emerged, there are some key lessons to learn from evangelicals and revivalists who lived through that time.

01:20 Cultural Artefact - The Scopes Monkey Trial
12:34 The impact of the Industrial Revolution
26:30 The importance of prayer
39:21 The path to Modernism and it's impact on the church
48:45 Fundamentalism, modernism and evangelicalism
56:30 How do the evangelicals inspire us?

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DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE

Scopes Monkey Trial
Industrial Revolution
Robert Raikes
Sunday School movement
Barnardos
William Gladstone
Salvation Army
Temperance movement
William Wilberforce
John Newtown
Abolition movement
Karl Marx
Friedrich Engels
Adam Smith
The Laymen's Revival
Jeremiah Lanphier
The Ulster Revival
The Communist Manifesto
Max Weber
Charles Darwin
On the Origin of Species
Sigmund Freud

CONTACT US

Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/jTD5KNAYVE
Website: shockabsorber.com.au

We're back in the Third Space Studio to continue our trip through history and how evangelism has developed. This time we're concentrating on the 1600s to the 1700s, as the Western world departs from Christendom following the Reformation into the new Age of Reason.

The events of that time impact on how we evangelise today. Science and technology became far more influential on people's thoughts as the authority of the church and the Bible are called into question. But as Christianity is put on trial, obedience to God and His Holy Spirit, leads to a number of revivals and a return to the importance of personal faith.

01:21 Cultural Artefact - Benjamin Franklin in Church History in Plain Language, by Bruce Shelley
13:36 The rise of reason and de-mythologising the natural world
21:15 Christianity on trial and from sectarianism to denominationalism
30:09 The Great Awakening and individual conversion
56:59 Trial brings revival
1:00:14 Evangelism is a spiritual endeavour

Watch this episode on YouTube

DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE

Church History in Plain Language, by Bruce Shelley

Research on evangelism by Barna:
Millennials Oppose Evangelism
Sharing Faith Increasingly Optional to Christians
Is Evangelism Going Out of Style?
The Stats Behind Re-thinking Evangelism

Nicolaus Copernicus
Johannes Kepler
Galileo Galilei
Isaac Newton
The Thunderstorm that Changed Martin Luther's Life

The Great Awakening
Jonathan Edwards
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Jonathan Edwards
John Wesley
George Whitefield

Bebbington's Quadrilateral
The Spirit of Gen Y

CONTACT US

Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/jTD5KNAYVE
Website: https://www.shockabsorber.com.au