Faith & Clarity - Biblical Perspectives and Biblical Wisdom on News & Cultural Issues

Dr. John Mark Caton and Dr. Mark Turman discuss Dr. Caton’s personal experience with the tragic suicide of his older brother, lingering survivor’s guilt, the importance of community, and how to talk to people contemplating suicide.    Show notes:    Dr. John Mark Caton and Dr. Mark Turman begin this difficult discussion by talking about Caton’s tragic story and the suicide of his older brother (3:27). They talk about guilt, the lingering cloud of sorrow, and the importance of stories (11:15). They summarize how the Bible talks about suicide and whether it’s the unpardonable sin (17:01).    Dr. Caton discusses the importance of community and the church, how to talk to people considering suicide, and why calling 911 is of strong importance (24:46). Dr. Turman and Dr. Caton consider the state of our culture’s relationship to suicide and why it’s gotten worse in young people (40:21).    Dr. Caton brings up the impact of intergenerational relationships as a way to combat rising rates of isolation (48:18). He also gives closing thoughts on next steps in approaching someone in your life whom you’re worried about (56:04). They end by reflecting on the way Dr. Caton has been changed by the death of his brother (1:03:12).   Resources and further reading:   Last Call, Suicide: An Unfinished Life - John Mark Caton Hope Always - Dr. Matthew Sleeth  “How to talk to your kids about depression and suicide” – Dr. Matthew Sleeth “What does the Bible say about suicide?” – Dr. Jim Denison 988 Lifeline   About the hosts    Jim Denison, Ph.D., is an author, speaker, and the CEO of Denison Ministries, which is transforming 6.8 million lives through meaningful digital content.    Dr. Mark Turman is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church.    About the guest    John Mark Caton, Ph.D., is the Senior Pastor Cottonwood Creek Baptist Church for twenty-seven years and the author of several books. He received a Master of Theology from Criswell College, and a Master of Divinity with Biblical Languages degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He earned his Ph.D. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2001.

Barnabas Piper joins Dr. Mark Turman and Mark Legg to discuss being a pastor’s kid, talking to teens and Gen Z about doubts, the importance of humor, and depending on Christ in all things.    Show notes:   Barnabas Piper begins by reflecting on his own life’s story and how the Lord refreshed the idea of the church to him (2:32). They discuss the hypocrisy of some Christian leaders and how to move forward with grace (12:31). Piper talks about the restoration of Christian leaders, how to talk to kids openly about your own doubts, and how to raise children who ask deep questions (18:09). They turn to converse about the openness and authenticity of Gen Z (30:56). With everything being in Christ’s hands, they discuss how we can live without fear, and how The Happy Rant podcast came from that sentiment (39:09). They look at the importance of humor, honesty, and self-depreciation in ministry (43:19). Barnabas ends by talking about political idolatry and faithful churches (52:11).   Resources and further reading:   The Happy Rant Podcast The Happy Rant - Co-authored by Barnabas Piper The Pastor’s Kid - Barnabas Piper “4 surprising ways Gen Z behaves” - Mark Legg Biblical Insights Into Tough Questions, series - Dr. Jim Denison. “Matt Chandler placed on leave from The Village Church” - Dr. Jim Denison   About the hosts   Dr. Mark Turman is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church.   Mark Legg is the Associate Editor for Denison Forum. He graduated from Dallas Baptist University in 2021 with a degree in Philosophy and Biblical Studies   About the guest   Barnabas Piper is an author, a speaker, and an assistant pastor at Immanuel Church of Nashville. He’s also the co-host of the Happy Rant podcast and co-author of the new book, The Happy Rant. Visit barnabaspiper.com.  He has authored four other books: The Pastor’s Kid, Help My Unbelief, The Curious Christian, and Hoping for Happiness.

Jeff and Terra Mattson join Dr. Mark Turman to discuss the suicide epidemic, how to talk to children and teens about self-harm, suicide, and emotions, and how to navigate parenting through depression and anxiety.    Show notes:    Jeff and Terra Mattson begin by framing the suicide epidemic and mental health crisis (4:02). They discuss how to start early in parenting by putting language to different emotions, and why it’s so important to put words to feelings (10:30). They specifically look at suicide and suicidal ideation, and when to have that conversation with kids (19:15). The Mattson’s talk about the importance of vulnerability and relationships in parenting, and how technology can get in the way of healthy relationships (26:43). They consider when parents should be concerned about their child’s emotional wellbeing (34:14). Dr. Turman asks directly about how to deal with teens who struggle with self-harm (45:15). To close, they discuss the problem of bullying and how to draw healthy boundaries with immature people (52:25).   Resources and further reading:   Dear Mattsons with Christian Parenting  “How do I protect my kids from school bullies?” - Dear Mattsons “How to talk to your kids about depression and suicide” - Dr. Matthew Sleeth “What does the Bible say about suicide?” - Dr. Jim Denison Shrinking the Integrity Gap - Jeff and Terra Mattson Courageous: Being Daughters Rooted in Grace - Terra Mattson 988 Lifeline   P.S. What are my Spiritual Gifts? by Ryan Denison Ph.D. is available now at Denison Forum. The book includes biblical examples of each gifting in action. We’ve also refreshed our free spiritual gifts test at whataremyspiritualgifts.org. If you don’t know your spiritual gifts or are unsure how to use them, we encourage you to take the test and pick up a copy of What are my Spiritual Gifts? today.   About the hosts    Dr. Mark Turman is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church.    About the guests    Jeff holds a master's degree in organizational leadership and has decades of experience as a leader in startup companies, family businesses, and nonprofit organizations, which includes universities and ministry settings. Since 2011, he has worked with business and organizational leaders to develop their potential and solve people issues. Terra holds a master's degree in marriage and family therapy from George Fox University in Portland. She is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Licensed Professional Counselor, and now works as an executive coach. For the last 15 years, she has run a thriving private practice while speaking to women, couples, and leaders, including at the American Association of Christian Counselors conference. She is the founder and clinical director of Living Wholehearted counseling and has served as an adjunct professor at George Fox University's Graduate counseling department. She is the author of Courageous: Being Daughters Rooted in Grace.  Together, Jeff and Terra co-authored Shrinking the Integrity Gap: Between What Leaders Preach and Live. They founded a global movement called Courageous Girls, an online resource to help moms navigate the needs of their daughters through every season of their lives. They co-host the Living Wholehearted podcast and run the living wholehearted lodge and retreat, and co-host the Dear Mattsons podcast. They currently live just outside of Portland, Oregon, as they raise their two teenage daughters.

Michael McDonald, director of strategic relations at BibleProject, Dr. Mark Turman, and Mark Legg discuss how BibleProject approaches interpreting the Bible, communicating to the modern generation, how to face deconstruction, and why art communicates the Bible’s message so well.    Show notes:    Michael McDonald begins by sharing what BibleProject is and its heart to show how the Bible is a unified story that leads to Jesus (3:27). McDonald discusses how BibleProject videos and podcast approaches interpreting the Bible, and why they spend so much time in Genesis (10:00). They discuss how deconstruction can be healthy, and why BibleProject appeals to many unbelievers as well as Christians (13:26). They consider why the BibleProject’s videos exploring spiritual beings is so popular, and why we shouldn’t avoid hard questions (20:32). They turn to reflect on how BibleProject uses art so effectively to communicate deep truths (28:48). McDonald explains their new app, and why it’s unique as it provides wholistic learning (38:15). They discuss how the Bible is not a kid’s book, but how to teach children about the Bible (41:43). They close by reflecting on the history of BibleProject (45:08).   Resources and further reading:   BibleProject website BibleProject spiritual beings video series’ BibleProject App  “From papyrus to pixels: How BibleProject’s videos unpack the Bible” - Mark Legg Lucas Cranach’s art and the Reformation - Ryan Denison   About the hosts    Jim Denison, Ph.D., is an author, speaker, and the CEO of Denison Ministries, which is transforming 6.8 million lives through meaningful digital content.    Dr. Mark Turman is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church.    Mark Legg is the Associate Editor for Denison Forum. He graduated from Dallas Baptist University in 2021 with a degree in Philosophy and Biblical Studies.    About the guest    Michael McDonald is Director of Strategic Relationships for BibleProject, a crowdfunded nonprofit animation studio dedicated to communicating a single, powerful message to the world: the Bible is one unified story that leads to Jesus.   McDonald is a former pastor. Prior to joining BibleProject, he served for over a decade in more than 15 countries working to improve people’s daily lives. He focused on educational, micro/macro financing projects, conflict resolution, and economic development, he was able to impact over 100,000 people in over 60 communities. McDonald lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife Melissa.   BibleProject is a nonprofit animation studio that produces short-form, fully animated videos to make the biblical story accessible to everyone, everywhere. We create videos, podcast, and study guides that explore the Bible's unified story by focusing on its overarching themes and each book's literary design. We are committed to understanding the Bible in its historical context and communicating its wisdom for the modern world. Ultimately, we want to change how people read and use the Bible.

Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman discuss Dr. Denison’s unique role and calling, apologetics and theology, “Loving your neighbor,” how to manifest our faithfulness well, and how Christians must avoid dualism.     Show notes:    Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman discuss Dr. Denison’s various roles he’s taken on (including his job at Dairy Queen) and God’s calling on his life (2:00). They reflect on the meaning of apologetics and theology, especially in reference to culture (7:32). They turn to talk about how to shine our light into the world by manifesting faithfulness well, and how to love our neighbors (13:19). After this, Dr. Denison talks about the pitfall of dualism and Gnosticism, which says that the body doesn’t matter in this life as they unpack Jesus’ saying to Love God with “all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength” (32:31). They conclude by talking about whether we can measure our spiritual health and three steps on how to draw closer to God (46:45).    Resources and further reading:   “Toward a Theology of Faithful Presence” - James Davison Hunter How to Bless God by Blessing Others - Dr. Ryan Denison The Coming Tsunami - Dr. Jim Denison Know What You Believe - Paul E. Little Know Why You Believe - Paul E. Little    About the hosts    Jim Denison, Ph.D., is an author, speaker, and the CEO of Denison Ministries, which is transforming 6.8 million lives through meaningful digital content.    Dr. Mark Turman is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church.

In tandem with the release of Denison Forum’s latest book, What Are My Spiritual Gifts?, Dr. Ryan Denison and Dr. Mark Turman discuss spiritual gifts, how they are powered by the Holy Spirit, how we can know our spiritual gifts, the difference between talents and gifts, and how the Lord uses them. Show notes Dr. Ryan Denison and Dr. Mark Turman discuss Dr. Ryan Denison’s new book, What Are My Spiritual Gifts: How to Discover, Understand, and Apply Your Spiritual Gifts (2:11). They talk about what spiritual gifts are, how the Bible talks about them, the motivation behind using them, and how they’re used in the church. They talk about how the Spirit uses our talents, personality, and experience to develop our gifts (10:06). They turn to discuss the spiritual gifts inventory we’ve developed at whataremyspirituagifts.com. Denison also discusses how to use the test, how it’s not the final say, and why you might want a friend to fill it out for you (22:46). They also consider why Dr. Ryan Denison divided them up with his categories of “Public, Personal, and Paradigm.” (31:49) They hone in on music as a more unique gift that Dr. Denison identifies (37:31). They end on specifically thinking about the gift of giving (55:40). Resources and further reading: What Are My Spiritual Gifts?, the latest book from Denison Forum Take the spiritual gifts assessment at WhatAreMySpiritualGifts.com. About the hosts Jim Denison, Ph.D., is an author, speaker, and the CEO of Denison Ministries, which is transforming 6.8 million lives through meaningful digital content. Dr. Mark Turman is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church. About the guest Dr. Ryan Denison is the Senior Editor for Theology at Denison Forum. He holds a Ph.D. in church history from B.H. Carroll Theological Institute. He’s written four hundred articles for the Denison Forum in addition to other works, including How to Bless God by Blessing Others and the recently released What Are My Spiritual Gifts? Dr. Ryan Denison is Dr. Jim Denison’s son. He is married to his wife Candice; they have two children and live in East Texas.

Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman discuss the difference between cultural missionaries and cultural warriors, how to engage with woke businesses, whether our souls are “sent to earth,” and how to make sense of the Uvalde massacre.    Show notes:    Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman discuss how we define the difference between cultural missionaries and cultural warriors and why we should exemplify humility as well as boldness (1:29). They discuss the difference between spiritual war and loving people (10:00).    One listener asks whether they should write to the CEO of a grocery store they love expressing displeasure with the LGBTQ support shown by the company, and Dr. Denison responds with how to actively engage in cultural change (19:25). They then consider why businesses feel the need to make statements about LGBTQ issues in culture (24:24).    They turn to another listener question that asks why our souls were “sent to earth” if our goal is to be in heaven (34:10). Dr. Denison responds by addressing some possible confusion in the question, showing the influence of dualism in some Christian theology.    They answer a final question about the problem of evil: How can God redeem the Uvalde tragedy and SBC abuse (39:56)? They continue by talking about how we can lament while ensuring we’re not overwhelmed with compassion fatigue (46:30).   You can submit a question too at askjim@denisonforum.org.   Resources and further reading:   The Denison Forum Podcast Episode 8: If God is sovereign, why does evil exist? ‘Exhausted by the news? You may be “doomscrolling”’ - Mark Legg Making Sense of Suffering - Jim Denison Wrestling with God: How Can I Love a God I'm Not Sure I Trust? - Jim Denison “The latest on the Uvalde school shooting” - Jim Denison “The SBC enacts abuse reform, but have they addressed the real problem?” - Mark Legg   About the hosts    Jim Denison, Ph.D., is an author, speaker, and the CEO of Denison Ministries, which is transforming 6.8 million lives through meaningful digital content.    Dr. Mark Turman is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church.

Radio show host, pastor, and writer Chris Brooks joins Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman to discuss urban ministry, discipleship and evangelism, and how the Bible defines the church.  Show notes:  Chris Brooks begins by giving his background and how he got into the world of pastoring and urban apologetics (6:13). They discuss the importance of evangelism and social justice—the advancement of salvation and living well in this life (10:54). They turn to talk about Marxism and Nietzsche’s ideas on human nature, and how Christianity responds to their claims (24:30).  They talk about church membership, church leadership, and the connection between theology and practice (31:04). Brooks considers the importance of anthropology in the Bible in particular. They finish by reflecting on how God’s love for us can fight the despondency felt in our culture (47:12).  Resources and further reading: Urban Apologetics: Why the Gospel Is Good News for the City - Chris Brooks Kingdom Dreaming: Unleashing Your God Given Purpose and Passion - Chris Brooks “Equipped with Chris Brooks,” Moody Radio. About the hosts  Jim Denison, Ph.D., is an author, speaker, and the CEO of Denison Ministries, which is transforming 6.8 million lives through meaningful digital content.  Dr. Mark Turman is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church.  About the guest  Chris Brooks is the Senior Pastor of Woodside Bible Church, a multisite congregation across the metro-Detroit area. He served as the campus dean of Moody Theological Seminary in Plymouth, Michigan. A popular Detroit radio host since 2005, Chris is the author of Kingdom Dreaming and Urban Apologetics. He graduated from Michigan State University with a BA in Finance, completed his MA in Christian Apologetics at Biola University, and graduated from the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. He and his wife, Yodit, are the proud parents of 6 children, Christopher, Zewditu, Cameron, Judah, Sophia, and Christyana.

Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman reflect on the most meaningful mentor figures in their life, Dr. Denisons talking about Dr. John Newport, while Dr. Turman talks about the first church he ever pastored.   Show notes:    Dr. Denison and Dr. Turman briefly discuss certain mysteries of the Christian faith (2:41). Then, they turn to talk about mentors in their lives, Dr. Denison reflecting on Dr. John Newport’s academic and pastoral mentorship (10:41). Dr. Turman talks about his experience as a church pastor of five people and how the deacons mentored him (18:14). They conclude by talking about how eternally significance can come from present faithfulness.    Resources and further reading:   Dr. John P. Newport’s books   About the hosts    Jim Denison, Ph.D., is an author, speaker, and the CEO of Denison Ministries, which is transforming 6.8 million lives through meaningful digital content.    Dr. Mark Turman is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church. 

Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman continue the “summer favorites” series. In this episode, they each discuss the most impactful time they met someone and their recent trips to Israel.    Show notes: Dr. Denison and Dr. Turman talk about Jim's most recent experience in Israel and what he learned on this trip (1:03). Then, they talk about their most impactful meetings with heroes of the faith (11:42). For Dr. Denison, it was meeting with Billy Graham, and for Dr. Turman, it was meeting Jim Henry (16:03).    Resources and further reading:   To Follow in His Footsteps - Dr. Jim Denison   About the hosts    Jim Denison, Ph.D., is an author, speaker, and the CEO of Denison Ministries, which is transforming 6.8 million lives through meaningful digital content.    Dr. Mark Turman is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church.