Morning Mike Check: Recent Episodes
Clapham Institute
Iain McGilchrist describes the right hemisphere as “prophetic.” Mike Metzger’s voice has often been described as prophetic. Prophets are not weirdos. They instead have a wide-angle lens. They see more widely. This series of conversations is designed to widen your lens—on the faith, your work, the gospel, your physical body… you name it.
Our summary comes from an interview with Philip Jenkins in 2007 titled, “Companions of Life: What Must We learn, and Unlearn?” in Books and Culture (March/April 2007, Volume 13, No. 2, 18-20).
Robert M. Burton, On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You’re Not (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2008)
Today's conversation is centered around Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics by Ross Douthat.
Today's conversation is centered around The Back of the Napkin (Expanded Edition): Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures by Dan Roam
Last week Mike mentioned that Christians think about church history primarily in three frames. In this week’s conversation, we discuss what those frames are and how they inform much of what Christians believe we ought to strive for in “reviving” the church.
Today's Notes come from Don't Think of an Elephant!: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate--The Essential Guide for Progressives Paperback – September 1, 2004 by George Lakoff
Mike and I are spending some time going through several books and bringing this content to the listener. These are books many probably won't read but have value in understanding the times.
Mike and I continue down the rabbit whole of attention, but from a different angle in this conversation. We actually start out discussing tensions and end up overlapping with our last conversation about attention. Tensions are helpful in pulling us beyond ourselves and what we pay attention to, has a certain effect on us.
Today’s conversation is a great doorway into a deep rabbit hole. While Mike and I discuss a recent news article, the conversation touches on many of the ideas Mike has been writing about for years. In this conversation we talk about why it’s important to pay attention and be selective about what we pay attention to.
At times I find myself wondering, with all that Mike and I have talked about, what is our path forward. What do I do with my work, my family, my community to bring glory to God? In this conversation Mike provides an answer; one that is, in his usual fashion, quite provocative.
This week Mike and I discuss contentment and what is has to do with godliness. Paul mentions in 1 Timothy 6 that godliness with contentment is great gain. What does that imply? Does the call to contentment mean we should accept our circumstances and stop looking to change them?
Last week we ended our conversation on three great debates, the final debate regarding human nature. This week we pick up where we left off and talk about how this debate affects what is beautiful, good, and true.
As Mike has been writing about poetry lately I thought it would be good to bring that into our conversations. In today's conversation we talk about just that - poetry. We look at how it relates to human nature and widens our faith.
In my spheres, I’ve picked up on this underlying notion of feelings being “valid”, “real”, and therefore “true”. Yet I have found myself qualifying my own statements with, “this might not be how I should be feeling, but I feel…” I was curious if this self suspicion had merit and related to some of the conversations Mike and I have had.
Mike recently wrote about making his next ascent. In this conversation, we look back at the meadows Mike has been through and the lessons he’s learning as he makes his ascent into the next meadow.
Mike and I talk about artificial intelligence, what its implications are, and what we ought to be mindful of moving forward.
Does God call us to suffer? If so, how do we suffer well when He does? This is no easy question to answer, but as Mike and I stumble our way through it, the Martial Gospel offers hope.
Many have an end game, the end of the road, the “good life”. It’s what we pursue, and why we do the things we do. I was curious how Mike viewed the “good life” and how his view has changed over time. We spend time talking about his early days in college ministry, planting a church, discovering Augustine, and many more steps along the way.
You read about layoffs in the news a lot these days. The surprising headlines of course have been large tech companies many of us thought were insulated from economic challenges. We read what happened, but we often don’t know how it happened. How can companies manage layoffs while still respecting the dignity of the individual? How ought individuals respond when receiving a layoff notice? These are hard questions to answer. Naturally, that’s why I asked them to Mike.
What should we expect Christmas to look like in a culture that decreasingly celebrates its true meaning? Do believers today celebrate Christmas the way we ought to? Mike addresses these and several other questions related to what Christmas is like in Babylon.
Jesus prayed that those who believed in him would be one. What does that mean and how do we reconcile that with our multitude of denominations and expressions of the faith?
Many churches celebrate Advent around the world but how many Christians know why we do? What can we do to bring this season to life for our children so they learn to engage in it early? In today’s conversation Mike, as always, steps back to shed light on the “why” behind Advent and offers helpful advice for how to celebrate this season well.
Recently I stumbled upon an article noting the rise in state government trifectas over the past some fifty years. My heart broke, thinking about the continued trend of even more heightened, modern polarization. In this episode, I seek Mike’s advice on what can be done to steer us towards a healthier political atmosphere.
Books mentioned in this episode:
- Perelandra - C.S. Lewis
- Rebuilt: Awakening the Faithful, Reaching the Lost, and Making Church Matter - Michael White & Tom Corcoran
Ambidextrous organizations think and operate using both right and left hemispheres. You can find a good little video on establishing an ambidextrous infrastructure at https://claphaminstitute.org/businesses-with-an-ambidextrous-infrastructure. While the context of the conversation for this infrastructure is often bringing it into existing businesses, I wanted to get Mike’s advice on how to start a business with this infrastructure.
Books mentioned in this episode:
- Thinking, Fast and Slow - Daniel Kahneman
- Joy at Work - Dennis Bakke
- The Management Myth: Debunking Modern Business Philosophy - Matthew Stewart
As our kids grow up, how do we give them a strong start in gaining cultural capital? Are private schools better suited for this than public schools? In our conversation, Mike talks about the history of public education, its flaws and advantages.
Books mentioned in this episode:
- Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work - Matthew Crawford
That’s not fair! I’m reminded of my time as a kid thinking this way, yet admittedly it’s not only a childhood expression. What is fairness and why is it often an unhelpful way to approach the world? This is the question I pose to Mike in today’s episode.
Books mentioned in this episode:
- Joy at Work - Dennis Bakke
- The Management Myth: Why the Experts Keep Getting it Wrong - Matthew Stewart
Today’s episode coincides with Mike’s column today. What does a left-brained society have to do with student loans? Mike offers some perspective.
Books mentioned in this episode:
- Other People's Money: The Real Business of Finance - John Kay
This is a followup episode to our first conversation on insecurity. Mike and I talk about insecurities and flaws, how solitude can help overcome insecurities, how insecurities are shaped in people and what communal/cultural practices might help avoid that.
In today’s conversation, Mike and I discuss insecurity. We end up turning to the Psalms and discover that insecurity has a deep connection to idolatry.
Taking cultural capital seriously changed the trajectory of my life and helped me discover a new frame in which I can live out my faith. I thought it might be helpful for Mike and I to revisit this idea, for our audience as well as for me personally. This is a complex topic with many layers. Mike and I will be pulling those layers apart over the next few weeks.
This is the final part in our series and I spent some time recapping my experience following Mike down this rabbit hole of cultural capital. This episode became a good example of what Mike calls “scripting”. As I tease out my experience, Mike picked up on a specific word choice I used and we spent time unpacking the non-conscious influences shaping that word choice. It’s an example of the regular conversations Mike and I enjoy.
Books mentioned in this episode:
Joy at Work: A Revolutionary Approach To Fun on the Job - Dennis W. Bakke
The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America - Louis Menand
The Master and His Emissary - Iain McGilchrist
Taking cultural capital seriously changed the trajectory of my life and helped me discover a new frame in which I can live out my faith. I thought it might be helpful for Mike and I to revisit this idea, for our audience as well as for me personally. This is a complex topic with many layers. Mike and I will be pulling those layers apart over the next few weeks.
During part 3 of this series, Mike and I spend some time noting a few examples of individuals who have taken cultural capital seriously.
Books mentioned in this episode:
The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind - Mark A. Noll
Taking cultural capital seriously changed the trajectory of my life and helped me discover a new frame in which I can live out my faith. I thought it might be helpful for Mike and I to revisit this idea, for our audience as well as for me personally. This is a complex topic with many layers. Mike and I will be pulling those layers apart over the next few weeks.
In part 2 of this series, we continue to drift this topic, hitting on how daunting of a task it can feel when you start to take cultural capital seriously and how it is not about “reclaiming America” or fighting culture wars.
Books mentioned in this episode:
- Network Power: The Science of Making a Difference - David John Seel Jr
- After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the 90's - Marshall Kirk
- The Spirit of the Disciplines - Dallas Willard
- The Master and His Emissary - Iain McGilchrist
Taking cultural capital seriously changed the trajectory of my life and helped me discover a new frame in which I can live out my faith. I thought it might be helpful for Mike and I to revisit this idea, for our audience as well as for me personally. This is a complex topic with many layers. Mike and I will be pulling those layers apart over the next few weeks.
I’ve heard the phrase “false narrative” a few times now and it’s stood out to me for some reason. I pick Mike’s brain on why. Is “false witness” a better phrasing?
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
Bearing False Witness: Debunking Centuries of Anti-Catholic History - Rodney Stark
With the recent Roe v. Wade leak, my question to Mike is simple. How do we make sense of or read the times?
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
- The Master & His Emissary - Iain McGilchrist
Many of us loved playing video games as a kid. Now that we’ve all grown up, we still play. A lot. In this episode Mike and I talk about video games and the significant use of them common among grown men today.
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
- Amusing Ourselves to Death - Neil Postman
- The Master & His Emissary - Iain McGilchrist
- Personal Knowledge: Towards a post-critical philosophy - Michael Polanyi
Divorce feels more common among my personal relationships as I see friends or friends of friends begin to contemplate its possibility in their lives. My question to Mike was simply, “how do I help”. In this episode Mike and I talk about divorce, marriage, and what it all has to do with the marital gospel.
Books Mentioned in This Episode:
- Uncoupling: Turning Points in Intimate Relationships - Diane Vaughan
- Our Body’s Tell God’s Story - Christopher West
In light of the Lenten season, Mike and I talk about fasting. We discuss topics like why and how should we fast as well as fasting’s connection to silence and solitude.
There’s a lot to comprehend with the invasion of Ukraine. What’s the motivation behind it, what are the global politics involved in it, how do we respond to it as a nation and as individuals. In this episode, Mike tackle’s some of those questions and sheds light on how we could respond as believers.
Mentioned in this episode:
- That Hideous Strength - C.S. Lewis
- The Liberation Trilogy - Rick Atkinson
In this episode, Mike and I discuss raising children. Mike shares some examples about how he was raised, how he raised his children, and why embodying the faith is so important.
Mentioned in this episode:
Sugar - Elizabeth Abbott
A River Runs Through It - Norman Maclean
The Limits of Empathy - David Brooks
Work today is increasingly remote. What has long been core to where we live is fading away for many and our options for where to live have increased significantly. In this episode, I ask Mike’s take on where one ought to live. How do we make that decision in today’s remote world and what wisdom may help guide it?
During our last conversation Mike and I talked about the Great Resignation from the perspective of the employee or the individual contributor. In this conversation we shift to the employer or manager perspective and talk about how to better retain people.
The Great Resignation has been reported on by a number of sources and marks a unique trend today with many leaving their place of employment, often for another, seemingly better, place to work. Mike and I discuss meaning, monetization, and how this may be an indication of where believers ought to be salt and light.
Books mentioned in this episode:
- The Search for God and Guinness - Stephen Mansfield
- The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism - Max Weber
- The Master & His Emissary - Iain McGilchrist
- Other People's Money: The Real Business of Finance - John Kay
In this episode, Mike and I discuss the Cloud of Unknowing and how it leads to humility but doesn’t dissuade confidence.
Books Mentioned: * The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia--and How It Died - Philip Jenkins * The Discarded Image - C.S. Lewis
Mike and I go down the rabbit hole a bit in this episode, discussing the Marital Gospel and how marriage can point us to something higher. We talk about why we long for our spouses and hope for that longing to be returned as well as how that can be distorted into seduction and lust.
How do we see Christmas as we ought? How do I help guide my own children to do this? Mike and I talk about Thanksgiving as a preparation for Advent, the importance of spiritual disciplines during the season of Advent, and how gratitude can be embodied.
The metaverse has arrived! Join today! In this episode, Mike and I talk about Facebook’s rebranding, what’s behind the word “meta” and why we should be wise in our use of technology today.
Books mentioned in this episode:
- A Secular Age - Charles Taylor
- The Discarded Image - C.S. Lewis
- The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America - Louis Menand
- Perelandra - C.S. Lewis
Thanksgivings, Christmas parties, get togethers, gifts, expectations. It’s easy to get lost in the shuffle during the holidays. How do we enjoy them instead? During this episode Mike and I talk about relationships, friendships, love, boundaries, and what it means to prepare for the upcoming holy-days.
Books mentioned in this episode:
- The Spirit of the Disciplines - Dallas Willard
- That Hideous Strength - C.S. Lewis
Out of patience? Needing to fill your tank? Running on empty? These are all common phrases I hear and find myself using. Recently it dawned on me that something is off with this frame. I wanted to hear Mike’s take on it. In this episode we talk about what this frame misses and what might we imagine to replace it.
Books mentioned in this episode:
- The Screwtape Letters - C.S Lewis
- The Spirit of the Disciplines - Dallas Willard
I took an opportunity to do some live scripting with Mike during this episode in order to prepare for an upcoming meeting where I would like to establish confidence with my leadership. This is unrehearsed and may be helpful to listeners to experience a bit of what it’s like to script out a conversation ahead of time with Mike.
Books mentioned in this episode:
- American Icon - Alan Mulally
- Proper Confidence - Lesslie Newbigin
I grew up learning there was good stress and there was bad stress. Life’s recipe calls for a bit of both but that imagery, when coupled with things like “work/life balance”, isn’t the most helpful frame to live life by. Today we find ourselves often discussing our increased levels of anxiety. Why is that so common, particularly in the church and what can we do about it? In this episode Mike sheds light on a different frame and how a better path forward is an embodied one.
Books mentioned in this episode:
- Coddling of the American Mind - Jonathan Haidt, Greg Lukianoff
Sadness seems to be something we attempt to escape today. As I’ve spent time with Mike, I’ve questioned whether or not we ought to escape it. In this episode Mike and I discuss how opening our bodies to sadness is actually rooted in our faith tradition.
Books mentioned in this episode:
- A Good Man is Hard to Find - Flannery O'Connor
- The Master and His Emissary - Iain McGilchrist
- Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi
- The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
You may find yourself noticing trigger warnings these days. Mike helps connect the dots on the relationship between “being triggered” and conscience and how we ought to be mindful of the idols we’re likely blind to.
Books mentioned in this episode:
- Idols for destruction - Herbert Schlossberg
There are many out there who are suspicious of the COVID-19 vaccine but this connects to a much larger trend: the overarching suspicion of authority. In this episode, Mike sheds some light on why this suspicion exists and how it’s only a recent manifestation of a much older characteristic of western civilization.
Books mentioned in this episode:
- A Great and Godly Adventure - Godfrey Hodgson
- The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America - Louis Menand
- The Free World: Art and Thought in the Cold War - Louis Menand
- Slouching Towards Bethlehem - Joan Didion
I used to view my faith as an overflowing bucket with the point being to go to places and let my faith spill over. More recently I’ve realized the image in my head is more of a sponge, absorbing the pain and suffering around me. Mike provides some good feedback on this take and its connection to spiritual formation, knowledge, and discipleship.
Books mentioned in this episode:
- The Master and His Emissary - Iain McGilchrist
- Our Bodies Tell God’s Story - Christopher West
Once unheard of, unionization has become a novel trend in the tech world. On this episode, Mike and I discuss some of the history of unions, how “returning authority” is a truer naming than “empowerment”, and how one might go about institutionalizing a return of authority.
Mike’s mentioned a few times now, he’s doing this all for his grandchildren. In this episode we talk about why and what he hopes for them as they grow up in the faith.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
- The Strange Death of Europe - Douglas Murray
- The Madness of Crowds - Douglas Murray
If you haven’t read Mike’s post on good bones, you may want to start there. In this conversation we go a bit deeper into Mike’s faith background, what makes for good bones in a church, and what we ought to put our hope in moving forward.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
- A Secular Age - Charles Taylor
In a previous conversation, Mike said once you codify a mission statement, it dies. In this episode I ask what he meant by this and how we ought to make sense of corporate mission statements and values.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
- On Reading Well - Karen Swallow Prior
Mike has written on Common Good Capitalism and in this episode I pick his brain in an effort to better comprehend how he understands Common Good Capitalism as well as what exactly we can do with it.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
- The Master & His Emissary - Iain Mcgilchrist
- Other People’s Money - John Kay
- The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism - Max Weber
- Joy at Work: A Revolutionary Approach To Fun on the Job - Dennis Bakke
- The World Is Curved: Hidden Dangers to the Global Economy - David Smick
Imaginative literature has played a big role in Mike’s faith journey. More recently, I’ve come to see the value of it myself. During this episode Mike and I talk about how imaginative literature has shaped his faith and why it’s an important practice in developing a wondrous faith.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
- Walden Two - B.F Skinner
- Out of the Silent Planet - C.S. Lewis
- Myth of Certainty - Daniel Taylor
- Proper Confidence - Lesslie Newbigin
- Poetic Diction: A Study in Meaning - Owen Barfield
- Our Bodies Tell God’s Story - Christopher West
Mike and I end up journeying through a number of different topics on this episode but all center around the initial question, “how does one vote well today?”. As usual, Mike drives to the root of the question and provides some helpful commentary on the political climate we find ourselves in.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
- The Years of Lyndon Johnson - Robert Caro
- Madness of Crowds - Douglas Murray
Mike and I have often talked about the importance of systems and institutions; how bandaid solutions lack them. How does the pop up pantry fit into this. Is it another bandaid?
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
- When Helping Hurts - Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett
What have we lost as Church on Sunday has become one more thing we participate with on a screen? Mike answers with an article from The Economist. Ineffable. The Bablyonians get this one right.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
- The Technological Society - Jacques Ellul
- Technopoly - Neil Postman
- Perelanda - C.S. Lewis
- The Spirit of the Disciplines - Dallas Willard
Chesterton said, “Never let a quarrel ruin an argument.” In this episode, I ask Mike to help me digest that quote and discover how arguments, not quarrels, are important in good friendships, marriages, and workplaces.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
- The Triumph of the Therapeutic - Philip Rieff
- The Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis
- The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership - Steven Sample
“Woke” is just as polarized as one would expect given today’s climate. As usual, Mike’s take on woke culture reframes the conversation and looks at some of the commonalities it shares with America’s past awakenings.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
- Coming Apart - Charles Murray
- Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis - J.D. Vance
- The Master and His Emissary - Iain McGilchrist
While we don’t often tackle recent events, Mike and I discuss the recent $1.9 trillion stimulus package and what its implications are. As usual, Mike widens the lens on the topic and provides reason to be wary of the true cost of such a package.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
- Other People’s Money - John Kay
- Under a White Sky - Elizabeth Kolbert
Here is the piece on climate change and it's impact on coffee farmers Mike mentioned: https://www.crs.org/stories/climate-change-guatemala-coffee-leaf-rust.
How do we imagine self-righteousness? Where are we blind to it and how does the four-chapter Gospel widen how we imagine it? Mike walks me through the story of Jesus cleansing the temple and how it reveals something much deeper about our faith.
Books mentioned in this episode:
- The Righteous Mind - Jonathon Haidt
- Our Bodies Tell God’s Story - Christopher West
- Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 - Tony Just
What does it mean to be rich? How do we reconcile increases in riches as our careers advance with Jesus saying his disciples must possess nothing? Mike helps me sort through these questions and more as we discuss affluence, riches, possessions and stewardship.
Books Mentioned In This Episode:
- The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World - Niall Ferguson
- Other People's Money: The Real Business of Finance - John Kay
- The Good of Affluence: Seeking God in a Culture of Wealth - John R. Schneider
Personally, I don’t have much experience practicing Lent. It’s only been in the past few years that I’ve put focus on it. During this conversation, Mike and I discuss the purpose of Lent and what his experience is with it. We talk about why Lent is a meaningful tradition and how it can be practiced as such.
After our recording, Mike also mentioned a great video on the purpose of Lent. You can find it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzR7fl3b0Nw.
Books mentioned in this episode:
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Our Bodies Tell God’s Story - Christopher West
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The Spirit of the Disciplines - Dallas Willard
What does it mean to be unconsciously competent? Mike and I dive in to this topic and talk about what unconscious competence is, why it’s important to our faith, and the challenges we face as we progress through the different stages of competence.
Books mentioned in this episode:
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A Secular Age - Charles Taylor
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Ways of Attending: How our Divided Brain Constructs the World - Iain McGilchrist
I’ve heard several mothers express the difficulties of raising children at home and not feeling like it’s groundhog day with the same toil repeating itself day in and day out. In this episode I seek out Mike’s advice for how to help my own bride escape the toil and us both imagine work inside the home as equally valuable to work outside the home.
- “A Secular Age” - Charles Taylor
- “America Is Having a Moral Convulsion” - David Brooks - https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/10/collapsing-levels-trust-are-devastating-america/616581/
- “Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life” - Robert N. Bellah Summary: In 2020, David Brooks wrote a column in the Atlantic titled “America Is Having a Moral Convulsion” on how levels of trust in America are in “precipitous decline”. Mike explain the times by helping us locate ourselves in history.
Summary:
What do you expect from the Babylonians? Mike and I talk through how to avoid getting wrapped around the axle by today’s news, and how to better digest current events.
Summary:
Mike enlightens me on the difference between teaching and mentoring, and how to mentor others effectively.
Books Referenced: * The Management Myth, by Mathew Steward * Joy at Work, by Dennis Bakke
Books Referenced: * The Rise of Christianity, by Rodney Stark * The Divine Conspiracy, by Dallas Willard