The Deep Thoughts Podcast with Matt Shantz

Matt sits down with Dave Currie to talk about porn and the damaging effect it has on our brains, souls, and relationships. They also talk about how the gospel provides forgiving grace (to wash us clean) and empowering grace (to fight sin), and provide a roadmap for recovery. Matt also recounts an embarrassing story that Dave had the pleasure of witnessing. The Deep Thoughts Podcast engages deep thinkers on some of their deepest of thoughts so listeners can explore aspects of the Christian faith a little more deeply. *Incredibly, no deep thinkers were harmed in the making of this podcast. ABOUT: DAVE CURRIE Dave has been an international speaker on the topic of marriage and family for 28 years and is the founder and president of Doing Family Right, which seeks to help people maximize their most important relationships — marriage, family, and God. DFR’s ministry includes live seminars, resources on their website, a counseling centre, and recovery groups. Previously, he produced and hosted a TV series called Marriage Uncensored, was the president of FamilyLife Canada, served in pastoral ministry and Bible School faculty.

Matt sits down with Andy Crouch for a sprawling conversation on everything from Jeopardy to Lecrae, cyborgs to culture-making, and how to approach the easy-everywhere nature of technology with wisdom and faithfulness. The Deep Thoughts Podcast engages deep thinkers on some of their deepest of thoughts so listeners can explore aspects of the Christian faith a little more deeply. *Incredibly, no deep thinkers were harmed in the making of this podcast. ABOUT: ANDY CROUCH Andy is an author, speaker, and musician whose work focuses on culture, creativity, and the gospel. He is the author of several books including Culture Making, Playing God and the primary focus of our conversation today, The Tech-Wise Family and My Tech-Wise Life, the latter of which he co-authored with his daughter Amy. Just to add even more cred, his work has been featured in Time, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and best of all Lecrae’s single “Non-Fiction.” He’s a full-time partner in theology and culture with Praxis and lives with his family in Pennsylvania. It turns out he was mentored by a Canadian couple when he was a young adult. So, Andy, as Canadians we are happy to take credit for all your success and most wonderful attributes.

While Christians are undeniably generous and compassionate, more than relief projects, “missions tourism”, and individual evangelism are required in order to carry out the work of Jesus in bringing good news to the poor. Matt’s guest, Barry Slauenwhite, explains how it requires strategic compassion. At the end of the episode, we share some ways that you can shine the light of Jesus on some of the poorest children and families this Christmas through Gifts of Compassion. Season 4 of The Deep Thoughts Podcast engages deep thinkers on some of their deepest of thoughts so listeners can explore aspects of the Christian faith a little more deeply. *Incredibly, no deep thinkers were harmed in the making of this podcast…yet.  ABOUT: BARRY SLAUENWHITE Barry served as the President & CEO of Compassion Canada for 26 years and now serves as President Emeritus. His book, Strategic Compassion, unpacks a theology of poverty and how the gospel is the means and answer to alleviating poverty around the globe. It requires more than mere relief projects or our evangelism individually. It will require us to be strategic in our compassion, focusing on the full depth and breadth of Jesus’ good news for the poor. Check out Child Sponsorship and Gifts of Compassion.

Matt sits down with Pat Sczebel for a conversation on liturgy, exploring the structure and goals of our worship gatherings. We also talk about the fact that liturgy plays a huge role in all of us individually and corporately whether we recognize it or not. This episode was not brought to you by IKEA. Season 4 of The Deep Thoughts Podcast engages deep thinkers on some of their deepest of thoughts so listeners can explore aspects of the Christian faith more deeply. *Incredibly, no deep thinkers were harmed in the making of this podcast…yet. ABOUT: PAT SCZEBEL Pat has pastored, led worship, and written songs for the past 30 years. He's been married to his best friend for 33 years and has 8 children and 3 grandbabies. He is most passionate about Jesus, his church, good food, and good coffee. Pat’s songs have been featured on Sovereign Grace albums and C2C Music’s Revive Us Again. He also co-hosts the Worship God podcast for TGC Canada. Pat and Norm Funk are in the process of replanting Culloden MB Church as Midtown Church in Vancouver in January 2021.

Is progressive Christianity just that? Christianity progressing? Or has it progressed into something else entirely, and a whole other gospel? And what legitimate critiques of evangelicalism is progressivism responding to that we would be wise to listen to and engage with? I talk about all this and more with my guest, ZOEGirl’s own, Alisa Childers. Season 4 of The Deep Thoughts Podcast engages deep thinkers on some of their deepest of thoughts so listeners can explore aspects of the Christian faith a little more deeply. *Incredibly, no deep thinkers were harmed in the making of this podcast…yet.  ABOUT: ALISA CHILDERS From singer in the Christian teen pop group, ZOEGirl (think the Spice Girls but less spicy) to the author of one of the bestselling apologetics books of the year, Alisa’s path has been less than conventional. As a lifelong church-goer and follower of Jesus, Alisa experienced a period of profound doubt about her faith in her mid-thirties. She didn’t know where to find answers to her questions, or if answers existed at all. In her book, Another Gospel?: A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity, she invites you into her journey from unreasoned doubt into vibrant, intellectually informed faith. Whether you are exploring faith in Jesus, have big doubts about Christianity, or wanting to become better at articulating your faith, this book will be a lifeboat for you as you tackle tough questions together.

Matt lies on the proverbial counseling couch while Jason walks us through the turbulent waters many are feeling during the pandemic with the gospel-centred approach to counseling that he utilizes. Season 4 of The Deep Thoughts Podcast engages deep thinkers on some of their deepest of thoughts so listeners can explore aspects of the Christian faith a little more deeply. *Incredibly, no deep thinkers were harmed in the making of this podcast…yet.  ABOUT: JASON KOVACS Jason has been serving individuals, leaders, families, churches and non-profit organizations in the areas of pastoral care, counseling, and orphan advocacy for over 20 years. Prior to starting Gospel Care Collective, Jason served as the Pastor of Counseling at the Austin Stone Community Church where he founded and directed The Austin Stone Counseling Center. Jason’s areas of interest include marriage, adoption-related issues, parenting, depression, anger, anxiety, addiction, stress, and work-related struggles. Jason received his Masters of Arts with a focus on Biblical Counseling, utilizes a gospel-centred, clinically-informed approach, and has received specialized training in working with foster/adopt families and trauma through TBRI® and is a member and Certified Biblical Counselor with the Association of Biblical Counselors. He serves on the Council of the Biblical Counseling Coalition and the Board of the Canadian Biblical Counseling Coalition. He founded and currently serves as the Executive Director of Redemption Counseling Centers in British Columbia, Canada. Jason’s greatest passion is to see clients and churches experience the reality of the overcoming grace of God in their lives.

Matt calls Brett McCracken in L.A. to congratulate him on the Dodgers & Laker's championships and has a conversation about his new book, The Wisdom Pyramid: Feeding Your Soul In A Post-Truth World. They also chat about good and bad Christian art and Brett provides some music and film recommendations. Season 4 of The Deep Thoughts Podcast engages deep thinkers on some of their deepest of thoughts so listeners can explore aspects of the Christian faith a little more deeply. *Incredibly, no deep thinkers were harmed in the making of this podcast…yet.  ABOUT: BRETT MCCRACKEN Brett’s latest book, The Wisdom Pyramid comes out February 2021. He also authored, Uncomfortable; Gray Matters; Hipster Christianity; and is a senior editor for The Gospel Coalition. He regularly reviews music and movies and makes recommendations. Here’s Songs to Help Kids Love God: 14 Artists to Know; Quality Christian Music: 15 Artists to Watch; The 15 Best Films About Faith from the 2010s; and 30 Edifying Things to Watch When Stuck at Home — which he curated early on in the pandemic. Brett and his wife, Kira, live in Santa Ana, California, with their two sons. They belong to Southlands Church, where Brett serves as an elder. You can follow him on Twitter. In the episode, Brett recommended Jon Guerra’s new album, Keeper of Days. Matt’s been listening to it non-stop since and now they both highly recommend it.

Matt sits down with Norm Funk for a conversation that’s not about horticulture per se, but about planting and replanting churches. Norm planted Westside Church and is a replanter of the soon-to-be Midtown Church in Vancouver. Season 4 of The Deep Thoughts Podcast engages deep thinkers on some of their deepest of thoughts so listeners can explore aspects of the Christian faith a little more deeply. *Incredibly, no deep thinkers were harmed in the making of this podcast…yet.  ABOUT: NORM FUNK Norm planted Westside Church in Vancouver 15 years ago and is on the verge of replanting Culloden Church as Midtown Church.  Norm’s ministry is marked by his unwavering desire to make Jesus known. During his time at Westside, he trained and released church planters who started churches in other parts of the city and its outskirts. In certain circles, we refer to Norm as the godfather of church planting and the church plant whisperer. Matt made that last one up but would like to see it take off.

In this bonus episode, Matt responds to a request on the Deep Thoughts Instagram page for an episode on when it’s okay to disobey the government. *Incredibly, no deep thinkers were harmed in the making of this podcast…that we’re aware of. Season 3 of The Deep Thoughts Podcast informs the listener on many issues of faith and life today by engaging some deep thinkers on some of their deepest of thoughts. ABOUT: In order to answer the question of when it’s okay to disobey the government, Matt interacts with a case study of John MacArthur and Grace Community Church’s decision to defy the state order in California banning indoor worship services and fellow California Pastor Gavin Ortlund’s response, entitled, Should Churches in California Defy Government Restrictions? A Response to John MacArthur. Matt has a ton of respect for both Gavin Ortlund and John MacArthur.

In the season finale, Matt gets Graham Watt on the line to talk about faith deconstruction & reconstruction. *Incredibly, no deep thinkers were harmed in the making of this podcast…that we’re aware of. Season 3 of The Deep Thoughts Podcast informs the listener on many issues of faith and life today by engaging some deep thinkers on some of their deepest of thoughts. ABOUT: GRAHAM WATT My guest this week is Graham Watt. Graham received his Doctorate in Leadership and is the National Director of Creative Communications at Power 2 Change (formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ) & co-hosts the Dear Student podcast with his daughter Hannah. Our conversation centres around the trend of deconstruction as it pertains to deconstructing one’s faith. We will also look at the often neglected side of faith deconstruction, faith reconstruction. For more, read Graham’s article, Deconstruction and reconstruction with Justine Bieber, Rhett and Link. For more on the concepts of the Transcendent Frame and Immanent Frame we talked about, read How (Not) To Be Secular by James K.A. Smith.