When you’re looking for favorite writers online it can often be difficult to find ones that are really worth following. There are many voices that are simplistic, boring, or too reactionary in their thinking. One of my favorite writers to follow the past few years has been Bethel McGrew, who previously wrote under the pen name Esther O’Reilly. I’m excited to have her on today’s episode to talk about her story as a writer, her writing process, and other topics related to current events and culture.

Over the last few weeks, the world watched as tensions increased between Russia and Ukraine. These tensions released into an all-out invasion by Russia that has brought about violence and terror in Ukraine. Leaders in the West are debating how to respond, and the media is bringing us rapid updates with varying degrees of veracity.

It’s easy to get caught up in this whirlwind of reporting, politics, and human suffering. Many of us have found it disorienting to navigate this situation both as citizens in a republic and as Christians. That’s why I’m glad to welcome William Wolfe as my guest on today’s show to help us by bringing some clarity to these current events and providing an example of a discerning response.

William had over a decade of experience working in the federal government. He was a legislative assistant for three different members of Congress, the Director of House Affairs for the U. S. Department of State, and finally as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for House Affairs at the Pentagon. He currently lives in Louisville, KY, and is pursuing a Master of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

The national conversation on racial relations is more divided than at any time in the previous few decades. The central question is what approach should we use to handle racial incidents, divisions, and disparities. In the midst of reactionary positions, my guest on today’s show argues an approach that is founded in the Christian worldview, wisdom, as well as sociological research. His name is George Yancey and I’m excited to have him back on the show to discuss his newest book Beyond Racial Division: A Unifying Alternative to Colorblindness and Antiracism.

C. S. Lewis was one of the most profound and influential Christian thinkers in the 20th Century. Both his fiction and non-fiction books continue to be bestsellers, and believers across the West still frequently credit him as one of their favorites. However, what made C. S. Lewis C. S. Lewis? What people and books shaped the mind of this legendary intellectual? My guest on today’s show argues that medieval literature played a primary role in forming Lewis’s mind. He helps us to see how they impacted Lewis and where we can see their influence in his writing. His name is Jason Baxter and we discussed his new book The Medieval Mind of C. S. Lewis: How Great Books Shaped a Great Mind.

We live in an age of deconstruction when the traditional ideas about truth, morality, and other foundational concepts are being rapidly abandoned. The deconstructionist project has no limits. Furthermore, it has no final solution for what will be built in the place of what was torn down. Therefore, people are inevitably driven to a life of emptiness and cynicism since they have no solid grounding to stand upon. My guest on today’s show argues that our culture must be challenged to live the “examined life,” a way of living that evaluates the worthiness of our culture’s dominant values and asks if there’s a better way to live.

The question of miracles is a topic that evokes responses no matter where you bring it up. Among our broader culture, you might receive a sneer or a look of suspicion. Even in the church, some people will get excited and others will be cautiously hesitant when you bring up the miraculous and the potential to experience miracles. I’m excited to bring the esteemed philosopher J. P. Moreland back on the show to discuss his latest book A Simple Guide to Experience Miracles: Instruction and Inspiration for Living Supernaturally in Christ.

In the previous episode, I shared the first half of my recent talk at the Defend Conference at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. If you haven’t heard that yet, then you might want to go back and catch up. In this episode, I continue from explaining the biblical virtue of courage to helping you learn how to grow in courage. We’ll consider the appropriate source of courage and learn some practical steps for building that virtue.

In this episode, I’m sharing with you a talk that I recently gave at the Defend Conference at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. The title of that session was “Into the Storm: Valiant Faith in Tumultuous Times.” In part one, you will learn about the necessity of courage in Christians today and about the meaning of courage.

Christians in the West are living in what has been frequently called a “post-Christian society.” As the influence of Christianity continues to wane, Christian communities find that they are increasingly marginalized for holding to their biblical beliefs. We feel disoriented in an alien culture and are sometimes addressed with opposition from the world. These trends have no sign of slowing down. Therefore, it is as important as ever that Christians learn how to endure with difficulties and sufferings of life with courage.

In this episode, I’m sharing with you a talk that I recently gave at the Defend Conference at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. The title of that session was “Into the Storm: Valiant Faith in Tumultuous Times.” In part one, you will learn about the necessity of courage in Christians today and about the meaning of courage.

The success and survival of our American republic are never a guarantee. Our country is filled with tension over competing ideas, social movements, political divisions, and a crumbling trust in our institutions. My guest on today’s show argues that we need to take a look at the nature of democratic government in America and why the Founders designed it in such a way. He argues that they were fundamentally driven by a belief in the fallenness of man and how government should curtail that reality. His name is Robert Tracy McKenzie and we discussed his new book We the Fallen People: The Founders and the Future of American Democracy.

All of human life is accompanied by pain and difficulty. Christians are frequently caught off guard by the suffering they experience. They are unprepared either due to bad assumptions about the gospel’s promises or by poor discipleship. Since everyone will face hardship in some form, it’s important that believers understand what the Bible has to say about suffering in the Christian life. My guest on today’s show is Dr. Mark Talbot and he has written an excellent book called When the Stars Disappear to help with this task.

There is a sad reality in our culture. We see high-profile leaders fall into scandal and moral failures all too often. Unfortunately, this kind of news is not exclusive to the world outside of the church. Pastors and other Christian leaders are frequently in the headlines as the new subject in an ongoing thread of compromised integrities and broken ministries. My guest on today’s show has written a book to try to help leaders from ending up in that storyline. His name is Michael MacKenzie and his book is titled Don’t Blow Up Your Ministry: Defuse the Underlying Issues That Take Pastors Down. Whether you are a ministry leader or you’re someone who cares about a ministry leader in your life, what Michael has to share is important for all of us.

There’s a crisis in the West today—a crisis of happiness. Both sociological research and statistics such as the rise in the so-called “deaths of despair,” paint a picture of a society that is wrestling with a lack of satisfaction in spite of its decadence. This dilemma and its solution has been debated by scholars, psychologists, pundits and philosophers. My guest on today’s show says that the dilemma will not be solved unless we consider how Christianity offers a life of meaning. His name is J. P. Moreland and he wrote a book called The God Question on how Christianity invites us to “a full life, to an adventure, filled with meaning and drama.”

Everyone knows what it’s like to be in a place where you struggle to see how things will play out well. It might be a mess that you got yourself into. Perhaps you are in a tough spot by no poor choices on your own. Nevertheless, when we go through these times of confusion, disillusionment, and desperation it can be difficult to see how God is working. In this episode, I’m sharing with you a portion from a recent sermon that I preached where I addressed these issues.

Most of us struggle to keep up with the hustle and bustle of life, especially those who have kids. If you’re the parent of small children like me, you know how often it feels as though we are just trying to survive until bedtime. My guest on today’s show says that it’s possible for us to overcome some of that overwhelm while also better discipling our children. He argues that the secret is in the habits that our family is built around. His name is Justin Whitmel Early and we had an excellent discussion about his new book Habits of the Household.

We find ourselves surrounded by a technological atmosphere today. The devices and media that we consume are so integrated into our lives that we often don’t even notice their presence. Moreover, we don’t consider how these digital tools are influencing us as people and as communities. My guest on today’s show is Felicia Wu Song and she shares much wisdom and insight on this issue through her book Restless Devices: Recovering Personhood, Presence, and Place in the Digital Age.

Over the last several years, we have repeatedly heard or said that this is a culturally divided age. Politics, culture, and even evangelicals appear to be more and more polarized over key moral issues. Societal disruption and breakdown are present all around our country. However, we might forget that this past decade is not the only time that Americans have been divided. The 1960s counter-culture was also filled with confusion, chaos, and deep divisions.

Os Guinness returned to the podcast to discuss the re-release of his book The Dust of Death: The Sixties Counterculture and How It Changed America Forever. Os shares the story behind the book including his time at L’Abri with Francis Schaeffer. We discussed his analysis of the sixties counterculture and his position that he calls Christian Realism. Finally, Os helps us to think about how to move forward in this culture.

If you are going to understand Jesus' teaching in the Gospels, then you must know how to read the parables. The parables of Jesus are some of the most famous stories in the world for a good reason. Jesus was a master storyteller and the use of parables was one of his favorite teaching techniques. In part 2 of How to Read the Parables, I will teach you the four basic steps to interpreting the parables and provide examples.

We live in a contentious time with a constant swirl of crises, controversies, and divisions. Christians often get caught up in the cycle of outrage in our reactionary culture. However, if we look at Scripture, then we will discover that Jesus desires us to be salt and light in the midst of cultural crises. My guest on today’s show helps us to see how Jesus laid forth this vision in his Sermon on the Mount and how we can be empowered to live it out. His name is Jonathan Dodson and we discuss his latest book Our Good Crisis: Overcoming Moral Chaos with the Beatitudes.

The rise of digital communications technology has had a significant impact in every area of human life. The Christian church has not been immune to the challenges of the digital age, as many leaders have grappled with how to approach it. While some church leaders have been enthusiastic about embracing the advantages of digital media, today’s guest is urging caution and wisdom as we evaluate how much we embrace and adapt to the digital age. His name is Jay Kim and he has written a book called Analog Church: Why We Need Real People, Places, and Things in the Digital Age.

One of the most famous names in the world is that of the Ancient Greek philosopher Plato. Yet, though many are familiar with his name, far less are familiar with his ideas and how Platonic thought influenced the history of philosophy. My guest on today’s show argues that Plato not only influenced Greek philosophy but that he also played a role in shaping the Christian faith. His name is Louis Markos and he has written an insightful new book titled From Plato to Christ: How Platonic Thought Shaped the Christian Faith.