Reflecting on the joy of being a Chicago Cubs fan, the discussion dives into the intersection of sports and capitalism, revealing how professional athletics shape personal identities. A compelling exploration of racial justice highlights the collaborative efforts of pastors across backgrounds, urging the need for reparations. The conversation also critiques the grammar of evangelical culture, stressing the need for a deeper understanding of the gospel compared to contemporary church practices, advocating for inclusivity and authentic expressions of faith.

I recommend Ijeoma Oluo’s new book, Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America, and I respond to a question about women in ministry by sort of flipping the script and reflecting on the problem of men in ministry. I also recommend Nijay Gupta's excellent blog series, "Why I Believe in Women in Ministry," an index to which is found here (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/cruxsola/2019/06/why-i-believe-in-women-in-ministry-gupta/).

I recommend a magisterial work by Frances FitzGerald, The Evangelicals: The Struggle to Shape America, and I reflect a bit on some recent articles on the cultural dynamics of evangelicalism. I refer to these three articles: Timothy Dalrymple, "The Splintering of the Evangelical Soul: Why We're Coming Apart, and How We Might Come Together Again," Christianity Today, April 16, 2021. J. Kameron Carter, "Behind Christianity Today’s Editorial is a Deeper Crisis of America’s Religion of Whiteness," Religion News Service, December 24, 2019. Isaac B. Sharp, "Race, Gender, and the Limits of Evangelical Identity," Berkeley Forum, April 22, 2021. I also refer to these books: Pankaj Mishra, Age of Anger: A History of the Present. George Marsden, Reforming Fundamentalism: Fuller Seminary and the New Evangelicalism. Christian Smith, The Bible Made Impossible: Why Biblicism Is Not a Truly Evangelical Reading of Scripture. John A. D'Elia, A Place at the Table: George Eldon Ladd and the Rehabilitation of Evangelical Scholarship in America.

I recommend Ta-Nehisi Coates's brilliant book, Between the World and Me, an absolutely powerful memoir that’s a personal letter to his son, and I intended to talk about a few recent articles on the contemporary state of American evangelicalism, but ended up extending some thoughts on the sorts of things I routinely re-think.

I recommend Jared Yates Sexton's compelling new book, American Rule: How A Nation Conquered the World but Failed Its People, and I talk about reckoning with the narrative shape of the Gospels, how they theologize about Jesus as a character, and how certain theological conceptions can get in the way of our understanding, especially an assumption about God's "omniscience." I also mention Jeannine Brown's excellent book, The Gospels as Stories: A Narrative Approach to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

I talk about Adam Grant's new book, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know, and how it sheds light on creative Christian postures of humility and curiosity. I also mention Beth Allison Barr's new release, The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth. And I make minor note of Daniel Boorstin's classic work, The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America.

In this short episode I talk about the Cubs' brutal start to the season, the Masters tournament from last week, and I recommend Edward Larson's brilliant book, Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion.

I reflect a bit about why this is my favorite week of the year, I talk about Molly Worthen’s book, Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelicalism, and I share a personal story about reconnecting with an old friend.

I recommend a powerful new book by Anthea Butler called White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America, and I reflect for a bit about the terms “exvangelical” and “deconstruction.” I also mention a few other books: Adam Grant, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know; Crystal M. Fleming, How To Be Less Stupid About Race: On Racism, White Supremacy, and the Racial Divide; Ijeoma Oluo, Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America.

I share some random observations from the past week, I recommend Educated: A Memoir, which is a brilliant and quite compelling coming of age narrative, and I talk about Paul’s vision of the church as God’s public justice.