Theology on Mission

Breaking from their script, David Fitch and Geoff Holsclaw process their reactions to the election of Donald Trump. As two white males, nothing has changed about our lives, because we are privileged enough to be untouched by the recent events. But that is not true for so many people. As an extended “Fitch vs Fitch”, Dave reads through various posts he shot out on Facebook and Geoff responds. They talk about the place of anger and disappointment that 4 of 5 evangelicals voted for Trump, on whether the “church” voted for Trump (Fitch excommunicates half the church), and how we shouldn’t press the “Jesus is Lord” button to quickly (because it can sound trite and disengaged, and therefore another mark of privilege). And Geoff ends by naming his 1) horror and sadness on behalf of women, people of color, LGBTQ people, and Muslims in light of the bigotry unleashed by this election, 2) his relief that America can no long lie about its inherent racism and evangelicalism’s enmeshment in this, and 3) his hope for the church because Jesus is still Lord.

Were you looking for a "Theology on Mission Voter Guide"? Well, David Fitch and Geoff Holsclaw are giving you one. They don't tell you who to vote for, but how to take a step back and really discern whether you should vote at all.

Is taking a walk part of God's mission? Could your commute be part of God's mission? Dan White Jr., author of "Subterranean: Why the Future of the Church is Rootedness" and co-author of "The Church as Movement", join Geoff and Dave to talk about what local neighborhood mission might look like.

This week David Fitch sits down with Scot McKnight to talk about some of the new projects they are working on. This is a crossover episode between Theology on Mission and Kingdom Roots.

What does the Kingdom have to do with Eschatology? Is the Kingdom coming only in the future? Is the Kingdom here in the present? David Fitch and Geoff Holsclaw discuss how eschatology connects with mission, and how sometimes a proper balance is lost. They answer questions about whether 1) The Kingdom is about the future? or 2) Is the Kingdom coming in the present? and 3) Does the Church help bring in the Kingdom? or 4) Does the Church witness that the Kingdom has come?

When leaders of the Religious Right claim #Trump's misogynist and racists words are "no big deal", are they sharing in the sin of another? (1 Tim. 5:22) In this wide ranging episode, David Fitch, Geoff Holsclaw, and special guest Mandy Smith talk about the power of words, locker room talk, and the ways that religious conservatives claim that Trump's misogynist and racist words are no big deal. They discuss how this is #NotOkay. Be sure to listen to the 10 minute mark where Mandy challenges Dave and Geoff to confess their sins within the male dominated culture of evangelicalism.

Does Jesus seek Proselytes or Converts? And what is the difference? David Fitch and Geoff Holsclaw discuss why the Apostle Paul was so angry with the Galatians, and whether we are called to renounce one cultural identity in favor of a new one (Proselyte Model) and or called to take up the same identity in a new way (Conversion Model).

Why do pastors burn out? And what can be done about it? Are you burning out? Is your church leading you to the brink? Like Pete Wilson or Perry Noble, pastors of churches of any size are constantly facing burning out. David Fitch and Geoff Holsclaw offer three pieces of advice to mega-church pastors, or any pastor, to help them not burn out (and it probably isn't the advice that you are thinking of). Dave and Geoff respond to the advice of others and try to look at the problem from a different angle. Be sure to visit our home page: http://www.seminary.edu/dminleadership/ Learn more about the DMIN in Leadership here: http://www.seminary.edu/dminleadership/

Maybe the most important episode to date! Once evangelicals were on the frontline of social issues. Now the often take a backseat. What happened? And more importantly, from where might a renew of evangelicalism come? This episode offers an exclusive report from the Lausanne Young Leaders Gathering as part of a larger conversation about looking to world evangelicalism as a corrective to American evangelicalism. In the previous episode Geoff announced that all of us, even Billy Graham and Christianity Today, were not true evangelicals but were still recovering from a fundamentalist hangover. This episode fills that out and points a way forward. David Fitch and Geoff Holsclaw discuss the classic evangelicalism of the past (before the onset of fundamentalism) and look to the Lausanne Movement for inspiration. For resources on classical and world evangelicalism, see the show notes here. http://www.seminary.edu/world-evangelicalism-a-future-for-the-west

Does systematic theology have a future? And if so, where should it start? And what does it matter? Geoff Holsclaw and regular guest Scott Jones (because Fitch is big-timing it in Pasadena) discuss the three major critiques of systematic theology and then talk about three possible ways to begin theology and how we need them all.