Author: Glen

Do You Geek Out When There’s A New Episode Of Radiolab? Thoughtful Christian Podcasts

Podcast BearI love podcasts. I listen to them every day as I bike to and from campus. I listen to them in the gym as I work out. I listen to them whenever I drive somewhere and there is no one else in the car.
There are a ton of Christian podcasts out there, but most of them are sermonic. Nothing against sermons — I preach a lot of them and listen to even more. I even podcast my sermons. But there are so many sermons podcasted that it can be hard to find some of the other Christian gems that are out there.
So if you’re into podcasts and are into Jesus, here are a few to consider adding to your list.
Thinking In Public with Al Mohler
http://www.albertmohler.com/category/thinking-in-public/
Dr. Mohler is the president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In this podcast, he interviews interesting people about theological and cultural issues.
Unbelievable?
This weekly radio show from the UK features Christians and non-Christians in dialog. They usually bring in amazing people and the host is good at helping each person put their arguments forward effectively. The episodes feel long to me, but I still come back to it over and over again.
The Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast
This one is more ministry related. Highly successful pastor Andy Stanley explains principles of leadership in a helpful way. This is one of my favorites.
This is a roundtable discussion about theological topics with intelligent and well-informed people. Sometimes it gets a little confusing because their voices are hard to tell apart, but it is nonetheless worthwhile.
Research On Religion with Anthony Gill
Dr. Gill is a professor of political science at the University of Washington. This podcast is pretty academic and can be dry at times, but the best episodes are fascinating. Two good ones to start with:

Race and Grace in a Broken World

UPDATE 12/4/2014: Last night was our first Chi Alpha gathering since the Ferguson non-indictment — the same day as the NYC non-indictment. As a prelude to the sermon, I gave a more comprehensive take on race and the gospel. If you’re interested, check out the first few minutes of xastanford.org/sermons?sermon_id=52

I emailed this to the students in my ministry earlier today and they seemed to find it helpful. I share it in the hope that it will also prove useful to you.

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I know many of us are reflecting on racism and justice this week. As a follower of Jesus, I encourage you to remember that the journey Christians are on is a journey alongside “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language.”

Why should we remember that fact? Because it reminds us that racial unity is one of the outcomes of the gospel. Christ brings people together by drawing them to Himself.

So I urge you to think in a Christian way about these issues. Here are some resources to stimulate you.

IF YOU WANT TO ENGAGE WITH SOMETHING BRIEF

If you are wondering where the church has been in the midst of all of this, the answer is front and center. I mention this because it is frequently overlooked:
http://www.getreligion.org/getreligion/2014/11/25/what-role-did-clergy-play-during-ferguson-chaos-if-you-looked-for-them-they-were-there

Thabiti Anyabwile has some useful things to say in this eight minute video. He is speaking before the grand jury’s decision was revealed. If you want to read more of him, he blogs at http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/thabitianyabwile/.

White Christians in particular will find Ed Stetzer’s thoughts helpful —  http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2014/november/decision-in-ferguson-how-should-evangelicals-respond.html

IF YOU WANT TO DIG DEEP

If you have more time this Thanksgiving break and want to go beyond reading an article or two, pick one of these books and dive in:

  • Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian (John Piper) [like many (all?) of Piper’s books it is free on his website as a PDF — http://www.desiringgod.org/books/bloodlines )
  • From Every People and Nation: A Biblical Theology of Race (J. Daniel Hays)
  • Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America (Emerson and Smith) [this book is quite critical of the church — it is painful but helpful reading]

May you have a blessed Thanksgiving, and may the Lord continue to heal this broken world.

 

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The second quote is the one to focus on. If you are squeamish, be cautious when ordering calimari. For the record, I don’t think this would affect my willingness to eat artificial calimari.

Fred Armisen hosts This American Life as Ira Glass

This week’s episode of This American Life is about doppelgangers, so they decided to have SNL’s Fred Armisen come on the show and 

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This is the best summary of the issue I’ve seen yet.

Pastor Disinvited from Giving Inaugural Prayer Because of Sermon on Homosexuality

The message of religious intolerance being delivered by President Obama, his staff, and many of his supporters is unmistakable: If you do not affirm homosexuality then you cannot be fair-minded. The m… 

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This reminds me of an observation someone made a few months ago, “The problem we have is that one party is dangerous and the other is stupid.”

Liberals according to conservatives, conservatives according to liberals

A 2006 CBS News surveys asked people who said they were conservative a few questions about liberals and asked people who said they were liberals the same questions about conservatives (people who said… 

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For those who like this sort of thing, you will like it very much.

Rob Gordon originally shared this post:

A nerd friendly #punday  valentines card. 

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Heh.

MAINLINE/REFORMED-FROM-BIRTH CONGREGANT ATTENDS A PENTECOSTAL REVIVAL FOR THE FIRST TIME

MAINLINE/REFORMED-FROM-BIRTH CONGREGANT ATTENDS A PENTECOSTAL REVIVAL FOR THE FIRST TIME 

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This is actually helpful to me.

Penny Arcade — Sportz

Print Added. Woo! You’ve just added the print below to your cart. What Next? Go to Checkout Browse the Store · First · Previous · News · Next · New · Share on Twitter · Share on Facebook · Subscribe t… 

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The economic debacle seems very simple at one level — but it seems that I am regularly learning new facts that illustrate just how complex it all was.

David Henderson reviews the new Alan Blinder book

The review is here, here is one interesting paragraph: Mr. Blinder omits a crucial fact about Lehman, one that, by itself, explains why the huge drop in value of Lehman’s mortgage-backed securities le… 

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This is solid. Which, you know, is what you ought to expect from D.A. Carson.

You Asked: How Do We Know if God Is Disciplining Us?

Easy, formulaic answers to questions of suffering are invariably reductionistic — and they make bad theology, too.Easy, formulaic answers to questions of suffering are invariably reductionistic — and …