This week, Josh and Chris talk about disunity in the church and how it affects our witness to the world. The reformation that began 500 years ago started a trend of church splitting that has accelerated out of control. Today we have tens of thousands of church denominations in the United States alone. And while this trend is frightening, we recognize that the church has not always handled them this way. Find out what you can do to help bring unity back to the church. Our witness as the reconciled people of God depends on it.

 

Resources:

Myth of a Christian Nation - Ep 011

The Value of Biblical History - Mark Jenkins - Ep 048

The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life by Os Guinness

You don’t have to be a pastor to want to learn how to become a better pastor. As Christians we are all called to church ministry in some way. So we talked with Matt Van Winkle, host of the Better Pastors Podcast, about his efforts with church planting, theological reflection, and his love of narrative. Find out how Matt struggled to overcome fundamentalism and why doing theology is an important part of following Jesus.

Matt Van Winkle is a husband, father, and church planter in Minneapolis, MN. Matt holds a Bachelor’s degree in Youth Ministry from Southwestern Assemblies of God University and is working on his Masters degree. A lover of all things podcasts, Matt has a vision to help pastors be better.

Resources:

The Better Pastors Podcast

Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller

Commentaries: Acts by Stanley Horton; Matthew by Craig Blomberg

Matt Van Winkle on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/mattvw9287

Dr. Johan Mostert started his pastoral care ministry in 1972 with the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) in South Africa (the largest Pentecostal denomination in the country) and served churches in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town. From 1989 to 2000 he served as national Director of the AFM Welfare Department with its several hundred employees, ten homes for the aged, children’s homes and 310 local church voluntary welfare organizations. He is widely recognized as a leading authority on local-church response to the global AIDS pandemic and travels frequently as a speaker and project consultant for faith-based development agencies both in the US and internationally. He is Professor Emeritus of Community Psychology at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary (AGTS) where he taught for the past 12 years. His areas of specialization were discipleship and social justice courses. Currently he is Director of Research and Development for AG Family Services Agency where he is heading CompaCare, a national strategy to help local churches be more effective in addressing the foster care crisis.

Dr. Mostert’s unique experiences living through the Apartheid regime has given him a unique perspective when it comes to issues of social justice for marginalized people. He helps us work through issues of racial tension, help for the poor, and what it means for the church to engage culture in the work of social/biblical justice.

 

When Helping Hurts, by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert

Generous Justice, By Timothy Keller

Discipleship Dynamics - https://discipleshipdynamics.com

CompaCare - http://www.compactfamilyservices.org

 

Johan Mostert started his career in pastoral ministry in 1972 with the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) in South Africa (the largest Pentecostal denomination in the country) and served churches in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town. After completing his first graduate degree in 1977 he accepted an appointment to the church’s national Welfare Department to serve as a counselor to 200 abused and abandoned children at the Villa Lubet Children’s Village. Over the next 23 years his ministry grew as he progressively took over management responsibilities for the AFM’s community social work services, geriatric services and adoption services for the Church.

From 1989 to 2000 he served as national Director of the AFM Welfare Department with its several hundred employees, ten homes for the aged, children’s homes and 310 local church voluntary welfare organizations. The dawning of democracy in South Africa, and the severity of the AIDS crisis brought new challenges as he led his department into full racial integration and attempted to influence the wider church toward increased sensitivity to the needs of the poor and the vulnerable of their communities. He was principal author of the NDISWE local church development program and several USAID-funded development projects in Southern Africa.

He is widely recognized as a leading authority on local-church response to the global AIDS pandemic and travels frequently as a speaker and project consultant for faith-based development agencies both in the US and internationally. His book “How to become HIV+: Guidelines for the local church” was published in 2011 and is aimed at the local church in Africa to assist pastors to develop a s...

In this episode Chris talks with Brad Ausbury about what it means to experience torment. Some people believe a person has to go to Hell to experience torment, but Brad believes we can bring Hell on Earth to ourselves when we allow any of these 10 torments to begin plaguing us. All of these torments […]

So to start things off, we decided to take a look at Disney's Wreck-it Ralph. We love the movie and enjoy watching it. But does the message and worldview in the movie communicate good theology? What can we learn from it about the people in our culture today so we can communicate the gospel clearly in return?

This week we talk with our former Bible College professor, Dr. Michael Jaffe. Dr. Jaffe has been an ordained minister since 1981 and is currently Professor of Preaching and Church Leadership and Department Chair of Church Ministries at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri. He has a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry from The Assemblies of God Theological Seminary and spent 22 years in pastoral ministry before taking his teaching position. He and his wife Barbara have three sons, two daughters-in-law and five grandchildren, all loves of his life.

Dr. Jaffe is the real deal when it comes to facing and overcoming struggles, and his story will speak to you of God’s grace and faithfulness. His experiences through deep tragedy and searching for truth comes out in this episode through a clear and simple message about what it means to follow Christ and obey Scripture. In a world where we make Christianity so complicated, Dr. Jaffe brings some much needed clarity and simplicity to us as we strive to faithfully glorify and serve God with our lives.

Resources:

In the Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen

The Life You’ve Always Wanted by John Ortberg

A Theology of the New Testament by G. E. Ladd

1 Corinthians Commentary by Gordon Fee

Matthew Commentary by Craig Keener

Acts Commentary by F. F. Bruce

Found: A Story of One Life Transformed by Michael Jaffe

As Christians today we tend to think everything should be black and white or that our current understanding of the world around us is complete. Are things really as black and white as we make them out to be? Do we really know everything there is to know about the world from the Bible? Or could it be that our current Christian worldview is a reaction to the culture of the world around us?

On this week's episode, Chris and Josh talk through what it means to respond to the culture around us, how our modern-day culture may not be as unique as we think, and how Jesus' approach is the best for us today.

Resources:

Algebraic topology in the Brain article

The Pilgrim's Regress by C. S. Lewis

This week we talk with Amy Reasoner. Amy is freelance writer and avid reader. She and her husband have been in pastoral ministry together for more than a decade. They have two boys, whom they homeschool. On her blog, www.faithstartsathome.com, she shares resources for building a strong culture of faith in your home. She and her family currently live just outside of Nashville, Tennessee.

In this episode we talk with Amy about her experience as a church planter with her husband and her journey to develop her blog faithstartsathome.com. Her incredible story shows just how faithful God is even when we go through times of doubt, fear, and confusion. You will be encouraged because even though Amy and her husband have gone through some incredibly trying events, her faith has deepened throughout the process. As a result God is now using Amy to reach out to parents and show them how to foster an atmosphere in their homes of real spiritual growth for both themselves and their children.

Think Orange by Reggie Joiner

The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis

40 Days of Decrease by Alicia Britt Chole

Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard

Radical Together by David Platt

Amy’s Blog - faithstartsathome.com

Amy’s Favorite Kid’s Bibles

Free Family Devotional

Amy’s Instagram - amy_reasoner

Amy’s Twitter - @amy_reasoner

On this month’s Q&A episode, we answer your questions about the morality of paying taxes. We explore what Scripture says about the role government plays in our lives and why Jesus commanded us to pay taxes. We then dig a little deeper into an audience member's question about the morality of voting to raise or lower taxes. We end the episode by inviting our audience members, YOU, to answer the question, “Is forcibly compelling others to do good works morally good?” If you want to let us know what you think, please join the conversation here

Join us this week as we talk with Brandon Horst about how to do kids ministry better both in the church and in our homes. Brandon is a children’s pastor and blogger from Fairfax, Virginia who’s passionate about helping Family Ministry Leaders lead better. Brandon and his his wife are always looking for new ways to evangelize families and disciple kids. He is a great thinker but quick to admit that he doesn’t have everything figured out, and that’s why we love him. This episode is sure to help you gain clarity on your own ministry, whether it’s to kids, adults or somewhere in-between. Listen to our conversation as we work through the tough issues we face when trying to reach the next generation with the love of Christ.

Resources:

Doingkidsminbetter.com

Dadcraft.com

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