TRENDING

The U.S. surgeon general recently published an advisory warning saying today's parents are too stressed--so much so that it is becoming a public health concern. With the pressures of social media, a difficult economy, school violence, and increased mental health awareness, parents today constantly have a lot on their plates and on their minds.

Given that reality, how can the church help provide an escape? How can we find meaningful community, and what hope does the Bible offer? Can Christians offer a better way forward compared to the chaos surrounding us?

Matt and Pastor Joe give some pointers in this week's episode of our Trending podcast.

In this "Solo Joe" episode of Trending, we take a moment to celebrate the 2024 Paralympic Games. A foundational element to Christianity is the belief that all people are created in the image of God, so in this special branch of the Olympics, what a cool opportunity we have to highlight and feature people from a variety of backgrounds facing a variety of challenges.

This week Joe reminds us of the Apostle Paul's "thorn in the flesh," and whatever that phrase means, Paul knew what it was like to face adversity. As Christians today, we should lead the cheering section when we have a chance to stand up for and celebrate those facing challenges and disability.

It's rare for a day to go by where the economy and rising costs of living *aren't* featured in the news. Housing and education and food prices continue to be on the rise, and most of us are feeling it in our wallets and in our budgets.

This week on Trending Matt and Joe got a question from a Ridgepoint attender about how to tithe in such a tight economy. When budgets are already stretched by necessities, how can we also be generous to the church? How can we realistically hope to save when expenses feel so tight?

There are no easy answers, but Pastor Joe has some helpful principles to stick to, regardless of the size of our budgets. The Christian church has a history of being radically generous, and that's an admirable goal for us to also aspire toward.

By now you've likely seen video clips or memes of Raygun the b-girl, the Australian breakdancer who drew a lot of attention during the Olympics. Her breaking routines were... unique, and left many people questioning if she was legitimate and how certain athletes get selected to perform on such a high stage.

This is a strange and comical story, but even HERE, there are lessons we can pull from the Bible. Why do humans care so much about justice? Why does our faith require works and not just beliefs? And how can we live with joy even if we find ourselves in the minority?

Pastor Joe pulls out interesting thoughts for us to consider in this week's episode of Trending.

X (formerly known as Twitter) is getting ready to release an app update. We're not sure what all changes will be made (if any) but rumors have spread that X might start limiting or hiding post "like" counts, reposts, and comments from the main timeline.

This is mainly a reaction from backlash that visible like counts can cause anxiety and depression among users when they compare their profiles to those of friends or celebrities.

This might be a positive change as social media addiction continues to be an ongoing conversation in our culture today. Why are we SO addicted to our phones, and what can we do about it? How and why should we pause to examine our habits, and what might be a better way to fill our time--or is regular social media engagement *really* all that negative?

Matt and Pastor Joe share helpful insight on this week's episode of Trending.

Many people were surprised and offended during the Olympic Opening Ceremonies last week when a group of performers seemed to reenact da Vinci's famous "Last Supper" painting in a way that felt offensive and disrespectful. The Olympic committee and the art director in charge of the evening came to its defense, saying the performance was meant to reference a different piece of art featuring the Greek god Dionysus.

The media frenzy around this event is an interesting case study for us as believers. When we feel targeted or attacked by culture, how should we respond? In a world where everyone seems to default to protests and anger and outrage, what should be our stance? What does it mean to be "slow to speak and slow to anger" when we're surrounded by so much division?

There are no easy answers, but Matt and Pastor Joe host a discussion about that on this week's episode of Trending.

After the tragic assassination attempt last week and as our divided politics continue, both major political parties are calling their followers to come together in unity to advance their causes. Unity is a great thing, but it often isn't achieved naturally or easily.

In this crazy time in our culture, how can we move together in unity? How can we elevate diversity while moving in the same direction, and what are some examples from the Bible of people coming together united--for both good AND not-so-good purposes?

We're likely in for some rocky months ahead, so let's be shining examples of peace and good news to the world around us. Pastor Joe has helpful advice to consider in this week's (Zoom edition) of Trending.

Having a wise succession plan is an important part of every leader's journey. Recent changes to Disney's leadership and our aging congress have brought some high profile examples to headlines in the recent weeks, which leads us to these questions: How can aging and emerging generations best work together? How do we know when it's time to move on, and how can we honor those who have gone before us? Matt and Pastor Joe address this and more in this week's episode of TRENDING.

The images and headlines coming out of the war in Israel are heartbreaking. This conflict between Israel and Palestine is complicated, and it has interesting correlations with our Christian faith. How should we view and process this ongoing conflict, and does it have an impact on our theology?

These are big and hard questions that Matt and Pastor Joe wrestle with on this week's episode of Trending. At the end of the day, Jesus is the Prince of Peace, so we pray for these wars to cease and for God's Kingdom to prevail.

Many kids (and parents!) across the world had big feelings this week as it looked like the popular kids TV show "Bluey" might be coming to an end. 😦 (Spoiler: It's not.)

As the show writers and producers take their "hiatus," it prompts some big questions: How much success is enough? How big should a show or program get before the creators scale back? How do you handle "overnight" success, and when is it healthy to step back and take a break?

We can learn some wise lessons (no surprise!) about rest and fame and creativity from the creators behind Bluey, so Pastor Joe and Matt discuss those in this week's edition of Trending.