Churchthink: Recent Episodes
W.R. Harris
Author W.R. Harris raises questions about and offers constructive criticism of evangelical church culture.
What most evangelicals mean by the word “gospel” is the following: Jesus lived a perfect life, died the death we deserve, and rose again so anyone who trusts in Him will go to heaven. That’s not wrong, but I think what Jesus meant was so much more.
If you’ve been around evangelicalism for long, you’ve probably heard someone say, “That’s what the Bible says.” But is it really a good thing for us to be saying?
Sometimes people in the church demand that others believe a certain way about non-essential issues—so much so that they cause more harm than good.
Many American churches focus on growth. While this doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t also have a vibrant community, it makes close-knit community harder. Churches should consider focusing instead on developing a close-knit community, because this will foster better discipleship (and also alleviate America’s loneliness problem).
American Christianity tends to define the gospel as Jesus dying for our sins so we can go to heaven. But is there more to it? If so, what are implications of our current gospel?
In this episode, I interview Chris Staron, host of the Truce Podcast. We discuss the effect wealth inequality has on the church--how it makes wealthy people's voices heard while others may get drowned out, how it pressures pastors and churches to cater to what wealthy people want, how it has the potential to make the church complicit in injustice, etc. We discuss what the church can do to protect against this, as well as how to think Christian-ly about those who are ultra-wealthy (especially when they do things to oppress others).
In Churchthink's first interview episode, Dave Ebert and I discuss how to love God, ourselves, and others through depression. We discuss signs that other people are depressed and how to help them, ways the church can help depressed people, and we encourage anyone who is struggling to take a brave step and reach out to someone. If you are depressed or you know someone who is or you just want to know more about depression and how to help people who struggle with it, you will be blessed by this episode.
More about Dave Ebert:
Dave Ebert is a credentialed minister, improviser, improv coach, speaker, and host of the Gifts for Glory Podcast, a show featuring testimonies of faith and how the guests are using their gifts for God's glory. Dave rededicated his life to God in January 2013, and shortly thereafter he relocated back to the Chicago suburbs where he's spent the last 8 years using his gifts for God's glory. He founded the Well Versed Comedy improv ministry team in 2013 and has been performing clean comedy all over Chicago-land since. Since 2018, Dave has been using his passion for God and comedy in teaching improv to sex trafficking survivors. Dave has a passion for using the healing power of God-honoring comedy.
LINKS:
Dave Ebert (Acting/Speaking/Improv Coaching)
dave@gifts4glory.com
daveebert.gifts4glory.com
booking@gifts4glory.com
Facebook/Twitter/Instagram: @realdaveebert
Gifts for Glory Ministries
gifts4glory.com
Facebook/Twitter/Instagram: @gifts4glory
Well Versed Comedy
wellversedcomedy.com
Facebook/Twitter/Instagram: @wellversedCMDY
This is a special Christmas devotional episode.
Our God is a God of renewal. That is why we can have joy no matter our circumstances.
The amount of mental health issues and loneliness in America is concerning. There are many factors that contribute to this, but one big one that I rarely hear discussed is city design. We live in isolated bubbles, much too far away from others to walk or bike to them. This decreases the amount of human interaction we get, and it degrades the quality of our human interaction. If we want mental health and loneliness to improve, we have to redesign the places we live in.
(This is the audio from a video I made for the Persevering Hope FB page). Some pastors and Christians say it’s a sin to be mad at God. But does the scripture support that? I don’t think so.
American cities are, in general, very spread out. We have to drive to do almost anything. But what if urban/suburban sprawl contributes to loneliness and other social woes? Wouldn’t it be in the church’s interest to advocate for change? Yet how many pastors are addressing this?
If you want to understand any work of literature, you need to understand its historical and cultural context. The Bible is no different. However, American evangelicals hardly discuss the Bible’s context. Put simply, if we did, we’d understand the Bible—and God—better.
There’s a lot of mud slinging nowadays, even in the church. Is this a constructive approach—one that will actually get everyone to consider all sides of the argument and make a more informed decision? Or will it only generate hostility?