The Threshing Floor

We have a guest this week. The Threshing Floor sits down with Padre Dean Simmer. Dean is an Anglican priest, IT specialist and soccer enthusiast in Detroit, Michigan. We talk about the power of embedding yourself in a localized culture and serving as a witness to the presence of Jesus. You can get more from dean at @mojodean and deanpsimmer.com.

In this episode, you can hear about;

• Joe Dongell's briefcase
• Bigfoot calls
• The Legend of Boggy Creek
• Paris Hilton
• Motley Crue vs. The Newsboys
• God's Not Dead II
• NES Duck Hunt
• Professional Soccer
• Detroit football
• Ordination to a community
• pastoring places and people
• The Northern Guard
• Church vs. Relationships
• Plato's cave
• Depression and openness
• Vulnerability

We also share more about our friends at the Parent Pastor Podcast, Mark Swayze and the dead grandma game and The Art of the Sermon's recent interview with Rob Bell

Happy Easter(tide). The Threshing Floor is super excited to talk about Easter today. We gathered together all of our crazy easter stories, favorite candy and plenty of other things to create a jaw-dropping, life-changing Easter episode for 2016.

Here is what we talk about:

• Mini-Horses
• Joshua's new ringtone
• Periscope (the app, not viewing device)
• Favorite breakfast cereal
• favorite Easter candy
• Easter puns
• Easter traditions
• Joshua sings (surprise)
• Jesus getting into a light-saber fight
• Willow the Movie
• Crazy Easter Stories
• Why Easter matters
• Is Easter all about atonement? (Link to our episode on why atonement matters)
• Preaching resurrection

Joshua's new ringtown link (Thanks to listener Matt Stout).

Remember to review and rate on iTunes!

Back at New Room of 2015, Joshua and Chad sat down with Mark Swayze. Mark is the Charles Wesley of the New Room movement. We talk about contemporary worship and worship songwriting. Here's our full rundown of conversation topics.

• Periscope and Twitter
• BBQ Deathbed Confessions
• Canceling Church
• Is it worship if the sacrament isn't there?
• Parent Pastor Podcast
• Metallica plays with an orchestra
• What does it mean to lead worship with JD Walt?
• Leading horrible worship songs
• Working with Ed Cash
• Theologically complex worship
• The rest of the gospel is the best of the gospel
• Worship songs written for the local church
• Worship that ISN'T Pre-Salvific
• What Wesleyan songwriting looks like.
• Why worship leaders need to write music
• Local expression of worship songwriting
• CCLI Top 100 Songs for United Methodists
• Chad rants. a lot. Seriously. A LOT.

The Three Horsemen of the cheap steak buffet are back with another award-winning episode of the Threshing Floor. In this episode we have a conversation about the role of adult conversion in the Christian Church. Specifically, we talk about the conversation about conversion inside of an infant baptism tradition. Joshua also spits out some serious knowledge he is learning in his ThM program at Candler School of Theology.

Our conversation includes

• Joshua's legendary "High-Ho Cherry-O" intro
• Everyone's Dad like McDonalds coffee
• Crocs
• The Tedeschi-Trucks Band
• Homestar Runner Lil'Brudder
• Songs we won't get out of the car for
• Chad learned the term "throwing shade"
• What we mean by conversion
• we've got to get used to the idea that people aren't Christian
• the role baptism plays
• The role "following up" plays in articulating the sacraments
• head knowledge vs. heart knowledge

The Threshing Floor is back with another hot episode. Our hosts talk about;

• Snakes
• G.I. Joe
• The Serial Podcast
• Donuts and donut burgers
• Donuts and BBQ
• Lent
• What it means to die to yourself
• more G.I. Joe
• What it means to cancel church

It's Ash Wednesday...wednesday, Wednesday, WEDNESDAY.

In this episode we talk about...

• Louisiana culture and Mardi Gras
• Fat Tuesday vs. Shrove Tuesday
• Fried fish dinners
• Monster Truck rallies as great first dates
• Joshua's families records against the Dralle brothers in Chicago area demolition derbies.
• The #selfie fascination with Ash Wednesday
• Ash Wednesday as a cultural entry point into the church calendar
• What Big Event strategies look like in ministry
• Why we have a bad view of death (and how Ash Wednesday helps)

We are giving away 5 copies of seedbed.com's new Lent Soundtrack resource. Tweet #ttfsoundtrack to enter.

The Threshing Floor would LOVE to get Dr. James K. A. Smith on the show (he is our favorite Calvinist). Would you help us with this? Tweet to @james_ka_smith to help us out...and tell him how much he NEEDS to be on The Threshing Floor?

Threshing Floor. Live from New Room 2015.

Chad and Joshua sit down with the Rev. Dr. Andrew Thompson, senior pastor of First United Methodist in Springdale, Arkansas. Andrew also holds a doctorate of Theology from Duke University. He has spent time in college ministry, local church ministry, teaching in seminary and is now the pastor of a large, vital congregation in Arkansas.

Chad and Joshua have a conversation with Andrew about what it means to be a pastoral theologian and why it matters to carry your education into the pulpit. We also have a raucous good time with another Southern boy at the expense of Joshua.

Andrew is also part of the podcast Behind the Sermon. It is an experiment in public theology in reference to the weekly preaching event. Make sure to check it out here.

In this episode of The Threshing Floor, our hosts sit down and talk about 2015. They share their favorite music and movies and then get into some more serious questions. They speak about what they are looking forward to, how they feel God leading them in 2016 and what ministry and leadership will be.

We also share our excitement for the regional New Room gatherings. You can find more information out here.

Our hosts continue Joshua's interview with worship leader and poet Jason Upton. Jason shares more about worship leading, the role of prophecy in worship and how eschatology shapes our worship and worship writing. Drew and Joshua also answer some questions about what apocalyptic scenario they would rather be in,

On The Threshing Floor this week....

Chad is probably duck hunting, more on Advent and ministry and what ministry looks like in formation rather than performance.

Joshua sits down with worship leader Jason Upton, a highly influential singer-songwriter with the heart of a Pastor. In part 1 of this interview, they talk about his journey into ministry and the influences in that process. If you are a fan of prophetic worship, don't miss this one.