Whether you are finding yourself over-invested in or completely jaded by the drama of American politics, this is the episode for you. Bill Haslam is the former Mayor of Knoxville and Governor of Tennessee, and the author of Faithful Presence: The Promise and the Peril of Faith in the Public Square. For Governor Haslam, the work of the Christian in politics is to exercise faithful presence--neither withdrawing, nor assimilating with the broader culture. Haslam offers refreshing, and often surprising insights from his own experience in politics, and invites us ask "how do we [as Christians] act in a different way [in politics] so that we really are salt and light in the public square?"

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In this, our final episode of season 2, Dan chats with Dr. Timothy Persons, the chief scientist and one of the managing directors for the Government Accountability Office. We don't often think about this part of the US government, but they do the essential behind the scenes work of offering scientific, economic, and sociological insight, oversight and foresight into all policies and laws put forward by congress. Dr. Persons holds degrees Nuclear Physics, Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science, and Executive Leadership and offers us an insightful look into what faithfulness looks like in the worlds of science and public policy. In this secular age, Dr. Persons reminds us that "we live in miracles... science should engender awe because it points us to something bigger."

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"Books are like windows," shares this week's guest Nancy Gruneisen, "you can see another time, another world, another culture. But they can also be mirrors. Children want to see themselves in the books they are reading." Nancy is a children's librarian at a local St. Louis elementary school and is a perfect example of how exercising quiet, yet strong faithfulness to God's kingdom in your work can bring joy and beauty to your corner (or reading nook) of the world.

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Dr. Robert Yarbrough: author, educator, scholar, and tree feller. Bob has written many books and articles including Clash of Visions: Populism and Elitism in New Testament Theology and The Letters to Timothy and Titus. He is also a professor of both Greek and New Testament at Covenant Theological Seminary, where he is known for regaling students with stories of his lumberjack days, and gracing a lucky few with a glimpse at his axe collection. Dan and Bob chat about what it looks like, regardless of your station, to work heartily, as for the Lord. Straddling the worlds of white and blue collar vocations, Dr. Yarbrough demonstrates, both through his own experiences and his study of the new testament, a vision of work that is rooted in discipline and endurance. 

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Rick Horton is a broadcaster and color commentator for the St. Louis Cardinals and a leader in the organization Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Rick was also a pitcher in Major League Baseball himself for a number of years, and offers a perspective on the game, media, and criticism from his vantage points both on and off the field. While not many of us will know what it's like to sit in the broadcasting booth, Horton is immensely relatable and offers insights on things that are important regardless of your career field: speaking the truth in love, navigating a changing culture, as well as evangelism and discipleship in the work place.

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Irwyn Ince is the coordinator of the PCA's Mission to North America (MNA), a Council member of The Gospel Coalition, as well as the director of the Grace DC Institute for Cross-Cultural Mission, which offers practical training for churches and other faith based organizations on how to lead their congregations toward an intentionally multi-racial and multi-ethnic future. Ince is also the author The Beautiful Community: Unity, Diversity, and the Church at Its Best. 

Listen in to hear Dan and Irwyn's candid and grace filled conversation about race, diversity in both the church and the work place, and a sneak peek at a project these two friends are working on together.

Get a copy of The Beautiful Community: HERE

Check out ICCM: https://gracedc.institute/

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Jessica Patterson Long is a foreign service officer in the US State Department, currently serving in Namibia. Jessica is a seminary grad, but was encouraged by her professors to pursue her godly passion for justice through global politics. Jessica has worked to mitigate the effects of the fall in her work--combating food scarcity, terrorism, and harmful leadership.  We hope you will enjoy Dan and Jessica's conversation and, regardless of your work or authority level, consider how you too can endeavor to promote justice and mitigate evil in your corner of the world.    

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John Hendrix is a New York Times Bestselling illustrator and author of many children's books, including Shooting at the Stars, Drawing is Magic, John Brown: His Fight for Freedom, Miracle Man: The Story of Jesus, The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler. Dan and John discuss joy and struggles in the creative process, perseverance in the face of obstacles, and the clarity and mystery of art. They also spend some time on the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his work subverting the Nazi regime.

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Shelley Milligan is the Managing Director of the Carver Institute, and organization geared towards empowering Christian faculty and students (particularly at secular universities) to serve and connect university, church, and society. She previously served as Associate Provost at Washington University in St. Louis and as the Assistant Head of School at Westminster Christian Academy. Shelley shares her own career journey, where at times she was stepping outside her realm of qualification, and at other times she seemed to move backward in the "success" hierarchy.  Shelley helps us explore how ambition, qualification, and competence function in God's upside down kingdom where it is often the foolish, weak, and powerless who are called to positions of authority and responsibility.   

Some reflection questions:  Have you had the experience of God calling you outside your comfort or qualification zone? What was that like?   What do you think of Shelley's point that with privilege comes both opportunities and responsibilities?

In this second segment of our two part interview with former American Senator Jim Talent, Senator Talent and Dr. Doriani talk more broadly about the American political system, the role of citizens in a democracy, and what Christians ought to expect from their elected representatives. He encourages believers to remember that Jesus didn't come to reform people or systems, but to make new people and new systems, and that to put too much hope in politics is to put "new wine in old wine skins", and yet we all bear divine authority and responsibility which we must exercise thoughtfully and humbly.

Some questions for further reflections on this episode: