Church & Culture Podcast

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a recent article in the Washington Post titled “The Revolt of the Christian Home-Schoolers.” The article revealed that there can be a toxic side to some pockets of homeschooling, one that creates a breeding ground for ideas tied to Christian nationalism and pitting faith against science. Episode Links Those who have followed the podcast or Dr. White's blog should know that he is a big proponent of homeschooling and the many benefits that it can have for children and families. This was also brought up during an earlier podcast, CCP17: On School Choice. But the darker side of homeschooling is troubling, especially when it creates a breeding ground of bad ideology. For more on this we encourage you to listen to past podcasts such as: CCP37: On Christian Nationalism for a better understanding of whether we're called to be a Christian nation or a nation of Christians; CCP49: On Faith vs. Science to see how everything in science not only complements God's existence, but also demands it; and CCP64: On Cults and Conspiracy Theories to see how the desire for community is what can create this strange sense of belonging found in these toxic homeschooling groups. The church needs to be an advocate for homeschooling families to be Christian biblicists, particularly when it comes to the clash between faith and science. Dr. White has delivered several series at Mecklenburg Community Church that specifically speak to this including: The Science of God, Astrophysics for People Who Are Open to God, Don't Check Your Brains at the Door, and Creation Care. Finally, you heard Dr. White talk about his book A Mind for God. This is an incredible resource that also provides lists of books to help develop a Christian mind. You can find that book on Amazon 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 this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss two recent docuseries that have drawn a lot of attention: FX's “The Secrets of Hillsong” exploring the distressing global patterns of misconduct at Hillsong Church, as well as Prime Video's “Shiny Happy People” exposing the nightmarish home life of the Duggar Family and the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP). Episode Links Dr. White wrote a blog on the mess at Hillsong Church titled “Should Churches Still Use Music from Hillsong?” It definitely brought up a lot of points to consider, especially when it comes to contributions through royalties. You can read that blog HERE. Dr. White wrote another blog titled “Should a Church Use NDAs” that has become a big issue for churches like Hillsong that are coming to light. And as he mentioned during today's conversation, the Hillsong docuseries left a lot to be desired, and even some people who were hurt by it. You can read “The Secrets of Hillsong: An Open Letter to the Director” to see what we mean. There are a couple podcasts we suggest that you check out where they've discussed some of the issues that lead to failings like what happened at Hillsong. These are: CCP40: On Criticism of Mega Churches, CCP31: On Celebrity Pastors, CCP4:On Pastors and Moral Failings. A recent podcast is also worth going back to listen to as it helps explain how organizations like the IBLP draw people in, even when their practices are so extreme. It's CCP64: On Cults and Conspiracy Theories. There are several news stories that were mentioned during today's conversation or that would be helpful for you to check out as they relate to this episode: Roxanne Stone, “What the New Hillsong Doc Gets Right … and Wrong + Janice Lagata,”Religion News Service, June 8, 2023. Emily Hunter McGowin, “Shiny Miserable Family: How Bill Gothard's Ministry Missed the Sin Inside,”Christianity Today, June 9, 2023. Mariah Espada, “The True Story Behind the Duggar Family Docuseries Shiny Happy People,”TIME, June 2, 2023. Russell Moore, “We Believe in the Power of the Gospel, Not the Gospel of Power,”Christianity Today, June 7, 2023. Amy Julia Becker, “Opinion: Hillsong Was Extraordinary. That's The Problem.”The Roys Report, June 5, 2023. “Exit Music (For A Church),”Christianity Today, June 9, 2023. Finally, Dr. White encouraged pastors to remember that they are not above being susceptible to moral failings. He wrote about this in his book What They Didn't Teach You in Seminary which you can order 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 this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the alarming rise in popularity of Satanism, and those who consider themselves to be part of the Satanic Temple. While the vast majority of members are essentially atheistic “believers” (meaning they do not actually worship Satan), Satan is still being upheld as a symbol of free expression and opposition to injustice among other things. You may be surprised to find out just how widespread this is…. Episode Links In his latest book Hybrid Church: Rethinking the Church for a Post-Christian Digital Age, Dr. White writes about the transition from Christendom to “humandom” that has fueled the post-Christian world that we find ourselves in today. The idea that we don't need to answer to a higher power, but rather should allow reason to be our guide is what draws so many people to Satanism. Not only that, it's what draws them to cults, conspiracies, and even the world of the occult. Check out these past podcasts for more on these topics: CCP64: On Cults and Conspiracy Theories CCP58: On Your Horoscope and Starbucks CCP35: On Scientology CCP11: On Wicca There are several stories that have been in the news of late related to this topic that were mentioned during today's conversation, particularly about the “SatanCon” gathering and the mess that Target has landed themselves in. Here are three recent articles to check out: Camille Fine, “SatanCon: World's ‘Largest Gathering of Satanists' Hails Diversity, Fellowship,”USA Today, May 3, 2023. Abigail Anthony, “Target Partners with Satanist Brand to Create Items for ‘PRIDE' Collection,”National Review, May 22, 2023. Niha Masih and Jaclyn Peiser, “Target Pulls Some LGBT+ Items Days After CEO Talks Up Inclusivity,”The Washington Post, May 24, 2023. 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 discussed capital punishment - something that both Christians and non-Christians wrestle with. Old Testament Scriptures reveal that capital punishment was used for a number of offenses; however, Jesus brought many Old Testament laws to completion during His time on Earth. The Bible has shaped American thinking since the country's foundation, and our laws say that the states have the right to take a life. But where should Christians land on this? Episode Links There is an ongoing news story that Dr. White shared recently through the Daily Headline News that prompted today's discussion. It's about a man in Oklahoma who is on death row who has had his execution stayed nine times to date. The details of the case have many questioning whether he should be punished with the death penalty. Here are two recent articles: Emily Belz, “How an Oklahoma Death Penalty Case Shook Up Evangelical Views on Execution,”Christianity Today, May 10, 2023. Diana Chandler, “Oklahoma Pastor Advocates for Life of Convicted Man on Death Row,”Baptist Press, May 23, 2023. 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, the discussion was prompted by a disturbing article in the New York Times that was shared on Church & Culture's Daily Headline News. The title of the article, written by Andrew Higgins, was, “He Told Followers to Starve to Meet Jesus. Why Did So Many Do It?” Why indeed. What leads people to join a cult, especially when the leader encourages their followers to take their own lives? And what connection do conspiracy theories have to cults? Episode Links This is not the first time that the podcast discussion has touched on the topic of cults. We'd encourage you to go back and listen to CCP35: On Scientology and CCP18: On Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. Dr. White outlined the marks of a cult and, in addition to discussing the cult led by Paul Mackenzie in Kenya from the NYT article, he also mentioned the story about the doomsday cult that led a mother in Idaho to murder her two children, as well as the HBO Max show “The Vow,” a documentary series about the cult NXIVM. One of the big takeaways is that people seem to long for community, especially when facing times of difficulty in life. This is also what can make the world of conspiracy theories so appealing, particularly when they seem to morph into a cult like we witnessed happen during the pandemic. This is what led to the rise of QAnon, predominately through social media. For more on that you should check out an excellent article written by Katelyn Beaty in Religion News Service titled, “ QAnon: The alternative religion that's coming to your church,” as well as Dr. White's blog simply titled “QAnon.” Finally, the discussion ended with a look at why truth matters so very much. Dr. White mentioned a video from Stephen Colbert that, while intending to be comedic, was really quite prescient. You can watch the video on “truthiness” HERE. Dr. White also wrote a blog called “Choosing Our Truth Sources” to help people understand why truth is so important. He referenced a quote from Freud who said, “If it were really a matter of indifference what we believed, if there were no knowledge which was distinguished from among our opinions by the fact that it corresponds with reality, then we might just as well build our bridges of cardboard as of stone, or inject a tenth of a gram of morphia into a patient instead of a hundredth, or take tear-gas as a narcotic instead of ether” (from the New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-analysis, 1933). 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 discussed a recent article by Michael Hidalgo in RELEVANT titled “When Did Christians Get So Mean?” Since the pandemic, we've watched as the world seems to increasingly thrive on spewing vitriol from behind their keyboards. But more and more this behavior is coming from those who claim to be Christ followers. The concepts of grace and loving kindness seem to have gone out the window. Episode Links The Bible offers very clear counsel on the power of words and the use of our mouths. Dr. White mentioned several passages that many Christians need to keep in the forefront of their minds: “It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.”- James 3:5-6, The Message “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”- James 1:19, NIV “Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.”- Proverbs 10:19, NLT As mentioned earlier, a lack of grace is a significant contributor to this problem, which is ironic as grace is what makes the Christian faith so distinct from other world religions. Dr. White recently delivered a series at Mecklenburg Community Church specifically on the topic of grace titled “Christianity's Most Scandalous Idea.” You can find that series HERE. There are also two books that Dr. White suggested to listeners related to today's topic. The first is #Republic: Divided Democracy in the Age of Social Media written by Cass Sunstein. In this book Sunstein talks about the “daily ME,” where we now customize our social media feeds to see only the world that we want to see. Driven by insecurity, all this seems to do is increasingly cause hostility to ideas different from our own. The second book is The Bait of Satan written by John Bevere that explores how we are so eager to take offense at what others say and do. Finally, if you're interested in listening to some other Church & Culture Podcast episodes that may shed further light on this topic, be sure to check out CCP6: On Anger and CCP13: On Cancel Culture. 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 very difficult topic: when, how, and who decides whether to close a church? It doesn't matter if it's a church that's been around for decades, or a church plant only a couple years into their journey, it's never an easy decision to grapple with. But between the great resignation of pastors, the widespread denominational decline and the rapid closing of churches across the country, it's a decision that many churches are having to face. Episode Links If you're new to the podcast, you may want to check out some past episodes where the conversation has touched on some of the background issues that led to today's discussion. These are: CCP4: On Pastors and Moral Failings, CCP15: On Denominational Decline, and CCP30: On Quiet Quitting and the Church. As Dr. White said during the conversation, the heart of the people making up the church has much to do with whether the decision should be made to save a dying church. Two blogs that he wrote illustrate what it looks like to have a church community who are all-in - “Anything for the Mission” - versus one where they're completely turned inward - “Our Spiritual Pandemic of Narcissism.” Many listeners may be interested in finding out more about the decision that Mecklenburg Community Church made to close three of its Charlotte-area campuses in order to make a more strategic missional investment in its Online Campus. To read all about that story and more be sure to check out Dr. White's latest book Hybrid Church: Rethinking the Church for a Post-Christian Digital Age. At the end of today's conversation, Dr. White mentioned a blog that is released annually by the Church & Culture team that serves as an encouragement to pastors who may be struggling with a church that is either dying or failing to thrive. You can read the blog “The Monday After Easter” 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 this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, their discussion was prompted by an article that Dr. White shared on the Daily Headline News on Church & Culture. The title of the article (which has since been updated) was “Babies without sex? Researchers are working on it. Ethicists are troubled” and you can read the full article HERE. This has to do with scientific research for a procedure that goes beyond IVF and is known as IVG - in vitro gametogenesis. While bioethicists are pondering whether this is going too far, for the Christian this leads to stronger implications as the very definition of what it means to be human is coming under attack. Episode Links There are two podcasts that we suggest you go back and listen to if you missed them, both related to today's topic: CCP10: On Roe vs. Wade and CCP48: On Medically Assisted Suicide. They both discuss the sanctity of human life and just how much control we should have versus what God - who created life - should have. In today's conversation, Dr. White encouraged pastors to speak out on cultural issues of the day and to have the courage to do this. Past message series given by Dr. White at Mecklenburg Community Church can all be found on the Messages by James Emery White page of Church & Culture. Once there, you'll find that all messages are arranged in categories, and we'd suggest that you check out the Culture page for series on some of the biggest topics in culture today. 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 in today's world, it truly takes courage for parents to raise their kids in a way that honors the Christian faith. And an area of parenting where people tend to struggle the most is when it comes to whether it's okay to discipline our children. Culture has shifted toward the trend of “gentle parenting” - also known as “mindful” or “intentional” parenting. But is this the best way to go? Is it even biblical? Episode Links There were two articles that Dr. White found to be helpful for this conversation that we want to share with you: Jessica Winter, “The Harsh Realm of ‘Gentle Parenting,'” The New Yorker Magazine, online HERE. Fiona Macrae and Paul Sims, “The Spoilt Generation: Parents Who Fail to Exert Authority Breeding Youngsters with No Respect for Anyone,” DailyMail, online HERE. Additionally, there were several Scripture references that Dr. White provided that are helpful when trying to discern where the Bible lands when it comes to parenting. We'd encourage you to look at Proverbs 13:24 and 29:17, as well as Hebrews 12:5-11. Finally, Dr. White has delivered several parenting series at Mecklenburg Community Church that have always received incredibly positive feedback. You can check these out on Church & Culture, or click the message title below for more information (the series installments are listed for you as well): “Parent Traps”Discipline; Peer Pressure; Faith; Education “Parent-Child Turning Points”When They Turn Two: Time to Shape the Will; When They Turn Eight: Time to Deepen the Relationship; When They Turn Twelve: Time to Focus on Communication; When They Turn Eighteen: Time to Let Go “The Under Protective Parent”The Passive Parent; Relationships; Media; God 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.

Topics discussed include Calvinism, election, predestination, Arminianism, grace, women in ministry, and the impact of Calvinism on church dynamics. The conversation delves into theological implications, contentious issues within Calvinism, perceptions among the unchurched, and the importance of navigating theological differences with unity in Christianity.