Like many people today, Jeff Mikels is concerned by the evangelical church’s embrace of cultural and political idols. Unlike many people, however, Mikels is a former evangelical pastor who regrets his complicity in this trend. 

Evangelical Idolatry: How Pastors Like Me Have Failed the People of God is both a confession and a call to repentance. Reflecting on his twenty-year pastoral ministry with candor and humility, Mikels acknowledges the ways he enabled parishioners to develop destructive loyalties to cultural and political idols. As he works to reform his own worldview and embrace allegiance to Christ alone, he urges evangelical pastors and laypeople to join him in reforming their faith and living out the good news of the true gospel.

Jeff Mikels holds degrees from Wheaton College and Denver Seminary. He has overtwenty years of pastoral experience, leading a church in Chicago for five yearsbefore planting one in Lafayette, Indiana. There, he was involved in the Pastors’Alliance; he also helped establish the Greater Lafayette Gospel Association, which isa network of gospel-focused ministries, and served as its president.

What does Bible study look like after inerrancy? Do you have to give up studying Scripture when you no longer believe in its literal interpretation? Can you still believe this book is sacred even while renegotiating your relationship to the church? In Knock at the Sky: Seeking God in Genesis after Losing Faith in the Bible, Liz Charlotte Grant offers compelling answers to these questions and more in this deeply personal commentary on the book of Genesis.
 
Braiding together encounters with the natural world, Jewish midrash, and art criticism, Grant makes familiar Sunday school stories strange and offers a fresh vision for reading Scripture after deconstruction. For those who have known the book of Genesis as a weapon in the culture wars, Grant interprets the Bible’s inspired book of beginnings as a work of art. Lyrical, insightful, and highly original, Knock at the Sky offers readers a capacious model for seeking God through Scripture even as one’s faith continues to evolve.
 
“In this book, you too have permission to question the sacred without fearing . . . unbelief. Knock loudly. . . . Reject answers that do not admit complication. Seek the resonance at the base of the story. The seeking is the point. Because there, in your wandering, God is.”

About the Author

Liz Charlotte Grant is an award-winning essayist whose work has been published in The Revealer, Sojourners, Brevity, Christian Century, Christianity Today, Hippocampus, and elsewhere. She also writes The Empathy List, a popular newsletter that has been nominated for a Webby two years running. She lives in Colorado.

What is Toxic Shame? How does it affect those trying to live for Christ? What does the Bible say about shame?

In this episode we explore how the Old Testament portrays the Holy Spirit's presence. It seems confusing to reconcile how the OT describes the Spirit's activity as opposed to what we see in the NT. Dr. Monje joins to discuss the fundamental questions Christians have when reading the Holy Spirit of the OT.

How do we know if we are hearing God's voice or our own? How do we know if we are in step with the Spirit? Is it possible to lose the Spirit? How does the Spirit direct our thoughts or emotions? In this conversation we explore the various ways the Holy Spirit speaks to us.

In this episode we begin a 4-part series on the Holy Spirit. Dr. Andy Boakye joins the discussion to help clarify the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of a New Covenant Christian. Andy masterfully explains the original greek context and gives us an understanding of why Paul taught a specific theology regarding the Holy Spirit. This is just the beginning of this conversation!

How do we know if a situation should be considered spiritual abuse? What are the various types of abuse that can occur? Are we using the most effective terms when we talk about trauma in a faith context?   

In this episode we will be discussing the specifics of spiritual trauma starting with the basics. Dr. St. Jean is a professor of Social Work at King University who has served in churches for decades. He joins the conversation to share the latest from his book 'Spiritual Trauma: A Guide for Healing Your Heart from Church Hurts'.   

If you are interested in contacting Sean please visit his website seanstjean.com  

0:00 Intro 

4:20 Why did you decide to write this book? 

15:25 What personal challenges did you face in writing this book? 

25:00 What do the ABC's of spiritual trauma stand for? 

35:00 How has 'conformity culture wounded people specifically? 

41:30 How do we reconcile both the good and the bad as we heal? 

54:00 How do people lower their defenses and begin to trust after being hurt? 

1:00:00 Why would those in leadership want to read this book? 

1:10:00 How is it that people can appear one way to upper leadership and another to membership?

How do we support our children's decisions when we do not agree with them? How do we exude unconditional love for our children without compromising what we personally feel called to? How do hold a "both-and" with some of the more complex issues?

Karen Louis of Good Enough Parenting joins the conversation to discuss the concept of Autonomy Granting vs Autonomy Support. This concept helps parents navigate the choppy waters of healthy autonomy.

For more information on Good Enough Parenting please visit https://goodenoughparenting.com/

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