The Substance

This one has been a long time coming!

The topic of abortion is extremely divisive, and sometimes that's fine. But as believers we want to make sure that we're thinking critically and biblically about the issue rather than farming out our thinking to political and social figureheads.

What do the majority of women think about abortion? What are the factors that make it more likely for a woman to consider getting an abortion? What can be done holistically to de-incentivize abortion throughout our culture? What role does the (Big C) Church have in this cultural discussion? What role do individual churches have in their communities? How does this relate with politics and voting?

There is much to be said about abortion and we are sure we'll revisit the topic on future episodes (send us your questions/thoughts and we'll get them on our list for future Topic Toss Ups) but we hope you're challenged and edified by our introductory conversation on the topic and we look forward to interacting with you all on this topic in the future!

Sources:

Study: Why Women Have Abortions

R.C. Sproul video

Love Thy Neighborhood episode

Shoutouts:

Philip- WandaVision

Vincent- Susan Carol

Trevor- Rachel House

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It's Topic Toss Up (TTU) time again! On this episode Trevor, Philip, and Vincent answer a listener question about how to stay faithful to Jesus in college, discuss some of the  controversies surrounding pastors and their local jurisdictions regarding large assemblies during the pandemic, and look at the devastation that Ravi Zacharias's sin has brought about on his ministry and many people's faith and what we can learn from it.

Enjoy and share the podcast with a friend!

Sources/Resources:

9 Marks Church Search

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Statement

Ravi Zacharias Report

Substance Shoutous:

Vincent- The Kount: Kount Drums Vol. 4

Trevor & Philip- Pass The Mic: Jemar Tisby Leave Loud Story

Previous Substance Episodes Mentioned:

Not A Social Justice Podcast Playlist: YouTube

Celebrity Pastors TTU

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“We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.” (Romans 6:9–12 ESV)

Happy Easter from the Substance! The tomb is empty, Jesus has defeated death and his kingdom is coming. In this dawning reality, the false anthropology of White Supremacy must be understood and turned from to align with the Biblical view of humanity.

Joining us for this topic is Daniel Hill pastor of River City Community Church in Chicago, who has written two books on the spiritual battle against White Supremacy, White Awake and White Lies, and has a passion for helping churches understand the influence of this pervasive and harmful ideology.

Tune in for this sobering talk, check out the resources below and reach out at our socials or email with any questions or feedback!

Sources:

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum

Rediscipling the White Church by Pastor David W. Swanson

Substance episodes mentioned:

#20 - White Too Long feat. Robert P. Jones

#17 - Social Justice feat. Jesse Eubanks

#40 - Systemic Racism

Shoutouts:

Brenda S McNeil Roadmap to Reconciliation

Latasha Morrison

Jamar Tisby

Truth’s Table 

Daniel Hill Instagram | Twitter

www.facebook.com/thesubstancepod

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Phone: 913-703-3883

This week Trev, Vince and Philip's three topics all center around experiencing the gentleness of Christ, and how the church deals with the emotional life of believers. We flow from talking about a recent scathing review of ACBC's Biblical Counseling book of the year, Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund, to talking about what the Bible says about Anger, and how bottling it all up is not what the Bible teaches, and land on a discussion of Mental Health and the dynamics that keep people from taking it more seriously, all under the light of Christ's words, "Take my yoke, learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

Our aim in the first topic isn't to dissect the book review, but to understand the spiritual malady behind it; what Biblical analogies exist for groups that felt threatened by a Messiah who was compassionate toward sinners they rejected. What does this say about how we understand and pursue Christian maturity? Check Ephesians 4:11-16, esp v. 12. What is the importance of the phrase, "work of service"? See also Ex 33:18-19; 34:6-7.

Our discussion about anger tries to locate the balance between Eph 4:26 where we find the command, "Be angry" and James 1:20, "human anger doesn't produce divine righteousness". What is anger for? Is anger productive? How can we be angry well? How does this guide oppressed communities?

Finally on Mental Health we seek to understand the church's aversion to the topic by examining the doctrine of the Sufficiency of Scripture. Jeremy Pierre's message, "Considering How Scripture Relates to Other Sources of Knowledge for Soul Care" is a great resource here. Does the fact that the Scripture has all that is necessary for a faithful life before God imply that we should discourage people from counseling or therapy or thinking/feeling resources outside the church? How can churches encourage people to pursue care while fulfilling their pastoral role?Check out our earlier work about “Christian Worldview Analysis” for more on this topic.

Substance Shoutouts:

Trev: Southside Rabbi with Esau McCaulley

Vince: Peter Collins (not Phil Collins)

Philip: Propaganda

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We are right around the corner from the release of the 36th feature film in the Godzilla franchise with Godzilla vs. Kong coming out on Wednesday, March 31st. It's not a movie that you may immediately think of as something that is substantive, but the roots of the character and the original film are full of meaning and social commentary.

While Godzilla certainly is a spectacle film, it touches on some very important themes. Most notably the film challenges its audience to consider things such as: the use of and escalation of violence in war and the side effects that violence has, ethics surrounding preemptive violent action, practical concerns related to pacifism, and self-sacrifice. It's a wonderful monster movie that started a franchise that's still vital around the world today and it has a number of important things to say.

Check it out and let us know what you think!

Watch Godzilla:

Stream it on HBO Max or The Criterion Channel

Buy/Rent iTunes

Watch Free on Archive

Sources:

Criterion article we mentioned

Godzilla Wiki

Shoutouts:

Who's Afraid of Postmodernism? by James K.A. Smith

How to Think by Alan Jacobs

Gamera Trilogy:

Gamera

Gamera 2

Gamera 3

The Host

Atragon

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We're finally here.

Whether it's clearly articulated or not, the topic of this episode is at the heart of so many of our modern conflicts, inside and outside of the Church. And to a degree, it's simple. The notion of systemic racism is either true or untrue. If we can find no correlation of the claims of systemic racism to reality, then we must reject it. However, if we investigate the claims of those who say that systemic racism is at the core of so many of our societal ills and find them to be true, we have a lot of work to do. Especially if we are folks who claim or seek to take God seriously in His revealed Word.

This may not be the easiest listen, but it's important. Truth and justice matter to God and they should matter to us. Pray and seek God's wisdom as you listen and please be sure to contact us with any feedback you have (after you've looked into some of the sources!).

Sources:

Bradley Mason Data

Statement on Social Justice

Ben & Jerry's - a Summary of Evidence on Systemic Racism

How to Be an Antiracist

Twitter Thread

Phil Vischer: Race in America

Race in America Part 2

Black/White Voting

What is an Evangelical?

When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America

Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America

Compromise of 1877

Shoutouts:

Philip- The Wisdom Pyramid: Feeding Your Soul in a Post-Truth World by Brett McCracken

Trevor- Coalcracker Bushcraft YouTube Channel

Vincent- R.C. Sproul Systematic Theology Lectures

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We've got a wonderful interview for you all on this episode!

Our guest this week is St. Louis based rapper, Flame. With over 15 years in the Christian hip-hop world, Flame has been through a lot. We get into his backstory and how he came to faith, how his rap career and ministry started, his theological influences when he was younger and how some things in his perspective have shifted, the relationship between justification and sanctification in the life of a believer, the role of doubt in the lives of people of faith, some clarification on his song "Who Can Pluck Us?," what he's looking forward to in the future, and more!

If you enjoy our interview with Flame, please be sure to share it with a friend or on social media.

Shoutouts:

The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church

Being Lutheran Podcast

The Wittenberg Project 

Buy Flame's new EPs:

Extra Nos

Christ For You

Follow Flame:

Website

Complicated-ish Podcast

Instagram

Twitter

Facebook

YouTube

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Barnabas Piper is an author, speaker, Assistant Pastor at Immanuel Nashville, and co host of The Happy Rant podcast. He's also one of the most fun guests we've had on the show!

We cover a number of important topics relating to curiosity and creativity, the role of doubt in the life of a believer, the fear of culture that characterizes too many people of faith, parenting from a position that truly trusts in God, and the pitfalls of legalism. All the while having a great time and sharing some solid laughs. Very on point for a guy who just published a book on happiness.

Enjoy and let us know what you think!

Barnabas's Books:

The Pastor's Kid

Help My Unbelief

The Curious Christian

Hoping for Happiness

Substance Shoutous:

Showboat: The Life of Kobe Bryant by Roland Lazenby 

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah 

Mother to Son by Jasmine Holmes 

Follow Barnabas:

Website

The Happy Rant Podcast

Facebook 

Instagram

Twitter

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Contact Us with Thoughts, Questions, or Topic Suggestions:

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Phone: 913-703-3883

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We're back with another Topic Toss Up!

This week we're looking at the aftermath of the Capitol insurrection, a listener question regarding censorship, and how to respond lovingly and appropriately to folks who are caught up in conspiracy theories.

If you have any questions or topic suggestions for future shows, let us know! Contact info is at the end of the show notes.

Sources:

David French article

Russ Moore article

Report about the pentagon revoking the DC national guard commander's authority

Harvard law article we mentioned

9 Marks on Conspiracies 

Previous Substance Shows Mentioned:

Previous TTU

Cancel Culture

News and Sources

Substance Shoutouts:

Vincent: Jon Bellion Glory Sound Prep & The Human Condition

Trevor: The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb by Jamin Goggin and Kyle Strobel

Philip: Batman- The Unjust Judge by Tom King and Mitch Gerads (From Batman Black and White #2)

Find a local comic shop to support

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Boy, have we got a show for you all on this episode! Karen Swallow prior joins us for a wonderful conversation on literature, how to develop virtue and exercise discernment and how our faith can grow through reading widely.

Karen is a reader, writer, and Research Professor of English and Christianity and Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. She is the author of four books herself along with   putting out the Reading and Reflecting series where she helps to make classic works of literature more accessible to modern readers. Her writing has also appeared at Christianity Today, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, First Things, Vox, Relevant, Think Christian, The Gospel Coalition, Religion News Service, Books and Culture and other places.

Some questions we consider along with ones to ask yourself:

Why is literature so important? What can we learn from literature? How do we value literature? What makes good literature? How can one live a virtuous life? How can we become virtuous? What are the principles of moral discernment?

Books Mentioned:

On Reading Well 

Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman 

KSP Reading and Reflecting Series:

Sense and Sensibility 

Heart of Darkness 

Jane Eyre 

Frankenstein 

KSP Reading Well Starter Pack:

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Karen's Shoutouts:

Follow Karen:

Website

Twitter

Instagram

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