The Substance

Earlier this year, we were joined by Dr. Esau McCaulley (one of our favorite episodes we've done!) to talk about his new little book on Lent which kicked off InterVarsity Press's The Fullness of Time series. Now we're excited to continue on to the second entry, Pentecost, written by Bishop Emilio Alvarez.

In addition to Pentecost, we spend much of our time on a favorite topic of ours here at The Substance- Christian unity. Bishop Alvarez has been engaged in ecumenical ministries for quite a while, so much so that about 10 years ago he was invited to The Vatican to engage with The Pope and other church leaders on the topic of unity (which we absolutely talk about)!

Buy Pentecost

Esau McCaulley on Lent

Shoutouts:

Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist 

The Pastor Theologian 

The Pastor as Public Theologian 

Becoming a Pastor Theologian 

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When we had Josh Larsen of Filmspotting on in October to talk The Night of the Living Dead we were not planning to kick off a 5 film series on Criterion Collection titles but here we are. We had some fantastic discussions, with a number of excellent guests, but we wanted to zag a little bit and go in a different direction with this one. Of course Raging Bull and Matewan are substantive films, but what can we glean from Liam Neeson fighting wolves in Alaska?

To help answer this question, we are joined by our old pal Slim (editor and host of The Letterboxd Show & 70mm). Talking points include: Liam Neeson being a Schrader-esque man at a desk, a very impressive plane crash, incredible wolf special effects, memorable & touching death sequences (many of which do not involve wolves at all), the problem of evil/suffering, and a question that may have never been asked before- is The Grey the first and only elevated action movie?

Enjoy the show and be sure to share it with a friend!

Links:

Previous Substantive Cinema shows

Slim on Letterboxd

Philip on Letterboxd

Letterboxd Show

70mm podcast

Shoutouts:

The Flash

Asteroid City

Insidious Red Door

Patrick Wilson Letterboxd Show ep

The Trial

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Spiritual abuse is something we have talked about many times on the show, and on this episode we are joined by someone who, after enduring this herself, decided to make it her mission to help others who have as well by giving them a platform to tell their stories. Johnna Harris launched The Bodies Behind The Bus podcast at the end of 2021 and for the last year and a half has helped to share survivor stories in order to fight for goodness and truth in the Church.

We talk systems & structures and why broken ones are so difficult to improve, cultivating spiritual communities where it's safe to be our whole selves as we seek to grow, when it's best to take a cue from the prophet Malachi and just shut a church or ministry down, and most importantly why folks struggling to hold on to their faith can have hope.

If our conversation blesses you please consider texting the episode to a friend!

Shoutouts:

Ted Lasso

Colossal (with Anne *Hathaway*)

Will of the People (Muse)

Follow Johnna:

The Bodies Behind The Bus podcast

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Hey everyone! We thought it would be nice to take an episode and do a check in with ourselves and you all. Philip and Dave are hard at work putting things together for first few months of our 3.0 era and we wanted to let you all in on the conversation.

They go a little into the history of our first two incarnations but the bulk of the time is spent talking vision and goals for the podcast, our commitment to telling compelling, God-honoring stories, and the growth of local communities that are formed in order to benefit everyone in their proximity.

We have some exciting episodes/guests on the schedule and some that we have already recorded with and we look forward to continuing to encourage curious, thoughtful folks for many more seasons to come!

Philip: Smartless: On The Road documentary & podcast

Dave: The Wingfeather Saga & Now, Not Yet by half•alive

Follow Dave

The Gospel According to Batman

Follow @tgatpodcast on TikTok and Instagram

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If you're in Kansas City and listening to this when it drops, we hope you can join us for a Substantive Cinema screening of Raging Bull at Screenland Armour at 3:45pm!

How have we gotten this far without covering a Martin Scorsese film?! It's wild. Today we break the Scorsese seal with perhaps his deepest dive into the human condition with his Oscar-winning 1980 masterpiece Raging Bull.

The film is famous for many things, it's Oscar wins (and even more, its losses), the launching of Joe Pesci as a mainstream actor, the incredible black & white cinematography from Michael Chapman, but more than anything else, what Raging Bull does is give viewers the opportunity to fully embody the life of its complex protagonist, Jake "The Raging Bull" LaMotta. Scorsese and DeNiro show us the highest highs and lowest lows of the human experience here and it's hard not to be taken in. LaMotta is not an overly sympathetic character but he is one that is deeply empathetic. You want to see him win and to be a good husband and father and brother. He often makes the wrong choices but in those decisions, audiences get to see the darker sides of themselves reflected and the tragedies that LaMotta brings on himself serve as a warning to where our basest impulses can lead us. It's not an easy watch but it can be an immensely rewarding one when viewed through the lens of our common humanity and seeking for a redemption that we fear we may be unworthy of.

If you end up watching it, we'd love to hear from you! Email us a voice note or send a voicemail and we''ll play it on a future episode!

Follow Philip & Abby on Letterboxd!

Shoutouts:

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

Blackberry

Becoming Alien by Sarah Welch-Larson

Follow Abby:

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The Pitch

Sojourners

Think Christian writings that inspired her upcoming book

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We're still here! Our 2.0 era has come to a close but I'm very grateful to bring you all the next episode without interruptions!

Today I'm joined by the Rural Church Voices team which consists of returning guest Olivia Meade, Will Basham, and Jason Cook. All three of them have released books individually (check out Ep #117 to hear us talk Ordinary Faithfulness with Olivia), and now they have gotten together to edit Church Out Here. Church Out Here is a great little resource for both pastors and members of rural churches who are looking to be faithful to God and to one another. In addition to our three guests, contributors include Christian Crouch, Sam Byers, Jim Drake, Michael Meadows, Ricky Love, Chris Priestly, Justin Honaker, Danny Rumple, and Seth Polk.

Whether you find yourself in a big city or a small town, we hope you are encouraged!

Shoutouts:

Will- Pastoring Small Towns by Ronnie Martin & Donnie Griggs

Olivia- The Thursday Murder Club books

Jason- Holy Luck by Eugene Peterson

Follow Rural Church Voices

Buy Church Out Here

Buy Rural Mission

Buy Old Time Religion

Buy Ordinary Faithfulness

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It's the end of an era (but not the end of the podcast)! We all loved being a part of The Substance 2.0 and are extremely grateful for everything we were able to accomplish in it. From talking with authors, artists, and public figures that we admire, to watching and reading things together that stretch and challenge us, but most of all we are to happy to have played a small role in encouraging folks to think and live well.

Thank you for listening and engaging with us over the last 3 years. You have been a huge encouragement to us as well and we look forward to seeing what God does with the show going forward!

We hope you enjoy this look back at 125+ episodes (with our special releases) and feel free to pray for Philip as he tries to figure out how to keep the show on track and edited properly as the show moves forward!

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Happy Easter, everyone! We hope you have had a refreshing Lenten season and that your Easter celebrations today were encouraging and soul-stirring.

On this episode we welcome back longtime friend of the show, Brett McCracken (who was our first guest), back for his fifth appearance on The Substance. Brett is a writer, a film critic of 15+ years, and he's currently a Senior Editor at The Gospel Coalition where he covers culture and the arts. Previously, we've looked at three other Malick films (links below) and one that was very much Malick adjacent (Minari, also below).

This time, we're going back to the beginning. 50 years ago, Terrence Malick's Badlands debuted at the New York Film Festival where it was the star of the show, even overshadowing Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets in the eyes of many. Badlands is an impressionistic reimagining of the Charles Starkweather story. It's one forgotten to many now, or mainly known because of this film, but to the generation of filmgoers in the early 70s, this was a chilling and familiar story that was deeply tied into American culture.

Badlands is not currently on any of the subscription streaming services but it's available to rent or purchase on several platforms. It is also available to purchase from The Criterion Collection and is likely at many of your local libraries! :)

If you enjoy the show, consider leaving a rating & review on iTunes or Spotify and sharing with a friend!

Links

Tree of Life Ep. 8

A Hidden Life Ep. 19

Minari Ep. 49

The Thin Red Line Ep. 91

Criterion Article

Brett's Review

Shoutouts:

Trevor: Death Below (August Burns Red)

Philip: Columbus (Streaming free on Kanopy if your library supports the service) https://www.kanopy.com

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It's topic toss up time again, and Trevor & Philip are back with one topic suggested by an audience member and one of their own!

The Super Bowl was a great time this year. It was great to see the Chiefs win again, especially so due to a bet with the TGAT podcast. One of the "hot topics" that folks were talking about in the aftermath was the commercials that ran a few times during the game...for Jesus? The "He Gets Us" ads got a wide variety of responses and since a listener here in KC asked, that's up first!

Secondly, a topic that has come up tangentially before but one not discussed specifically, it's time to talk about a theology & practice of discipleship. What is the goal of discipleship? How do we pursue it and practice it with folks who are seeking guidance from us? How do we determine whether or not we are engaging in it successfully? Etc.

It's always fun to do these and if you have anything you'd like us to cover in future TTUs, shoot us a message (info below)!

If you enjoy the show, consider leaving a rating & review on iTunes or Spotify and sharing with a friend!

Links

The Gospel According To... Podcast (Philip was a guest on V1 Ep 11)

Ep #7 TTU Tract Carpet Bombing

Ep #46 Kaitlyn Schiess (The Liturgy of Politics)

Ep #120 Esau McCaulley (Lent)

Shoutouts:

Philip: After Yang

Trevor: City Nerd YT Channel

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Phone: 913-703-3883

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"Politics" is something that many people like to shy away from engaging directly in their public platforms and personas, and some elect to abstain from even discussing it with their friends and family. It's also something that churches often like to refrain from addressing in their preaching and ministries. Yet, it's in inescapable reality of living in a time and place. Furthermore, it's something that churches are necessarily affecting. 

In White Evangelical American churches there is a reliable partisan voting block (94% of that demographic votes for 1 party), many receive pressure to talk about hot button culture war issues like CRT, abortion, books in schools etc., often a church's library is stocked with one-sided views on cultural issues, and it is a common view among a congregation and leadership that one of the two major American parties is immoral, or markedly more immoral than the other. This is politically forming whether pastors/leaders like to think of themselves as a "political church" or not.

Wherever you locate yourself in this discussion, we hope it's edifying to you and would love to hear your feedback! 

Shoutouts:

Trevor: MLS Season Pass

Sumplete

Philip:

Practicing the Way

Dinner with Don AARP videos

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Share Your Questions/Suggestions/Feedback With Us:

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Phone: 913-703-3883

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Support the show with an individual donation on CashApp to $TheSubstancePod or become a monthly supporter at the Anchor link below!