Vision For Life: Recent Episodes
Fellowship Denver Church
The Vision For Life Podcast is an ongoing conversation between the pastors of Fellowship Denver and the church at large. Each week, we discuss a subject that you’ve requested - questions about life, faith, the Bible, and how to follow Jesus in our world beyond Sunday. While the teaching of God’s word in our Sunday morning sermons is foundational, we also want to have a forum where we can do Q&A and talk about other subjects that are on people’s mind.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Battered by Moses? Why We Still Need to Preach the Law by Jared Kennedy
Westminster Confession of Faith
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Colorado's 2024 vote: A slight red shift in a still predominantly blue state by Ernest Luning and Evan Wyloge
In certain corners of Western Civilization, being male is itself considered toxic. Nancy Pearcey addresses this perspective on masculinity in The Toxic War on Masculinity: How Christianity Reconciles the Sexes. Pearcey takes a broad view of societal trends, carefully examines Scripture, and provides a constructive way forward for the church.
Autumn and Hunter highlight portions of Pearcey’s argument and use her paradigm of the “good man” vs. the “real man” to answer a listener’s question.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
The Toxic War on Masculinity: How Christianity Reconciles the Sexes by Nancy R. Pearcey
In the wake of the recent election, journalists, sociologists, political party leaders, and all of us are looking at the voting data, examining what ballot initiatives passed and where, and asking, “What does this data tell us about the people and culture in our country?” Autumn and Hunter discuss four themes that emerged from the election trends. 1) Legacy Media vs. Alternative Media 2) The Broad “Trump Voting Coalition” 3) The Abortion Issue, and 4) The Return to Political Norms.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Financial Times: U.S. Election Results 2024
No, the Problem Isn't the Voters by Bari Weiss and Oliver Wiseman
The Doug Election and America After the Great Dechurching by Jake Meador
How Trump Won, Again by Nate Cohn
Abortion Rights Ballot Measures Succeed in 7 of 10 States by Kate Zernike
Colorado Voters Move to Put Existing Abortion Laws Into State Constitution by Bente Birkeland
See the Voting Groups That Swung to the Right in the 2024 Vote Vote by Zach Levitt, Keith Collins, Robert Gebeloff, Malika Khurana, Marco Hernandez
Contextualizing the 2024 Election: It's the (Knowledge) Economy, Stupid by Musa al-Gharbi
Resources mentioned in this episode:
How Gospel-Centrality Prioritizes Long-Term Fruit in Youth Ministry by Michael Goldstein
Description: It’s election season! Perhaps you’ve weighed the factors and decided how to vote. Maybe you predict staring at your ballot and praying for a cloud to go before you. Either way, the current political climate may have left you weary and confused, feeling the hope and the awkwardness of our Christian allegiance to a kingdom not of this world — or all of the above. Clark Nunnelly and Hunter Beaumont, two of the Pastors at Fellowship, join Autumn to discuss how to think and act like a Christian as we engage in American politics.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
How Do Christians Fit Into the Two-Party System? They Don’t by Tim Keller
The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Alone, 1932-1940 by William Manchester
The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
This fall, the pastors at Fellowship Denver led our church family through six sermons examining what we want to do (our mission), who we want to be (our values), and what we long to see God do (our vision). Jesus defined the mission of his church in Matthew 28 in a statement often called “the great commission.” Our way of restating our public mission, as given to us by Jesus, is “We help people discover and follow the original Jesus.” In today’s episode, Hunter and Autumn reflect on the recent sermon series, Fellowship Denver’s mission, and the bridge graphic we use to explain the locus of the church between the kingdom of God and the world. The bridge graphic displays six pillars:
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Contend & Contextualize
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Doctrine & Life
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Scripture & Orthodoxy
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Words & Deeds
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Transformation & Grace
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Personal Faith & Church
“What is the greatest threat to the church of Jesus Christ today?” Authors Rick Langer and Tim Muehlhoff answer, “quarreling.” Their book, Winsome Conviction, helps Christians disagree well. In today's polarized context, Christians often have committed, biblical rationales for very different positions. How do we discern between core biblical convictions and secondary issues? How do we cultivate better understanding and compassion for those we disagree with? Rick joins Dave and Autumn to discuss the book and provide insight into examining, communicating, and discussing our convictions.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Winsome Conviction: Disagreeing Without Dividing the Church by Richard Langer
Jim Bridger: Trailblazer of the American West by Jerry Enzler
Jesus and the Powers by N. T. Wright and Michael Bird
Flannery O’Connor: Collected Works by Flannery O’Connor
Brandon Washington, Pastor at Embassy Christian Bible Church and author of A Burning House, joins Autumn and Hunter on the podcast to discuss his recent book. In A Burning House, Washington contends that American Evangelicalism is a house ablaze: burning by its own hand due to an “in-house schism.” The stain of segregation has long tarnished the witness of Christianity and hampered our progress toward a Christ-like vision of Shalom—peace, justice, and wholeness—in the world. Common doctrine may unite black and white evangelicals. However, rifts such as social ethics and cultural influences still separate us, and we are in danger of embracing a truncated or partial gospel.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Jen Oshman joins Hunter and Autumn on the podcast today to discuss her book Cultural Counterfeits: Confronting 5 Empty Promises of Our Age and How We Were Made for So Much More. In today’s culture, women and girls are influenced by idols that promise purpose and meaning for their lives―outward beauty and ability, sex, abortion, and gender fluidity. Within the church, women may elevate good things like marriage and motherhood to the status of idolatry. Ultimately, these idols are hollow and leave women feeling unsettled, but where should they turn instead?
In Cultural Counterfeits, Jen encourages women to reject these idols' empty, destructive promises and embrace real hope and peace in Jesus, calling them to recognize their unshakable and eternal identities in him.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Cultural Counterfeits: Confronting 5 Empty Promises of Our Age and How We Were Made for So Much More by Jen Oshman
It’s Good to be a Girl by Jen and Zoe Oshman
King: A Life by Jonathan Eig
Virgil Wander by Leif Enger
How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen by David Brooks
The Rise of Christianity by Rodney Stark
Dominion by Tom Holland
The Case Against the Sexual Revolution by Louise Perry
Autumn and Dave sit down with Dr. Craig Blomberg, Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Denver Seminary and author of over 30 books, to discuss his recent award-winning academic work, Jesus the Purifier: John’s Gospel and the Fourth Quest for the Historical Jesus. What, as an academic field, is the study of the “historical Jesus?” Why has John’s gospel been neglected or assumed to be somewhat irrelevant within this body of work? Dr. Blomberg answers these questions and discusses the emerging consensus regarding demonstrably historical portions of John. He describes the emphasis in Jesus’s ministry on purity and purification that John captures. What is a practical application of this emphasis for the contemporary church?
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Jesus the Purifier: John’s Gospel and the Fourth Quest for the Historical Jesus by Craig Blomberg
“...Work plays a critical role in God’s mission. As the Imago Dei, we are made to reflect the image of a Creator God, and we join him in making something of the world. To demonstrate the breadth and nuance of God’s character, we need women and men to be vitally engaged in workplaces, homes, and organizations across our communities, utilizing the full extent of their God-given gifts.” In Women, Work, and Calling: Step Into Your Place in God’s World,” author Joanna Meyer provides vision, encouragement, and practical guidance for women as they navigate work and it’s demands. In this episode, Joanna and Autumn discuss themes from the book by asking, What is God’s design for human work, and how does that theological vision inform our daily work? How does God use the circumstances of our work to shape us? What unique challenges do women face in their work and leadership? How can women and men partner to work together in a way that honors God’s design?
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Women, Work, and Calling by Joanna Meyer
Half the Church by Carolyn Custis James
Denver Institute for Faith and Work
Women, Work, and Calling
The Vision for Life Podcast turns 4 today! We released our first episode on September 4, 2020, and are kicking off season 4 with Episode 176 on September 4, 2024. We hope Vision for Life has encouraged good, thoughtful conversation about how the gospel impacts and beautifies all of life.
Today, Hunter and Autumn ask “What does it look like to live as citizens of this world now in anticipation of the kingdom to come?” Let’s grow together in our vision for a life lived as followers of Jesus in the modern world.
Hunter Beaumont, Lead Pastor of Fellowship Denver, and Rich Dugan, Lead Pastor of Fellowship Denver’s North Metro Congregation, join Autumn on the podcast to discuss the state of the Church in America and the unique experience of pastoring in Denver. They also explore the upcoming season of mission and ministry and their heartfelt commitment to the family of God they’ve been called to lead.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Tim Keller on the Decline and Renewal of the American Church
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Here’s the No. 1 thing that makes relationships successful, say psychologists who studied 40,000 couples by Dr. John Gottman and Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman
The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work: A Practical Guide from the Country's Foremost Relationship Expert by Dr. John Gottman
Originally released March 3, 2021
The doctrine of the authority of Scripture states that God's word stands above all earthly powers. Within God's governmental structure, God - the Living Word and the Written Word - hold positional authority. We are created, not Creator. We are stewards, not owners. Because many of us have experienced "authority" as a way to leverage power or to obtain a desired outcome, we may balk at the notion of the authority of Scripture.
Yet acknowledgement of the authority of the Word of a God who gave his own Son on our behalf is not submission to a power-hungry deity, but to a Father who inverts the very idea of authority. He gives grace and agency to the humble. He elevates and protects the meek and powerless. Submission to such a Father grounds us and allows us to share in his abundant life, a life animated by his Word and illumined by his Spirit.
Originally released June 28th, 2023
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"The Moral Case Against Equity Language" by George Packer
Resources mentioned in this episode:
This America: The Case for the Nation by Jill Lepore
The Triumph of the Therapeutic by Philip Rieff
The Free Press
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Habits of the Heart by Robert Bellah
Resources mentioned in this episode:
This America: The Case for the Nation by Jill Lepore
“Why This is a Mission of the Church Conversation” in Church Matters by Jonathan Leeman
City of God by St. Augustine
Resources mentioned in this episode:
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VFL Politics class audio (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)
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How the Nations Rage: Rethinking Faith and Politics in a Divided Age by Jonathan Leeman
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"God's Gonna Cut You Down" by Johnny Cash
When we talk about “politics,” we usually mean elections and debates about public issues involving our government and “politicians.” But we can’t think well about governmental politics unless we understand “politics” in a bigger way, as an aspect of our inter-relational existence created by God.
Hunter and Autumn discuss two paradigms to get at this bigger meaning of politics. The first paradigm utilizes the biblical movements of creation, fall, and redemption to elucidate the intention, complication, and redeemed modality of politics. The second paradigm relies on the biblical terms shalom, justice, and righteousness to inquire how a redeemed body politick, the Church, can pursue wholeness as the purpose of “politics.”
What is the role or purpose of seminaries or institutions dedicated to theological training? Are seminaries sending out men and women who are rooted in scripture and able to withstand the shifting winds of culture without being tossed about (Eph 4:14). What does “rootedness” look like?
The President of Denver Seminary, Dr. Mark Young, joins Dave and Autumn to discuss what unapologetic love coupled with distinct theology looks like in practice. Dr. Young lends insight into the current state of seminary training on the whole and why the hope of the gospel is the greatest need in theological education today.
Are students who enter institutions of higher learning fundamentally in need of equipping or transformation? Is the goal of Christian higher ed to produce trained workers or vocationally-minded followers of Jesus? Or is the dichotomy not that simple?
Dr. Earl Waggoner, Dean of the School of Biblical and Theological Studies at Colorado Christian University, sits down with Dave and Autumn to discuss the advantages of online learning, particularly for adult students. Dr. Waggoner shares his perspective on the state of Christian higher education and discusses how CCU's College of Adult and Graduate Studies is navigating the tensions within higher education.
Institutions of Christian higher education are responding in various ways to the cultural and technological pressures of our day. The William Tennent School of Theology, based in Colorado, utilizes a retreat plus cohort model to provide theological training that is “academically rigorous and theologically robust, while also stoking affection(s) for Jesus.”
Dave and Autumn speak with Dr. Michael Morgan, Academic Dean and Professor of Historical Theology at Tennent, to ask what constitutes a formational educational experience and why Tennent has chosen the retreat plus cohort modality.
In an era of rapid cultural and technological change, institutions of higher education are grappling with questions about the nature of institutions, the purpose of higher education, the response to cultural pressures, and what modalities will lead to their desired outcome.
In part two of this five-part series, Dave and Autumn consider the opportunity for churches to respond thoughtfully to the state of the University and shifting cultural tides by deeply rooting the family of God in biblical truth.
Historically, the University owes its existence to the Church, as the Medieval Church played a central, if not exclusive, role in establishing the earliest universities. In the 18th century, the School began to separate itself from its Christian roots and ceded increasing control to the State. Even so, the School and the Church shared some common purpose: to shape individuals into participants in society whose vision for the good life included care for neighbors, civic action, and understanding of the world. In the present American system of higher education, which includes both secular and religious institutions, that shared purpose has waned. Trust in the University is low, and higher education as a whole is struggling to find its footing in the world of rapid technological development.
In part one of this five-part series, Dave and Autumn discuss the tensions within Christian Higher Ed. They consider the unique opportunity for churches to respond thoughtfully to the state of the University and shifting cultural tides by deeply rooting the family of God in biblical truth.
Does Scripture teach or emphasize a “moment” of salvation? What is a biblical understanding of “conversion?” Hunter and Autumn respond to a listener's question about justification with an examination of Jesus’ teaching on new birth from John 3:1-15.
Does “Church as Family” convey an unrealistic portrait of the church, leading people to believe they will encounter loyal, committed, honorable brothers and sisters, perpetuating disillusionment and hurt if they don’t? Would we better serve people to gently adjust their expectations to level with the messy, dysfunctional family that seems to match their experience? Trevin Wax considers these questions in an article recently posted on The Gospel Coalition.
Hunter and Autumn comment on the article and suggest that expectations of the church are best when leveled with Jesus’ and the Apostles’ depictions of the family of God rather than with our own disappointing experiences.
Jesus spoke of His followers, the inhabitants of the kingdom of God, in familial terms. Being connected to Christ implies a simultaneous connection to members of His body, whom He calls family. This new family is distinct, marked by a fullness not found in the kingdoms of the world. This new family grows together in distinct expressions of kingdom life and is characterized by the corporate rhythms of generosity, community, worship, and commitment to God and each other.
In part four of this four-part series of conversations, Andy and Autumn discuss the biblical understanding of membership and its relevance to the modern local church.
Jesus spoke of His followers, the inhabitants of the kingdom of God, in familial terms. Being connected to Christ necessarily implies a simultaneous connection to members of His body, whom He calls family. This new family is distinct, marked by a fullness not found in the kingdoms of the world. This new family grows together in distinct expressions of kingdom life and is characterized by the corporate rhythms of generosity, community, worship, and commitment to God and each other.
In part three of this four-part series of conversations, Hunter and Autumn discuss the habit of weekly corporate worship. Gathered worship allows us to experience the fullness of the family of God and is a means of ordinary grace, yet making space in our lives for weekly corporate worship can be challenging. Hunter and Autumn identify five mindsets that discourage participation in worship and respond to each one.
Jesus spoke of His followers, the inhabitants of the kingdom of God, in familial terms. Being connected to Christ necessarily implies a simultaneous connection to members of His body, whom He calls family. This new family is distinct, marked by a fullness not found in the kingdoms of the world. This new family grows together in distinct expressions of kingdom life and is marked by the corporate rhythms of generosity, community, worship, and commitment to God and each other.
In part two of this four-part series of conversations, Hunter, Andy, and Autumn discuss the current sermon series and the way in which this new family cultivates a unique community.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"Life Together" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Jesus spoke of His followers, the inhabitants of the kingdom of God, in familial terms. Connection to Christ results in connection to His body, which he also calls His family. This new family is distinct, marked by a fullness not found in the kingdoms of the world. This new family grows together in distinct expressions of kingdom life and is marked by the corporate rhythms of generosity, community, worship, and commitment to God and each other.
In part one of this four-part series of conversations, Hunter and Autumn discuss the current sermon series and the corporate practice of generosity that marks the family of God.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
First To The Lord (2019 sermon series)
Regular, personal time with God spent in Scripture and in prayer connects us relationally to our Father and allows us to experience His presence. Building the habit of daily life with God requires a regular time and a regular plan. Hunter and Autumn discuss how to craft a plan to connect with God personally, and they share their own anticipated Bible reading, Bible study, and prayer plans for 2024.
Hunter and Autumn share some of the books that challenged, informed, encouraged, inspired, and delighted them during 2023.
--Spiritual Life--
Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation by Collin Hansen (AG & HB)
Outgrowing the Ingrown Church by Jack Miller (HB)
--Theology and Bible--
The Genesis of Gender: A Christian Theory by Abigail Favale (AG & HB)
Love Thy Body by Nancy Pearcey (AG)
--Biography and History--
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Volume 1: Visions of Glory by William Manchester (HB)
The Reformation as Renewal: Retrieving the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church by Matthew Barrett (HB)
--General Interest--
10x is Easier than 2x: How World Class Entrepreneurs Achieve More by Doing Less by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy (HB)
The Art of Loading Brush by Wendell Berry (AG)
--General Interest On Helping Us Understand the Modern, Western Culture in Which We Live--
Conservatism: A Rediscovery by Yoram Hazony (HB)
The Air We Breathe: How We All Came to Believe in Freedom, Kindness, Progress, and Equality by Glen Scrivener (AG - Apologetics / Evangelism)
Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West by Andrew Wilson (HB)
Strange New World: How Thinkers and Activists Redefined Identity and Sparked the Sexual Revolution by Carl Trueman (AG)
--General Interest On Sexuality and Gender--
The Case Against the Sexual Revolution by Louise Perry (AG)
Feminism Against Progress by Mary Harrington (AG)
--Children’s Literature--
A Little More Beautiful: The Story of a Garden (picture book) by Sarah Mackenzie, illustrated by Breezy Brookshire (AG)
Hotel Oscar Mike Echo (middle-grade novel) by Linda MacKillop (AG)
The Lost Tales of Sir Galahad, a compilation of stories by various authors (AG)
--Fiction and Literature--
Finding Time Again: In Search of Lost Time, Volume 7 by Marcel Proust (HB - Content Warning)
A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle (AG)
The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James (HB)
Family gatherings, holiday parties, music about joy and peace, and images of smiling people holding gifts fill the days leading up to Christmas. And yet, “all is merry and bright” rings hollow for many people experiencing grief and loss during this season. In religious communities, we sometimes jump directly to the “hope” portion of the story without lingering in the waiting, the longing, and the loss woven into the story of Christ’s birth.
Dave and Emily join Autumn to encourage those suffering, exhort those walking with sufferers, and discuss how Christmas uniquely welcomes in all who are grieving.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
“Every Moment Holy, Volume II: Death, Grief, and Hope" by Douglas Kaine McKelvey
Adam and Autumn discuss the music that characterizes the season of Advent and examine its purpose and central themes. The songs of Advent give us language to live out of the past reality of God’s promises fulfilled in Christ’s first coming and look toward the future hope of Christ’s second coming. The songs of Advent encourage us to prepare our hearts for the coming King and invite us into the waiting and longing experienced by the people of God throughout history.
“Forty million Americans have stopped attending church in the past 25 years. That’s something like 12 percent of the population, and it represents the largest concentrated change in church attendance in American history.” Religious abuse, moral failure of church leaders, and the pressures of culture that lead to deconstruction of faith all contribute to “dechurching.” Surprisingly, research reveals a less apparent reason driving the statistic cited above: a slow drift away from church participation.
In this episode, Autumn and Hunter discuss an Atlantic article by Jake Meador that examines this slow drift. Meador suggests a response to waning participation in American churches. He states that churches in our cultural climate must call their people to a more committed, robust, interdependent way of being the body of Christ.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"The Misunderstood Reason Millions of Americans Stopped Going to Church" by Jake Meador
"The Great Dechurching: Who’s Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back?" by Jim Davis, Michael Graham, et al
Hunter and Autumn discuss “Outgrowing the Ingrown Church,” a book that has impacted Fellowship Denver’s leadership team and led to the development of a new rhythm in the corporate life of our church that we call “Pursuit.” Miller, the author, challenges churches to ask whether they have become “ingrown” and are existing according to their own means rather than the power of the Spirit.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"Outgrowing the Ingrown Church" by C. John Miller
Hunter and Autumn continue their discussion of the conflict in Israel by considering Israel’s historical context and the origins of the modern nation-state. They also ask how present-day Christians might understand and relate to the modern nation-state of Israel.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"The Decolonization Narrative Is Dangerous And False" by Simon Sebag Montefiore
"Jerusalem: The Biography" by Simon Sebag Montefiore
"Jesus and Israel: One Covenant or Two" by David Holwerda
Autumn and Hunter discuss articles that have helped them understand the war between Israel and Hamas and the fractures it has also revealed in American culture.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"Israel’s 9/11 - The Need for Moral Clarity" by Bernard Howard & Ivan Mesa, The Gospel Coalition
"‘Bothsidesism’ About Hamas Is a Moral Failure" by Russell Moore, Christianity Today
"The Progressives Who Flunked the Hamas Test" by Helen Lewis, The Atlantic
"On Israel, Progressive Jews Feel Abandoned by their Left-Wing Allies" by Jennifer Medina & Lisa Lerer, The New York Times
"Israel: From the Six-Day War to the Six-Front War" by Thomas Friedman, The New York Times
Autumn spent the past 12 weeks on sabbatical; now she’s back, returning to the rhythm of work and ministry. A ministry sabbatical is a defined season for a ministry leader and congregation to set aside the leader’s typical responsibilities for rest and renewal to effect longevity and sustained excellence in ministry. In today’s conversation, Hunter asks Autumn to share what she’s been doing and learning during her time away.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"The Art of Loading Brush: New Agrarian Writings" by Wendall Berry
"Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West" by Andrew Wilson
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"Outgrowing the Ingrown Church" by C. John Miller
"The Power of Prayer" by Charles Spurgeon
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"Lemonade on the Porch: The Gospel in a Post-Christendom Society" by Dr. James Eglinton
Christianity feels conceptually and culturally distant from many modern people. They find it hard to understand and believe. This hasn’t always been the case in America but it is more and more so today. What’s caused this and what can we do to bridge the gap? Autumn and Hunter discuss an article published by Tim Keller shortly before his death that breaks fresh ground on these questions.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"Lemonade on the Porch: The Gospel in a Post-Christendom Society" by Dr. Timothy Keller
"How I Evolved On Tim Keller" by James R. Wood
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"“Revival” Is Back In America’s Public Lexicon" by Hunter Beaumont
"The Religious Affections" by Jonathan Edwards
"Dynamics Of Spiritual Life: An Evangelical Theology Of Renewal" by Richard Lovelace
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"The Moral Case Against Equity Language" by George Packer
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"The Genesis of Gender: A Christian Theory" by Abigail Favale
"Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality" by Nancy Pearcy
"Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian in Community" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
"Perelandra (Space Trilogy, Book 2)" by C.S. Lewis
"Jesus, Justice, and Gender Roles: A Case for Gender Roles in Ministry" by Kathy Keller
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"Beautiful Difference: The (Whole-Bible) Complementarity of Male and Female" by Andrew Wilson
"The Genesis of Gender: A Christian Theory" by Abigail Favale
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"Habits of the Household" by Justin Whitmel Earley
"Keeping the Faith" by Christian Smith
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"Church and “the Therapeutic”, Ctd," by Jake Meador (https://blogs.mereorthodoxy.com/jake/church-and-the-therapeutic-ctd/)
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"The Intentional Year" by Holly & Glenn Packiam (https://amazon.com/dp1641583940)
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"The Intentional Year" by Holly & Glenn Packiam (https://amazon.com/dp1641583940)
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Spiritual Life
"A Model of Christian Maturity" by D.A. Carson (https://amazon.com/dp/0801093953)"Keeping Place" by Jen Pollock Michel (https://amazon.com/dp/B0722P5FR9)Biography and History
"Dominion" by Tom Holland (https://amazon.com/dp/B07NCY9RG9)"Out of our Past" by Carl N. Degler (https://amazon.com/dp/0061319856)"Martin Luther, Vol 2" by Martin Brecht (https://amazon.com/dp/0800628144)"Martin Luther’s Basic Theological Writings" by William. R. Russell (https://amazon.com/dp/0800698835)"River of the Gods" by Candice Millard (https://amazon.com/dp/B09BTJNJCX)Theology and Bible
"The Desire of the Nations" by Oliver O'Donovan (https://amazon.com/dp/0521665167)"Christian Mission in the Modern World" by John Stott (https://amazon.com/dp/0830844392)""Fundamentalism" and the Word of God" by J.I. Packer (https://amazon.com/dp/0802811477)General Interest
"A Time to Build" by Yuval Levin (https://amazon.com/dp/1541699270)"Art of the Commonplace" by Wendell Berry (https://amazon.com/dp/1593760078)"Surrender" by Bono (https://amazon.com/dp/B09ZHK2N71)Fiction and Literature
"The Legend of the Poinsettia" by Tomie dePaola (https://amazon.com/dp/0698115678)"The Ambassadors" by Henry James (https://amazon.com/dpB00JDN27Q0)"Everything Sad is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri (https://amazon.com/dp/B08BR2HFWJ)"The Prisoner" by Marcel Proust (https://amazon.com/dp/0143133594)"The Fugitive" by Marcel Proust (https://amazon.com/dp/0143133705)
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"A Time to Build" by Yuval Levin (https://amazon.com/dp/1541699270)
"This America: The Case for the Nation" by Jill Lepore (https://amazon.com/dp1631496417)
"The Meaning of Marriage" by Tim Keller (https://amazon.com/dp1594631875)
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"A Time to Build" by Yuval Levin (https://amazon.com/dp/1541699270)
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"Wonder Women" by Barna Group & Kate Harris (https://amazon.com/dp/0310433304)
"Visions of Vocation" by Steven Garber (https://amazon.com/dp/0830836667)
"Every Good Endeavor" by Timothy Keller (https://amazon.com/dp1594632820)
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Praxis Labs Rule Of Life (http://rule.praxislabs.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/ROL-in-one-page.pdf)
Denver Institute For Faith & Work (https://denverinstitute.org/)
Vocation is integral to God’s design for human flourishing. We were created to work and created to worship, and the routines of church and work coexist to form us. Our worship rightly orients our work and teaches us, in the words of Jesus, to “remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.” What is the impact of a life, grounded in Christ, as it enters the world of work?
Autumn and Hunter are joined by special guest Alex Harris, an attorney and former Supreme Court clerk, to discuss the legal profession, the judiciary, and the impact of faithful, grounded presence in this realm of work.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"A Non-Anxious Presence: How a Changing and Complex World Will Create a Remnant of Renewed Christian Leaders" by Mark Sayers (https://amazon.com/dp/0802428576)
"Why Liberalism Failed" by Patrick Deneen (https://amazon.com/dp/0300240023)
Vocation is integral to God’s design for human flourishing. We were created to work and created to worship, and the routines of church and work coexist to form us. Our worship rightly orients our work and teaches us, in the words of Jesus, to “remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.” What is the impact of a life, grounded in Christ, as it enters the world of work?
In part one of this five-part series considering particular sectors of the marketplace and the necessity of faithful presence within that context, special guests Hannah and Jill join Autumn to discuss the state of education in America today and the significance of education and educators.
In a recent article entitled “6 Ways Christians Can Respond to Our Strange New World,” Carl Trueman posits that new notions of selfhood and growing hostility toward long-held Christian beliefs and values are forcing us to reckon with and navigate a “strange new world.”
Autumn and Hunter discuss four, five, and six of the six directives Trueman lays out in the article, as follows: 4) Shape intuitions through biblical worship, 5) Retrieve natural law and the theology of the body, and 6) Live in realistic hope.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"6 Ways Christians Can Respond to Our Strange New World" by Carl Trueman (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/respond-strange-new-world/)
"The Confessions Of St. Augustine" (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0385029551/)
In a recent article entitled “6 Ways Christians Can Respond to Our Strange New World,” Carl Trueman posits that new notions of selfhood and growing hostility toward long-held Christian beliefs and values are forcing us to reckon with and navigate a “strange new world.”
Autumn and Hunter discuss the first three of Trueman’s six directives laid out in the article, as follows: 1) Recognize our complicity, 2) Learn from the ancient church, and 3) Teach the whole counsel of God.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"6 Ways Christians Can Respond to Our Strange New World" by Carl Trueman (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/respond-strange-new-world/)
"Didache: The Teaching of the Apostles" (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1530476909)
"The City of God" by St. Augustine (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1598563378)
"Believing in the Future: Toward a Missiology of Western Culture" by David Bosch (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1563381176)
"The Open Secret" by Lesslie Newbiggin (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0802808298)
Special guests Charlie Hall and Joel Limpic join Autumn on the podcast to discuss their work, their heart for the teams and people they lead, and the necessity of cultivating gospel culture. Charlie serves as the Pastor of Worship and Liturgy at the multi-congregational Frontline Church in Oklahoma, and Joel as the Pastor of Liturgy and Arts at Park Church in Denver, CO.
Charlie and Joel share experience and insight gained through years and years of local church leadership. According to these to seasoned leaders, cultivating gospel culture in staff teams, volunteer teams, and the larger church congregation requires accountability, approachability, honesty, rootedness in God’s story and created world, and humble confession.
Autumn and Hunter are joined by special guest Philip Moore. Philip is a pastor in the Paris area and serves the Acts 29 Network as Vice President for Global and Director of Europe.
They discuss the fact that Western culture (Western Europe, North America, Australia) seems to be going through an “identity crisis.” Philip brings his perspective as a pastor in a secularizing country and points us to two themes he is seeing across Europe, which are also true in America: (1) Hyper-individualism doesn’t just have an impact on individuals and their spiritual well-being. It is also having massive social and political consequences. (2) “Emotional reasoning” has become the main way we think things out, which leads to inconsistency and instability.
Having identified these two themes, we then discuss what it looks like to live in a different way as Christians in this kind of culture.
Resources mentioned in this episode: "Democracy in America" by Alexis de Tocqueville (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0451531604) "Babel: Around the World in Twenty Languages" by Gaston Dorren (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0802147801)
In today’s centennial episode celebration (what?), Hunter and Autumn look back at the five most listened-to episodes:
- Episode 4: How Can Government Promote Good?
- Episode 59: VFL Reads: Glennon Doyle’s Honesty Gospel
- Episode 18: A Redeeming View of Mental Health
- Episode 88: VFL Reads: Why American Teens are So Sad
- Episode 72: VFL Reads: The Case Against the Trauma Plot
What, if anything, are the themes that unit these topics? And what can we conclude about what makes these topics compelling?
Resources mentioned in this episode: "Habits Of The Heart" By Multiple Authors (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0520254198/)
Family Ministry at Fellowship Denver takes shape in three primary ways: 1. Age-Appropriate Teaching 2. Church-As-Family 3. Gospel Renewal at Home
In today’s episode, Frank Trimble and Jenna Hallock of Family Time Ministry join Autumn to discuss the third formative value: Gospel Renewal at Home. The mission of Family Time Ministry is to train and equip parents and grandparents to pass the Christian faith to the next generation in the home. Their encouragement to parents and to all of us is to thoughtfully develop and prioritize regular rhythms of interacting with God through the study of Scripture, prayer, and singing.
Find out more about Family Time Ministries at https://famtime.com
Despite prolific resources on the topic of time management and work-life balance, the ability to manage the many demands placed on our time and to devote ourselves to the worthy pursuits to which we’re called can often feel impossibly out of reach. Author Jordan Raynor offers seven time-management principles, supported by corresponding practices, to help readers thoughtfully respond to the constraints we face and manage our time so that we can be purposeful, present, and productive.
In this episode, Hunter and Autumn discuss principles five, six, and seven offered by Raynor: - Accept Your “Unipresence” - Embrace Productive Rest - Eliminate All Hurry These principles encourage us to cultivate our capacity to be present where we are and to integrate practices that maximize our time and presence.
Resources mentioned in this episode: "Redeeming Your Time" by Jordan Raynor (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593193075/) "Getting Things Done" by David Allen (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0142000280/) "Deep Work" by Cal Newport (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1455586692/) "The Lazy Genius Way" by Kendra Adachi (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0525653937/) "The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry" by John Mark Comer (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0525653090/)
Despite prolific resources on the topic of time management and work-life balance, the ability to manage the many demands placed on our time and to devote ourselves to the worthy pursuits to which we’re called can often feel impossibly out of reach. Author Jordan Raynor offers seven time-management principles, supported by corresponding practices, to help readers thoughtfully respond to the constraints we face and manage our time so that we can be purposeful, present, and productive.
In this episode, Hunter and Autumn discuss the first four principles offered by Raynor: 1. Start with the Word 2. Let Your Yes be Yes 3. Dissent from the Kingdom of Noise 4. Prioritize Your Yeses
Resources mentioned in this episode: "Redeeming Your Time" by Jordan Raynor (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593193075/) "Getting Things Done" by David Allen (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0142000280/) "Deep Work" by Cal Newport (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1455586692/)
The first-century Ephesian church withstood cultural pressure from numerous external sources and internal pressures toward theological and social compromise. And they managed to maintain biblical fidelity through the melee. Even so, in Revelation 2:1-7, John authors a message from Jesus to the church in Ephesus cautioning them that they had lost their “first love” and the “first works” that flowed out of that love.
Hunter and Autumn discuss the letter to the Ephesian church and consider parallels to our modern context. How might we be tempted to abandon our “first love” and the “first works” to which we are called?
In a continuing conversation about the album “Rebuild, Renew,” Adam Anglin, Jordan Lucas, and Daniel Perez join Autumn to discuss three specific songs. Adam, Jordan, and Daniel each wrote one of the songs considered in this episode. They delve into the songwriting process, the ideas and Scripture that inspired the lyrics, and their hopes for how this album will enrich and enliven our worship as both the gathered and scattered family of God.
Resources mentioned in this episode: "Rhythms of Grace" by Mike Cosper (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1433533421)
Fellowship Denver’s bands wrote, recorded, and produced a worship album entitled ”Rebuild, Renew” that is set for release on September 16th. The album is a compilation of original works created by over 30 musicians. Three significant contributors to ”Rebuild, Renew,” Adam Anglin, Jordan Lucas, and Daniel Perez, sat down with Autumn to discuss leading worship, the process of creating a collaborative album, and why it’s meaningful to contribute to this sort of project.
In a two-part discussion, Autumn and Hunter consider a book by Pastor and Author Mark Sayers entitled “A Non-Anxious Presence: How a Changing and Complex World Will Create a Remnant of Renewed Christian Leaders.” If, as Sayers states, “crisis precedes renewal,” and non-anxious leaders are a primary means God uses to bring about renewal, how can we develop this sort of presence? Via deep, abiding connection to God. Being people of hope, light, and truth in an era of cultural crisis is impossible without connection to God via Jesus, his Son. Connectedness to God allows us to be curious, compassionate, adaptable learners who joyfully accept the place and time to which God has called us.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"A Non-Anxious Presence: How a Changing and Complex World will Create a Remnant of Renewed Christian Leaders" by Mark Sayers (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0802428576/)
"The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don't" by Julia Galef (https://amazon.com/dp/0735217556/)
In a two-part discussion, Autumn and Hunter consider a book by Pastor and Author Mark Sayers entitled “A Non-Anxious Presence: How a Changing and Complex World Will Create a Remnant of Renewed Christian Leaders.” Sayers observes that the moral, geopolitical, and cultural norms of the past many years are being challenged and will eventually give way to a new order. We are moving into an undetermined era which Sayers calls a “gray zone,“ filled with upheaval and tension. In a modern gray zone, super-charged by our complex, networked reality, tension manifests as collective anxiety. However, a more compelling, brighter reality comes into focus in Sayer’s writing. God repeatedly uses these moments in history to bring about renewal through leaders who maintain a non-anxious presence, deeply connected to God regardless of the cultural and political melee.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
"A Non-Anxious Presence: How a Changing and Complex World will Create a Remnant of Renewed Christian Leaders" by Mark Sayers (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0802428576/)
"A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix" by Edwin Friedman (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1596272791/)
Three Fellowship Denver Pastors, Hunter Beaumont, Rich Dugan, and Clark Nunnelly, recently traveled to Spain to attend a conference with church leaders from Europe, Africa, Australia, and the United States.
In today’s episode, Hunter and Rich reflect on their time in Spain and share three ways the global church challenges and sharpens the modern church in America. They note the motivation, urgency, and clarity of the European church leaders and how that vitality confronts our own temptation toward complacency.
It is a sobering reality that God the Spirit uses the church in mission and not the other way around. The church does not wield God the Spirit as its tool, to do with as it pleases. The church takes its mission plans directly from the Spirit (Acts 13). The church must be humbled by this knowing that we are not necessary for God to advance his mission. God has always been able to turn rocks into sons, graft wild olive branches into the natural, and return to the natural root as he pleases.
However, the normative pattern in the New Testament and in church history is that God uses the church to house, resource, and advance God’s mission. The New Testament authors assume that the family of God is participating in and carrying out the “Missio Ekklesia.” Dave and Autumn discuss the importance of an ecclesial theology of mission and two principles, the incarnational principle and the pilgrim principle, by which it must be carried out.
Modern Americans have collective attention deficiency; our ability to read entire books, track complex arguments, or listen intently is collapsing. Hunter and Autumn turn to two articles to examine what this collapse of attention may mean for the church in the modern era.
Church leaders and Christian Bible college professors are noting a “double literacy loss” within their respective communities. Trevin Wax and Brad East describe the first loss as “biblical literacy loss.” Familiarity with biblical themes and stories was once high in the American populace but is now uncommon even among regular church attenders. The second loss is “general literacy loss” due to the widespread collapse of attention. If reading and study are declining, as these authors contest, how will a rising generation of Christians engage Scripture?
Resources mentioned in this episode: "Bible Reading in an Age of Double Literacy Loss" by Trevin Wax (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevin-wax/bible-reading-literacy-loss/)
"Double Literacy Loss" by Brad East (https://www.bradeast.org/blog/double-literacy-loss)
"Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World" by Maryanne Wolf (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062388770)
"Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention - and How to Think Deeply Again" by Johann Hari (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09FYHKYFJ)
A dramatic increase in teen anxiety and depression in America over the past few years has caught the attention of doctors, therapists, educators, parents, and journalists. Derek Thompson, in a recent Atlantic article, attributes the rising rates of anxiety and depression among teens to four causes: high social media use, low interpersonal socialization, constant and ready access to news sources, and modern parenting.
Hunter and Autumn discuss Derek’s insights and reflect on what we can do to be a healthy church family that helps our young people navigate the unique stressors of modern life.
Article mentioned in this episode: "Why American Teens Are So Sad" by Derek Thompson (https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2022/04/american-teens-sadness-depression-anxiety/629524/)
The gospel compels us to love our neighbors in an active, sacrificial way. And, long-term change in the lives of vulnerable people is most effective when healthy people, communities, or institutions surround them.
In this final conversation of the "Loving Our Neighbors" series, Dave and Autumn discuss classic activities of the local church, like regularly gathering for worship, and how these functions dignify the vulnerable. We can invest in stable, healthy churches for the benefit of others.
In Jesus’ teaching, love of neighbor is active, sacrificial, and not bound by the societal barriers that we tend to create. Jesus, quoting the Old Testament, states that love of God and neighbor is the summation of the law. In the OT rendering of God’s law given to Israel and in Jesus’ interpretation of those same moral laws in the NT, care for vulnerable individuals is central. The "quartet of the vulnerable" - widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor - are all mentioned over and over. Who are the "foreigners" living alongside us, specifically our refugee neighbors? How does life in Denver look for them? Loving neighbors beyond barriers is a choice. But it is not purely sacrificial. Connection to our neighbors enriches our lives, expands our understanding, and grows our love and faith.
Organizations mentioned in today's episode: Lutheran Family Services (https://www.lirs.org/) African Community Center (https://www.acc-den.org/) Project Worthmore (https://projectworthmore.org/)
Love of neighbor is an imperative in the Old Testament law and in Jesus' own teaching on the continued moral ramifications of the law. Jesus depicts the love of neighbor as a sacrificial, costly act, reminiscent of his own love for us. Jen Shepard and Becky Braman join Autumn on the podcast to discuss the realities of foster care in Colorado, the Safe Families program, and how intentional compassion compels them to act on behalf of children and families in crisis.
Resources mentioned in this episode: Safe Families, Denver Chapter (https://denver.safe-families.org/) Reframing Foster Care by Jason Johnson (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1625860951/)
Who are our vulnerable neighbors? How can we get to know them? And how does the gospel compel us to act on their behalf? In today's episode, Autumn and Jill Anschutz answer these questions in light of the impact of our state and local educational systems on vulnerable children. Schools that perform consistently bring stability to the lives of children which links directly to outcomes they experience later in life.
Jill is a Board Member of the Charter School Institute, an organization that authorizes charter schools for the state of Colorado, and Rocky Mountain Prep, a local Pre-K through 5th Grade charter school. Autumn and Jill conclude that church's active involvement in local educational institutions can be a means to bring about good for our neighbors and discuss the various ways that involvement may take shape.
Resources mentioned in today's episode: - Status of Denver's Children (https://www.denvergov.org/content/dam/denvergov/Portals/713/documents/data-resources/StatusOfDenversChildren_ADA_2019.pdf) - 2021 Kids Count (https://www.coloradokids.org/data/publications/2021-kids-count/) - DPS Grade Level Expectations (https://www.transformeducationnow.org/post/are-kids-in-dps-meeting-grade-level-expectations-no-they-are-not) - Colorado Politics (https://www.coloradopolitics.com/) - Chalkbeat (https://co.chalkbeat.org/)
Autumn continues the discussion about the sacrificial love of neighbor inherent in the gospel in today's discussion with Jason Janz and Juan Peña of CrossPurpose. CrossPurpose is one of Fellowship Denver's Serve Denver partners. Their purpose as an organization is expressed in their mission statement: "CrossPurpose is a non-profit organization abolishing relational, economic, and spiritual poverty through career and community development."
Autumn, Jason, and Juan discuss the reality of poverty in Denver, ways that "the rich" live in poverty, and how the relational wealth of God's Kingdom lived out by His church is a means to poverty alleviation.
Loving our neighbor means reflecting the grace, mercy, and generosity we have personally received from God in the spaces in which we’ve been purposefully placed. Ben Sooy joins Autumn to talk about his work at Joshua Station, a housing facility run by Mile High Ministries that serves families transitioning out of homelessness.
In Denver, three interconnected issues of homelessness, housing affordability, and social isolation keep many individuals and families trapped in chronic housing instability. How does Jesus' expectation that his followers actively love our neighbors in a self-sacrificial manner compel us to act on behalf of the vulnerable people in our communities? And how might churches in Denver respond to the needs of our homeless neighbors?
Guest Ben Sooy joins Autumn on the podcast to discuss what loving our neighbors means in the biblical conception of the term, and how the gospel compels us to act for the good of neighbors in our local communities.
In Luke 10, Jesus, in response to a question posed by a legal scholar, tells the story of a Jewish man who is ambushed by robbers, beaten, and left for dead. A priest and a Levite both pass the man, turning a blind eye to his pain and need. The unlikeliest of heroes, a Samaritan, has compassion on the dying man. Jesus goes on to say that the Samaritan's self-sacrificial care is a demonstration of genuine neighborly love.
Autumn and Hunter revisit a 7-year old article that seems even more relevant today.
In “The Coddling of the American Mind,” (The Atlantic, September 2015), Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff explain how “emotional safety” has caused many college classrooms to avoid controversial ideas. They lament the effect it has on the debate of ideas and how it leads us to confuse emotions with objective truth. A significant book by the same name followed, and years later, what started on campus seems to have spread to American society at large.
How should Christians live, raise children, and engage in critical conversations in a culture that has defaulted to “emotional reasoning?”
Article mentioned in this episode: "The Coddling of the American Mind" by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt (https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/09/the-coddling-of-the-american-mind/399356/)
Family played a central role in man's earliest recorded history. Man and Woman, created in God's image, were joined in a union and given the sacred task of continuing God's creative work: bring more image-bearers into being, love them, and commission them to spread God's good kingdom over the face of the earth. They failed. They chose self-determinism, and their family brought about death instead of life.
But God chose family once again as the vehicle to bring about redemption. Through a family a baby boy, God's own son, would be born. He would extend the invitation of sonship and the rich inheritance of God's family to all who would bear his name. If all who are a part of God's church are family, how does that reality shape our lives today?
Autumn, Angi, and Michael discuss the vision and mission of Church as Family via the lens of the local church family and their personal experience.
What is a "family"? A group of people biologically connected in some way? People who share a name or a common heritage? People with whom you crossfit or camp? Modern American culture oft applies the term "family" to any loosely connected group of people in an attempt to create a conception of connectedness or meaning.
In Scripture "family" has both biological and redemptive meaning. Autumn, Hunter, and Michael discuss the theological significance of family in its Scriptural context and why church as family matters to us today.
Articles referenced in this episode: - ‘Yes, He Would’: Fiona Hill on Putin and Nukes, an interview with Fiona Hill by Maura Reynolds (https://apple.news/AAOcZNM-3Rk-7SzjmXtUkvw) - Two Years Ago, I Warned You About The Coming Pandemic; Today I Am Warning You About The Fallout From Ukraine by Bryce Hoffman (https://apple.news/ADigts1PcRAmBim4SJgrmwQ) - How Vladimir Putin Lost Interest in the Present by Mikhail Zygar (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/10/opinion/putin-russia-ukraine.html)
Hunter and Autumn respond to three listener questions.
Q1: In the episode on the law, Autumn mentioned Psalm 119:97 in which David says “Oh how I love your law; it is my meditation all the day.” Is David using the word “law” to refer to The Torah or specifically to the law given to the Israelites?
Q2: Many verses in the Bible mention God’s anger. See Ezra 8:22, Isaiah 42:25, and Deuteronomy 29:27. How does God’s anger relate to judgment?
Q3: I've always thought of the difficulties and brokenness we experience in life as a natural consequence of the fall. For instance, if I make dinner for my family but my child refuses to eat, she may be hungry later. Her hunger is a natural consequence resulting from her decision, not a punishment that I’ve determined. The Bible speaks about God’s judgment in terms that sometimes sound like a natural consequence, but at other times sound like disciplinary action that God has taken. Where, or with whom, does the agency lie when we choose our own way or our own wisdom over God’s?
Modern readers often struggle when reading the Bible, particularly the OT, to make sense of the violence that God not only seems to condone, but to command. Doesn't God command Israel to mercilessly wipe out the surrounding nations? Doesn't God use other nations to execute judgment against Israel, and at other times use Israel to be an instrument of judgment against other nations? Jesus may at first pass seem like a kinder, gentler depiction of God, but he also talks about Hell. Hunter and Autumn discuss some of the difficult Scripture passages that speak of God's judgment, and they consider the necessity of judgment to the establishment of God's kingdom.
Jesus not only claimed to “fulfill” the Scriptures, but in fulfilling them, he teaches us how to make sense of them. This is especially important when we read the Old Testament law because, at first blush, it seems like Christians apply some parts of the law but not others. For example, why do we keep the Old Testament’s sex ethic but disregard the laws about not eating shellfish or wearing clothes made from two kinds of fabric (stretchy jeans, anyone?).
Autumn and Hunter consider posit that this way of interpreting and applying the law actually has something to do with how Jesus fulfills the Scriptures and how he taught his disciples to read them in light of him.
Resources mentioned in this episode: "The Whole Christ" by Sinclair Ferguson (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1433548003)
How do you read any part of the Bible–a chapter or a passage–and get something out of it? One of the keys is knowing the big story which holds all of the parts together. In this episode, Autumn and Hunter begin a series of conversations to help us make sense of the whole Bible. They discuss three major themes that connect all 66 books: The Kingdom of God, The Promise of God and the person of Jesus Christ.
Resources mentioned in this episode: "According to Plan" by Graeme Goldsworthy (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0830826963) "The Christ of the Covenants" by O. Palmer Robertson (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0875524184) "Covenant and Creation" by William Dumbrell (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1842278258)
Hunter and Autumn discuss an article featured in the New Yorker, written by Parul Seghal, entitled The Case Against the Trauma Plot. Seghal posits that the "trauma plot" has become the primary narrative device used by script writers and authors during the past few decades. The "trauma plot" promises, via revelation of a person's past, to explain their idiosyncrasies, personality quirks, and failures in the present. The device rings hollow, though, as character after character become locked into a determinant version of themselves in the future.
The popularization of the trauma plot holds a certain allure. It convinces us that we, too, can understand and type people in the present through the story of their past. The gospel, though, shatters the trajectory of the trauma plot. In Christ we are not just our past. In fact, II Corinthians 5 declares us "a new creation."
Mentioned in this episode: "The Case Against the Trauma Plot" by Parul Seghal (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/01/03/the-case-against-the-trauma-plot) "Crossroads" by Jonathan Franzen (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0374181179)
Michael, Jesse, and Autumn discuss a current critique of pop culture presented by a VOX culture writer, how pop culture heroes come and go, and the shaping effect these shifting loyalties have on Gen Z and on all of us. So how should we engage in current media and art, namely film, shows, and literature? We turn to ancient wisdom, taught by "The Preacher" in Ecclesiastes, for our answer to this modern dilemma.
In our concluding discussion on prayer, Dave and Autumn respond to the following questions: 1. Do you experience seasons in prayer? 2. How do you process hard emotions in prayer? When should I do that in prayer and process with another person, too? 3. I keep asking God to help me not to be angry, but he won’t! 4. Does God speak to us in prayer? And if he does, how can we distinguish our own thoughts from the Spirit’s voice?
Autumn and Hunter continue our New Year focus on learning how to pray. Because so much has been written about prayer and so many different prayer practices have been invented throughout history, we often need to simplify this habit. Fortunately, Scripture does make learning to pray simple. It gives us two places to focus, two types of model prayer: The Lord’s Prayer and The Psalms. Today, Autumn and Hunter discuss how to use the Psalms to learn prayer.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
“Answering God” by Eugene Peterson “Christ in the Psalms” by Patrick Henry Reardon “The Songs of Jesus” by Kathy and Tim Keller “Lectures on the Psalms” by Martin Luther “Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cures” by Martyn Lloyd Jones
Prayer, or communing with God, is fundamental to life with God. Scripture itself teaches us to pray. Though countless books, articles, and infographics exist on methods of prayer, the normative prayer practices found in the Bible are The Lord's Prayer and The Psalms.
Autumn and Hunter discuss The Lord's Prayer as a basis for daily time in prayer with God and examine four patterns of prayer that emerge from from Matthew 6:9-13: thanksgiving and praise, lifting of burdens, ongoing petition, and confession.
Autumn and Hunter discuss their favorite reads of 2021. Books mentioned in this show:
"Sodom and Gomorrah" and "Swann's Way" by Marcel Proust "Crossroads" by Jonathan Franzen "Pastoral Song: A Farmer's Journey" by James Rebanks "Jayber Crow" by Wendell Berry "Slouching Towards Bethlehem" by Joan Didion "The Lincoln Highway" by Amor Towles "Martin Luther, vol 1: His Road to Reformation, 1483-1521" by Martin Brecht "A Burning in My Bones: The Authorized Biography of Eugene H. Peterson" by Winn Collier "Walk With Me: A Biography of Fannie Lou Hamer" by Kate Clifford Larson "Defenders of the Unborn: The Pro-Life Movement before Roe v. Wade" by Daniel K. Williams "Policeman Small" by Lois Lenski "The Wingfeather Saga" by Andrew Peterson "The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self" by Carl Trueman "You Are Not Your Own" by Alan Noble "Urban Apologetics: Restoring Black Dignity with the Gospel" by Eric Mason, ed. "Prayer in the Night" by Tish Harrison Warren "Praying Together" by Megan Hill "The Glory of Christ" by John Owen
Thank you for listening to the Vision for Life Podcast! We are taking a two-week break to reflect on the joys and difficulties of 2021 and the many ways we’ve experienced God’s sustaining presence through both. We hope you take some time to do the same.
Autumn and Hunter will return on January 5th to share their best reads of 2021.
During Advent, we pause. Advent means "coming" or "arrival." In these weeks preceding Christmas we pause to look back to Jesus' inauspicious arrival on earth centuries ago and to look forward to the day when he will come again. We refer to Jesus' birth, the Son of God coming to earth, fully God and fully man, as the "incarnation."
Hunter and Autumn discuss the meaning of the incarnation, God's desire to dwell with us, and the limits of our human attempts at restoration of ourselves and the world. The path to restoration comes to us via a baby born of the Spirit and of Mary, and leads us through–not out of–suffering and weakness.
Twentieth century theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “Advent season is a season of waiting, but our whole life is an Advent season, that is, a season of waiting for the last Advent, for the time when there will be a new heaven and a new earth.” A celebration of Advent is an invitation to waiting. We wait, we look forward to Jesus' return, and we anticipate the glorious restoration of all of creation.
Dave and Autumn reflect on how we, during this Advent season, can be people who are sober about our present conflicted reality and yet remain ever-hopeful in the One who once came as a baby and will return as a King.
The season of Advent is upon us! Advent means “coming” or “arrival.” During Advent, we look back to Jesus’ first coming when God quietly sent His baby Son to begin a great rescue. And we look forward to Jesus’ second coming when He will return as a triumphant King to set all things right.
Advent is a time of waiting, longing, and hoping, but our waiting is not a passive patience. Advent invites us into an active hope borne from our faith in the fulfilled promise of Christ's incarnation and his promised future return. Hunter, Dave, and Autumn discuss how to enter into this season of longing by creating rhythms of study and celebration.
At the end of a long and stressful year, the practice of giving thanks is easy to skip but especially important. With this in mind, Autumn and Hunter discuss four themes of thankfulness, where we see God working in the life of our church. Happy Thanksgiving! The podcast will return on December 1.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1433576694/
This week, Hunter and Autumn discuss the characteristics of cancel culture and its effect on the church. Cancel culture is characterized by ad hoc standards of righteousness, assumption of motive, and a mob mentality. Within the body of Christ, however, we are to experience a joyful, relational community. Being overly shaped by a culture that is practicing judgment prevents us from experiencing the fruit of the gospel and enjoying each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Autumn and Hunter open the mailbag and discuss three questions from listeners. The first question concerns the difference between listening to well-known preachers via podcast vs. relating to your local church and local pastors. The next two questions concern evangelism, with an emphasis on the role of God's Word in sharing faith and helping people come to faith in Christ.
Glennon Doyle is an archetypal American celebrity, embodying trends in the broader culture in a concentrated way. Her writing, podcast and Instagram function as popular wisdom literature marketed to women. On this week's episode, Autumn and Hunter discuss a review of Doyle's career published in The New Yorker.
In "Glennon Doyle's Honesty Gospel," Ariel Levy reviews Doyle from within a secular framework. And yet even from that perspective, Levy hints at inconsistencies and cracks in her narrative of self-expression. For a Christian reading this review, Levy helps us discern some of the common themes and cracks in the "secular gospel." We discuss these themes while observing how the secular, therapeutic gospel tends to echo Christian language without its substance.
Article mentioned in this episode: "Glennon Doyle's Honesty Gospel" by Ariel Levy (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/02/15/glennon-doyles-honesty-gospel)
In recent years, 36 states have legalized or decriminalized marijuana for either medical or recreational use or both. Colorado led the way. Living in a place in which weed is ubiquitous and legal raises interesting questions for followers of Jesus. Does the Bible provide wisdom for navigating this cultural issue? Is marijuana use allowable for Christians? Should Christians participate in the marijuana industry?
Dave and Autumn discuss these questions, looking to Ephesians 5:18 and Proverbs 31:6-7 to bring clarity and nuance to this topic. They observe that a desire for escape, relief, and transcendence motivate much of the widespread use of marijuana and other psychotropic drugs. In conclusion, they discuss that the gospel offers the possibility of transcendence and the promise of being made new in a wholly different and better way than mind and mood altering substances.
A listener-submitted question wrestles with Jesus' vision to be "in the world not not of the world" as it relates to educating children - especially in the public education system which indoctrinates students with a modernist vision of sexuality and gender at an increasingly early age. How are wise parents navigating this reality?
Autumn is joined by Dave and Hunter to discuss the challenges of raising children in this environment and some of the different ways Christian parents are approaching education. They identify three typical, but different, approaches to education and the benefits and drawbacks of each.
New City Catechism question 32 asks, "What do justification and sanctification mean?" In the sermon from September 26, 2021 we learned that these two words summarize the gospel's gift of "righteousness." Justification is our declared righteousness before God; sanctification is our gradual growing righteousness. And the order is essential - justification BEFORE sanctification.
In this week's episode, Autumn and Hunter follow-up on the sermon and ask, "How can we practice the rhythm of "first justification, then sanctification" in everyday life? What does it look like to actually live by this rhythm, and how does it give us a unique joy?
Resources mentioned in this episode: "Dynamics of Spiritual Life: An Evangelical Theology of Renewal" by Richard Lovelace (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0830852883) New City Catechism, Question 32 (http://newcitycatechism.com/new-city-catechism/#32)
Autumn, Hunter and Michael discuss a book review of Breaking the Social Media Prism by Chris Bail.
In his review, Timothy Keller observes that social media is driving polarized thinking and polarized relationships - but not for the reasons we're commonly told. Rather than being driven by algorithms, social media is driven by our own, modern need to construct and express an identity. "Social media is more about identity than ideas," says Keller summarizing Bail. But if we can resist using it to express identity, we can still use it constructively.
Resources mentioned in this episode: "Social Media, Identity, and the Church" by Tim Keller (https://quarterly.gospelinlife.com/social-media-identity-and-the-church/) "Breaking the Social Media Prism: How to Make Our Platforms Less Polarizing" by Chris Bail (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0691203423/)
Introducing "VFL Culture" episodes, where we discuss a topic of public debate through the lens of biblical wisdom. Hunter and Autumn (reluctantly) dive in to everyone's favorite family argument: Should I get the COVID-19 vaccine? Is there a possible "religious exception" reason to refuse the vaccine if mandated? And what if I land in a different place on this than my friends, fellow church members or pastors?
Resources mentioned in this episode: "COVID-19 raises concerns about abortive fetal cells in medicine" [ERLC] (https://erlc.com/resource-library/articles/explainer-covid-19-raises-concern-about-abortive-fetal-cells-in-medicine/)
"Common questions about the COVID-19 vaccine" - Interview with Russell Moore and Dr. Francis Collins [ERLC] (https://erlc.com/resource-library/articles/common-questions-about-the-covid-19-vaccine/)
"How should Christians think about religious exemptions for vaccination?" by Ashli Arbo and Matthew Arbo [ERLC] (https://erlc.com/resource-library/articles/how-should-christians-think-about-religious-exemptions-for-vaccination/)
"What you should know about COVID-19 vaccines" by Joe Carter [TGC] (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-faqs-what-you-should-know-about-covid-19-vaccines/)
Autumn and Hunter discuss two listener-submitted questions. First: In light of last week’s conversation on the fracturing of evangelicalism over “secondary” issues, how do we actually distinguish between “gospel issues” and “cultural issues?” Can you give us some guidance on how to know the difference? Second: In light of recent events in Afghanistan, how can we pray for and support Christians who are persecuted, especially when our experience as Americans is so different than theirs?
Introducing a new podcast feature, "VFL Reads," where we read and discuss an article or book that helps us think about following Jesus in our world.
This week, Autumn, Hunter and Dave discuss "The Six Way Fracturing of Evangelicalism" by Michael Graham, published at mereorthodoxy.com (link below)
"Evangelicalism" is a movement that emerged in the 1940's, differentiated from both "modernism" and "fundamentalism," and grew to become the most influential Christian stream in America (this history is discussed in the conversation). For better or worse, our experience of Christianity in America is influenced by the ups and downs of evangelicalism, even if we wouldn't identify as "evangelical." Today, this movement is fracturing due to cultural pressures and differences of opinion in how to respond. That fracturing means that many Americans experience Christianity as filled with arguments, controversies, disappointments, and disagreements - even among those who believe the same gospel and follow the same Jesus.
In this episode, we discuss this fracturing using Graham's categories and how we can faithfully and joyfully follow Jesus in an age of fragmentation.
https://mereorthodoxy.com/six-way-fracturing-evangelicalism/
In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus compares his followers to a lamp. A lamp's very nature, its intended purpose, is to give off light. That is why, Jesus adds, people put a lamp on a stand; there it will give light to all in the house. He continues with an admonition to those listening to "let your light shine before others." In the same breath, Jesus acknowledges the temptation to hide, which he compares to putting a lamp under a basket.
Based on this teaching, Hunter describes public faith as a willingness to identify as a follower of Jesus and a commitment to good works that serve others. We grow in these good works, a public display of our faith that directs attention to God, by knowing our story, practicing hospitality, doing our work with excellence, caring for the poor and vulnerable, and sharing our church.
The church is called, not to fit in with it's surrounding culture, nor to go to war with it, but to lovingly challenge it. Followers of Jesus - the church - challenge culture in love through a biblically distinctive posture, practices, and priorities. Our current sermon series considers some of the church's distinctive priorities, namely gathered worship and investing in the next generation.
Putting these priorities into place in our lives often brings us to decision points that require deciding between two good options, or between what is good and what is best. What are the practical implications of setting aside time every week for gathered worship? What does investing in another life visa vie sharing the gospel require? And what if this is all harder than it sounds? Dave, Hunter, and Autumn respond to these questions in a candid discussion.
In the final installment of our Daily Life with God conversations, Hunter and Dave talk about what it’s like to cultivate a relationship with God over many years. They discuss habits they’ve always returned to and the mysterious experience of the Lord’s distance or absence, when what used to “work” doesn’t work anymore and what He might be teaching us in those seasons.
FDC App (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id899775050) Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1578291844) Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/16xemuRB2blAVuOoLnWMhC) Google Play (https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9wb2RjYXN0cy5zdWJzcGxhc2guY29tL2prNm1waDQvcG9kY2FzdC5yc3M)
Everyone who attempts to cultivate a daily relationship with God runs in to obstacles and frustrations - time, distractions and apathy, just to name a few. In part 2 of our series, Autumn and Hunter discuss some of these frustrations and how we can keep going even when the going gets slow.
Many Christians only experience their faith as things they have to believe or do or not do. But the point of the gospel is to lead us into fellowship with God. Are you experiencing God as personally present with you, in your everyday life? Autumn and Hunter begin a new series of conversations on how to cultivate a daily relationship with God, starting with 3 essential ingredients.
Here is the resource Hunter compiled: https://storage.snappages.site/GCSXWC/assets/files/Daily-Life-With-God-Handout.pdf
Corporate Sunday structures can easily read like a grab bag of "church things." Some coffee, some songs, some Scripture, some classes, maybe communion. So do we, one expression of the big family of God, simply select the coffee, songs, Scripture, and curriculum that we jibe with and call that our "Sunday Worship Gathering?"
Adam and Autumn continue their discussion about worship by examining the hows and whys of a Sunday morning service as it exists at Fellowship Denver. As Zac Hicks writes in his book The Worship Pastor, “When we invite people to worship through the story of the gospel, we aren’t just asking people to observe the gospel structure we have built but we’re inviting them to inhabit it.” We set aside and thoughtfully structure our time together on Sunday mornings to encourage us all to remember God’s faithfulness, acknowledge God's active work in the world, and to join with him in that work.
What is worship? Is it singing and sitting through a church service on Sunday morning? Connecting with God through the beauty of nature? An ambiguous feeling or a way of thinking?
Worship, in the biblical conception, is our response to a worthy Creator-God and to all the ways He loves us. Our heart orientation, what or who we worship, manifests itself in all of life. God demonstrates his transcendent worth, not with mere thoughts and ideas, but with real words and tangible actions - the action of sending his son in space and time to live a perfect life, die a death we deserve, taking our sin, to be resurrected into a body that can never die, and then finally ascended to the right hand of the Father. Our response should be a holistic one that takes shape in adoration and action, individually and corporately.
What simple, meaningful things can we do to live a “Beyond Me” life? Autumn and Hunter wrap up the Beyond Me conversation series by discussing 5 practical ideas for living a bigger story that aren’t complicated, aren’t always easy, and almost always draw ourselves and others closer to the Kingdom of God.
This week Michael and Autumn respond to this listener question: “So much of the Bible is in poetic form, how can I better understand it if I am not a 'poetry reader'?”
Roughly one-third of the Bible is written in poetic form; therefore, some knowledge of poetic devices commonly utilized by biblical authors can enrich our interaction, as modern readers, with this ancient text. Poetic language in Scripture encourages us to slow down, engages our imaginations, and provides us with a way to process life with God emotionally. Every reader, familiar with poetry or not, can slow down and interact with poetic sections of Scripture with both thought and emotion.
"Freedom" is a value dearly held by Americans. We presume that the best kind of life is one in which we are free to choose, one in which we are "free" to author our own lives. And, while we would not identify "connection" as a value of equal weight, we all also long for meaningful connection.
The biblical model of community encourages us to hold our "freedom" loosely. To ask not "What can I gain," but "What can I give?" What do I have that can be used to create space for someone who is experiencing lack in some way? Do I have financial wealth? Relational connection? The ability to exercise hospitality? Additionally, this understanding of community teaches us that growth occurs in connection to people who are not like us, who challenge us, and who are themselves pursuing life with Jesus.
Adam and Erin Anglin join Autumn to take on the topic of marriage anecdotally, as Adam and Erin share their own experience dating, getting married, and growing through the joining of two lives into one new family unit.
Our inclination as modern Americans is to see everything through the lens of individualism. In order to make sense out of our lives, we place ourselves into a kind of story. Inevitably, we center ourselves in this story. So, if the people, places, and things surrounding us help us to become and express our best, truest, or most authentic selves, they are useful to the story. If they don’t support that central storyline, they are not useful. Expressive individualism encourages this same rationale as a means of assessing marriage.
Adam and Erin's marriage, though, demonstrates a different reality. Their marriage, and the very institution of marriage points to something greater. It points to the love of Jesus. The biblical story prompts those of us who are married to ask "How can we use our relationship to demonstrate God’s love, not only to each other, but also to others"? The meaning of your marriage is actually fulfilled when a love indicative of Jesus’ love, is not hoarded to create a great life for yourselves, but is multiplied to create a home, a place in which others can experience welcome, hospitality, and love.
Autumn and Hunter discuss how the "Beyond Me" story gives meaning to unmarried life.
In our culture, romantic love is often depicted as the key to becoming a complete "me." For some it's even a replacement religion. "You've GOT to get into a relationship," we're told. If you go to church, it's even worse, because now that relationship has to end in marriage for you to enjoy the full fruits of romantic love. This can make singleness feel like hell. Furthermore, the common theology of singleness in many churches is that it's a time of waiting and preparing for marriage. But what about those who have already been married? What about those who might never be married? In this episode, we discuss how "Kingdom of God" is a bigger story that opens up new possibilities for unmarried men and women.
Justice questions are on the front burner of public discourse and debate. The Scriptures contain the most holistic view of justice found anywhere, one that has stood the test of time and transcended cultures. But as Christians, we have to do the hard work of learning it and living it out, and that's not easy when our culture's debates about justice are polarized.
On this episode, Autumn and Hunter respond to a listener question that typifies this tension: How do we hold together two of the most polarized "justice issues" of our day, race and abortion? Our listener writes: "We are living in a moment in history when we are told either you are conservative and care about abortion or liberal and care about racial justice... As believers, whether conservative leaning or liberal leaning, the truth of imago dei unites us and should unite us on both of these issues." Hunter and Autumn pick up the conversation there and discuss how to learn about, engage, and hold together both of these issues.
Additional resources mentioned in this episode: The Whole Life Project - https://www.andcampaign.org/whole-life-project The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James H. Cone - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1626980055/ Talking Points: Abortion by Dr. Lizzie Ling - https://www.thegoodbook.com/talking-points-abortion
"Church," in Jesus' conception, indicated a gathering of people, living in proximity to one another, engaging in discussion, collaborating on behalf of a community, working out the teaching of Jesus in all walks of life. Jesus' church was comprised of people who had accepted the efficacy of his sacrifice in repentant faith. They were to demonstrate a unique sort of unity that pointed to the diverse yet unified nature of their God. 1 Corinthians 12 uses the metaphor of a physical body, comprised of many interdependent parts, to describe the diversity and unity of the church - the body of Christ.
The individualistic lenses through which modern Americans view life limit our ability to see the reality and significance of the body. We tend to ask how the whole can benefit the individual rather than how the individual's attachment to the whole enriches and strengthens the body and the individual parts of which it is comprised. The body of Christ is as real and as significant now as it was in the first century. We can acknowledge this reality and cultivate it for the good of many or ignore it to our harm.
This episode is one of a series of conversations that have to do with living all of life within the bigger story of the Gospel. We're calling the Gospel the “Beyond Me Story.” This bigger story sits in contrast to the “Me Story," the highly individualistic story of the culture within which we live.
The Me Story is characterized by a set of questions that everyone living within it asks. We ask these questions almost instinctively, having been thoroughly conditioned by our culture and society to do so, and we place these as an overlay on every aspect of life. When we ask the Me Story questions of work, they sound something like: "Does my work allow me to express my true self?" "Is this job helping me grow and develop as a person?" "Will this job lead to a successful career path?" "Do I find my work satisfying or fulfilling?" These questions, while not bad, are limited. Many of us experience frustration with work when it doesn't provide the answers to these questions as we'd hoped.
Ephesians 6 broadens our view of work outside of the bounds of the limited Me Story by revealing that, regardless of our work environment or the status or value ascribed to our work culturally, we can choose how we work. Paul encouraged both bondservants and their masters to see their work as a call to mutual, reciprocal service to each other and to Christ. Christians are called to see their work as service - whether they are designing a building or washing its windows.
This episode is one of a series of conversations that have to do with living all of life within the bigger story of the Gospel. We're calling the Gospel the “Beyond Me Story.” This bigger story sits in contrast to the “Me Story," the one handed to us at birth within which we all live.
Today Clark shares his own story of "finding home." Not unlike many Colorado transplants, Clark and his wife moved to Denver with hopes of hiking, biking, and climbing their way into a fun, fulfilled existence. They did find beauty and adventure in the Rockies, but they also began to sense a need for relationship that the mountains couldn't fill. Eventually they began, not only to seek out relationship for themselves, but to build relational community for others. As they invested more of their time and energy in their neighbors and church community, God grew their heart and affection for their "place," and they began to find the home they'd longed for.
Clark has now joined the Fellowship Denver staff team at and will be pastoring a new congregation that will focus on creating the same sort of place he and his wife found a "home" - a relational community that models Jesus' compassion and love.
This episode is one of a series of conversations that have to do with living all of life within the bigger story of the Gospel. We're calling this big Gospel story the “Beyond Me Story.” This story sits in contrast to the “Me Story," the one handed to us at birth within which we all live.
One of the innate longings all people experience has to do with place. Most people want a place to belong, a place to feel at ease, or a place to call our own. We call this place home. Something about home feels right, or safe. The Me Story would have us believe that we can find a place in our own journey of self-discovery and self-fulfillment that will provide an essential piece the puzzle that is "me."
The Beyond Me Story reveals to us a different reality. The notion of place, or home, is central to the Beyond Me Story. So, too, is the reality of exile, a separation from the fullness of God's presence that we experience as an unfulfilled longing for home. The central character of the Beyond Me Story, Jesus, displaced himself from his home in order to dwell with us, in our state of exile, to show us the way home. The reality of a home found in and through Jesus has both a temporal and an eternal dimension. Jesus' earliest followers called themselves "sojourners" or "wanderers," terms that captured the temporal nature of an earthly human experience. Yet even as they sojourned, they reflected the greater reality of the kingdom by building up the people and places around them. In this way they, and we, find home.
You are and I are born into a story. The world and its story are old, and big, much bigger than any one of us. Yet we all instinctively tend to center ourselves in the narrative and write a version of the story called The Me Story. In the American cultural context this story develops via an experiment we call “finding ourselves.” We mix the ingredients of our lives in an attempt us to find and express our most authentic "selves." We may, for a time, mix the ingredients of the Me Story in such a way that they are temporarily satisfying. But we all find that the Me Story is inherently limited.
Another story, The Beyond Me Story, predates The Me Story. Genesis 1 and 2 introduce us to the Beyond Me Story. The Me Story is limited because it's author is limited. The Beyond Me Story is expansive because it's Author is limitless. Within God’s Story, our most authentic selves are received from God and expressed by listening to God. God saves us out of the limited, restless Me Story via re-creation: new birth into The Beyond Me Story.
The doctrine of the authority of Scripture states that God's word stands above all earthly powers. Within God's governmental structure, God - the Living Word and the Written Word - hold positional authority. We are created, not Creator. We are stewards, not owners. Because many of us have experienced "authority" as a way to leverage power or to obtain a desired outcome, we may balk at the notion of the authority of Scripture.
Yet acknowledgement of the authority of the Word of a God who gave his own Son on our behalf is not submission to a power-hungry deity, but to a Father who inverts the very idea of authority. He gives grace and agency to the humble. He elevates and protects the meek and powerless. Submission to such a Father grounds us and allows us to share in his abundant life, a life animated by his Word and illumined by his Spirit.
Autumn, Kimiko, and Caitlyn discuss how God has chosen to use written words, recorded and preserved in the Bible, as one of the primary means of revealing himself to us. We read the Bible to learn who God is, who we are, and to understand his created world and his kingdom.
However, reading the Bible is not simply an educational exercise nor purely an emotional experience. Interacting with the written Word leads us to the Living Word who is the Way to the Father. The multi-faceted, complex nature of the Bible reveals to us a God who is himself beautifully complex. The varied nature of God's written word, composed of different books, genres, and literary styles, affords us the ability to spend time with him via devotional reading, to enter into the vast biblical story via rapid reading, and to have intellectually stimulating conversation with him via studied reading.
As noted in the audio, for more information about Women's Ministry or Women's Bible Study, contact kimiko@fellowshipdenver.org.
Every week, in the various expressions of Fellowship Denver, we appeal to the Bible. In our kids classrooms, youth ministry, Bible studies, small groups, and Sunday morning services, we state that the Bible is the primary basis for our teaching and discussion. Reading and studying scripture is also central to our individual discipleship. Engaging scripture grows our love of God, helps us understand God and his truth more fully, and enables us to develop the moral muscle to live in accordance with the gospel of Jesus. Since these are vital aspects of Christian living, the Bible has been woven into the fabric of normal Christian life at every point.
Based on the centrality of the Bible to all of the ways in which the church learns and worships, any attender of Fellowship Denver could connote that we consider the Bible important, reliable, and authoritative. Dave, Kimiko, and Autumn take on these questions directly this week as they ask “What is the proper relationship of the Christian to the Bible?” And “How can we trust that the Bible is reliable and carries authority?”
For further reading: The Canon of Scripture by F.F. Bruce - https://www.amazon.com/dp/0830852123/ Can We Still Believe the Bible by Craig Blomberg - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1587433214/ The Historical Reliability of the New Testament by Craig Blomberg - https://www.amazon.com/dp/0805464379/
Work - paid and unpaid - is how we spend the bulk of our time. God intended it to be so. He created man and woman to work and keep the earth. Because God created work, it has meaning and fits into a bigger story of what God is doing in us and in the world. We don’t need to “bring” meaning to our work or “add” meaning to our work. It already has meaning. We just need to discover it.
Autumn and Hunter are joined by Joanna Meyer of Denver Institute for Faith and Work to discuss how we can find the meaning in our work.
Learn more about Denver Institute for Faith and Work at https://denverinstitute.org/.
"We were created for God's glory" is one of those sayings that sounds true, but can quickly turn vague. What does it actually look like to live for God's glory? On this week's episode, Autumn and Hunter discuss how "God's glory" should actually play out in our lives. They also discuss a listener-submitted question: If God created this world for his glory, why does he allow so much evil and suffering?
The doctrine of the Trinity has to do with the identity of God and our knowing God as he is. Understanding the Trinity is a way in which we understand God’s existential nature. However, we often deal with the doctrine of the Trinity as if it is an intellectual problem to be solved or an oddity to be explained away, rather than as a certainty that makes our God entirely unique, beautiful, and interesting. Knowing and relating to God as Father, Son, and Spirit enriches our interaction with God, with our families and neighbors, and with the created world.
On this week's episode, Autumn and Hunter continue the conversation about the New City Catechism and how it gives us vision for life.
Today's subject: the catechism starts with questions and confessions about God - who He is, what He's like. At first blush, this can seem like a philosophical exercise. But there's actually more going on than we might realize. When we read God's revelation about himself, then confess it in our own words, we are changed in the process and our lives take on new meaning. How this happens is the topic of today's conversation.
This episode is the second in a series introducing our yearlong focus on the New City Catechism. Autumn and Hunter discuss this question: What if you've experienced "external authorities" as heavy-handed?
Last week, we discussed the benefits of submitting to something outside yourself. But, what if you've tried that and it wore you down? Many who grew up in rigid religious environments have seen authority wielded in a graceless way. If that's your experience, the freedom to follow your own impulses and express yourself - the freedom that modern culture celebrates - can feel liberating.
We look at this problem through the lens of the Exodus, where Israel was freed from an oppressive external authority, Pharaoh, while simultaneously having their own sin atoned for. The gospel brings a "double freedom" that liberates us from both Pharaoh and ourselves.
In 2021 our preaching calendar is being shaped by the New City Catechism, so to kick off the podcast year, Autumn and Hunter ask this question: How can learning a catechism make you happy?
It's a counter-intuitive question because a catechism, at first blush, can appear somewhat dry. It's a series of short questions and answers that cover the foundations of the Christian faith. Many of us would admit that it would be good for us to brush up on our understanding. But "make me happy" seems like a stretch! How can learning a catechism make you happy?
We start by discussing the common understanding of "happiness," which emphasizes inner psychological satisfaction. This kind of happiness, which sounds normal to modern people, is found by moving from the inside out. When what's "inside me" can be expressed, I'm happy. But for many people, this kind of happiness is over-promising and under-delivering. Is there another kind of happiness that's more robust, more enduring? And how might a catechism help me experience it?
Resources mentioned in this episode: New City Catechism (http://newcitycatechism.com/) Book: The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1433556332)
We are joined today by Sam, a clinical mental health counselor and member of Fellowship Denver, to discuss the meeting point of theology and mental health. Our view of God and humanity deeply impacts and shapes our own psychological health. Both religion and culture often tell us, in various ways, that genuinely loving presence - God’s or other’s - will likely be withheld from us if we are not deserving.
To the contrary, a redemptive view of mental health states that nothing we can do or be or become, aside from the intervention of Jesus, will render us worthy. God simply wishes to be invited into our struggles, whatever they are. When relationship with God is restored and he is present in our lives, the process of transformed affection and desire begins. We can begin to be transformed into people who more fully reflect the image of God in which we were made. However, Scripture provides no promise that the restoration of relationship will result in full deliverance from difficulty or healing from mental or physical health struggles.
Sam’s advice to those walking with a friend or loved one through mental health struggles is remain present in the struggle, know that you are not able to be that person’s savior, and know your limits.
Sometimes our felt needs drive us to seek escape or equilibrium via means that are appealing but ultimately unfulfilling, and many times even damaging. Drugs, alcohol, pornography, self-deprecation, self-aggrandizing, “fitting in,” consumerism - and the list goes on and on - hold out the promise of meaning, escape, relief, or happiness. And they often deliver a temporary, fleeting version of those promises.
When we seek repeated solace or escape through vices, they become habits. We often turn to them without concerted thought or the exercise of mind and will, particularly in seasons of stress, loss, or exhaustion.
In today’s episode we discuss what it might look like to replace these habits, born out of fleshly and socially derived instinct, through the power and filling of the Holy Spirit. God always gives us the ability to imagine a different way. If you are facing your own addictions or self-gratifying desires, rather than the seemingly dualistic decisions of “give in” or “try harder,” God prompts us to imagine all that he created us to be and invites us to trust him and submit to his love and his ways. He asks us to participate with him in the process of transformation. Through that process, he promises a renewal of mind and heart (will). By the power of the Holy Spirit we can experience the re-shaping of our desire and form new, life-giving habits.
God’s incredibly intricate design of the human mind, body, and heart includes adaptation and regulation. As we move in and out of various environments and seasons of life we respond physiologically to the difficulties and benefits we encounter in each linear movement.
In seasons of loss or disruptive, difficult environments our physiological responsiveness may produce melancholy, anxiety, or depression. Often our attempts at regulation end up pushing us further from help and further into damaging habits or vices.
Seeking help - from God, with a trusted counselor or friend, through professional therapy and care, or all of the above - is essential to regaining physiological health and clear perspective.
Past experiences or seasons of loss are often heightened during the holiday season. And now, due to the pandemic, we’re all processing loss to some degree. Loss results in grief, and we can either recognize the grief and weight we are carrying or we can attempt to deal with it in some other way. We may look for ways to “check out” from life - mindlessly watching Netflix, online shopping, doing whatever feels easy. We may turn toward addictions - technology, alcohol, drugs, pornography - the list could go on. These seasons of compounded loss can leave many struggling with depression and anxiety.
The Gospel gives us vision for the future and a hope for the future during seasons of difficulty. The Spirit provides us agency and power that is accessible to us even when - especially when - we feel powerless. Lean into the agency provided by the presence of Jesus in the midst of dark season. Engage the living, active Word of God. While “just read your Bible” can be an empty platitude and is not a substitute for counseling and, when needed, medication, Scripture does have the unique power to change our hearts and broaden our perspectives.
God’s never-ending, never-giving-up love and grace are sufficient to sustain you right now. Paul learned to distrust his own strength. Yet God’s grace was always big enough to sustain him. God’s grace was made clear and evident in Paul’s weakness; the same power, presence, and grace is available to us in our weakness.
The pandemic has created a new reality marked by grief and loss. We are collectively grieving the world we once knew - the loss of routine, work, school, relationships, and normalcy.
Many are grieving additional acute losses experienced in the distant or recent past. Acute losses come in many forms - loss of loved ones, loss of life and health, miscarriage, an injustice committed against you - and are compounded and heightened by the holiday season and the pandemic.
The Gospel gives us resources to walk through grief and loss in emotionally and spiritually healthy ways. Jesus Himself desires to be your companion as you walk the long and painful road of bereavement. He is gentle and compassionate and desires to be your most trustworthy and empathetic grief companion.
The holiday season can be stressful. Add in a pandemic, divisive political environment, and fewer daylight hours, and you’ve found a recipe guaranteed to produce stress, anxiety, or despondence. During times of prolonged stress or anxiety our physiological survival response mechanisms work harder, overriding the emotional decision-making centers in our brains that allow us to make healthy relational adaptations. In fact, the emotional and relational regression that occurs during such seasons is likely even worse than you think.
As disciples of Jesus, one of the biggest challenges during a season like this is to navigate it in a distinctly different way. Jesus expects us to experience the pandemic differently. Jesus expects us to experience Advent differently. Jesus expects us to engage in relationship differently. Jesus expects us to persevere.
How does God’s Word give us eyes to see these circumstances or our response to them differently? How does Scripture engage our imaginations so that we can see different options or have a different perspective?
Last fall the pastors at Fellowship Denver encouraged the whole church - kids, students, and adults - to ask, “What does God want to do in and through me? What does God want to do in and through us?” We’ve heard many first-hand accounts of God’s faithful cultivation of the hearts of people in our church family as they open themselves to these questions.
How does this good work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of our church family inform our mission as a church? How does it inform the way in which we go about engaging the rising generation of young people in our church and in our city? What does “engaged orthodoxy” look like for an urban church that desires to missionally, lovingly engage young people with the gospel of Jesus?
The gospel of Jesus can take on different cultural clothing and styles without changing its core nature–a pattern that started in Acts and continues today. On this week's episode, we discuss questions like: How can I know the difference between what is "gospel" and what is "culture?" How does this concept help us when we are wrestling with doubts or questions based on our church upbringing?
This week Autumn is joined by Katie, a long-time Fellowship Denver member who works as a community organizer for a grassroots not-for-profit lobbying organization in Colorado. Katie grants us an inside look at how anecdotal evidence in a particular community catalyzes what then becomes data-driven lobbying efforts that wind up as bills being introduced to the legislature.
Katie and Autumn also consider questions such as: How can I remain relationally rooted in God while actively serving others? How does advocacy work recognize the image of God in every person? How does the biblical idea of justice differ from our modern, cultural notion of justice?
We conclude our class on Politics by looking at big trends that are shaping American politics right now and asking: How does the gospel of Jesus speak in a unique way to these tensions? First, we see that America was founded on principles of liberty, protected by the rule of law (aka "classical liberalism"). Today, the stability of this liberal order is being stressed by illiberal forces on both the right and left–a resurgent nationalism (right) and a lack of confidence in liberalism to produce social justice (left). Then, we learn that this is happening at the same time that America is becoming more secular and politics is functioning as a replacement religion.
Presentation: https://storage.snappages.site/GCSXWC/assets/files/Politics-4-Trends-In-American-Politics-56.pdf
This week on the Vision for Life Podcast, we continue a theme from the class: how the gospel changes the way we talk politics. Pastor Dave Morlan joins Autumn and Hunter to discuss questions like: What do you do if you have a conviction and would like to persuade others, but you're afraid you'll be met with an angry reaction? What does it look like to pray for politicians you don't support or agree with? If our posture toward each other is just as important as being right, how can we grow in that posture? We also discuss how to know when you're over-consumed with politics.
In part 3 of our Vision for Life class on Politics, we learn about different "political cultures" inside American Christianity and how these different cultures are causing tension inside the Church. We ask: In light of our cultural and political differences, how can we talk about politics in a constructive way? We also take up the subject of voting, using Jesus' famous teaching, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's.”
Presentation: https://storage.snappages.site/GCSXWC/assets/files/Politics-3-Debating-Discussing-Voting-12.pdf
This week on the VFL Podcast, we discuss what it looks like to grow in political awareness–awareness of our own political stories and the issues of our day. Dave and Renee Morlan join Autumn and Hunter. They share insights into their upbringing and how politics were treated in their churches and families.
We also discuss the following listener questions: • Should the church provide guidance on political issues? • If our citizenship is in heaven, is political involvement still important? • How do we deal with the fact that every political choice seems like a compromise? • What are some current political issues in Denver and how do you stay informed of them? • How do you engage people who have different political convictions, especially inside the church?
In part 2 of our Vision for Life class on politics we ask: how should Christians engage public politics?
We examine several common but misguided ways Christians have tended to engage and craft a more sustainable approach. We also ask: how should teaching in Scripture inform the public policies for which we advocate? Why is wisdom needed for most of our political choices?
Presentation: https://storage.snappages.site/GCSXWC/assets/files/Politics-2-Political-Engagement.pdf
This week, Autumn and Hunter sit down with two Fellowship Denver members, Blythe and Jill, who get to see aspects of state government from the inside. Blythe serves as Chief of Staff to Representative James Coleman, Majority Co-Whip. Jill chairs the board of Colorado Charter School Institute, a state board appointed by the Governor.
We discuss questions like: How can government create a platform for flourishing in a fallen world? How do they navigate the political atmosphere and work with people of all perspectives? How can we cultivate a new and better politic inside the local church?
In part 1 of our Vision for Life class on politics, we look at three foundations from Scripture that help us navigate politics. What do we mean when we say "politics?" Why does God ordain government? What purpose does good government serve? How is the Church also political?
Presentation: https://storage.snappages.site/GCSXWC/assets/files/Politics-1-Political-Foundations.pdf
Recommended Resource - How the Nations Rage: Rethinking Politics in a Divided Age by Jonathan Leeman https://www.amazon.com/dp/1400218446