Simply Faithful: Christian Conversations Without the Hype: Recent Episodes
Eric Tonjes
Apologies for the audio quality-we'll have it working next time.
Join Gray and Eric as they discuss questions of reputation, honor, and how we should seek about our name in relation to God's.
Edited by Ira Tipton
As human beings, we are not just physical or mental creatures-we also have emotions. How do we think about our feelings? How do we as Christians seek to have them conformed to Christ? Join Gray and Eric as they explore this topic.
What's Good: The Reckoners series by Brandon Sanderson (Gray)
Edited by Ira Tipton
Should Christians be ambitious people? How do we differentiate having godly goals and aspirations from the "selfish ambition" that Scripture warns us about? Join Gray and Eric as they discuss this topic.
What's Good: Gray (and old friends more generally)
We live in a moment where people are becoming more and more interested and focused on ideas of mental health. Some Christians regard this with suspicion or hostility; others embrace it eagerly and engage it as a central part of their spiritual life. How should we think about issues of mental health as Christians? Join Gray and Eric as they dig into these complex issues.
What's Good: Broken Record podcast (Gray)
Edited by Ira Tipton
The church is something we are made a part of in Jesus, but it is also something we can wrestle with in a number of ways. There are hurts, suspicions, and questions we have about being a part of the body of Christ. Join Gray and Eric as they discuss these realities and how Christians should think about and navigate them.
What's Good - Mrs. Davis (Eric)
Edited by Ira Tipton.
Join Gray and Eric as they tackle how we as Christians think about technology in our rapidly changing world.
What's Good - Hermanos Gutierrez (Gray)
Edited by Ira Tipton
How should Christians think about money? How do we handle some of the hard texts in Scripture that address our wealth? Join Gray and Eric as they tackle this hard topic.
What's Good - Community Centers (Eric)
Edited by Ira Tipton
The trinity isn't just some abstract theological construct for bookish theologians. It is both incredibly important to understanding God and practical to our lives in relationship with Him. Join Gray and Eric as they dive into this big topic!
Books on the Trinity:
Delighting in the Trinity by Michael Reeves
The Forgotten Trinity by James R. White
What's Good - Station Eleven (Eric)
Edited by Ira Tipton.
How should Christianity shape our day-to-day rhythms, how we sleep and wake, eat and play? Join Gray and Eric as they explore how the Christian faith is meant to be expressed in the midst of the ordinary.
What's Good: Eric - Gochujang Paste
Recommended Resources:
Liturgy of the Ordinay by Tish Harrison Warren
The Supper of the Lamb by Robert Farrar Capon
Every Moment Holy by Douglas Kaine McKelvey
How should we be training and educating our children? How do Christians navigate the different (often strong) opinions about public, private, and homeschooling? Join Gray and Eric as they, with much fear and trembling, try to talk through the different biblical positions and opinions Christians hold on this topic.
What's Good: Gray - Writing stories with your kids
Edited by Ira Tipton
What's up with the church calendar? Lent, Advent, Epiphay, Ash Wednesday... there's these days and seasons that seem familiar to some Christians and totally alien to others. Should we follow it? How should we use it? Join Gray and Eric as they discuss.
What's Good - Biblical Critical Theory by Christopher Watkin (Eric)
How should we as Christians think about having kids? Are we commanded to by God? If so, how many? And how do we navigate questions surrounding birth control and family planning? Join Gray and Eric as they tackle this question from a listener.
What's Good - Abbott Elementary (Eric)
Edited by Ira Tipton
How do we think about abuse and power when it comes to the church? How do we process spiritual bullies or church leaders that oppress others? Join Gray and Eric as they discuss these heavy but important topics.
What's Good: Harbor Freight & Machetes (Gray)
Edited by Ira Tipton
Resources:
Bully Pulpit by Michael Kruger
Is It Abuse? by Darby Strickland
PCA report on abuse (including section on spiritual abuse): https://www.pcaac.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/2301-AIC-on-Domestic-Abuse-Updated.pdf
How should we think about laughter? How do Christians relate to joy, humor, and things like satire? Join Gray and Eric as they discuss and explore how Christians should and shouldn't relate to laughter.
What's Good: Alone (Eric)
Edited by Ira Tipton
How should we think about our place in history? Should we be pessimistic? Optimistic? How does our cultural and historical moment fit with the overarching story of Scripture for this age? Join Gray and Eric as they talk about the world and the Bible and how they intersect.
What's Good - The Bear (Eric)
How do we give wise counsel as Christians? How do we know the limits of what we should say, how to say it helpfully, and have a framework to give practical advice? Join Gray and Eric as they dig into this topic.
What's Good: (self-titled) by Marcus Mumford (Gray)
Christians are called to unity, to be one in Jesus. At the same time, Christians disagree about all kinds of things, from theology to cultural and political issues? How do we handle differences in the church? Join Gray and Eric as they discuss navigating these challenges.
What's Good:
The musical artists Jess Ray and Chris Renzema (Eric)
Scripture pictures our world as having both a physical and a spiritual dimension, and sees the stories and conflicts of the spiritual realm as affecting and overlapping with our experience of life in the world. What does the Bible say about spiritual realities, and how do we as Christians think about and interact with them? Join Eric and Gray as they give an overview of this mysterious and at times confusing topic.
What's Good: Gray - acoup.blog
How do we square God's sovereignty over all things with our responsibility? How do we relate our effort to God's gracious work in us? Join Gray and Eric as they discuss these complicated topics and (hopefully) offer a little clarity.
What's Good - Leadership & Self-Deception by the Arbinger Institute (Eric)
Note: This episode contains discussions of topics not suitable for young kids.
Pornography is an epidemic in our society; millions of people wrestle with its effects. Join Gray and Eric as they discuss this hard topic and offer practical advice for those who are struggling.
What's Good: Steering the Craft - Ursula K. Le Guin (Gray)
How do we think about the question of losing our salvation? Does Jesus keep us? Do we need to live in fear? And if we are secure, what about apostasy? What about people we know who leave the faith? Is God's love an excuse to live in unrepentant sin? Join Gray and Eric as they dig into these challenging issues.
What's Good: Sous vide cooking (Eric)
How do we talk with people we know about the good news of Jesus? This is guilt and anxiety-inducing question for many, but it is something we are called to do in Scripture. Join Gray and Eric as they discuss practically how to talk about their faith with those around them.
What's Good:
Gray - Van Neistat's YouTube channel
How should Christians think about leisure time and having fun? On the one hand, we don't want to be legalistic or suspicious of rest and free time. On the other hand, we also don't want to endorse our culture's obsession with recreation and pleasure. Join Gray and Eric as they discuss the balance.
What's Good:
Gray - Black Sticky Notes
We're back! After a bit of a break (which they'll explain in the intro), Eric and Gray are back with season 2 of the Simply Faithful podcast! As they get back in the rhythm of podcasting, they answer the question pastors sometimes get asked, "But what do you actually do?"
What's good:
Eric - Severance (TV Show, AppleTV+)
Special thanks to our new editor, Ira Tipton!
This week, Eric and Gray discuss what is perhaps the strangest of the seven deadly sins to our modern ears - sloth. How is this a root of great evil? How do we think about it as more than a cute and humorous jungle creature? Join us as we discuss how acedia afflicts many of us and slowly crushes our hearts.
What's Good
Gray - the band Blue Nile
This week, Gray and Eric wrestle with the complicated topic of masculinity in Scripture. What can we say from the Bible about being a man? What are ways this can go wrong? How do we parse differences in gender? Listen in as they wrestle with these challenging discussions.
What's Good:
Gray - Flat Top Grills
Is God punishing me? Is this my fault? Is there something I should be learning from this suffering? Join Gray and Eric as they discuss divine discipline, hard circumstances, and what God is doing in all of it.
What's Good:
Eric - East of West
This week, Eric and Gray continue their series discussing the seven deadly sins by probing the issue of greed. How do we think about our money and material possesions? Are they evil? Unqualified blessings? How, especially in our society of prosperity, do we keep our hearts free from the love of money?
What's Good - Blackwing Pencils
How do we think about the relationship of the Old and New Testaments? Do they contain different Gods? Different moralities? How do they fit together? What changes, and what stays the same? Join Eric and Gray as they discuss the story of Scripture and continuity and discontinuity in the Bible.
What's Good:
Eric - Axe Throwing
Join Eric and Gray as they engage in a bit of an experiment: an occasional series working through the seven deadly sins. This week: gluttony. It isn't just about what you think, and it is something we can all grow in confronting in our hearts. Make sure to let us know what you think of the mini-series idea!
What's Good:
Gray - the "second brain"
We are back! With Eric installed in a new job and Gray finally back from the travails of a three-month sabbatical, it's time to start the conversation again. This week, they discuss criticisms of the church, churches and church leaders. When is it warranted and good? When is it problematic? How should we assess such criticisms? Join them as they parse these hard issues.
What's Good:
Eric - Vinyl records, sort of
This is a rebroadcast of an episode from September of 2019.
Lots of people have questions about leaving a local church-can we do it? When can we do it? How should we do it? Even more people have questions about finding a new church, whether after such a hard situation or as the result of a move. Listen as Eric and Gray discuss (and perhaps disagree) on the answers.
Gray is on sabbatical for the next few months, so the lunatic is running the asylum! Eric has Crystal Davy, musician, writer, and worship director at Grace Chapel in Lincoln, Nebraska on to talk about creativity and the arts in Christian circles. Join them for a thoughtful, extremely non-linear discussion of how the church should relate to creatives.
What's Good:
Crystal - Sourdough, before it was cool
This week, thanks to life circumstaces, we're rebroadcasting one of our earliest episodes, one that many seem to have appreciated. We will return to our regularly scheduled programming in two weeks.
How does Jesus (and the church, and individual Christians) relate to the culture(s) of the surrounding world (and within us)? If you can't tell from all those parenthesis, this is going to be a complicated conversation. Join Eric and Gray as they try to untangle a few of these challenges.
What's Good:
Gray - Pickleball
In a departure from their normal format, Gray and Eric break from their normal format to talk about whatever they want, which ends up being music, books and movies from their past that they loved. Gray sounds cool and thoughtful. Eric sounds like a nerd. If you haven't tuned in before, probably start somewhere else, but if nothing else, the conversation was fun for them!
Content note: this episode discusses sex and sexuality. It also touches on sexual abuse and violence.
Scripture is far more open and more thoughtful about sex than many Christians. Join Eric and Gray as they discuss sex not in terms of current debates and cultures wars but as a part of God's good creation. They talk about its function and limits, singleness, sex in marriage, and some of the ways it can lead to brokenness and sin.
What's Good:
Eric - Cavender's Seasoning
Note: This is the last of the batch of episodes we recorded with some audio issues. Starting next time everything should be perfect. (What could go wrong after saying that?)
Join Gray and Eric as they discuss discerning a call to ministry. Many Christians at some point in their lives wrestle with the question of whether they should pursue vocational work in the church or parachurch Christian world. Many others know someone seeking to sort out that calling. Eric and Gray try to give biblical, practical thoughts for those in such places.
What's Good:
Gray - Jack by Marilynne Robinson
First, apologies in advance: thanks to some recording issues, the sound quality on this one is quite a bit worse than usual. It should just be a one-off issue. Hopefully the conversation is still worth your time!
Humor is both a blessing and an area of potential sin. How do we laugh in the joy of life while avoiding the seat of the mocker? How do we use humor to love and not to wound? Join Eric and Gray as they discuss levity and Christianity.
What's Good:
Eric - Phoebe Bridgers/Better Oblivion Community Center
How much victory can we expect in our struggles with sin? What are some practical ways to seek to grow in our struggles? Join Eric and Gray as they discuss pursuing personal holiness and what the struggle feels like on the ground.
What's Good:
Gray - Sacred Treasures of the Russian Orthodox Church (music)
In this rather different episode, Eric has a question for Gray: what do words like "spirit," "spiritual" and "soul" actually mean? Listen in as they discuss (and at times disagree) about how we should think about the real but invisible world which we all experience but, in the modern world, can struggle to recognize.
What's Good:
Eric - Main Dishes Without Meat
What's up with the Apostle's and Nicene Creed and their lesser-known friends? How should Christians and churches think about and use creeds? And can Gray and Eric go the entire podcast without referencing the late-90s radio rock band? Join us to find out.
What's Good:
Gray - untools.co
While in some ways it is a strange topic for out moment in the coronavirus pandemic, Eric wants to talk with Gray this week about the Christian calling of hospitality in anticipation of a time when we can more easily share our meals and homes. Listen in as they discuss the theology and practice of this Christian calling.
What's Good:
Eric - Teach Us To Pray
KJV, NIV, ESV, NASB, NLT... Somewhere among all of the different translations and acronyms, many Christians can feel confused. How should we think about different Bible translations? Are they reliable? Why are there so many? Join Eric and Gray as they help shed some light on these issues.
What's Good:
Gray - Cambridge Topaz ESV Bible
Eric is back, and he and Gray are tackling a somewhat different topic. It has been a hard and strange year, both personally for them and for the church as a whole. Join them as they reflect on the year, what they've learned, and how the church has fared.
Note that this is dropping a few days early thanks to the holidays. Merry Christmas to you all!
What's Good:
Eric - Very masculine bedtime Epsom Salt baths with tea and a novel
Universalism is a doctrine that comes up in every generation. Does God save everyone in the end? What about Heaven and Hell? What does the Bible say?
Dr. Ted Wueste (Director of the Spiritual Formation Society of Arizona) joins the program to talk about experiencing the presence of God.
What are our responsibilities as Christians toward the creation? Is climate change real? How much should we care? We dive into these questions and more!
What is wisdom, besides being a subscriber to Simply Faithful? Join Gray and Eric as they discuss this theme in the Bible and try to parse what it means and how to pursue it.
What's Good:
Gray - Peppered Bacon
(Note: this episode is going up a few days early thanks to some stuff going on in real life. Hope nobody minds the early access.)
In an atypical episode, Gray has some questions and wants to have a discussion about psychology and how it relates to Christianity because he isn't sure what he thinks. Join him and Eric as they discuss this complex topic.
What's Good (Eric):
Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Stephen L. Brusatte
As we recently heard about yet another scandal that consumed a prominent leader within the church, Gray and Eric discuss this issue - not the specific recent case, but the phenomenon of scandal and leadership failure as a whole, what causes it, and what the church needs to be doing about it. If you're in a position of leadership in the church or have seen the fallout of one of these scandals firsthand, this episode is for you!
What's Good:
Gray: Libby app and local libraries
Eric: Just buying all the books
While we rightly emphasize that Christianity is a matter of the heart, there is also an important place for thinking about our actions, especially in terms of habits that shape and form us. Join Eric and Gray as they discuss both the theory and practice of these rhythms in the Christian life.
What's Good:
Gray - Audible for Kids (stories.audible.com)
But Why? Podcast
Eric Wow in the World Podcast
Join Gray and Eric as they dive into a topic they both feel convicted by: Scripture's teachings about how we use our words. They discuss the power of words, how we should think about and practice life-giving speech, and (briefly) several random topics as well.
What's Good:
Eric - High Quality Leisure Activities
Especially in our present moment as we confront real societal challenges surrounding issues of race, many people have questions about issues found in the Bible itself. Does the Old Testament's understanding of Israel promote racism? What about slavery and the way it is treated in Scripture? Join Gray and Eric as they discuss these challenging issues.
What's Good:
Gray - Ka'Chava
Not about the Dan Brown thriller from the early 2000s, Eric and Gray talk about the realities of the spiritual beings found in Scripture. Lots of people have no idea what to make of such creatures. Others have lots of ideas, many of them problematic. Join the conversation as we discuss what the Bible does (and doesn't) tell us about Satan, angels, demons and the like.
What's Good:
Eric - Extra Credits
Christian obedience is about the heart, not just outward appearances. Our motivations matter. However, the more we dig into these heart issues, the more mired we can feel in our sin and uncertainty. Join Gray and Eric as they explore our motivations and how they we should think about them as we seek to follow Jesus.
What's Good:
Gray - Nanami Phone Charger
We as a culture often struggle to know how express sadness, and modern Christianity is at times a culprit in this dysfunction. Join Eric and Gray as they talk about the reality of sadness in our world and in our lives and how to engage with it as followers of Jesus.
What's Good (Eric):
The Gray Havens - Ghost of a King
John Guerra - Keeper of Days
We live in an era obsessed with self-discovery. There are whole genres of books and YouTube videos meant to help you find out who you are. What should we as Christians make of this? Join Gray and Eric as they discuss what is helpful from this way of thinking and what is problematic.
What's Good:
Gray - Trade Coffee
A huge part of our heritage as American Christians is the idea of revival. We talk about it, pray for it, use (and sometimes abuse) it to define our religious experiences. While our desire for revival is good, some of the specifics are problematic. Join Eric and Gray as they discuss this important idea in Scripture and the history of the church.
What's Good:
Eric - Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day
As many of us have to use the internet to experience community and worship as churches, a variety of questions arise. Why haven't we always been doing this? What are some of the pitfalls? What about celebrating the Lord's Supper online? Join Gray and Eric as they wade into these controversial issues.
What's Good:
InShot Video App
Join Eric and Gray for a special Easter podcast where we discuss the resurrection of Jesus and our own resurrections. If that doesn't get you excited, you should definitely listen in and explore this beautiful source of hope!
What's Good:
Eric - Six: The Musical
It's a common claim in our world - to be "spiritual, but not religious." The varied views that fit under this label represent a real change in American religious life and also a challenge for Christians in terms of how to respond. Join Gray and Eric as they discuss how to think about this wedge of the religious pie.
What's Good
Gray - Udamy
The humorous clip is from this video (note that the clip as a whole is definitely not family appropriate): https://youtu.be/Z78_rAg4Ldg
Too many Christians have a narrow view of the gospel - it is a tool for evangelism, a box checked in conversion, but doesn't have bearing on the rest of life. Join Eric and Gray as they discuss the foundational reality of the gospel to the entire Christian life and how we can grow in believing and embodying it.
What's Good:
Eric - Taskmaster (BBC Show)
Prayer is a topic that elicits more confusion, guilt and uncertainty among Christians than almost any other. Join Eric and Gray as they both tackle some of the theological questions we have about prayer and offer some practical suggestions about how to pray.
Recommended Resources:
1928 Book of Common Prayer
Seeking God's Face
The Valley of Vision
Piercing Heaven
Eric's Advent Devotional
Gray's Prayer Guides
What's Good:
High school reading lists/Watership Down
Eric and Gray dust off their own experience as musicians and worship leaders to discuss both a theology of music in the church and practical advice on how to engage with it in a way that honors God. Then they give not one but six (!) recommendations of artists you might not know currently producing beautiful, biblically robust music for worship.
Artist Recommendations:
CityAlight
Indelible Grace
Matt Boswell
Bifrost Arts
Keith & Kristin Getty
Sandra McCracken
All believers deal with different types of doubt at different points in their lives. This can be a source of shame for some and enormously unsettling to others. Join Gray and Eric as they discuss the place of doubt in the Christian life and how we should approach it.
What's Good:
Eric - The Expanse
Christians live in a sense of tension about how to think about and discuss politics. On the one hand, we recognize our faith has implications for the world. On the other, the partisan spirit that grips some parts of the church is deeply problematic. Is there a better way? Join Gray and Eric as they wrestle with this hard topic.
What's Good:
Gray - Lifeproof Phone Case (Unlike Gray's recommendation, the link is for a proper phone -Eric)
A group of people gathering together each week to hear a sermon is, when you think about it, kind of a strange thing. Join Eric and Gray as they discuss what preaching is, offer some categories to help you understand what's happening, and provide suggestions on how to engage with it fruitfully.
What's Good:
Eric - Leonard Cohen
This week our discussion turns a bit more personal. Gray and Eric discuss grief and how to help those who are grieving through the lens of Eric and his wife's own journey with her terminal illness.
What's Good:
Gray - Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
This week we're tackling some listener questions! Listen in as Eric and Gray discuss biblical inerrancy, women in church leadership, #MeToo, God's justice, the Enneagram, and the Zodiac. So nothing at all potentially controversial.
What's Good:
Gray - Living in warm climates (AKA building a fire)
Eric - Codenames, Wits and Wagers, and Mysterium
We're off this week for Thanksgiving, but thought we'd post a brief What's Good segment to tie you over until next week. Hope you have a great holiday!
What is God's will for my life? What decisions am I supposed to make? How do I discern what I am supposed to do? Join Gray and Eric as they discuss these questions and help us think carefully about how to live faithfully in step with God.
What's Good:
Eric - Building models with your kids
Gray - Magna Planner
We might be breaking one of our rules this week, but Eric and Gray are discussing the controversy surrounding the apparent conversion and new album by Kanye West. In case you are worried we're selling out too much, however, don't be - our main interest is in the broader phenomenon of celebrity both in culture and in the church.
What's Good:
Gray - Doug Linker
Eric - Jason Aaron's Thor and the Immortal Hulk
Many Christians struggle with accounts of violence in Scripture, especially in the Old Testament. What do we do with divinely-declared wars, sudden acts of judgment and seeming genocides? Join Gray and Eric as they discuss this challenging issue.
What's Good:
Eric - the Monster Hunter book series
Gray - Subversive Sabbath
There are few topics as uncomfortable or guilt-inducing for many Christians than evangelism. Hopefully, this won't make you feel either of those things. Join Eric and Gray as they talk about living on God's mission and sharing the good news of Jesus with others.
What's good:
Eric - The Argument podcast
Gray - Modoker Vintage Laptop Backpack
Anyone exploring the Christian world is left with the sense that there is a dizzying array of different denominations and traditions that claim the name of Jesus. What do we make of all these different groups? Are they a bad thing? A good thing? A something-else thing? Join Gray and Eric as they discuss what to make of denominations
What's good:
Eric - Renaissance Faires
Gray - The Knowledge Project
Lots of people have questions about leaving a local church - can we do it? When can we do it? How should we do it? Even more people have questions about finding a new church, whether after such a hard situation or as the result of a move. Listen as Eric and Gray discuss (and perhaps disagree) on the answers.
What's Good:
Gray - Trader Joe's Organic Dark Chocolate PB&J Minis
Eric - Invincible comic book
Loneliness is an epidemic in the modern world. It affects our neighbors, and it affects many of us. Join Gray and Eric as they discuss how this has become such a problem and how we as Christians individually and together as the church are called to confront it.
What's Good:
Gray - Red Rising
Eric - The Complete Calvin & Hobbes
We all have a sense that both our culture and the church are in a significant place of unhealth. Jake Meador joins us to talk about his new book, what some of the problems are and what we can do about it.
Jake's Book:
In Search of the Common Good: Christian Fidelity in a Fractured World
What's Good:
Men at Work
(Also, Junk Art)
While most Christians acknowledge that they should be engaged personally with the Word of God, there are lots of practical questions about how to do it. Join Gray and Eric as they discuss how to read the Bible for yourself, both in terms of understanding it and concretely how to do it.
Recommended Resources:
Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones
ESV Study Bible by Crossway
How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Fee, Stuart
What's Good:
Eric - The Search by NF
Gray - Smoking Meat
Pastors and other leaders of the church are given a certain authority by Scripture. However, it is easy for that authority to turn bad, leading to overstepping it and even abusing it. Join Eric and Gray as they discuss the limits and purpose of biblical authority and what to do when a pastor or leader starts wielding it wrongly.
What's Good:
Gray - Every Moment Holy
Eric - Steamed Puddings (You'll just have to listen to see)
We as Christians are called to be raising up the next generation in the faith. Join Gray and Eric as they discuss how to be faithful to this calling, both for parents and for others in the church.
Recommendations:
Long Story Short by Marty Machowski
Old Story New by Marty Machowski
Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones
Westminster Shorter Catechism (modern english)
New City Catechism by the Gospel Coalition
Grounded in the Gospel by Gary Parrett
What's Good:
Eric - First Reformed
Gray - the Jesus Prayer
Join Gray and Eric as they discuss the fad of testimonies about losing faith and how we should think about the state of Christianity in America more generally.
What's Good:
Eric: Rifles and Rosary Beads by Mary Gauthier
Gray: Making Sense of God by Tim Keller
Join Gray and Eric as they discuss the church as both an organism and an organization, the dangers of losing either piece, and how keeping them in tension helps with several practical struggles.
What's Good:
Gray: Secret Weapon by Jo Schornikow
Eric: The Ender 3 3d printer
Join Gray and Eric for their inaugural episode as they discuss the dangers of hype-based Christianity.