Resources mentioned in this episode:

1. VFL Politics class audio (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)

2. How the Nations Rage: Rethinking Faith and Politics in a Divided Age by Jonathan Leeman

3. "God's Gonna Cut You Down" by Johnny Cash

When we talk about “politics,” we usually mean elections and debates about public issues involving our government and “politicians.” But we can’t think well about governmental politics unless we understand “politics” in a bigger way, as an aspect of our inter-relational existence created by God.

Hunter and Autumn discuss two paradigms to get at this bigger meaning of politics. The first paradigm utilizes the biblical movements of creation, fall, and redemption to elucidate the intention, complication, and redeemed modality of politics. The second paradigm relies on the biblical terms shalom, justice, and righteousness to inquire how a redeemed body politick, the Church, can pursue wholeness as the purpose of “politics.”

What is the role or purpose of seminaries or institutions dedicated to theological training? Are seminaries sending out men and women who are rooted in scripture and able to withstand the shifting winds of culture without being tossed about (Eph 4:14). What does “rootedness” look like?

The President of Denver Seminary, Dr. Mark Young, joins Dave and Autumn to discuss what unapologetic love coupled with distinct theology looks like in practice. Dr. Young lends insight into the current state of seminary training on the whole and why the hope of the gospel is the greatest need in theological education today.

Are students who enter institutions of higher learning fundamentally in need of equipping or transformation? Is the goal of Christian higher ed to produce trained workers or vocationally-minded followers of Jesus? Or is the dichotomy not that simple?

Dr. Earl Waggoner, Dean of the School of Biblical and Theological Studies at Colorado Christian University, sits down with Dave and Autumn to discuss the advantages of online learning, particularly for adult students. Dr. Waggoner shares his perspective on the state of Christian higher education and discusses how CCU's College of Adult and Graduate Studies is navigating the tensions within higher education.

Institutions of Christian higher education are responding in various ways to the cultural and technological pressures of our day. The William Tennent School of Theology, based in Colorado, utilizes a retreat plus cohort model to provide theological training that is “academically rigorous and theologically robust, while also stoking affection(s) for Jesus.”

Dave and Autumn speak with Dr. Michael Morgan, Academic Dean and Professor of Historical Theology at Tennent, to ask what constitutes a formational educational experience and why Tennent has chosen the retreat plus cohort modality.

In an era of rapid cultural and technological change, institutions of higher education are grappling with questions about the nature of institutions, the purpose of higher education, the response to cultural pressures, and what modalities will lead to their desired outcome.

In part two of this five-part series, Dave and Autumn consider the opportunity for churches to respond thoughtfully to the state of the University and shifting cultural tides by deeply rooting the family of God in biblical truth.

Historically, the University owes its existence to the Church, as the Medieval Church played a central, if not exclusive, role in establishing the earliest universities. In the 18th century, the School began to separate itself from its Christian roots and ceded increasing control to the State. Even so, the School and the Church shared some common purpose: to shape individuals into participants in society whose vision for the good life included care for neighbors, civic action, and understanding of the world. In the present American system of higher education, which includes both secular and religious institutions, that shared purpose has waned. Trust in the University is low, and higher education as a whole is struggling to find its footing in the world of rapid technological development.

In part one of this five-part series, Dave and Autumn discuss the tensions within Christian Higher Ed. They consider the unique opportunity for churches to respond thoughtfully to the state of the University and shifting cultural tides by deeply rooting the family of God in biblical truth.

Does Scripture teach or emphasize a “moment” of salvation? What is a biblical understanding of “conversion?” Hunter and Autumn respond to a listener's question about justification with an examination of Jesus’ teaching on new birth from John 3:1-15.

Does “Church as Family” convey an unrealistic portrait of the church, leading people to believe they will encounter loyal, committed, honorable brothers and sisters, perpetuating disillusionment and hurt if they don’t? Would we better serve people to gently adjust their expectations to level with the messy, dysfunctional family that seems to match their experience? Trevin Wax considers these questions in an article recently posted on The Gospel Coalition.

Hunter and Autumn comment on the article and suggest that expectations of the church are best when leveled with Jesus’ and the Apostles’ depictions of the family of God rather than with our own disappointing experiences.