Church and Family Life Podcast

He grew up in Sin City. Raised in Vegas in the 1970s, Toby Logsdon spiked his hair and drenched himself in angry punk music. But this attempt to cope with childhood troubles brought him no lasting peace. At age 14, he attempted suicide. Now, looking back, Toby sees how God used this dark season as an angst-filled non-conformist to make him more bold as a Christian today. His later stints as a stockbroker and then casino dice man also yielded lasting lessons—that riches are futile, and men must press through in their work, even when it’s hard. Learn how God brought Toby from his post as a blackjack dealer on the Vegas strip to become a Reformed Baptist Pastor in the Seattle metro.

In his 1st-century epistle, Jude called on believers “to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). Sound doctrine was under attack in his day, and so it is in ours. What the Bible actually means has, in many corners, been distorted and lost. To combat falsehood and shore up God’s people in the truth, Church and Family Life advocates that churches embrace the 1689 London Baptist Confession, or one of the other historic Reformed confessions.   And so it’s with delight that we welcome Rob Ventura to the podcast to discuss a new commentary he’s published on the 1689 Confession. Join us for this discussion and discover how this defense of sound doctrine is a deep mine, filled with the everlasting treasuries of redemption. Note that in the confession’s original “Letter to the Reader,” they trace much of the “decay of religion” to a father’s neglect of family worship and instruction and appeal for doctrinal purity to “begin at home.”  Learn how it’s a wonderful tool for churches and families—a summary of fundamental doctrines for the whole family and church to master, to keep from departing from the true faith.   Click here to purchase this New Exposition of the London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689.  Click here to get a paperback copy of the 1689 Confession. 

Christopher Prieto believes his business has a primary purpose - the spiritual profit in communicating the Gospel. His restaurant, Prime Barbecue, is renowned for serving the region's best BBQ. It's the place we go for special occasions; the food is simply delicious! Church and Family Life recently had a staff meeting there.  And when I looked up, an 8-year-old girl was standing at the table asking us if everything was ok;did  we have everything we needed; and could she could get us anything else? I said, "Do you work here?" "Yes!" I asked, "Does your daddy own this place?" "Yes!" Then a few minutes later, an older girl around 12 came up and said the same thing. I asked, "Do you work here?" "Yes!" Then I asked, "Does your daddy own this place?" Yes! Then I met their daddy, Christopher Prieto. We had a wonderful conversation about how fathers teach their children, hands-on, every day, "when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up" (Deut. 6:7). His story so inspired me and so we scheduled an interview. Here it is.

Eric Bechler had a midlife crisis that led him to quit his job in Silicon Valley to start a small business he could operate with his children. Church and Family Life has been longtime advocates of parents walking with their children "when [they] sit in your house” and “walk by the way" (Deut. 6:7). This is the Hebrew model of discipleship. The Greek model focuses on philosophies, facts, and figures, while the Hebrew model focuses on walking with sons and daughters. Eric Bechler joins us to discuss how he worked through some of these issues with his family. Eric is an elder at Burnet Bible Church in Burnet, Texas. He and his wife have seven children. Eric worked for GE Nuclear for several years in San Jose, California, doing safety analyses for nuclear power plants. Then he worked for Applied Materials, a semiconductor manufacturer doing technical support for scanning electron microscopes and laser optical systems for semiconductor fabrication. Yet he left the glitter of Silicon Valley to live differently. He started a landscaping business so he could be closer to his family.

What does the conscience do, and how should we respond to our conscience? What does the conscience have to do with Romans 14? Jeff Pollard explains that the conscience judges works, accuses, and excuses. It does not do but speaks about what has been done. Someone called the conscience "God's deputy, God's spy, a sergeant to arrest the sinner." So how should we regard it in ourselves and others?

Join us with Jeff Pollard to discuss how to understand the power and the constraints on the conscience. We discuss fundamental principles to handle our conscience and the different conscience controversies. Do you trample the consciences of others? Is your conscience your God?

This podcast is dedicated to young people just getting started financially. Getting on top of wise stewardship of resources is critical for young people. The earlier they apply Biblical wisdom, the sooner they will experience some level of financial freedom.

Young Men, this is for you. We focused this podcast on success in the workplace. We are here to give you our top three things young men need to understand about work. We address those who work for companies and those who start companies.

Here is a man who grew up in a totally secular environment and was ushered into the world of Hip Hop as a promoter. But all that changed when his Karate instructor became a Christian and quit because of his newfound beliefs.

What is an appropriate age for a child to be baptized according to the bible? (2 Tim 3:16). Since we believe the scripture is sufficient for all matters of life and godliness, this is the first question we should ask as we approach this matter. Join us with Sam Waldron as we discuss the various views, our experiences over the years, a survey of what the scriptures explicitly teach, and what we learn from Baptist history. Here's a link to Sam Waldron's series on the baptism of children:Shall We Baptize Children?