The 4:8 Revolution: Recent Episodes
Fr. Chris Findley
Authentic Christian discipleship for the real world. Fr. Chris Findley discusses the integration of faith into the hectic, digitally-driven modern world. With a combination of solid teaching coupled with candor, humor, and wit, The 4:8 Revolution is designed to be a practical help in gaining real traction in your spiritual life.
In this episode, Chris walks surveys the major sources of Biblical docrtrine within Anglicanism. We look at the Catechism, the Formularies, and the Fundamental Declaration of the ACNA. We talk about the Bible's primacy, authority, and inspiration and see a remarkable consistency between what was said in the 16th century and what is said today in our Fundamental Declaration and Catechism.
In this episode Chris looks at the historic and Biblical role of Bishops. Why do we have Bishops in the Anglican Church? What do they do? What is a diocese? He examines the commitments Bishops make at their consecration particularly regarding scripture, the defening of the faith, and the witness they are called to have with their lives.
This week Chris talks about the Book of Common Prayer and its place as one of the formularies of the Anglican Church. The Book of Common Prayer (1662) is considered the "standard" book of Anglicanism. Why? How does the BCP stand alongside the Articles, the Homilies, and the Ordinal and provide a cohesive picture of English Reformation theology relevant to today?
Books Referenced in this Episode:
How to Use the Book of Common Prayer, Samuel Bray and Drew Nathaniel Keane
Anglicanism: A Reformed and Catholic Traditions, Gerald Bray
The 1662 Book of Common Prayer, International Edition, Cranmer's Preface (1549)
Chris continues his discussion this week on the Anglican Formularies by talking about the Ordinal (the manner of making and ordaining ministers). Why is the Ordinal one of the Formularies? What do we learn about the Anglican tradition by looking at the ordination service? We will see how the ordinal addresses Biblical primacy, the Atonement, Pastoring, and the Sacraments. Send suggestions and thoughts to podcast@chrisfindley.com
In this week's episode, Chris continues the discussion on the Anglican Formularies with the Books of Homilies (I & II). He talks about what a homily actually is, why they were written, how they were used, and why they should be seen as foundational for Anglicans today.
Books Referenced in this Episode:
Gattis, Lee, The First Book of Homilies (Updated)
Patrick, Tim, Anglican Foundations
Rodgers, John The Rt. Rev, The Faith of Anglicans
Chris continues discussing Anglican identity and the formularies of the church. This week he covers the basics of the 39 Articles including what they are, why they matter, and their potential as a theological anchor for the modern Church.
Anglicanism has roots that extend all the way back to the 2nd century, but is undeniably a Church of the English Reformation. This short podcast reviews the basics of Anglican history and the essential anchors historic Anglican doctrine found in the formularies of the Church.
The Scriptures are foundational to the Christian life. Yet many Christians do not spend much time reading and studying the Bible. If we believe it to be "The Word of the Lord", how can we not listen to it? Today's episode invites listeners to see the grand story, to ask 2 critical questions, and to truly strive to listen to God's voice in the Bible.
The Rev. Dr. Charles Erlandson presents his first talk at the 2019 Ancient Faith Conference at St. Patrick's Anglican Church, Murfreesboro, TN.
Exhaustion. Stress. Overload. We often feel these things. Peter and the disciples did. In the aftermath of Jesus' arrest, trial, execution and resurrection, they are left reeling. What does it all mean? In the midst of this Peter decided to go fishing. And what a trip it was! They learn some important lessons in their encounter with the Risen Lord --and so will we. I also discuss St. Maximillian Kolbe who sacrificed himself on behalf of another.
What do individualism, emotionalism, antinomianism, minimalism, relativism, and judgmentalism all have in common? They are "isms" that work directly against the deepening and maturing of our Christian life. Yet, they have worked their way into much of the popular Christian culture. In this podcast, I talk about ways we can identify and resist their harmful effects. I also spend some time sharing the wisdom of St. Francis of Assisi from the "Little Flowers of St. Francis"
One week they praise Him and the next week they condemn Him. Two crowds. But are they? We know that we have the capacity in our selves for divided loyalty, for blessing and cursing. We know St. Peter will deny even knowing Jesus. Yet, the love of God remains constant through it all. He never leaves us or abandons us. His mission remains steadfast and he wins our redemption despite our inconsistency. The love of God is truly remarkable.
We often focus on what NOT to do, but why not focus rather on what we SHOULD do? In this episode we learn how the Seven Godly Virtues help us in our battle against the Seven Capital Sins (also known as the Seven Deadly Sins). We also spend some time learning about St. Cyprian of Carthage and what he has to teach us about the Lord's Prayer and Patience.
St. Peter learns an important lesson in Luke's gospel about obedience. Through his obedience, and his trust, his eyes are opened to see Jesus in a new light as well how he relates to his Lord. We would do well to learn from this example and how even reluctant obedience can be a key to our discipleship. We also learn from St. Augustine about overcoming our internal conflict of will in responding to Jesus.
You and I are called to battle. We are called to engage in a great campaign, outlined in scripture, against the world, the flesh, and the devil. While we absolutely should make are requests known to God, we should be mindful of the fight that is before us. We battle our own temptations, we battle the allure of the world's values, and of course the evil one. Let's look at prayer through this lens and see how it might enrich our prayer life.
We are most joyful when our lives are lived with meaning and purpose. Authentic discipleship brings deep joy but it is demanding and rigorous. However, that's also what makes it beautiful and rewarding and full. In this episode I also talk about St. Clement and read from his letter to the Corinthians. And we talk a bit about how to handle distractions in worship and in private prayer.
Happy 2019! So how can we get our new year off to a good start spiritually? I offer 5 ways we can move forward in our faith over the next 12 months. In this podcast, I also introduce you to St. Francis de Sales and his book, "Introduction to the Devout Life".
Christ is born! But what is this great gift really all about? We read that God became flesh and dwelt among us. We sing the carols like "Joy to the World" but what is this joy truly all about. At its core, the Incarnation is where God's great love and our great need intersect. Listen to the message of Christmas again and let it sink deep into your heart.
In the midst of pain, trials, and dark days we may wonder if God is still with us. Sometimes it feels like we are alone. How can we walk faithfully and confidently through our difficulties? Pain and difficulties are a part of life and Christianity does not give us a pass around them. But we are given Christ's presence through them.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I love this holiday --the food, the parade, the gatherings, and the NAP! But I think we are called to more than a day of thanksgiving. As Christians, we are called to a life of Thanksgiving. Check out my Thanksgiving Day sermon from St. Patrick's to learn more.
What is the place of duty in the Christian life? In a time where so much emphasis is on emotion and convenience, I think it's time to recover a sense of the nobility of duty. We don't seek obedience to get something from God, but we seek to be obedient because that is what He has asked of us. Without a lively sense of duty to our call, we often are stagnant in our life of faith.
Many of us long for a deeper, more rich life of faith. We wonder why there seems to be a disconnect. Could it be that, like the Rich Young Man, our hearts are divided? Could it be that we have an achilles heel that needs to be addressed? Mark's Gospel tells us that Jesus looked at this man and loved him and he told him the truth. Maybe we need a similar conversation with our Lord.
You hear lots about freedom these days. Usually freedom is about throwing off all that constrains us and pursuing what we want, when we want, how we want. But is that the kind of freedom we are called to pursue? Scripture tells us, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." (Gal 5:1) What if we have been misunderstanding freedom, particularly freedom in Christ? Join me for this week's podcast and learn more!
There is a lot of fear in the world today. The news providers make good money from capitalizing on our fears. We tend toward worry, stress, and anxiety and so much around us tells us that our fear is well founded. But is it? Are we called to live in fear? How does faith, trust, and courage intersect with the real world in which we live. That's what I explore in this week's podcast.
Of all the animals we could be, Scripture likens us to sheep. That doesn't seem like the most flattering image. I'd have loved to have been a lion. Or an eagle. But no, we are sheep. Yet we have a great Shepherd and that makes all the difference. If we are going to be his disciples, one of the most helpful things we can do is examine this image and learn more about our calling and his provision.
Bad news seems to be all around us. We all are hungry for good news. But we are hungry not just to be told good news, but to encounter and experience good news. The people around us need to see it and experience it from us before they hear it from us. How do we BE good news in this world? How do we earn the right to be heard in this bad news world?
When you read Scripture, it's hard not to see the concern God has for the poor. In both the Old and New Testaments we see that the people of God are called to compassionate concern and care for the poor. Yet this seems like a struggle for the modern church. We tend to do good things on other fronts, but are we inadvertently neglecting to reflects God's own care for the poor among us?
Christians today struggle with maintaining their faith in the midst of our culture. Christianity is often combined (unwittingly) with humanism and post-modern thought (among other things). We need strong roots. We need to recover the ancient idea of catechesis which can help us root ourselves firmly in our faith.
St. Paul encourages us in Ephesians 4:1 to, "Walk in a manner worth of the calling to which you have been called." How do we do that today? What are some ways that we can seek the maturity of faith in our daily lives? I walk us through this passage and find some very practical lessons that will challenge, encourage, and strengthen us to live faithfully today.
We all have failed. We all have moments when we know we have blown it. Many people struggle with a sense of despair at their failings and even begin to believe that they are beyond the forgiveness of God. That's simply not true. But how can we move from failure to restoration? In this episode I discuss three crucial steps to take when we fail and how God's mercy and grace and forgiveness are greater than the sin that haunts us.
Typically, the local church provides about 2 hours of actual teaching time a week. This includes, sermon, Sunday School, and Youth Group. Over the course of a year, that's a 104 hours of instruction. The typical School which meets for 180 days, provides over 1000 hours of instruction. The key to engaging and preserving our culture is not only in the planting of churches, but in the planting of schools. Classical Christian education can be a key partner in this process. Join me for this conversation with Amanda Bell of Redeemer Classical Academy and learn more!
People often throw out the line, "Judge not, lest ye be judged." It's often used as a conversation stopper and only selectively applied. Could it be that we're missing something? The people of God are called to a discerning style of judgement, particularly in areas of doctrine and conduct. This is not a judgemental attitude assigning value or worth or speaking of someone's eternal destiny. Rather it is a responsibility we have to make right judgements that help us remain faithful to Christ. It's a crucial, and needed, understanding.
This is an important lesson because we all face storms. Sometimes it feels like we are in danger of drowning and we wonder if Jesus is indeed with us. Or is he asleep as he was on the lake with the Disciples in Mark 4? In a world where it seems like storms come upon us rapidly and without warning, it's good to learn the lessons the Disciples learned on the lake in the storm with Jesus. I hope this will be a great encouragement for you today!
When you look at Jesus' teaching, you see a strong emphasis on the Kingdom of God. Yet for many of us, we have relegated this to a back-burner topic. What if it is more? What if our understanding of the Kingdom, which Jesus goes to great lengths to explain, is actually the key to unlocking our spiritual life?
We often talk about sin as a general condition of humanity. But we don't often talk about ways we fight the temptation that often leads to specific sin. In this podcast I review how our first parents were led into sin and how the tempter continues to work the lead the people of God astray today.
Service is more than an action here and there. It is part of our identity as followers of Christ. We tend to focus on our pursuit of our spiritual life in areas such as prayer and study, but neglect the crucial call to be servants. It is a key to unlocking our life of discipleship. In this episode I talk about ways to engage in this life and the impact it can have on our witness.
Study is one of the most needed Christian Disciplines today. We are called to maturity and to seek not just the "milk" but the "solid food" of the faith. Diving deep into Scripture and into time-tested Christian literature is essential in our pursuit of Christian Maturity. In this podcast, I discuss ways we can engage in this process, and offer some advice on moving forward toward deepening our knowledge of the Truth that sets us free.
Worship is both a privilege and a responsibility. When we offer our worship we are participating, here and now, in the eternal worship of heaven. Many modern Christians have relegated worship to just another activity and are missing the great call of the Body of Christ to join with the angels, archangels and the entire company of heaven. This is a crucial discipline for followers of Christ and we desperately need to renew its priority in our lives.
Many Christians struggle to build and maintain a life of prayer. Often we start out strong, but fail to be consistent. We know we should be praying, but so many things press in on us and distract us. It's often the first thing that gets squeezed out of our day. In this week's 4:8 Revolution podcast I go over the reasons we should take seriously our call to pray and I give 3 key principles for building consistency and effectiveness in our our prayer life.
The interior life is easy to neglect. We tend to get lost in the busyness of daily life and ignore the need to care for our souls. Yet, our souls are far more central to our life, our well-being, and our happiness, than most of us realize. Drawing some lessons from the book Soul Keeping by John Ortberg, this week's podcast is all about understanding the centrality of our souls and discovering practical ways we can keep our souls healthy.
Depression is often a taboo subject within the Church. Yet many Christians struggle mightily with it. In fact 40 million Americans suffer from depression. Too often they struggle in silent desperation, unsure of of how and where to find help. My friend Billy Crain and I both suffer from depression and in this episode of The 4:8 Revolution we talk openly about our struggles and offer some practical advice on how to start the conversation and how we found help.
Whether in an office, a family, or a church, disagreements and conflict will arise from time to time. As Christian Disciples, it is important that we learn to deal with it Biblically and positively so that we can pursue true reconciliation and be about the work that we are called to do. Conflict doesn't have to be destructive; it can actually help us to grow and mature. I walk us through some ways of dealing with disagreements with grace and Christian maturity.
This is a wonderfully honest and frank discussion on the current state of race relations today with my friend Dr. Eboni Webb. We cover a number of topics that really helped me personally gain some perspective. I hope it does the same for you. With so much dust in the air on this topic, I really hope this episode provides some clarity, practical advice, and insight that will help us continue to heal and unite as children of God.
Holiness is something you a lot about in church --both God's holiness and our call to a holy life. But I think we tend to put the cart before the horse. We try to put the habits of holiness ahead of the heart for holiness. This leads us to frustration and quite often, a superficial life of faith. In this podcast I review this mis-applied and important topic and suggest a few ways to helps us move toward authenticity.
How do I learn to listen for the voice of God? How do I learn to discern His voice from the voices around me? This week's podcast focuses on these and other questions- which many people (including believers) often have. I also talk about Holy Week and the classic book "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A'Kempis.
Jesus' first disciples quickly learned that following their master often led them to challenging places and tough times. Jesus warned them about this. It's no different for us. If we follow Jesus and seek to live our faith we too will face tough times. How do we respond to those moments? In this weeks podcast I try to unpack what to do when you find yourself in a jam with Jesus. What lessons do we need to learn in order to move through those times with grace and faith? Check it out!
Loved having my friend Corey Trimble on the show this week! He is a super guy and I love what he's doing at this church, The Experience Community in Murfreesboro, TN. I asked him to share his story and the story of The Experience and then we dive into talking about some modern challenges for disciples. We talk about constant distractions, individualism and the need for community. I hope you enjoy listening as much as we did recording.
One of the great lessons the people of God have always had to learn is the lesson of trust. We tend to lean toward worry, doubt, and fear. In our difficult times it is often hard to hang on to the truth of the trustworthiness and faithfulness of our sovereign God. How can we trust when trusting is difficult? In this lesson I offer 4 ways, taken from Romans 8 that we can lean into the arms of God when we are facing dark days.
This is an "Extra" for the 4:8 Revolution listeners. In Episode 12 I spoke about our common calling to be ambassadors for the Kingdom. But I wanted to give you something else, an extra tool for your toolbox. This podcast, which I just simply recorded with minimal producing, is a basic outline of the Gospel that you can use should you have the opportunity to talk with someone about the faith. It's a no-pressure, basic outline that I think anyone can use. Hope you find it helpful!
I know many people who think that the church's purpose is to provide great children's programs, phenomenal preaching, solid social services, and even a kickin' cup of coffee. But the truth is the church exists for one primary mission- to make disciples. And how did God choose to do that? Through you and me! However, many Christians don't know how to go about this work. So this week we'll dive into the basics of evangelism (that dreaded "E" word) and how we can be about the work of the Kingdom with winsomeness and integrity.
Discipleship withers for lack of discipline. Our spiritual ancestors knew this, but in today's world we sorely lack the essentials of discipline that help keep our soul healthy. In this podcast I talk about our need for discipline and the ways we can implement it in our lives that will help us become the people we are called to be and know the life we are invited to experience in Christ.
What keeps us from following Jesus, fully, with self-abandon? In this week's podcast I talk about ways we can truly take up our cross and follow Jesus. We explore the truth that Bishop J.C. Ryle once said, "It costs something to be a true Christian. To be a mere nominal Christian, and go to church is cheap and easy work. But to hear Christ’s voice, and follow Christ, and believe in Christ, and confess Christ, requires much self-denial. It will cost us our sins, and our self-righteousness, and our ease, and our worldliness. All -all must be given up.”
One of the significant ways our lives have changed in the last 10 years is in the rise of social media. Many Christians are active on Facebook, Snapchat, Instragram and Twitter. What are some of the unique challenges that are presented by these platforms and how can we be a part of the conversation and be salt and light in the public square?
It's consistently a best-seller, but is often misused and mis-applied. In this podcast I correct 2 common errors of Bible usage and talk about translations and how to pick a Bible. Then I review some best practices for reading and applying it to daily life. It's pure and practical advice to going deeper in your Scripture study.
My wife Sheryl joins me this week for some honest talk about our own marriage, faith and some of the things we have faced --infertility, adopting our boys, mental health issues, dealing with grief, anger and the time Sheryl threw a shoe at me! It's total fire. Honest and, I think powerful (but I am a little biased!) I truly hope it is a blessing to you!
This week's podcast is all about developing a plan for Discipleship. We often talk in generalities about being a disciple, but seldom do we really dig into what that looks like. In order to get at this, we need to examine first century discipleship. Then, I offer 4 things that I think make up a healthy and growing life of Discipleship.
Pumped to get this Podcast out to you! This week, the first week of 2018, I thought I'd review the notion of resolutions and why most of them fail. I suggest we not only make resolutions about our eating or exercise, but make some resolutions regarding our spiritual life as well. I discuss 8 things we should give up in 2018 in order get our spiritual lives poised for growth in the new year. I really hope you enjoy it and find it helpful!
I was so pumped to be able to sit down with one of my best friends and legendary guitarist Billy Crain. He's funny, witty, humble and can absolutely make your face melt with his guitar playing. He's seen it all and played with some of the best bands around including The Rolling Stones, The Allman Brothers, ZZ Top, and Van Halen. And that's just a few. And he is a great brother in Christ who has wrestled with what it means to be a Christ-follower today. You'll love this interview and I hope you'll find it an encouragement.
Excited about this Episode! How can we make the most of the Advent season to prepare for the coming of Christ? I talk about ways we can examine our lives and 3 key areas to bring to repentance that can really help us in our spiritual life!
Welcome to the inaugural episode of The 4:8 Revolution!
I discuss the idea and vision behind this podcast and give you three principles to help you jump start your discipleship.
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