Transforming Culture

It's our final week of Transforming Culture, season four! Thank you for being on this journey with us, and know that we appreciate you! If you want more MBC content throughout the year, consider listening in to our Teaching Archive podcast - where we post sessions from our MBC summer and retreat seasons for you.

This week on the Transforming Culture podcast, we're closing our season with one of our favourite sessions of last summer - not only because our Bible teacher, Sean Sheeran, is a gifted and generous speaker, but also because the topic really hits home when it comes to MBC's mission and vision: we want to create biblically rooted, resilient families, and we believe that is best accomplished through the local church! So, when Sean said he wanted to talk about the church as a type of outpost or embassy, we were thrilled. Enjoy! 

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Speaker Bio:
Sean first attended Hespeler Baptist Church as a non-Christian at age 17. Through the preaching of the gospel and the friendship of Christians, God showed him of his need to repent of his sin, believe in Jesus Christ and be saved. From there Sean attended Heritage Bible College, graduating with a Bachelor of Religious Education. In 2011 Sean was ordained with the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches of Canada. Sean has been serving as lead pastor since September 2013. In 2023 he received his Master of Divinity from Heritage Seminary. He is married to Meredith and they have four children.

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Resources:
Churches: The Embassies and Geography of Heaven (Jonathan Leeman)
Storm in the Desert (podcast mentioned during this episode)
The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self (Carl Trueman)
What is the Mission of the Church (Kevin DeYoung)
Missions is Church Planting - Or It’s Not Really Missions (Mike McKinley)
Evangelism: How The Whole Church Tells About Jesus (Mack Stiles)

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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Charles West
Audio and Technical Support: The Summer 2025 A/V team
Theme Song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic Design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

Welcome to episode 8 of Transforming Culture, Season 4. It's our second last episode of this season, and was a bit delayed by additional editing... but we're here now! This week on the podcast, we're tackling a difficult, but crucially important topic: death, and specifically what it looks like to approach Medical Assistance in Dying, or MAID, from a biblical perspective. Thankfully, we have an incredible Bible teacher with us this week to share his thoughts and experiences. I'm so glad that Dr. Jonathan Griffiths offered to tackle such a sensitive and intense topic, so that we can be equipped to talk about it with friends, family and neighbours.

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Speaker Bio:
Dr. Jonathan Griffiths serves as the Chancellor of Heritage College & Seminary, Executive Director of the Timothy Trust, and a council member of The Gospel Coalition Canada. His syndicated daily radio program, Encounter the Truth, reaches hundreds of thousands of listeners in Canada and the United States on Moody Radio and other networks. He studied theology at the University of Oxford and holds a PhD in New Testament Studies from the University of Cambridge. He is author of a number of books including Gathered for Good (released in early 2025), Strangers & Exiles, and God Alone. Jonathan takes a keen interest in politics, economics, and current affairs. He is married to Gemma, and together they have three children.
 
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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Charles West
Audio and Technical Support: The Summer 2025 A/V team
Theme Song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic Design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

It's week seven of our fourth season of Transforming Culture - it's hard to believe we're in the home stretch of the podcast. For me, it's a joy to come back to these sessions in the fall after hearing them recorded in the summer - our Bible teachers are incredibly gifted speakers and it's a joy for us to share these sessions with you! This week on the podcast, we have Steve West, sharing about gender. When Steve and I first got together to talk about the session title for this week, we really had a back and forth about what it should be called. No, you're not reading a typo: the title is really "Why Are There Infinite Genders?" Steve is asking you to consider what that means, and I'm excited for his session to clarify. Enjoy!

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Speaker Bio:
Dr. Steve West is a professor at Heritage College & Seminary in Cambridge, Ontario, and the pastor of Madoc Baptist Church. In addition to his work in Canada, Steve has a heart for training international pastors and church leaders, and has taught courses in multiple countries on five continents. He has authored a variety of books and articles, and spoken on a number of college and university campuses in North America.
 
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Resources:
The Body God Gives (Robert Smith)
Embodied (Preston Sprinkle)
Strange New World (Carl Trueman)

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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Charles West
Audio and Technical Support: The Summer 2025 A/V team
Theme Song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic Design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

Welcome back to Transforming Culture! This week, we have Paul Carter on the podcast, and he's sharing with us about Technology and the Home. Paul is a great resource for conversations like this - he's had to be all over the rapid technological transformation of the church in the last five years, and we have appreciated his leadership in mentoring and caring for believers across the country. He's been a long-time friend to MBC, and we're always so thrilled to have him share with us! 

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Speaker Bio:
Paul is the happy husband of Shauna Lee and father to 5 children. He is a self-described “Bible Geek” and has a passion for helping people build their lives on the solid rock of Jesus and His Word. In his role as Lead Pastor at Cornerstone Baptist Church, he oversees the weekly worship as well as the overall ministry direction and content. He is blessed to provide guidance to an enormously talented and committed group of staff and volunteers. He sits on the Executive Counsel for The Gospel Coalition where he is a regular author and blogger and is the host and Bible teacher for the Into The Word podcast and radio program.
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Resources:
Family Unfriendly: How Our Culture Made Raising Kids Much Harder than It Needs to Be (Timothy Carney)
Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart (Nicholas G. Carr)
The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place. (Andy Crouch) 
The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness (Jonathan Haidt)
The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom (Jonathan Haidt)
The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous (Joseph Patrick Henrich)
The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World. (Christine Rosen)
Generations: The Real Differences between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents  (Jean M. Twenge)

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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Charles West
Audio and Technical Support: The Summer 2025 A/V team
Theme Song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic Design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

We're back with an incredible first-time guest to the podcast, who also happened to be a first-time teacher to MBC this past summer, Bobby Scott. Bobby was a wonderful addition to our MBC line-up, and was full of wisdom, humour and grace as he taught us about prayer throughout his week of ministry with us. Speaking of prayer... Bobby happens to be from Los Angeles, and I guess I should have seen it coming, but he is definitely a Dodgers fan. I was praying for a Blue Jays World Series win, and he and I had some fun back and forth over email during the last two weeks as the Blue Jays and Dodgers went at it in the World Series, Although the Dodgers came out on top, Bobby showed himself to be a gracious fan, even in victory, and it shows his quality as a person even more!

Enjoy this episode talking about a tough subject!

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Speaker Bio:
Bobby Scott is a pastor at Community of Faith Bible Church, and a Council member of The Gospel Coalition. It is his consuming desire to be used by God to strengthen the urban church, and he believes this objective will be best met by building families, motivating singles to live radically for Jesus, and developing a ministry upon the teaching of the word of God. He enjoys writing posts for The Gospel Coalition, Desiring God, 9Marks, and other blogs. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Naomi. They have six adult children.
 
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Resources:
Should Pastors Endorse a Candidate? (Bobby Scott)
How the Nations Rage Jonathan Leeman
How Can I Love Church Members with Different Politics?
It Happens After Prayer (HB Charles)

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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Charles West
Audio and Technical Support: The Summer 2025 A/V team
Theme Song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic Design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

We're back with Transforming Culture, season 4, and we're already on Episode 4 - very hard to believe that things are moving along this quickly! I'm excited to welcome back our friend Dustin Boreland, who has been a regular at MBC both in the summer and also at as a part of some of our retreats in the non-summer season. Taking time to take care of your spiritual health is important, and that's exactly what Dustin is here to talk about today. Being formed spiritually is increasingly difficult in a society that focuses on speed, efficiency and output, and spiritual formation can be slow and inward focused. I'm so glad that Dustin took the time to share with us about what he thinks.

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Speaker Bio:
Dustin serves as a pastor at Springvale Baptist in Stouffville, Ontario and is currently completing his Doctorate of Practical Theology at McMaster Divinity College in post-Christendom studies. After several years in Montreal where he planted and revitalized a church, Dustin and his family returned to Ontario in 2022. Dustin is passionate about the intersection of the Gospel and culture, equipping the local church for mission, and can be found overindulging on coffee, hip hop, and spicy chicken sandwiches.
 
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Resources:
The Gospel Way Catechism (Trevin Wax)
Invitation to a Journey (M. Robert Mulholland Jr)
God in My Everything (Ken Shigematsu)
Sacred Rhythms (Ruth Haley Barton)
The Common Rule (Justin Whitmel Earley)
The Tech-Wise Family (Andy Crouch)

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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Charles West
Audio and Technical Support: The Summer 2025 A/V team
Theme Song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic Design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

It's episode 3 of Transforming Culture - and we're here for all of October and November sharing the podcast for those of you who didn't get a chance to hear our Bible teachers this summer at MBC (and to be honest - for some of you who did - I love getting messsages from people asking "when are the episodes going to drop?!?" The heart behind the Transforming Culture sessions, and so also this podcast, is to get information and wisdom into your hands so that you can be equipped to share and support friends, family and other in their walk towards Jesus. This week, we're listening to Glenn Deane, who is a phenomenal speaker that brought a lot of life experience and humour to this session about truth - which is a big topic! It's important for us to talk about nitty gritty specific topics during our Transforming Culture sessions, but I love when a teacher tackles something so fundamental to what we believe (and in this case, why we can trust what we believe). 

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Speaker Bio:
Glenn was raised in a Christian home in Toronto and felt the call of God to ministry as a young man. His first church was in Napanee, Ontario where he served as Pastor for nine years. He and his wife then became missionaries with The Faith Mission (in Canada) and traveled throughout Ontario and beyond. In 2011 he took the role of Teaching Pastor at Pinegrove Fellowship Church in Bracebridge. At the beginning of 2018, he transitioned to Lead Pastor at Pinegrove and continues to enjoy the fabulous people and this magnificent part of His kingdom. He has been married to his wonderful wife Robin for 34 years. They have two grown children and five grandchildren.
 
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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Charles West
Audio and Technical Support: The Summer 2025 A/V team
Theme Song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic Design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

Welcome back to the second episode of Transforming Culture, season four! We're glad to have you on board.

This week, we're listening to Wyatt Graham talk about what the Bible says about abortion. At first glance, this seems like a topic that, at least for an Protestant evangelical podcast like ours, is one that feels settled - most of our listeners know how they feel about this, one way or the other, so why would we have a session about it on the podcast? I have to admit that I thought it myself when Wyatt first pitched the theme for this week, but was really surprised at the direction of this episode, because he dives deeply into not the practical reasoning behind his position, but also the theological one, which I think will make us all the better for having heard it.

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Speaker Bio:
Wyatt Graham is a Canadian theologian, writer, and professor based in Ontario. He serves as the Executive Director of The Davenant Institute (davenantinstitute.org), an organization dedicated to renewing classical Protestant thought for the contemporary church. Additionally, he is the founding Executive Director and current Editor in Chief of The Gospel Coalition Canada, where he contributes to theological discourse and church leadership. You can follow him at www.wyattgraham.com or on X (@wagraham).
 
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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Charles West
Audio and Technical Support: The Summer 2025 A/V team
Theme Song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic Design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

Welcome everyone, to the fourth season of Transforming Culture. With a few thousand downloads and a whole bunch of amazing conversations, it's so cool to be back for another season of discussion and learning - we're glad you're here! Each summer, we invite our Bible Teacher of the week to share a talk on Tuesday nights about how we can engage faithfully as disciple of Jesus in the modern culture in which we're place. Our summer theme in 2025 was "Prayer", and I can tell you that our Bible teachers prayerfully prepared and brought some great thoughts each week, which we recorded for this podcast. 

This first episode of season four is about serving and caring for refugees. Dwayne Cline has a serious amount of experience working with refugees, and so he shares some really important information to share and talk about - enjoy!

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Speaker Bio:
Dwayne served as the Lead Pastor for James North Baptist Church, in downtown Hamilton, for 28 years. He is the part-time interim Executive Director for TGC Canada as well as the board chair for City-to-City Canada. Dwayne and Aimee have been blessed with four children. He is currently assisting organizations think through matters of governance, strategic planning, team building and fundraising.
 
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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Charles West
Audio and Technical Support: The Summer 2025 A/V team
Theme Song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic Design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

Here it is: our very last episode of Transforming Culture for Season 3. It's been a ride for us this year trying to navigate all the ups and downs of production issues, so thanks for staying with us through it all! This week, we've invited a special guest, Kristopher Kinsinger to join us to talk about religious freedom, and why it matters. As we were recording this in the summer of 2024, there were lots of questions about elections, politics and how it would affect us all. Some of those questions have been answered (US elections...) but some remain - as we release this in March of 2025, there are lots of questions about Canadian politics. So - religious freedom and what we can do about protecting it are just as important as always. Enjoy this conversation!
 
NOTE: As you would hear on any good legal podcast, and as we joke about a couple of times during the podcast, Kris has asked me to remind all of our listeners that the views expressed in this podcast are his own, and they don't constitute legal advice - if you need some legal support, there are some great avenues for that outside of this podcast! 

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Speaker Bio:
Kristopher Kinsinger is an Ontario lawyer. He received his Juris Doctor from Osgoode Hall Law School in 2019, before completing his articles of clerkship with a national law firm in Waterloo, Ontario. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 2020, and received his Master of Laws from McGill University in 2021. Between 2021 and 2024, he served full-time as the national director of the Runnymede Society, a major Canadian legal organization. Kristopher’s writing regularly appears in periodicals such as The Supreme Court Law Review, Constitutional Forum, the National Post, and The Hub. He served two terms between 2017 and 2023 on the board of directors of Christian Legal Fellowship, Canada’s national association of Christian lawyers and law students. He currently serves as the chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s Constitutional and Human Rights Section and as a member and deacon of Hespeler Baptist Church in Cambridge, Ontario. In his free time, Kristopher can be found reading, writing, drinking coffee, listening to vinyl, or mapping out his next backcountry camping trip.

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Resources:
Liberty for All: Defending Everyone’s Religious Freedom in a Pluralistic Age by Andrew. T. Walker
Political Church: The Local Assembly as Embassy of Christ’s Rule by Jonathan Leeman
Political Visions and Illusions by David Koyzis

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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Abishek Varghese
Audio and Technical Support: The Summer 2024 A/V team
Theme Song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic Design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz