Church & Culture Podcast

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the exodus of Christians from the Church who are trying to recreate “church-like” experiences elsewhere - whether that's an exercise class, a group Bible study, a parachurch ministry, etc. Their conversation takes a look at what cannot be surrendered to have a biblically functioning Church, and how many evangelicals have a terrible understanding of the doctrine of the church - either devaluing the Church or shaping it into their own image. One thing is clear, there is biblically no such thing as an unchurched Christian. Episode Links The conversation kicked off with a discussion about the online church, a prescient decision to end Mecklenburg Community Church's multisite model, and the need to be a hybrid, phygital church - embracing both the digital and the physical. Dr. White has written several blogs that will serve as helpful additions for you to read. “They're Not Coming Back” explores the adjustments that the Church must make as we grapple with the fallout of a decline in attendance that began long before the pandemic. For churches that did experience online growth during the pandemic, the blog “The Importance of Affirming Online Attendance” discusses the need to continue to have a thriving online campus. In “Why We're Ending Our Multisite Approach” you can read about the decision made by Meck's leadership team to end the multisite model, a decision that proved to be a critical missional shift. And finally, “The Shift From Gathering to Connecting” examines just how well people are able to find thriving community through the church, even online. Then the conversation turned to the doctrine of the Church, and how even Christians can find excuses to devalue the Church and to try to shape it into whatever they want it to be. Here, you'll find the blog “The Unofficial Religion of American Culture” to be an interesting read about people who would equate yoga classes with a church-like experience. And finally “This Is Church” that outlines when you have the church being the church. Along those lines, Dr. White delivered a series at Mecklenburg Community Church called “Being Church,” with four installments that outline what Jesus had in mind when He said, “... I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out…” (Matthew 16:18, Msg). A final resource that will serve this conversation is a book written by Dr. White titled The Rise of the Nones that you can find on Amazon or at your favorite bookseller. 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 purity culture and the Church. In the 90s we saw the outbreak of sexual permissiveness and sexual saturation within culture – and it hit women particularly hard, as they became the ones to blame. From this, purity culture was born - a movement characterized by modest dress, purity rings, the “true love waits pledge,” etc. Somewhere along the way this morphed into a toxic culture even within the church. What the church needs is a holistic theology of sex, showing the wonder of it all and the gift that it is within the context of a marriage. Episode Links To take a deeper dive into this conversation. Dr. White has written several blogs that may serve as helpful additions, such as a blog titled “Sexual Fluidity” showing just how much Generation Z has become sexually and relationally amorphous in today's culture. And porn is not merely a contributing factor in this, it's creating a crisis among both youth and adults alike. There are two blogs Dr. White wrote that would specifically complement this episode: “This Is Your Brain on Porn” paints a very grim picture of how porn and its widespread availability is affecting our youth today and “The Obvious Reason They're Not Having Sex” showing the effects of porn within young adults as it quickly becomes a substitute for sexual intimacy. There are two series that were delivered at Mecklenburg Community Church that serve as a fantastic model for how the church can talk about sex - painting a picture of God's intent in creating this for our lives. “Fifty Shades” is a series about sex and sexual intimacy with installments that include “A Theology of Sex,” “Pornified” and “Five Questions You Never Thought You'd Hear Answered in Church.” And “Holy Matrimony” is a series on the biblical sacrament of marriage with installments called “Four Big Ideas,” “Christ-Centered,” “Divorce and Remarriage” and “Gay Marriage.” A final resource that will serve in this conversation is a book written by Dr. White titled Meet Generation Z that you can find on Amazon or at your favorite bookseller. 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 very hot topic of women in ministry within the Church. Throughout Christian history, with the increased institutionalization of the Church came very set patterns of misogyny. And certain passages of Scripture have been used to fuel both sides of this debate as to what role women can and should take within the church. Episode Links There is so much that can be explored from this conversation. Dr. White has written several blogs that may serve as helpful additions, such as a blog titled “Beth Moore in the Pulpit,” in which he explores the complementarian vs. egalitarian views held by many within the church. And one of the most foundational things Dr. White laid out was to follow the “The Biblical Model of Leadership.” The conversation also touched on Jesus and how He viewed women. Check out this blog simply titled “Sexism” to explore more about this. Also mentioned was the letter of I Timothy in the New Testament and how that has impacted many churches' views on women in ministry. Dr. White mentioned that a good book on this is The Message of 1 Timothy & Titus by John R.W. Stott. And at the beginning of the discussion you heard Alexis mention a conversation that took place in the most recent episode of the Christianity Today podcast titled “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill.” While the entire podcast has a lot to contribute to the topic of women in the church, Episode 13 in particular includes an insightful interview with CEO of CT Tim Dalrymple. 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 anger and the seemingly endless flow of new stories where people are losing control. For those who are Christ followers, anger is one of the seven deadly sins, yet often times we are among the worst offenders. This conversation dives into everything from orthopathy to righteous anger to how this is impacting our children. Episode Links To read more on this topic, Dr. White wrote several blogs related to this conversation that will be really helpful to dig into. His most recent blog is titled “What's Wrong with People?” and explores three of the most likely reasons anger is on the rise. But it didn't just begin to rise. Several years ago Dr. White wrote a blog titled “The Age of Rage” that rings even more true today. Also discussed was how our need to be liked by everyone can come into play, discussing the idea of the “10-10-80” rule when it comes to relationships. Finally, Dr. White mentioned a book written by Deborah Tannen, The Argument Culture. After living more than a year into the pandemic, Dr. White delivered a series at Meck that would still serve called “The Long Night's Journey Into Day” with a look at how we can rise above our differences and live the life God is calling us to live. You may also be interested in checking out a series called “Wicked” that specifically focuses on sin and how it affects our relationship with God. To serve parents out there, Alexis mentioned an on-demand class offered through the Meck Institute called “FaceTime: What Parents Need to Know about Technology, Social Media, Video Games and More.” That is definitely a class that you'll want to check out that will be very eye-opening. 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's a recent news story shared related to this episode's discussion that you may have missed: ”Why People Are Acting So Weird”

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the “Parental Rights in Education” bill that is more commonly referred to as the “Don't Say Gay” bill. There seems to be a lot of confusion as to what this bill is really about at its core. Find out how Christians can engage this cultural debate, the role of parents tied to this law, and the difference between acceptance and affirmation. Episode Links To read more on this topic, Dr. White wrote several blogs related to this conversation that will be really helpful to dig into. His most recent blog is titled “Don't Say Gay” and explores how more parents would likely support this bill if they really knew what it was about. To dive into issues related to gender and gender identity, here's a three-part blog series: “A Theology of Gender,” “The Transgender Issue” and “Children and Gender Identity.” And finally, a blog exploring the shift in our culture to the denial of biological sex “Sex Matters”. Dr. White also mentioned a book written by Neil Postman, The Disappearance of Childhood. There are three sermon series related to today's conversation that would serve to provide a firm biblical foundation to engage this topic: “Gender,” “The Underprotective Parent” and “Woke.” 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's a recent news story shared related to this episode's discussion that you may have missed:”DeSantis Signs Florida Bill That Opponents Call ‘Don't Say Gay'”

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the seeming litany of Christian leaders who have succumbed to moral failures and what this is doing to the Christian faith and our culture. Episode Links To go a little deeper on this topic, Dr. White wrote several blogs related to this conversation that will be really helpful to dig into. On the discussion of the shadow lives so many lead and how you can evaluate the work that was done in ministry read “Evaluating the Fruit Test.” On the importance of building sexual fences read “Build the Fence!” The phrase “there but by the grace of God go I” is so common but so inadequate. Find out why in a blog titled “Why Leaders are Falling.” And finally, a blog that explores whether it's possible for someone to be restored to ministry after a moral failing titled “When a Pastor Falls, What Then?” Dr. White also discussed the importance of talking about issues like this openly within the church. There are two message series he delivered at Mecklenburg Community Church that would be worth a listen: “#MeToo” and “Getting Grace Right.” 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 two recent stories shared related to this episode's discussion that you may have missed: ”Australian megachurch co-founder resigns over complaints of unwelcome behavior to women” “Anglican Church of Canada leaders apologize to survivors, respond to ACCToo”

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how a new generation of hypnosis programs and apps are making the practice available digitally, hoping to popularize hypnosis in the same way as meditation. What's so concerning about that? More than you realize. You could be dabbling in the world of the occult. Episode Links To go a little deeper on this topic, Dr. White recently wrote a blog titled “Alexa, Do Not Hypnotize Me.” The conversation also touched on the world of the occult. Dr. White delivered a message series at Mecklenburg Community Church called “Paranormal,” a four-week series to address culture's ever-increasing obsession with the occult. Also popping up in the conversation was a discussion about yoga. You can get the .mp3 of an installment from a series called, “Is it Okay for a Christian to… do yoga?” 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 two recent stories shared related to this episode's discussion that you may have missed.

This week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye dives into an aspect of the Ukraine-Russia conflict that isn't garnering the attention that it deserves - that this is a deeply religious divide. To understand the heart of this conflict, you need to understand the history of the Orthodox Church. Episode Links To go a little deeper on this topic, Dr. White has a two-blog series that you'll definitely want to check out. You can find the first installment titled “Ukraine, Russia and the Orthodox Church - Part 1” here. The conversation also touched on Christian nationalism that is definitely worth a read as it ties into the conflict happening in the East. You can find that here: Is Christian Nationalism True? 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 two recent stories shared related to this episode's discussion that you may have missed: From Religion News Service: “Moscow patriarch stokes Orthodox tensions with war remarks” From The Telegraph: “War tests faith and loyalties in Ukraine as priests call for break with Russian Orthodox Church”

Dr. James Emery White talks with co-host Alexis Drye in this inaugural episode of the weekly Church & Culture Podcast. Learn the vision and mission of this podcast, what you can expect to hear each week, and find out a bit more about Dr. White and his ministry with Church & Culture. Show Notes For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. Dr. White discussed four series in this podcast, delivered at Mecklenburg Community Church, that were on the bleeding edge of recent happenings in culture. Clicking the titles below will direct you to the series description and the products available in mp3 and pdf formats: Gender (all things gender and transgender) Woke (race and racism) Where Angels Fear to Tread (politics) The Science of God And be sure to check out A Mind for God by James Emery White, a book written to help break free from cultural captivity through the spiritual and intellectual disciplines of reading, study and reflection. Order from Amazon or your favorite bookseller.