The Deep Thoughts Podcast with Matt Shantz

What do we do with passages in the Bible that are strange or even troubling? Matt talks a bit about that while unpacking one of the weirdest stories in the Bible: A couple bears mauling a bunch of boys. This brief ‘A Deep Thought’ episode is a summary of a sermon he preached entitled, A Grizzly Scene, from 2 Kings 2.

Matt unpacks the parables of the treasure and pearl of great price and the astounding reality that Jesus treasures us. This brief ‘A Deep Thought’ episode is a summary of a sermon he preached entitled, Treasure Jesus, from Matthew 13:44-46.

You asked some seriously deep questions and Matt has tried his best to answer them in this Q&A episode. Do you think Abraham and Isaac had a conversation before he tied him up as an offering? [2:45] What is the stance on marijuana use as Christians? Many conversations about this lately. [7:05] What should we make of the Gift of Tongues in the church today? [10:00] What will the church look like in 10 years? [18:45] How do we know if feelings come from God or if we need freedom from that? [24:45] What does the Bible say about the souls of those who commit suicide? [27:50] (*a factor not interacted with directly in responding to the question is the dynamic that most suicides are related to psychiatric disease, with depression, substance use disorders and psychosis being the most relevant. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal ideations please call Talk Suicide Canada: 1.833.456.4566) What does it look like to respond like Jesus when a transgender person wants to join our life group? [32:00] How can we be truly happy in heaven if we know loved ones are in hell? Seems selfish. [39:00] What are we to make of John 7:53-8:11 and its Canonicity? [43:10] Is what we have today, splinters of faith traditions around the globe, really God’s intent? [50:30]

Matt shares 6 common excuses that he thinks keep many of us from participating in the Mission of Jesus — and shows how the commission Jesus has given us nullifies every last one of those excuses. This brief A Deep Thought episode is a summary of a sermon he preached entitled, Christians Make Disciples, Not Excuses. The 6 excuses that keep us from participating in the mission of Jesus: 1. The task is too great 2. I’m not qualified 3. I’m not the type 4. I don’t feel called 5. I don’t have the resources 6. What if they say “No”?

More than 360 million Christians face high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith in Jesus. Jared Vander Meulen from Open Doors Canada joins Matt to talk about what severe persecution looks like in the most difficult countries in the world to be a Christian and what Christians in the West can do to support them. This conversation is humbling, inspiring, heavy, and will equip you to pray effectively for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ. ABOUT Open Doors Canada is a ministry that seeks to strengthen Christians where faith costs the most. As promised, here are links to the resources we referenced in the episode:  The World Watch List, Sahar’s story on persecution and gender, and the Prayer resources.

Matt had Joshua Ryan Butler back on the podcast to talk about his latest book, Beautiful Union. About 48 hours after Matt’s interview with Josh in early March, a social media firestorm erupted when an excerpt of Beautiful Union was released on The Gospel Coalition website (that has since been removed). Pushback about Josh’s unpacking of the biblical analogy between Christ and the Church came swift and strong, some calling it dangerous and others simply calling it gross. The uncharitable way in which people lambasted Josh aside, Matt believes that the evangelical church has a lot to learn from a more robust (and beautiful) theology of sex. So give it a listen and let us know what you think! ABOUT Joshua Ryan Butler is the author of Beautiful Union, The Pursuing God, The Skeletons in God’s Closet, and co-author of the forthcoming The Party Crasher. He loves shifting paradigms, to help people who wrestle with tough topics of the Christian faith by confronting popular caricatures and replacing them with the real thing. He has served as a Lead Pastor of Redemption, Tempe for the last number of years. You can find out more about Josh and his ministry here. Matt refers to an episode of the Theology in the Raw podcast that can be found here.

Conversations around human sexuality are some of the most sensitive and complex in our culture today and around the church more specifically. Sam Allberry is a celibate, same-sex-attracted pastor/theologian who has written extensively and spoken all over the world on these topics. In this conversation, Matt chats with Sam Allberry about the tenth anniversary edition of Is God-Anti Gay? and 7 Myths About Singleness. Is God Anti-Gay? is a sensitive exploration of the Bible’s teaching on sexuality that's been written to help both Christians and non-Christians struggling with the Bible's teaching on this issue, and how the gospel is good news for everyone, whatever their sexual orientation. In  7 Myths About Singleness, Sam seeks to help Christians—married and unmarried alike—value singleness as a gift from God so that we can all encourage singles to take hold of the unique opportunities their singleness affords and see their role in the flourishing of the church as a whole. ABOUT Sam Allberry is a pastor, apologist, author and speaker. He speaks throughout the world at conferences, has recently transitioned from pastoring in the UK to a church in Nashville, TN, co-hosts a podcast with Ray Ortlund called, You’re Not Crazy: Gospel Sanity for Young Pastors, is a Canon Theologian for the Anglican Church in North America, is a Senior Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics, and was named a Fellow at the recently launched Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics. He is the author of a number of books, including Is God Anti-Gay?; What God Has to Say About Our Bodies; Why Does God Care Who I Sleep With?; 7 Myths about Singleness; a commentary on the Book of James; and Why Bother With Church?

Here we go! We’re fascinated by the supernatural. Ghost stories, shows like Stranger Things, super hero movies with villains of cosmic proportions all intrigue us. But when it comes to the spiritual realm that the Bible describes we tend to either ignore that reality completely or have an unhealthy obsession with it. While we need not spend much time thinking about Satan and the demonic (far better to fixate on Jesus than the devil), it is important to have a biblical understanding of Satan, demons, and spiritual warfare. So Matt gets Dr. Gerry Breshears on the line to fill us in. Links referenced in the episode: Live No Lies (John Mark Comer); 3 Crucial Questions About Spiritual Warfare (Clint Arnold); Gerry Breshears resources ABOUT Dr. Gerry Breshears has been Professor of Theology at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon for over 40 years, served on the board and as consultant for the Bible Project, trained and mentored countless Christian leaders, co-wrote Doctrine, Death By Love, and A Gracious Theology (forthcoming) and speaks at conferences such as Exiles in Babylon this March.

In any given year, 1 in 5 Canadians experiences a mental illness. By the time Canadians reach 40 years of age, 1 in 2 have – or have had – a mental illness (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 2022). What does God and the Bible say about mental illness and how can we make churches places where those who struggle with mental health conditions are welcomed, understood, nurtured, and supported: a foretaste of the new creation. Matt interviews Helen Thorne, Director of Training and Resources at Biblical Counselling UK and co-author of the new book, Mental Health and Your Church. *If you are struggling in your mental health, please reach out to your local church, a loved one, or reach out to Talk Suicide Canada or CASP to speak with someone right away. ABOUT Helen Thorne is Director of Training and Resources at Biblical Counselling UK. She formerly worked with the London City Mission and has written Hope in an Anxious World: 6 Truths For When Things Feel Overwhelming; Purity is Possible: How To Live Free of the Fantasy Trap; Walking with Domestic Abuse Sufferers; and 5 Things to Pray for Your City: Prayers That Change Things For Your Church, Community, and Culture. Mental Health and Your Church: A Handbook for Biblical Care with co-author, Dr. Steve Midgley releases March 1, 2023.

A Deep Thought is a concise episode on a particular aspect of the Christian faith that we sprinkle in between full-length episodes. This one's on Faith & Politics and is a sermon Matt did at Central Community Church in the summer of 2021, entitled “Shaped By The Gospel: Politics". It serves as a helpful follow up and compliment to episode 72 and is something of "a theology of politics". It is not a partisan pitch but a vision for engaging politics Christianly.