Church & Culture Podcast

Discussion on the expanding MAID law in Canada and the ethical implications of medically assisted suicide. The shift towards individual freedom over sanctity of life and concerns about quality of life versus sacredness of life. Disturbing trends in allowing youth with gender dysphoria to undergo procedures without parental consent. Exploring societal views on elder care and the devaluation of life among the aged population.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a recent article from the UK Times announcing the first-ever gender-neutral production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” from the Edinburgh University Savoy Opera Group. While the rock opera has always been controversial for stripping Jesus of His divinity and ignoring the resurrection, this takes it a step further having the lead role of Jesus played by a non-binary actor. In the words of the creative producer: “Jesus is remembered as being a man, but who are we to decide?” Episode Links The release of this article prompted Dr. White to write a blog titled “The Non-Binary Jesus” that you can read HERE. As he notes in the blog and reiterates in today's discussion, deciding that Jesus is non-binary is a direct result of people's desire to be their own god and remake anything they choose to in their own image. What's missing for so many is a true understanding of the theology of God and of Jesus. While Dr. White is able to briefly touch on this topic, we'd encouraging you to look into his “Theology on Tap” course. It's a 15-video course breaking down his graduate-level class in systematic theology in way that anyone can understand. Scripture clearly says that we are made in God's image - male and female. This leaves little room for the idea of being non-binary. As gender is so central to today's conversation, we encourage you to go back and listen to CCP21: On Gender or to check out the “Gender” series delivered by Dr. White at Meck. There can be no doubt that many in the LGBTQ community have experienced judgement at the hand of the Church. In fact, Dr. White delivered a series at Mecklenburg Community Church called “UnChristian” with one of the installments focusing on those who feel the church is homophobic. You can check out that series HERE. That being said, there is a huge difference between acceptance and affirmation. When Jesus came to planet earth, He came bearing both grace and truth. It was always a both-and, not an either-or. Finally, make sure you've got your questions ready for the upcoming Church & Culture LIVE Podcast on Thursday, February 23 from 12 - 1 p.m. You'll be able to access the podcast live through Meck's Online Campus platform. And if you can't make it that day, not to worry - you'll still be able to listen in on the conversation through all the usual channels the next day. For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the rising clash in culture when it comes to what qualifies as religious exemptions, religious discrimination, and where the line of freedom ought to be drawn when it comes to religious conviction. The clash has become so intense, that many cases are making their way all the way to the Supreme Court. Episode Links A couple of recent court cases were brought up during today's discussion if it's of interest to you to dig into them a bit more. The Supreme Court will be deciding how much employers need to accommodate the religious beliefs of their employees in a case involving a postman who said delivering mail on Sundays would be a violation of his faith. You can read more about that case HERE. And then a federal case in Oregon dismissed a lawsuit by LGBTQ students who wanted to end religious exemptions at various Christian colleges. You can read more about that case HERE. Hamline University also found themselves in the news recently after they tried to fire an art history professor for showing art depicting the prophet Muhammad. School officials claimed that this was “Islamophobic,” although the university has since backed off that claim after receiving pushback that the school was simply catering to the religious beliefs of a student. You can read more about this story HERE. Finally, we hope that you are as excited as we are about the upcoming Church & Culture LIVE Podcast on Thursday, February 23 from 12 - 1 p.m. Stay tuned for more details coming your way! For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how best to discern between superstition and God's will. Dr. White recently wrote a blog titled “About Those Angel Numbers” that sparked a lot of interesting feedback from our readers. What caught people off guard was the idea that something they deemed as loving guidance from up above - a sign from an angel or a deceased loved one - might really be opening up a door for the presence of evil in your life. And this can go far beyond mere angel numbers. So how do you know when you're really receiving a clear prompting from God, or just being superstitious? Episode Links Early in the conversation, Dr. White outlined how numbers found in Scripture can hold significance, particularly the number 40. If this piques your interest, you should check out the series that Dr. White gave at Mecklenburg Community Church called “40: God's Number for Life Change.” You can also get this series in an eBook format HERE. But while certain numbers are biblically relevant, in the case of things like angel numbers you're getting into numerology, which is where you may be crossing over into the world of the occult. There is so much to unpack when it comes to all that the spiritual realm holds. While Dr. White was able to touch on some of this in today's conversation, you can take a deeper dive into this topic through another Meck series called “Paranormal.” The individual installments of this series take a look at the map of the spiritual world, the three marks of the occult, and putting on the armor of God. Finally, the conversation turned to discerning God's will for your life, and how to pray to Him when you are trying to ask for clear signs and directions from Him. Another series that you'll find helpful was called “Ultimate Life Coaching: A Thirty-Day Experience.” While the whole series is a really good one to check out, there's a specific installment on finding and following God's will. For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how Christians and non-Christians alike don't know what to make of the growing presence in our lives of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in all of its manifestations - from our digital assistants like Siri and Alexa to Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) which is AI reaching levels of human intelligence and beyond. This is an interesting discussion about how we can think Christianly about our ever-changing technological landscape. Episode Links Today's conversation started off with Dr. White mentioning a book written by Max Tegmark called Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. It's a fascinating (and at times frightening) read about AI, its origins and where it's headed. You can find that resource HERE on Amazon. In 2018, Dr. White wrote a blog about this topic as it relates to potential impacts for Christians and the Church titled, “Start Thinking about AI.” And for more on that, you'll also find AI discussed in his forthcoming book Hybrid Church: Rethinking the Church for a Post-Christian Digital Age, which is available for pre-order HERE on Amazon or through your favorite bookseller. Finally, Dr. White mentioned two additional resources during the conversation. The first was a Christianity Today piece written by Christopher Reese titled, “Rise of the Machines: New Book Applies Christian Ethics to the Future of AI.” This article highlights the future of AI as it will need to begin making ethical or moral decisions for us. The second is a book written by Oxford professor John Lennox called 2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity that you can find HERE on Amazon. For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a book released by the American Girl Doll company that's caused a lot of controversy. Titled “A Smart Girl's Guide: Body Image,” many parents thought they were getting their 10-year-old child a book on having a healthy body image. What many parents did not realize is that the book includes a chapter titled “Gender Joy” that attempts to indoctrinate children into things like considering different pronouns or whether they may be non-binary. It even directs children on how to contact specially trained doctors who can help them with access to puberty blockers and transitioning to another gender. Exposing young children to what are very adult and mature topics is a part of something Neil Postman wrote about in his book The Disappearance of Childhood which you can find HERE on Amazon. Needless to say, this was an interesting conversation. Episode Links Today's conversation touched on the topic of gender given the chapter in question in the American Girl Doll book. We'd encourage you to go back and listen to CCP21: On Gender for a more comprehensive discussion about the huge shift that has taken place in culture from those within the LGBTQ community wanting affirmation, not simply acceptance for their lifestyle choices. You will also find the series given by Dr. White at Meck called “Gender” helpful, with three installments covering a theology of sexual identity, all things transgender and parenting and gender. Children today are truly being robbed of their innocence. An example mentioned by Dr. White in today's discussion was a Danish cartoon - created specifically with children as the target audience - about feats of heroism performed by the male character's unnatural endowment. He wrote about this in a blog titled “A TV Show Built Around an Oversized Male Organ… for Children.” Yes, you read that right. Even Disney is trying to get in on this with their recent releases of Lightyear and Strange World, both including characters engaging in homoerotic behavior. Both movies tanked at the box office. This is why parents need to step up and reclaim their children's innocence. Whether supporting things like parental rights in education (check out CCP5: On the “Don't Say Gay” Bill for more on this discussion), writing letters, removing financial support from a company, what's clear is that parents need to be informed, involved and in charge. A very helpful series to explore how to do this effectively is “The Under Protective Parent.” For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how one of the best ways to step forward into something new - particularly the new year and all of the possibilities it brings - is to reflect on the past. This episode is devoted to looking back at some of the biggest headlines or takeaways from the past year to get a better sense of what we need to leave behind, and what we need to bring forward with us as learnings into the year ahead. Episode Links On the global stage, one of the biggest events from the past year is definitely the war in Ukraine. In fact, TIME magazine just named Volodymyr Zelensky and the “spirit of Ukraine” as their person of the year for 2022. This was a topic featured both on the podcast in our second episode titled “CCP2: On Ukraine, Russia and the Orthodox Church,” as well as in a two-part blog series. The blogs were titled “Ukraine, Russia and the Orthodox Church – Part 1” and “Ukraine, Russia and the Orthodox Church – Part 2.” In conjunction with the war in Ukraine and the religious aspects of the conflict, on the homefront there seemed to be a growing rise of the idea of Christian nationalism - that the US was founded as a Christian nation and that we must get back to that. You can listen to the podcast conversation “CCP37: On Christian Nationalism.” But counter to this trend is how the United States is increasingly separating itself from the church. You'll want to check out “CCP32: On a Non-Christian America.” In this episode they discussed themes that seemed to come out of movies and music this past year, but how much of what is really affecting culture is social media. You can pop over and listen to “CCP25: On ‘Doing' Social Media” to review best practices in what we should and should not share on our socials. There was a lot of discussion on topics tied to Christian subculture and some of the heated issues that surfaced in 2022. There are three podcasts here that you should check out: “CCP4: On Pastors and Moral Failings,” “CCP9: On Unchurched Christians,” “CCP15: On Denominational Decline” and “CCP31: On Celebrity Pastors.” Dr. White mentioned how so much of these issues are tied to an ever-declining understanding of the doctrine of ecclesiology. In 2022 he released a Church & Culture Course called “Theology on Tap” that would absolutely serve churches to ground themselves in solid Christian theology. For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how no matter how big or small your church is, it can be really difficult when someone leaves your church. And if you're the person doing the leaving, it can be equally hard to know if or when it's the right decision to leave. The church is a family, and there are times and ways to exit that are healthy - and others that are definitely not. Episode Links At the top of the podcast Alexis suggested that it would be helpful to go back and listen to CCP40: On Criticism of Mega Churches. Dr. White was able to offer a unique perspective on the common critiques, as Meck started out about as small church as you can get, growing gradually to be considered a mega church. There are a few blogs tied to today's conversation written by Dr. White. The first is for those who are considering whether to walk away from their church home and is titled, “When Should You Leave a Church.” The second is for pastors and church leaders, about the hits and the hurts that come when those who are close to you decide to leave: “People Will Leave Your Church.” And finally, departures are one of the many things that fueled so many pastors leaving ministry. You can read more about that in a blog titled “Add Pastors to the Great Resignation.” For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the criticisms that are frequently directed at mega churches within the Christian community. Dr. White is able to offer a unique perspective on these common critiques, as Mecklenburg Community Church started out about as small church as you can get, growing gradually to be considered a mega church. Episode Links One of the criticisms they discussed is that mega churches are all far too liberal in terms of orthodoxy, and that they are watering down the gospel. Dr. White mentioned a book titled Why Conservative Churches are Growing by Dean Kelley, which explored how many of the largest mega churches are those with very conservative doctrinal statements and beliefs. There are several blogs that Dr. White has written related to some of the criticisms mega churches face. The first is titled “The Very False Dichotomy Between Evangelism and Discipleship” addressing the criticism that large churches focus only on evangelism and not on discipleship. He wrote two blogs on the idea of “community” today, as many feel community cannot happen within the doors of a mega church. These blogs are titled “Community 101: Finding vs. Building“ and “Community 102: Shalom.” Finally, you'll find the blog “The Ending of Seminaries as We've Known Them” as it relates to the often antagonistic attitude that some seminaries have towards large churches. There are also two Church & Culture Podcast episodes that would be worth the time to go back and listen to that were mentioned during today's conversation. Be sure to check out CCP31: On Celebrity Pastors and CCP 4: On Pastors and Moral Failings. For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a topic that has sadly become highly politicized, but in reality is a deeply biblical idea - creation care. The problem is that when it comes to environmentalism and global warming, people focus more on ideology than theology. This is where the church must step up to teach on the importance of caring for the world that has been entrusted to us by God. Because this really is a deeply spiritual issue. Episode Links Dr. White just wrapped up a three-part series at Mecklenburg Community Church (Meck) called “Creation Care.” You can find the .mp3s as well as full manuscripts from this series HERE. You also heard Dr. White mention two resources that proved incredibly helpful as he was developing the series for Meck. The first is a book called Stewards of Eden: What Scripture Says About the Environment and Why It Matters written by Sandra Richter. You can find that on Amazon HERE. The second is a report from the National Association of Evangelicals titled “Loving the Least of These.” You can download that report HERE. There are a number of organizations working to care for our creation. A Rocha International is a global family of conservation organizations working together to care for creation. You can read more about the work they are doing around the globe HERE. For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. In fact, here are some recent headlines that we've shared related to the topic of creation care: “Food insecurity is driving women in Africa into sex work, increasing HIV risk” “Here are 3 dangerous climate tipping points the world is on track for” “Egypt's Food Supply in Danger as Farmers Struggle to Adapt to Climate Change”