The Deep Thoughts Podcast with Matt Shantz

Jorge Salazar spent 10 years planting a Church in Baja, Mexico, while training indigenous pastors and leaders throughout Latin America. He is now the Director for WorldServe Bible College which trains pastors in difficult access areas and persecuted countries of the world. This episode is about training pastors in hard places. ABOUT Jorge Salazar has his doctorate degree in Systematic Theology and is the Director for WorldServe Bible College which trains pastors and leaders of the church in difficult access areas and persecuted countries of the world. To support Jorge in his work training pastors in hard places go to worldserve.ca His wife Aimee is a Biblical Counselor, together they have three adult sons, and great accents.

In this episode Matt has a conversation with Rich Villodas, the Brooklyn-born lead pastor of New Life Fellowship in Queens. Rich gives Matt a lesson on all things New York, from sports teams to boroughs, where to get the best food, and how no one goes to Staten Island. Then they get into the subject matter of Rich’s CT Award-winning book, The Deeply Formed Life, on five transformative values to root us in the way of Jesus. ABOUT Rich Villodas is the Brooklyn-born lead pastor of New Life Fellowship  a large multiracial church with more than seventy-five countries represented in Elmhurst, Queens. Rich holds a Master of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary  He enjoys reading widely, preaching and writing on contemplative spirituality, justice-related matters, and the art of preaching. He's been married to Rosie since 2006 and they have two beautiful children, Karis and Nathan. His first book, The Deeply Formed Life  is now available wherever books are sold.

What better way to celebrate our 50th episode than to get the show’s very first contributor on for an opening segment: Emily Shantz. Matt and Emily talk about their favourite episodes and moments so far; Play a 'getting to know you' game they entitled “Seasons of Life”; Revisit some of Emily’s least-favourite Christian jargon: “Doing Life”, “Coming Alongside”, “Brother" and her latest, “Seasons”. Plus Matt gives Emily’s mom a call to get her honest opinion of the podcast in a new recurring segment every 50 episodes called “Lizzy’s 2 Cents”…and frankly it was more filtered than he expected. The half-century mark episode ends with Matt answering the following questions submitted by listeners of the show: Is a hotdog a sandwich? With marijuana legalized in Canada, can Christians use CBD oils without THC? Would you counsel a couple in an unhealthy relationship to stay married? My friend lost her husband and has felt the most insensitive comments have come from Christians. What is biblical, nitty gritty, messy and God-honouring grief? How should I approach conversing and living with family and friends from different religions and atheism? If God is only God while being Trinitarian, then when the Father rejected Jesus, did God exist? *No deep thinkers were harmed in the making of this episode of the podcast because no deep thinking happened in this episode *Special thanks to Jordan Esau for sound editing episodes 1-45 and Andy Boldt for episodes 45-50.

A Deep Thought is a concise episode on a particular aspect of the Christian faith that we sprinkle in between full-length episodes. This deep thought is on sharing Jesus with others.

Matt chats with journalist Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra about the state of the news media today and how Christians can be informed, discerning, and full of hope in an anxious age. In Gospelbound, her book with co-author Collin Hansen, Sarah reveals what authentic gospel living looks like in a culture of anxiety and fear through powerful, hope-stirring stories of believers transforming the world for Jesus. Plus, for all my Dutch listeners this episode of Deep Thoughts is 50% more Dutch than usual. You're welcome. ABOUT Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra is a senior writer for The Gospel Coalition where she oversees coverage of faith and work. She earned a BA in English and Communication from Dordt University and an Master of Science in Journalism from Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Before working at TGC, she reported news for Christianity Today for more than a decade. Unfortunately, she doesn’t appear to be directly related to any Zylstras living in the Fraser Valley but we like her anyway.

A Deep Thought is a concise episode on a particular aspect of the Christian faith that we sprinkle in between full-length episodes. This deep thought is on faith and work.

Rachel Gilson is a writer, speaker, and campus minister. Her book, Born Again This Way, is described as offering no glib before-and-after narrative, but is a practical guide for sinners—same-sex attracted and otherwise—who dare to believe that Jesus is the best lover. Rachel’s book (and this interview) get into her story of coming out, coming to faith, and what comes next. ABOUT Rachel Gilson currently live in the Boston metro area and works for Cru on the leadership team for theological development and culture. She holds a Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is the author of Born Again This Way: Coming Out, Coming to Faith, and What Comes Next. Her writing has featured in Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, and Desiring God, among other places. Rachel loves Greek, Hebrew, theology, literature, and the transforming work of the Spirit in her messy life. She started following Jesus during her freshman year at Yale College after splitting up with her high school girlfriend. She has been married to Andrew for twelve years and they have a daughter.

In this episode Matt chats with Tim Muehlhoff & Richard Langer about their latest book together, Winsome Conviction, which is all about developing the art of loving people in the church with whom we disagree. They also wrote a book called Winsome Persuasion about how Christians should engage the broader culture in a way that is persuasive, civil, and challenges the cultural assumptions of our day but with love and respect. Where my conversation with Gavin Ortlund (episode 42) is about ranking doctrines in order to recognize what should and shouldn’t divide us, my conversation with Tim & Rick is about how we should respond when our convictions on just about anything differ with fellow believers. We desperately need both frameworks in the church today. ABOUT Tim Muehlhoff (PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) is a professor of communication at Biola University and is the author of I Beg to Differ and coauthor of Authentic Communication: Christian Speech Engaging Culture. Richard Langer (PhD, University of California, Riverside) is professor of biblical and theological studies at Talbot School of Theology and director of the Office for the Integration of Faith and Learning at Biola University. Together they run The Winsome Conviction Project launched from a heartfelt concern for the toxic, polarized and simply unloving communication climate that is permeating our nation and penetrating the body of Christ. They believe that followers of Christ are obliged to communicate with others in loving ways that preserve human dignity, even as we engage in honest and passionate disagreement. They hope to foster conversations within the church and the broader culture that deepen relationships and enrich lives rather than tear us apart.

Is there a way to walk faithfully through doubt and come out the other side with a deeper love for Jesus, the church, and its tradition? Can we question our faith without losing it? Matt chats with AJ about his new book, After Doubt: How To Question Your Faith Without Losing It. ABOUT A. J. Swoboda (PhD, University of Birmingham) is assistant professor of Bible, theology, and world Christianity at Bushnell University in Eugene, Oregon, and leads a Doctor of Ministry cohort on the Holy Spirit and leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the author or editor of numerous books, including Subversive Sabbath, winner of a Christianity Today Book Award (Spiritual Formation) and an Award of Merit for CT's Beautiful Orthodoxy Book of the Year. Swoboda served for ten years as the lead pastor at Theophilus Church in urban Portland. It’s in the contexts of being a college pastor, a church planter in Portland, and a professor that he has had a front row seat to watch doubt and deconstruction play themselves out over and over again, giving him the opportunity to learn a lot about it. He considers After Doubt a manifesto of 22 years of his life. His career really took off when he grew a beard and got the right glasses.

This special bonus episode of the podcast is a talk Matt was asked to give for a Youth YouTube night on the topic of Racism & The Great Commission. While the talk is specifically geared toward Grades 6-12’s, we think it is worthwhile hearing Matt address racism from a theological perspective — how Christians should view human beings, nations, and ethnicities in light of what the Bible has to say about it.