Matt gets Drew Dyck on the line to talk about his recent book, ‘Your Future Self Will Thank You: Secrets to Self-Control from the Bible and Brain Science’. It may well be the most exciting conversation you’ve ever heard on the most neglected Fruit of Spirit. *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: DREW DYCK Drew is an acquisitions editor at Moody Publishers and a contributing editor at CTPastors.com. He wrote Generation Ex-Christian: Why Young Adults Are Leaving the Faith and Yawning at Tigers: You Can’t Tame God, So Stop Trying. His latest book is Your Future Self Will Thank You: Secrets to Self-Control from the Bible and Brain Science — which will be the subject matter of our conversation today. Follow him on Twitter @drewdyck, you will not be disappointed.

Matt gets Micah Fries on the line to talk about his recent book, ‘Leveling The Church’ about equipping the whole church for ministry. It’s the Chilliwack-Chattanooga conversation you didn’t know you needed. *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 thoughts. ABOUT: MICAH FRIES Micah is the Senior Pastor of Brainerd Baptist Church in Chattanooga, TN. Prior to that, he worked at LifeWay Christian Resources. He is the co-author of the new book, Leveling The Church. Supposedly, he is really tall.

Dr. Nancy Pearcey is the author of many books — including one of Matt's favourites — Total Truth. He gets her on the line to talk about her latest book, Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality. She is the definition of a deep thinker who is full of deep thoughts. This is going to be great. Season 2 of The Deep Thoughts Podcast engages some deep thinkers on a number of topics that are gripping many of our current cultural conversations. *Disclaimer: Incredibly, no deep thinkers were harmed in the making of this podcast. ABOUT: DR. NANCY PEARCEY She is the author of many books, including The Soul of Science, Saving Leonardo, Finding Truth, and two ECPA Gold Medallion Award Winners: How Now Shall We Live (coauthored with Chuck Colson) and Total Truth. She is a professor and scholar in residence at Houston Baptist University. A former agnostic, Pearcey has spoken at universities such as Princeton, Stanford, USC, and Dartmouth — she’s even been to Abbotsford! She was highlighted as one of the 5 top women apologists by Christianity Today and was hailed in The Economist as "America's pre-eminent evangelical Protestant female intellectual.” (I wasn’t even nominated in the pre-eminent evangelical Protestant male intellectual category) and her latest book is the subject of our conversation today, Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality.

Anxiety and depression are more common than ever. It’s more than likely that you or someone you love experiences depression. And yet, the church hasn’t always done a good job of supporting those with depression. In fact, sometimes the church has contributed to the pain, either by ill-timed advice or just plain bad theology. Matt’s guest opens up about his depression and clears up a number of these harmful missteps. Season 2 of The Deep Thoughts Podcast engages some deep thinkers on a number of topics that are gripping many of our current cultural conversations. *Disclaimer: Incredibly, no deep thinkers were harmed in the making of this podcast. In fact, some may have found it therapeutic. ABOUT: JEFF BUCKNAM Jeff Bucknam is the Lead Pastor of Northview Community Church, arriving in Abbotsford via New Zealand and born and raised in the great state of Washington. We all think he should have written some books by now but still hold out hope that it’s only a matter of time. (Just watch, he’ll start releasing a book or two a year once he’s in his fifties à la Timothy Keller)

Valentine’s Day doesn’t get much more romantic than this: Matt is sitting down with Emily for a candid conversation about being a pastor’s wife (swoon). Being a pastor’s wife may have the worst 'bad pay-high expectation' ratio out there. Emily gives us a window into the weird and (occasionally) wonderful world of the pastor’s wife life. Season 2 of The Deep Thoughts Podcast engages some deep thinkers on a number of topics that are gripping many of our current cultural conversations. *Disclaimer: Incredibly, no deep thinkers were harmed in the making of this podcast. ABOUT: EMILY Emily and Matt have been married for 12 years and they have two sons, a dog, and a great love for the indoors. Her gifts, passions, and studies have led her to work in various child, teen, and parent advocacy roles.

You ever see a self-professing Christian angrily criticize someone on social media who holds a different view? It has become commonplace and it’s just not helpful. How do we get back to our roots? How do we live as a compelling Christian witness with faith so irresistible that the world can’t resist? Matt gets Scott Sauls on the line to talk about this very thing. He’s the pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville and the author of several books, including his latest, Irresistible Faith. Season 2 of The Deep Thoughts Podcast engages some deep thinkers on a number of topics that are gripping many of our current cultural conversations. *Disclaimer: Incredibly, no deep thinkers were harmed in the making of this podcast…although Scott Sauls might say otherwise. ABOUT: SCOTT SAULS Scott is pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, TN and is the author of several books including Jesus Outside the Lines, Befriend, and his most recent, Irresistible Faith.

We are one generation removed from the days of Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who helped terminally ill patients end their lives through physician-assisted suicide. Today, euthanasia or ‘Medical Assistance in Dying’ (MAiD) is legal in a handful of western countries, Canada being one of them. So Matt sat down for a conversation with his mom, a long-time palliative care nurse and coordinator, to talk about MAiD — specifically, 4 Issues for Christians to consider when thinking about MAiD. Yes, the dinner conversations at the Shantz household are unique. Season 2 of The Deep Thoughts Podcast engages some deep thinkers on a number of topics that are gripping many of our current cultural conversations. *Disclaimer: Incredibly, no deep thinkers were harmed in the making of this podcast. ABOUT: HEATHER SHANTZ Heather Shantz lives in Calgary, Alberta, is involved in her local church and has enjoyed giving back to the community through participating in programs like ESL and grief support. This time a year ago, she was informed that the breast cancer she had five years prior had metastasized to her lungs, lymph nodes, and bones — which makes this conversation personal and not merely intellectual or theoretical.

There isn’t much that concerns people about the Christian faith as much as hell, judgment, and holy war. So Matt gets Josh Ryan Butler on the line to talk about those very things. He’s the author of The Skeletons in God’s Closet: The Mercy of Hell, the Surprise of Judgement, the Hope of Holy War and pastors at Redemption Church in Tempe, Arizona. Season 2 of The Deep Thoughts Podcast engages some deep thinkers on a number of topics that are gripping many of our current cultural conversations. *Disclaimer: Incredibly, no deep thinkers were harmed in the making of this podcast. ABOUT: Joshua Ryan Butler Joshua Ryan Butler has written two books, The Pursuing God (2016) and The Skeletons in God’s Closet (2014) and is Co-Lead Pastor at Redemption Church in Tempe, Arizona.

Matt gets Dan Strange on the line in London to talk about his great book, ‘Plugged In’ that seeks to help you connect your faith to what you watch, read, and play.  His object is to teach Christians how to think and speak about culture in a way that plugs into a bigger and better reality—the story of King Jesus, and his cosmic plan for the world. Plus, Matt tries to find out what kind of dark superpowers Dr. Strange has. Season 2 of The Deep Thoughts Podcast engages some deep thinkers on a number of topics that are gripping many of our current cultural conversations. *Disclaimer: Incredibly, no deep thinkers were harmed in the making of this podcast. ABOUT: DAN STRANGE Daniel Strange is College Director at Oakhill Theological College in London where he lectures on Culture, Religion and Public Theology. Dan is married to Elly and they have seven children. He is an elder at East Finchley Baptist Church and loves jazz music and West Ham football club.

Matt gets Preston Sprinkle on the line for a theological yet highly practical conversation about LGBT+, Jesus, and the Church. The rapid-fire Q&A at the end of the interview alone is worth the price of admission. Season 2 of The Deep Thoughts Podcast engages some deep thinkers on a number of topics that are gripping many of our current cultural conversations. *Disclaimer: We in no way guarantee that this podcast will include deep thoughts. Incredibly, No deep thinkers were harmed in the making of this podcast. ABOUT: PRESTON SPRINKLE Preston Sprinkle has a Ph.D. in New Testament and Early Judaism and has been a college professor for a number of years. He's a New York Times bestselling author, who’s written several books including People to Be Loved: Why Homosexuality Is not Just an Issue. Preston currently serves as the president of The Center for Faith, Sexuality & Gender, an organization that’s aimed at helping Christians engage questions about faith, sexuality & gender with theological faithfulness and courageous love. If you have questions related to the LGBTQ conversation, please check out The Center’s website, centerforfaith.com, for lots of great resources. Questions about faith, sexuality & gender are among the most pressing ethical questions facing the church today. This is why I’m so excited to tell you about the Grace/Truth learning experience, the highly acclaimed small group material produced by The Center for Faith, Sexuality & Gender. Grace/Truth 1.0 and 2.0 is a 10-week small group learning experience that helps Christians, churches, and community groups to engage the conversation about homosexuality and LGBTQ related questions with theological faithfulness and courageous love. If you’re interested in engaging this conversation with other Christians, then the Grace/Truth learning experience is a perfect place to begin.