Brian is best known for some of the songs he's written that are sung by those in International Churches of Christ around the world -- songs like "Be with Me, Lord," "I Need Your Love," "Great Among the Nations," and “Anchor for the Soul.” Having written songs in the alternate rock genre for a long time he set out to write some really simple, easy-to-sing songs that could replace some of the ones he'd gotten tired of singing in church. Over time those songs caught on and are now favorites.   

Of course now he's tired of those songs so he's always writing new ones. Like spiritual therapy his soul is renewed by the act of writing songs that express themes of devotion, heartache, exuberance, fellowship, and a desire to change the world. Brian has released several albums over the years and is currently working in the studio on recording his next release.  

Brian has a Masters degree in Ministry from Pepperdine University and is currently serving in the LA Church of Christ as an evangelist, teacher, and minister of worship and media.  He has a beautiful wife and three kids he's crazy about.  He blogs at jbriancraig.wordpress.com and uploads videos to youtube.com/jbriancraig  

1. We wanted to connect last year on your album Wait for the Lord My Soul and its relevance to mental health. Tell us about the journey you’ve been on with your health. 

2. How would you describe the connection between art/music, worship and mental health? 3. What can you share about dealing with loss, faith, and surrender? 

4. How does this relate to where we are as a church and where we need to mature? 

5. What are you working on now?

Becky Aste is a trauma-informed marriage coach and the host of “Your Breakthrough Blueprint”, a top 10% globally ranked podcast. She is the CEO and creator of “I Do Breakthrough”, a company dedicated to equipping highly ambitious wives to repair thriving connection in their marriage by moving trauma out of the body.

In her latest book, Free and Fully Alive: Reclaiming the Story of Who You Were Created to Be, popular faith-leader, speaker, and certified life coach Karrie Garcia shares something most Christians can identify: “I was taught that God wants us to live freely, but I never understood what that kind of freedom meant or felt like. It seemed like a good idea in theory, but elusive—I had no idea how to grab hold of it.” In Free and Fully Alive, Karrie draws on her own experiences and expertise to create a dynamic, practical guide for readers to learn how to embrace their past and discover a deeper connection to themselves, God, and others.

After the release of their groundbreaking book, A Church Called Tov, which recorded the stories of abuse and toxic church cultures at some of the most prominent churches in the United States, New Testament scholar and blogger for Christianity Today Scot McKnight and Laura Barringer heard from a flood of people who had experienced similar instances of abuse. After all they’ve seen and heard, they still believe it’s possible for church cultures to be transformed from toxic to tov—from oppressive to good.  

In Pivot, Scot and Laura help churches to implement practices,establish priorities, and cultivate the Kingdom Gospel-centered qualities that form goodness cultures. Readers will find answers to the four most common questions people have about culture transformation: How can I transform the culture in my church or organization to make it tov? 

Scot McKnight (PhD, University of Nottingham) is a world-renowned speaker, writer, professor, and equipper of the Church. He is a recognized authority on the historical Jesus, early Christianity, and the New Testament. His books have been translated into Chinese, Korean, Russian, and Portuguese. He is the author of The Jesus Creed, The Blue Parakeet, The King Jesus Gospel, Revelation for the Rest of Us, numerous commentaries, and is now writing a sixteen-volume series of reflections called The Everyday Bible Study.

Although Christians are followers of the Truth, many find themselves tempted by the alternate “truths” offered by conspiracy theories. Christianity and conspiracy theories have had a long, complicated relationship. But today conspiracy theories are bringing our already polarized society to the brink of chaos. QAnon, the Big Lie, and anti-vaccination theories thrive online, disrupting faith communities. This timely essay collection explores the allure of conspiracy theories and their consequences—and ultimately offers gospel-based paths forward.

Most Christians have encountered phony posts on our feeds meant to rile us up. But not everything we see on social media is so obviously absurd. As online spaces increase in importance, we urgently need to consider how to love our neighbors on the internet—and this includes sharing the truth.

1. Tell us about your background and why you decided to write this book?

This is the second installment of the interview with Amy that discusses the grief of the next generation. Amy shares from her presentation from the Telios Conference in February which specifically addresses the various losses GenZ has experienced.

In this conversation we discuss the impact of trauma on our theological imagination. Amy discusses her doctoral research from a theoretical trauma studies perspective. Amy describes the impact of suffering on our theological imagination and preaching. She discusses what she calls an "Enfleshed homiletic" where she describes the relationship between the body and the sermon.

In this conversation we discuss the various ways that we can partner with the Spirit to help us transform into the image of Christ.

In this episode we ask some though questions about forgiveness in the church. We know that we are commanded to forgive, but is forgiveness also a process? Andrew wrote a paper that has received criticism due to his perspective on forgiveness. I invited him onto the channel to discuss his perspective and the criticism he has received.