Desiring Brethren: Recent Episodes
Tanner Hofs, David Short, Jackson O'Brien
This is it friends... our swan song, our final will and testament, our eulogy to ourselves. BRETHREN FOREVER!
In our second-to-last episode ever, we talk about finding common ground with other religions! To infinitely help us with that, we're joined by David Shorten... no, not David Short. We'll explain later. I know, I know.
With Tanner away, Jack decides to gang up on Dave with two of his good friends, Chris and Josh. The nice part about being ganged up on by pacifists is that you can beat them up easily, so Dave winds up just fine.
Jack's got a radical idea... it's a big one. His mom doesn't agree with it. It'll get him kicked out of high society. But he BELIEVES it, gosh darn it!
After a looooooong break, we're back in a major way. Disclaimer: we do not own or profit from any of the film clips in this episode.
We've commandeered Tom MacPherson for another episode, and he joins Tanner and Dave to think all sorts of musical thoughts!
Ferda Bible nerds out there, our love song to you: an award show celebrating all the minor characters. Enjoy.
With the flood of information from around the world, has it all just become entertainment? Does it ever lead to action? Are we 'amusing ourselves to death'? Should North American Christians stop putting their focus internationally, and invest in our home turf? All these questions and more, with no guarantee of answers forthcoming!
Finally, it's happened! Dave and Tanner watch Aronofsky's "Noah", coming away with questions like: Why does Noah try to kill babies? Is Noah fighting global warming? And, most importantly, HOW COOL IS METHUSELAH???
In our 2nd attempt at an important and controversial topic, Joel Short saves the day once again with his brilliance, wit, and supreme Oilers knowledge.
There's a saying at Desiring Brethren: if you need extra brain-power, bring in a second Short. Dave's older brother Joel joins us this episode to talk creation, evolution, and how we read the Bible.
Dave gets extra-spicy this episode as we talk dressing up for church!
So to honour him, pa-ra-pa-pa-pummmmmm,
I wore my sweats for him, pa-ra-pa-pa-pummmmm
This episode Jack grinds his ax, beats his recently-deceased horse, and makes sure to peeve his pet over the value of secular help. Tanner interrupts him a lot, while Dave just wants to know what's going on. WE LIKE TO FIGHT TOO!
Newspaper in one hand, Revelation in the other: what should be our response to those who are looking for signs of Armageddon? In this episode, populist-hero Dave battles the elitist-scum Jackson and Tanner over the rapture, Left Behind, and whether you should challenge those in your church that are keeping an eye on the sky.
We present the second part of our loooong conversation about camp, featuring the 'expert' Anna Page! We talk Evolution vs. Christianity, CTF, flirting, and even NUDE BUTTS (Dave made me write that).
With Anna Page popping in, we got so much content that we're putting out two episodes: so nice you have to listen twice! Part 1 is filled with bragging contests, off-key songs, seven baptisms (you read that right!), and so much more.
Real talk: This is one of the best conversations we've ever had, and Dave wasn't there. Draw your own conclusions. After blowing the dust off the ole Master's thesis, Elly Krogman joins us to talk about one of her passions, rediscovering a theology of brokenness and need.
In 1948, Billy Graham committed to never be alone with a woman that wasn't his wife. In 2017, the 'Billy Graham Rule' is still going strong in the evangelical community, but rarely is it questioned. With Dave away this week, Jackson and Tanner talk with their former Bible School professor Elly Krogman about what impact the Rule might be having in our churches today.
This episode we enter the murky world of "heavenly rewards": the idea that based on our good deeds, some of us are gonna get (in Dave's words) Lamborghinis in heaven while others are gonna be stuck with old junkers. Spoiler alert: none of us understand this topic at all.
In this episode, we shine light on one of the earth's greatest mysteries: why did God make the ocean so spoooooky?
Are C.S. Lewis' classic children's books boring and overrated, or exciting and profound? We ask the question that shall set son against father, daughter against mother, Tanner against Dave. This episode brings not peace, but a sword.
Our good friend Brandon Buttery joins us this episode to talk about his experience leaving the church and how that's opened up his views on youth group, worship music, Jesus, and a whole lot more. Oh yeah, and folk-hero Tom MacPherson randomly drops by to give us one of the most epic rants on dating that you will ever hear!
Our friend and cinephile Brandon Buttery joins us this episode to talk violence in film, while Dave walks alone in his convictions on stylistic violence.
Josh Siewert and Jesse Nakano join the podcast crew for a second episode to talk football, brain injuries, and whether Christians are partly to blame for the concussion crisis.
Things get weird when Jesse Nakano and Josh Siewert join us to talk Bible school dating, but the best kind of weird. We also unexpectedly do a lot of promo for Mount Carmel (Bible College), so hopefully a paycheck is in the mail?
In a second amazing interview, Alejandra 'The Velvet Hammer' Ortiz walk us through the challenges and joys of being a woman in church leadership in Mexico. Enjoy!
Our churches do a lot of short-term mission trips to Mexico, but rarely do we hear from the local church leaders receiving them. In this episode we are joined by Alejandra Ortiz, a staff-member in the Mexican campus ministry Compa, to learn about the unforeseen consequences of short-term missions on the Mexican church and some positive new directions these trips are taking.
In this episode, Dave leads Tanner and Jackson into "A Journey Through the Mind," which has us debating bias, experts, and whether all opinions are valuable. In the ever-prescient words of Marty McFly, "this is heavy!"
We celebrate our first anniversary Desiring Brethren style... by talking about how awesome we are, doing a game-show, and then forcing other people to tell us how awesome we are. That's how you make it to #143 on the charts baby!
This episode we discuss some strategies for refuting the devil, the fascination of Christians with board games, and (in a surprising turn of events) Dave drops some fever-dream truth on us!
Hannah Tabert joins the podcast once again to guide us into the seedy underbelly of the fashion industry, where we find the true culprit behind sweat shops and oppression: everyone but me!
On this episode we are joined by the resplendent fashion designer Hannah Tabert, who teaches us that "modest is hottest" is not the final word God has spoken when it comes to fashion and creativity.
Is it possible that Tanner's fever-dream has led the podcast crew to discover a community more holy than Edmonton?! Listen to find out!
This episode we dig deep into the season of Advent (well, 'deep' for we Brethren at least), and Dave controversially stomps on your favourite Christmas hymn!
Need your daily dose of vigilantes, citizen arrest laws, creep catchers, and questioning of police ethics? Look no further than this episode, hosted by the one and only Dave!
With fear and trembling, we tackle the fad of church weight loss programs: are they helping or hurting us?
In this episode Dave and Jackson receive a pleasant surprise, we hear Dave's dying wish, and the podcast nearly gets sued/cursed by John Piper.
This episode, we ask the age-old question: will I glorify God more if I have a beard? We dive into ancient history and modern controversies to discover the truth hidden within the beard, and the lies covered up by the soul patch (poorly, I might add).
Bible Translations! Scandals! Dave is ticked! The ESV stumbles, while the KJV rises once again?! Hot (nerdy) stuff coming your way!
This episode we are joined by the foremost Creative Swearing expert in the Brethren church, Trevor Buttery, to chat about obeying socially constructed sins, breaking the power of words, and 16th century curse masters.
Our awesome friend Trevor Buttery joins us to ask all the hard-hitting questions: Can Satan read my mind? Is laser tag a viable business venture? Whose baptism water was coldest?
Using the latest scientific breakthroughs from theoretical physics and crop engineering, we present to you the DEFINITIVE list of Canadian cities blessed by God, and end with the 3 most cursed in our home and native land.
We try to wrap our head around the adorable/horrifying (it's all perspective) phenomenon of child preachers, and discover that Christianity's isn't alone in this strange, strange, fascination.
The answer to the ultimate question of life might be 42, but a quiver of children is 5 or 6, so that's a much easier way to find purpose for our lives, right??
Prepare for some extra nerdy conversation on the Fall, the benefits of sin (!!!), and most importantly... ALIENS! Also, we reveal the secret lives of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien!
We dive into the tricky (but wildly entertaining) world of U.S. politics to figure out a conundrum facing the American church: when does casting a vote become unethical?
Prepare yourself, because this episode is filled with HOT TAKES. We talk the refugee Olympic team, whether Canada should financially support its athletes, and end by dismantling every Olympic sport (except for gymnastics, of course).
With the help (once again) of the wonderful Olive Fogarty, Dave and Tanner expose their ignorance on the world of nursing homes, and discover some pretty simple steps Christians can take in the right direction.
Special guest Olive Fogarty joins us to talk nudity in art, in an episode heavily edited to reduce childish snickering. Enjoy at your own peril!
We enter the dystopian land of online comment sections, where roving bands of trolls, Bernie Bros, and 9/11 Truthers feast on the bones of any who dare show their humanity. Close your eyes, turn on the podcast, and let yourself be enveloped in our despair.
This week we talk competition in sports, church leagues, and black actors for some reason. Witness the triumphant finale that we guarantee you'll never expect, because we didn't either.
We talk Christian bubbles this episode, weighing their benefits and pitfalls. Lucky for us, our friend Collin Gelderman enlightens us with his experience growing up in the "Pleasantville" of Christian Bubbles, Neerlandia!
Surprisingly, this might be one of the most substantive discussions you'll ever hear about bug/human interaction, mixed in with the obligatory butterfly-bulldozing, NRA-impersonating behavior you've come to expect.
This episode, Jackson, Dave and music-wiz Jordan Bennett engage in some serious one-upmanship to prove themselves the ultimate worship leader. And we talk about the state of modern worship music... that too.
With the help of the massively-talented Jordan Bennett, we tackle one of the most looming questions of our generation. Of course, this was recorded before the life-changing DC Talk reunion cruise was announced, so it goes without saying that we recant all negative opinions expressed.
In the second of three live episodes recorded at Bethel Bible Camp, we test the compatibility of romantic language and God. Prepare for a sloppy wet kiss in the secret on a beautiful scandalous night!
Our final live episode at Bethel Bible Camp! If you're wondering what happens when fruit goes bad, this episode just might be for you.
The first of three live episodes at Bethel Bible Camp for the College and Career retreat! We talk original sin, collective punishment, and why we've been cursed by our no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfathers.
This week we grill a podcast superfan, Chris Lantz, about the joys and terrors of being a pastor. Be prepared for laughter, tears, and twice the legal dosage of Styrofoam Apache.
This episode we talk celebrity faith, Justin Bieber, idolatry, and even some Scientology. Did I mention that we talk about Justin Bieber?
Pour yourself a steamin' cup of joe and listen in as we butt heads over the nectar of the gods, Coffee. All credit to Nils Reuter for the topic idea!
Christian Teenagers of the world rejoice! Tanner, Dave, and Jackson tackle your third favourite topic (after Nintendo and the rap music, of course).
For the first time ever, we have a guest on the show! Some shill for Big Environmental (who just happens to be Tanner's neighbour, Dan Stewart) tries to fool us into caring about 'Christian stewardship' and 'loving our global neighbour'. Needless to say, our arguments create a Truth-Spill in his Pipeline of Lies!
Clickbait: Is Dave sick of the Brethren church? Listen in for his troubling comments on the Brethren golden calf, Communion.
In this episode, we break the shackles of logic and reason in order to definitively answer THE question: "When do you feel the world will end?" Prepare for some life-altering revelations ahead, with a finale of can't-be-missed autotune jams!
Dan Stewart joins us for a second episode, bringing his wisdom to bear on the ethics of employment. If you're a shark-fin dealer, prepare for some harsh words ahead.
They may take our lives, but they'll never take.... our musically-uninteresting-theological-essays! Onward Christian soldiers!
The fact that only one of us has travelled doesn't stop all of us from presenting our best uninformed opinions. Enjoy these ruminations on the spiritual side of travel!
An episode exploring the world of dreams, where we attempt to avoid the most boring topic of all: dreams.