One of the enduring problems faced by humanity over the centuries is global poverty. An exciting development in the last century is the rapid economic growth in developed nations that provides us with an opportunity to address extreme poverty like never before. The issue is figuring out how to relieve poverty in the best and most sustainable way.

I believe that one of the absolute best groups doing poverty alleviation is Compassion International. They work in developing nations around the world by partnering with local churches to provide material needs and resources to children. Their program is efficiently run and has an amazing success rate. In this episode, I had the pleasure of talking with an alumnus of their program David Wangaka.

Many people wonder if a document as old as the Bible can be considered historically reliable. Moreover, they wonder if it is even possible to test the reliability of a document that is so old. My guest today helps us to see that there are intellectually credible ways to test and rely on the historicity of the Gospels and the New Testament. Her name is Lydia McGrew and she introduces us to the argument from internal evidences and undesigned coincidences.

The Bible describes the world as God’s cosmos. This word conveys the idea of creation being God’s well-ordered household that is organized for his glory. Paul emphasizes the importance of this truth in his letters when he explains that Christian households are to be a reflection of God’s household. Unfortunately, many Christians today do not think of their family lives as “households” with a purpose.

My guest in this episode helps us to recover a sense of the meaning and purpose of the Christian household. His name is C. R. Wiley and we discussed his superb book The Household and the War for the Cosmos.

Justice, race, sexuality, and gender are among the hottest topics in our culture today. These issues are often packaged together under the banners of “social justice” and being “woke.” The church has not been immune from these conversations, as many Christians attempt to grapple with the various issues and voices around social justice.

As I have studied these debates, I have found one of the best resources to be Thaddeus Williams’s Confronting Injustice without Compromising Truth. In this single volume, Williams tackles all of the foremost topics swirling around our culture today. His treatment of these debates is grounded in truth, compassion, and a desire for true justice. In this episode, we discuss his book and a Christian view of social justice that is grounded in a thoroughly biblical worldview.

Every major world religion is based on a set of principles or truths. Adhering to these bodies of wisdom is the essence of following that religion. However, Christianity is unique in that the essence of biblical belief is centered upon a person—Jesus Christ. My guest on this episode argues that if we see the greatness of Jesus’ character, then we can’t help but follow him. His name is Tom Gilson and he has written a book called Too Good to be False. We discuss the book and what it means for belief, apologetics, and everyday life.

Over the last several years we have seen the rise in the gig economy and hustle culture. More and more people are attempting to achieve greater freedom and higher income through gigging, side hustles, or simply working more. Yet, few people are drawing attention to the lies of hustle culture and the risk of burnout. In this episode, author Daniel Im joined me to talk about these issues and the lies that we believe about work and life.

Suffering is a fact of life that we must all face. Moreover, it is an element of life that every worldview must provide an answer for. Opponents of Christianity have considered the problem of evil to be the Achilles heel of the Christian faith. However, today’s guest sees no problem with the existence of an all-loving, all-powerful God in a world that has suffering. He argues that we must start off understanding the God of Scripture and the rest falls into place.

Scott Christensen joined me for this episode of Filter to discuss the problem of evil and the answer that he proposes called “the greater glory” argument. Scott holds an MDiv from The Master's Seminary and is the author of What about Free Will? and What about Evil? He worked for nine years at the award-winning CCY Architects in Aspen, Colorado where several of his home designs were featured in Architectural Digest magazine. Called out of this work to the ministry, he graduated with honors from seminary and now serves as the associate pastor of Kerrville Bible Church in Kerrville, Texas.

Christians who desire to have an influence in the world for the sake of the gospel often overlook the greatest opportunity: family and work. God has given each of us the ability to spread his good news and make a positive impact in the communities around us through these most “everyday” aspects of our lives. How can we begin to live a life where our families and work become a blessing to the community?

Nathan Spearing joins us on the podcast to discuss how to do this through sharing his story. Nathan is a special operation veteran who left the high-adrenaline lifestyle of combat deployments to be a present father. After taking several big risks to follow this calling, he’s witnessing how God is using his family and new business to influence and bless his community.

Many people in our postmodern world argue that Muslims and Christians worship the same God. They post that, as members of the “Abrahamic” faiths, Christianity and Islam are essentially the same. Most Christians intuitively know this is not true; yet, they still struggle to articulate why it is so. My guest on this podcast is Andy Bannister and his new book is an excellent resource to answer this question.

One of Jesus’ most common teaching tools was the parable. If you have read the Gospels, then you know that he used these short stories frequently to answer questions and teach his disciples. Since Jesus used parables so often, it’s important that we are able to properly read them and gain their instruction for our lives. In part 1 of How to Read the Parables, we talk about what it means to read the Bible, what parables are, and the various types of parables.

One of the foremost conversations in our country today is centered on race and systemic racism. In the past few years, a new ideology called “antiracism” has come to the forefront of the conversation. This approach to racism has been most popularized by Ibram X. Kendi, as well as other authors like Robin DiAngelo and Ta-Nehisi Coates. Sociologist and Christian author George Yancey has been a critic of antiracist scholars. He joins us in this episode to share about his latest article, “The Dangerous World of Kendi’s Antiracism.”

Renowned author and social critic Os Guinness joined the podcast to discuss his latest book The Magna Carta of Humanity: Sinai’s Revolutionary Faith and the Future of Freedom. Guinness argues that America is on its last leg as a republic and this book is his proposal for a path forward. He uses the Exodus narrative in the Pentateuch as a foundation for how Christianity provides a future for freedom. While the revolutions of men never end and are always totalitarian, a revolution from the Christian faith results in freedom and human flourishing.

For Earth Day 2021, we are celebrating with a special episode of Filter on science, climate change, and creation care. I got to have a great conversation with Dr. E. Calvin Beisner on a wide range of topics related to the environmental movement and Earth Day. Though many Christians might be unaware, the Bible gives us a foundation for creation care and how we ought to approach the challenges of poverty and environmental stewardship. Dr. Beisner argues that the predictions of climate alarmists are based on ideology, not data and that their solutions are inhumane to the world’s developing nations.

Meditation and yoga are major parts of the mainstream culture in the West today. While only a few decades ago, they were only in the counter-culture revolution of the 60s and 70s. These practices do not originate in the Western mind but are the products of Eastern religions that were imported to the West. Yoga, meditation, and other Eastern mystic assumptions were imported and rebranded as health disciplines. Nevertheless, these practices still come with worldview implications that Christians must discern.

Dr. Douglas Groothuis joins us on this episode of Filter to talk about the dangers of New Age practices and how to discern them. He shares with us the history of how these worldviews were imported and assimilated into mainstream American culture. Dr. Groothuis also shares where to spot some of these ideas which have seeped into the church.

In this episode of Filter Conversations, author Glenn Sunshine talks to us about his newest book Slaying Leviathan (Canon Press, 2020). This book is a historical exploration of the Christian tradition of limited government and resistance theory. Many Christians might be unaware that the beliefs in limited government and individual liberty in the West have their origins in Christianity. Dr. Sunshine introduces us to Jesus’ profound statement that lays the groundwork for limited government, Augustine’s contributions to Western political theology, Christian resistance theory, and how everyday Christians can resist Leviathan.

What are church elders? If you grew up going to a church where elders played an important role, then you might have some idea of what it is all about. For many people, this church office in the New Testament is new and confusing.

In this episode, I continue our short series in explaining church elders. We look into the roles and responsibilities of elders, as well as the relationship between the elders and congregation. Check out the show notes for highlights and resources.

What are church elders? If you grew up going to a church where elders played an important role, then you might have some idea of what it is all about. For many people, this church office in the New Testament is new and confusing. In this episode, I begin a short series on church elders. We'll learn a simple definition, see what the Bible says about elders, and take a look at the character qualifications for elders.

Americans have been grappling with issues related to race and social inequities for generations. In the past few decades, a new approach to analyzing and approaching these issues has developed called Critical Theory. This new theory has gained a special prominence in the last several years.

On this episode of Filter Conversations, we had Dr. Doug Groothuis join us to discuss the worldview of critical theory and its incompatibility with both Christianity and the American system. This conversation was centered around his new article “America, Critical Theory, and Social Crisis.” Dr. Groothuis explains to us the origins of Critical Theory, how it spread in the United States, and how this theory is destructive to American society.