Miscellany

Christian Podcasts Worth Listening To

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OK, so the title is a little hyperbolic, and perhaps I give my own tastes too much credit. Regardless, I think these podcasts are worth your time.

I want to add that while some individual churches do publish podcasts, and I do listen to a few of those, I want to keep this list unaffiliated to any one congregation. So, there are no individual church podcasts in the list. I hope that’s understandable.

No particular order follows, just good, solid content. May these all richly bless you.

Fire on Your Head (Steve Bremner)

Fire on Your Head

Fire on Your Head (Steve Bremner) is one of the best charismatic podcasts out there. A missionary in Peru and a Canadian national, Steve brings a different perspective. I find myself saying “amen” to this podcast more than any other, and for those of you who have wondered what a podcast of Cerulean Sanctum might be like, Fire on Your Head is about as close as it gets. I’m working backward from 2015 in my listening to this, but so far, it’s solid stuff. The podcast on worship alone is worth 100 listens (“Entering into God’s Presence without Even Singing Songs.”)

No Lasting City (Peter Smythe)

No Lasting City

No Lasting City (Peter Smythe) is another top-notch charismatic podcast, with a focus on Bible exposition. That alone makes it unusual. Peter is a lawyer by profession, and his reasonings on both familiar and difficult passages make sense and may even challenge you to think differently about the Scriptures. My only complaint? He needs to publish more frequently!

The Phil Vischer Podcast (Phil Vischer)

The Phil Vischer Podcast

The Phil Vischer Podcast (Phil Vischer) examines popular culture and Church oddities through the slightly off-kilter lens of the VeggieTales creator. Joining him are Miami University of Ohio grad Skye Jethani, who provides the theological insights, and Christian Taylor, who provides the heart and the grounding. Guests appear also. Interesting, sometimes controversial, but always fun.

The Mockingpulpit (Mockingbird)

The Mockingpulpit

The Mockingpulpit (Mockingbird) is a team effort by the folks at Mockingbird, ardent promoters of Law/Gospel preaching from an Episcopal point of view. The messages are from a variety of speakers/teachers/preachers, but all of them are thought provoking and grace filled. Some of the best preaching I’ve ever heard has come from this site. Not every message will slay you, but many will. Soaked through with the grace we so need to embrace.

Christ Hold Fast Cast (Christ Hold Fast)

Christ Hold Fast Cast

Christ Hold Fast Cast (Christ Hold Fast) is also a team effort, but by the folks at Christ Hold Fast, also ardent promoters of Law/Gospel, this time from a Lutheran point of view. Less preaching than Mockingbird, but still offers grace-filled discussions and interviews. Caters to a younger, hipper crowd, but even this old guy likes it.

Virtue in the Wasteland (Jeff Mallinson & Daniel van Voorhis)

Virtue in the Wasteland

Virtue in the Wasteland (Jeff Mallinson & Daniel van Voorhis) tackles culture, history, philosophy, ethics, and religion from a Lutheran perspective. The hosts are professors at Concordia University, and the smarts in this podcast will enlarge your mind. These two down-to-earth guys will help bolster your Christian worldview, guaranteed, while the connections they draw will make you smile.

Let My People Think (Ravi Zacharias)

Let My People Think

Let My People Think (Ravi Zacharias) enlightens with Christian apologetics from a man who is a treasure to the Body of Christ. What I love most about Ravi: His intellect never obscures his heart. He’s got you saying “amen” one moment, and you’re crying the next. Many of the podcasts are repeats of older talks, but fresh material arrives now and then. No matter, it’s all superb.

Unbelievable? (Justin Brierley)

Unbelievable?

Unbelievable? (Justin Brierley) is the quintessentially British take on apologetics, with a BBC-like feel. Host Justin usually features two guests from opposing sides who discuss a theological or ethical issue. Given that some of the loudest atheist voices are British, it’s often atheist versus Christian. One of the headiest podcasts out there, you’ll definitely learn a few things about competing worldviews by listening. Fire up your pipe, pour a couple fingers of 18-year-old Talisker, and have a go.

The God Journey (Wayne Jacobsen)

The God Journey

The God Journey (Wayne Jacobsen) is a podcast for folks burned by institutional “churchianity.” While I have reservations about Wayne’s association with the book The Shack (he was a collaborator with the author), I’ve found his insights into letting go of religious dross and renewing one’s intimacy with God to be freeing, plus he comes from a solid Foursquare background. Still, he remains controversial. If you feel the way we do Church in America makes cold, hard stones instead of warmhearted disciples, Wayne might be worth a listen.

So, lend these podcasts an ear if you want to be edified. And feel free to comment or to suggest other Christian podcasts you find helpful.

God bless you.

A Slowdown at Cerulean Sanctum

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The old, French aphorism goes Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. Translation: The more things change, the more they stay the same.

While that has been the case since I started writing Cerulean Sanctum, I can’t say it’s the case now.

For the next few months, posts will be sparse due to changes in my work and some other big changes due to that change. You know that old, American saying I’m as busy as a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest? Well, I may have both my lower limbs, but the level of activity is commensurate. I’m just hoping the old, American saying of Live fast and die young doesn’t apply, because the speed of everything right now is cranked up to ridonculous levels.

I hope to get back to some level of normality, but it may take a while for me to find a life balance. Prayers for that goal are appreciated!

But most of all, if I have prayer requests, they follow:

For excellent health

For favor and success in my new work

For a greater ability to abide in Christ and find peace and strength in Him amid all the activity around me

Thanks for being a reader. Please keep checking in. You never know what may be posted here. Just know that whatever is will be sparser than normal until life settles down, probably after summer.

Blessings!

Midweek Thoughts (and Links) on a Frigid Day

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It’s Wednesday. The thermometer reads -6ºF.

If that’s not enough to make you philosophical, I don’t know what is.

So here are various unrelated thoughts, opinions, helps, and factoids to warm up your brain, even if the rest of you is longing for a space heater.

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I recently wrote about Christianity Today‘s Book of the Year, God’s Forever Family: The Jesus People Movement in America.

A few things in that book that struck me:

1. The Jesus People movement, at first, was comprised mostly of unchurched hippies. When they became believers, they read the Bible and believed that anything was possible for God, because He could do anything or make anything seemingly impossible become reality. It was only later, after more traditional church people started discipling the Jesus People methodically, that the idea that God can do anything and that Christians were not limited or restrained started to vanish. I don’t know about you, but I see that as a sobering indictment of faithlessness—not among the hippies, but among the church people who discipled them.

2. The book notes that one of the primary social realities that doomed the Jesus People Movement was marriage and family. Once the Jesus People paired up and had kids, the movement died. Curiously, the Apostle Paul predicted this in 1 Corinthians 7:33-35. It makes me wonder if the only way we’ll see revival come again will be if it’s driven by and for single people. Singles may be the Church’s best hope for renewal. How strange that they continue to be treated as pariahs in many churches.

3. This is a bit controversial, but hey: It was startling to read how many of the hippies had experiences of God while using drugs. I wonder if we have become a society that is so über-rational that we have to have our overdriven rationality restrained before we can be open to the Lord. I’m not advocating recreational drug use as a means to lower our reliance on rational thought, only that extreme rationalism may be its own disease, one that short circuits the natural centers of the brain that connect with religious experience. Again, I don’t want to reduce conversion to a set of physical correlations, but I’ve got to believe we are out of balance with God’s created order if we flee to the intellect to explain every aspect of the human experience.

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Speaking of amped rationality interfering with spirituality, here’s an intriguing article on why young people become atheists: Listening to Young Atheists: Lessons for a Stronger Christianity.

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Oh, that Jesus People Movement thing? Here’s a mapping project that seeks to note all the hotspots of the movement. Feel free to add locations you know of. (Ohio, which was actually a hotbed of movement activity, seems to be lacking input at the moment.)

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So much for learning: 23% of Americans did not read a book (or even listen to an audiobook) last year. What does that mean for Christianity, which relies so much on the written word to communicate truth and wisdom?

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If you read this blog regularly, then you’ve heard me unpack some of my own ideas on why megachurches may be doomed. “7 Reasons Why Church Worship Centers Will Get Smaller” at Outreach Magazine online adds further insights.

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Brendt Waters douses some Strange Fire Conference “logic”: “A ‘Critic’ Answers Back.”

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Over at The J Letters, some whack-job talks about truth, magic, and changing the world.

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If you’ve been to the movie theater lately, you may be feeling this sense of déjà vu when it comes to the movie’s plotline and themes. It’s not you. There may be a real reason why all movies seem the same anymore.

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Is a Christian apologetic dead in the U.K.? Not if you listen to the podcast Unbelievable, a hard-hitting, intellectual look at difficult issues from both Christian and non-Christian perspectives that is very unlike “family friendly, positive, Christian radio” here in the States. (Website here.)

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Discouraged? Find freedom in Christ—for free! K.P. Yohannan of Gospel for Asia brings the truth in his no-cost e-booklet on how to triumph over discouragement.