According to Pew Research, Americans are more divided along ideological lines – and partisan antipathy is deeper and more extensive – than at any point in the last two decades. These trends manifest themselves in myriad ways, both in politics and in everyday life. [1]
Drs. Kim and Hoffman met at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. Dr. Hoffman is lead pastor of Evangelical Friends Church of Newport, Rhode Island, and Dr. Kim is Professor of Practical Theology and the Hubert H. and Gladys S. Raborn Chair of Pastoral Leadership at Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University.
They are passionate about the Bible’s vision of the reconciliation of all things in Christ, and they care deeply about the Body of Christ and the Mission of God — and they share how this theology can play out practically in the way that we minister in a world which is plagued by division.
In this episode, we talk about when and how Christians should address hot topics in our societies, and some guiding principles for helping people navigate the cultural moments we find ourselves in.
Carrying Out the Mission of God in a Divided Nation – with Drs. Matthew Kim & Paul Hoffman –
Theology for the People
Drs. Matthew Kim and Paul Hoffman are the authors of Preaching to a Divided Nation: A Seven-Step Model for Promoting Reconciliation and Unity.
Drs. Kim and Hoffman met at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. Dr. Hoffman is lead pastor of Evangelical Friends Church of Newport, Rhode Island, and Dr. Kim is Professor of Practical Theology and the Hubert H. and Gladys S. Raborn Chair of Pastoral Leadership at Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University.
They are passionate about the Bible’s vision of the reconciliation of all things in Christ, and they care deeply about the Body of Christ and the Mission of God — and they share how this theology can play out practically in the way that we minister in a world which is plagued by division.
In this episode, we talk about when and how Christians should address hot topics in our societies, and some guiding principles for helping people navigate the cultural moments we find ourselves in.
Mentioned in this episode is Dr. Kim's book, Preaching with Cultural Intelligence: Understanding the People Who Hear Our Sermons
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A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of traveling to Chisinau, Moldova, to visit Steven and Teresa Yeats, friends of mine who have been missionaries in Eastern Europe for many years.
Steven is a pastor and a church planter, but a few years ago he started a business in Moldova, and in this episode of the Theology for the People podcast, he talks about the spirituality of money and the reasons for considering doing business as a form of mission.
We talk about sustainable church planting and unique needs that exist in the developing (majority) world for jobs to be created so that Christian people who want to be part of what God is doing in their home countries can stay without feeling the need to emigrate.
Additionally, Steven and Teresa share about how the war in Ukraine has affected their lives and their ministry, and how we can be praying for them and for the church in Moldova.
Business as Mission – with Steven and Teresa Yeats, Missionaries in Moldova –
Theology for the People
Steven and Teresa Yeats have been missionaries in Eastern Europe for many years. They currently live in Chisinau, Moldova. Steven is a pastor and a church planter, but a few years ago he started a business in Moldova, and in this episode he talks about the spirituality of money and the reasons for considering doing business as a form of mission. We talk about sustainable church planting and unique needs that exist in the developing (majority) world.
Additionally, Steven and Teresa share about how the war in Ukraine has affected their lives and their ministry in Moldova. Finally, they share how we can be praying for their ministry and the church in Moldova.
Make sure to check out the Theology for the People blog at nickcady.org
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In this episode, we discuss the topic of prayer and the Lord’s Prayer specifically.
The Lord’s Prayer is a beautiful, subversive prayer given to the church by Jesus. It forms our imaginations and—given time—transforms us. Dan explains how what you pray shapes what you believe, which in turn shapes how you live.
What was Jesus’ intention in giving us this prayer? Was it to give us a model of how to pray, or was it intended to be given to us as what to pray? Dan and I discuss the historical usage of the Lord’s Prayer, as well as the value and dangers of both praying written prayers and praying extemporaneously.
Dan is a graduate of Denver Seminary, and we discuss some of the cultural uniquenesses of different parts of the United States, and how those affect the way we minister to others.
Dan Marotta is the founding Rector of Redeemer Anglican Church in Richmond, Virginia, and the author of Liturgy in the Wilderness: How the Lord's Prayer Shapes the Imagination of the Church in a Secular Age.
In this episode, we discuss the topic of prayer and the Lord's Prayer specifically.
The Lord’s Prayer is a beautiful, subversive passage of words given to the church by Jesus. It forms our imaginations and—given time—transforms us. Dan explains how what you pray shapes what you believe, which in turn shapes how you live.
Visit the Theology for the People blog at nickcady.org, where you can read articles and suggest topics for future episodes.
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Dean Inserra is the author of the book, Pure: Why the Bible’s Plan for Sexuality Isn’t Outdated, Irrelevant, or Oppressive. In this episode, we talk about “purity culture” and whether the recent pushback against it is warranted. We also discuss biblical sexual ethics and Dean gives advice for people in different life situations in regard to marriage, singleness, and dating.
Dean is the founding and lead pastor of City Church in Tallahassee, Florida. He is a graduate of Liberty University and holds a MA in Theological Studies from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is currently pursuing a D.Min from Southern Seminary. Dean is an advisory member of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission’s Leadership Council with the Southern Baptist Convention and is a member of Baptist 21.
For more information about the Calvary Chapel / CGN international conference June 26-29, 2022, visit conference.calvarychapel.com
If you find this episode interesting or helpful, please share it with others and leave a rating and review on your podcast app, as that helps other people discover this podcast and its content.
Are Christian Sexual Ethics Harmful or Helpful? Was "Purity Culture" a Mistake? – with Dean Inserra –
Theology for the People
Dean Inserra is the author of the book, Pure: Why the Bible's Plan for Sexuality Isn't Outdated, Irrelevant, or Oppressive. In this episode, we talk about "purity culture" and whether the recent pushback against it is warranted. We also discuss biblical sexual ethics and Dean gives advice for people in different life situations in regard to marriage, singleness, and dating.
Dean is the founding and lead pastor of City Church in Tallahassee, Florida. He is a graduate of Liberty University and holds a MA in Theological Studies from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is currently pursuing a D.Min from Southern Seminary. Dean is an advisory member of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission's Leadership Council with the Southern Baptist Convention and is a member of Baptist 21.
For more information about the Calvary Chapel / CGN international conference June 26-29, 2022, visit conference.calvarychapel.com
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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theologyforthepeople/support
Tim is the Pastor for Preaching at Reality Ventura and Founding Pastor of Reality Church London and Reality LA. A native to California, Tim’s first ten years of church-planting ministry started as the Lead Pastor of Reality LA in 2006, a thriving church in the heart of Hollywood, before planting Reality London in the UK in 2016. In 2021, Tim returned to California to take up the Pastor for Preaching role at Reality Ventura.
In this episode we talk about culture in general, and “gospel culture” specifically. What is “gospel culture” and how is it developed amongst a group of people, whether that be a church, a family, a staff, or elsewhere?
Tim’s first two books, Better: How Jesus Satisfies the Search for Meaning and The Truth about Lies, were projects which came from lessons learned while living and pastoring in urban areas. Pastor Tim and his wife Lindsey care deeply about the ministry of the local church and seek to devote themselves to helping churches begin and flourish in their mission to share and reflect the gospel.
Tim and I will both be speaking at the Calvary Chapel / CGN International Conference in Orange County, California, June 26-29. More information and registration can be found here at conference.calvarychapel.com
If you find this episode interesting or helpful, please share it with others and leave a rating and review on your podcast app, as that helps other people discover this podcast and its content.
Tim Chaddick is the Pastor for Preaching at Reality Ventura and Founding Pastor of Reality Church London and Reality LA. A native to California, Tim's first ten years of church-planting ministry started as the Lead Pastor of Reality LA in 2006, a thriving church in the heart of Hollywood, before planting Reality London in the UK in 2016. In 2021, Tim returned to California to take up the Pastor for Preaching role at Reality Ventura.
In this episode we talk about culture in general, and "gospel culture" specifically. What is "gospel culture" and how is it developed amongst a group of people, whether that be a church, a family, a staff, or elsewhere?
Tim and I will both be speaking at the Calvary Chapel / CGN International Conference in Orange County, California, June 26-29. More information and registration can be found here at conference.calvarychapel.com
Tim's first two books, Better: How Jesus Satisfies the Search for Meaning and The Truth about Lies, were projects which came from lessons learned while living and pastoring in urban areas. Pastor Tim and his wife Lindsey care deeply about the ministry of the local church and seek to devote themselves to helping churches begin and flourish in their mission to share and reflect the gospel.
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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theologyforthepeople/support
In this episode of the Theology for the People Podcast, Michael and I discuss the topic about which I wrote my BA dissertation: How should Christians relate to ideas and practices in our culture and society which have their origin outside of Christianity?
Some good examples would be:
Can Christians practice yoga? (Origins in Hinduism)
How about martial arts?
What about Christmas? (December 25 was originally a pagan solstice festival which Christians “took over,” detached it from its pagan origins, and infused it with new meaning and made it all about Jesus)
What about psychology?
How about certain instruments, like drums?
What about rock music and electric guitars?
This discussion of how Christians should relate to ideas and practices which originate outside of Christianity can be traced all the way back to a historical argument between Tertullian and Justin Martyr, early Christian apologists and theologians, and can be summarized by Tertullian’s classic question: “What Has Athens to Do with Jerusalem?”
In this episode, Michael and I discuss the relevant principles from the Bible we should follow as guides in navigating these matters.
How does the redemptive narrative arc of Scripture affect how we relate to these practices? How about what Paul says about meat sacrificed to idols in 1 Corinthians 8-10 and Romans 14?
What Has Athens to Do with Jerusalem?: How Should Christians Relate to Ideas and Practices Which Originate Outside of Christianity? –
Theology for the People
In this episode Nick Cady and Michael Payne speak about how Christians should relate to things which originate outside of Christianity, such as yoga, psychology, Christmas, drums, or rock music.
This discussion can be traced all the way back to a historical argument between Tertullian and Justin Martyr which can be summarized by Tertullian's classic question: "What Has Athens to Do with Jerusalem?"
Visit the Theology for the People blog site at nickcady.org – where you can ask questions or submit suggestions for future episodes.
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I read this book as part of my research for my Masters dissertation, which was on the topic of the perspicuity (clarity) of Scripture, and whether belief in this concept was novel to the Reformation period, or if it had precedent in the patristic period as well.
Great short essays about the history of thinking about the Bible in America, particularly in regard to radical individualism and the rejection of tradition and the church in the interpretive process. Sadly, it is out of print, but used copies are available to order.
Mark Yarhouse teaches at Wheaton College, an evangelical divinity school in Illinois. This book gives and important framework for understanding the issues related to gender dysphoria from a Christian perspective, including much of the research that has been done on the topic, and advice for parents and those who seek to minister to people and families.
This is a thinking person’s book about culture in our postmodern age. Smith uses terms like “epistemic pelagianism” to describe the idea that people can figure out everything on their own without the help of God. He discusses Charles Taylor’s idea of the “imminent frame,” i.e. the present world, and its shortcomings. So many important thoughts in this book, although it’s not the easiest read.
A few years ago I decided to read the required reading for Hungarian secondary students. This is a classic novel about a student in Debrecen, Hungary, a city where I lived for over 3 years.
Years ago I was telling my dad about the moral failure of a high profile Christian leader which had disqualified him from ministry. I concluded the story by saying something to the effect of: “Well, I guess he showed his true colors.”
My dad’s response was: “What if that’s not who he is at the core, but a mistake that he made?”
There I was, judging this man based on one of his worst moments, and saying: “That is who he IS!” My dad was willing to say that while what this man did was wrong, he should be given the opportunity for redemption rather than being forever dismissed and defined by his worst moment.
This isn’t to say that people are not sinners or that sinful actions are justifiable, or can just be chalked up as an “oops” that doesn’t count against us. No.
And yet: What do we do with sinners? Do we write them off and condemn them, standing upon their fallen frames in order to make ourselves appear that much taller? Or do we believe that redemption is possible and desire to see it take place?
I don’t pay much attention to Sarah Silverman, but I stumbled upon this clip of her talking about cancel culture and how it labels people as irredeemable. She makes a great point: Don’t we want to see people change? If so, we should encourage and celebrate transformation rather than self-righteously writing off people forever who have made mistakes.
This is what made Jesus so incredible: he showed love to those whom his society considered irredeemable: prostitutes, tax collectors, sinners. Far from affirming their sins, he offered them redemption, a new identity, and a new destiny.
Sarah is not a Christian, but she is touching on something that is core to Christianity.
May we as the church be those who champion redemption, who provide a place where people are loved and are shown that they are not irredeemable because of Jesus!
In him, fallen people like us have had our sins dealt with before God, and therefore we can receive forgiveness, redemption, a new identity, and a new destiny. That’s good news.
Is morality something that people intuitively know, or is it something we need to be told or instructed about?
Why is it that what is considered moral changes over time in different societies?
Pastor Mike and I discuss these questions in this week’s Sermon Extra video, in which we look at 1 Timothy 1:8-9: “Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners”
The book we reference about people who considered murder and lying to not be wrong and treachery to be a virtue is PeaceChild by Don Richardson, which I highly recommend.
We also discuss the question of how much of a Christian’s self-understanding should be determined by the recognition of their sinfulness versus their having been redeemed by Jesus.
Recently Hulk Hogan posted this on Facebook, which garnered a lot of attention, and a reader asked me to comment on it.
In three short months, just like He did with the plagues of Egypt, God has taken away everything we worship. God said, “you want to worship athletes, I will shut down the stadiums. You want to worship musicians, I will shut down Civic Centers. You want to worship actors, I will shut down theaters. You want to worship money, I will shut down the economy and collapse the stock market. You don’t want to go to church and worship Me, I will make it where you can’t go to church” “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Maybe we don’t need a vaccine, Maybe we need to take this time of isolation from the distractions of the world and have a personal revival where we focus on the ONLY thing in the world that really matters. Jesus.
Matters of the Soul and the Body
I agree with Hulk’s statement that we should take this time of isolation from the distractions of the world and have a personal revival.
I agree with his call to repentance, prayer, and seeking the Lord from 2 Chronicles 7:14.
I don’t see why this repentance and revival would exclude the need for a vaccine however, but just as Jesus said: “What does it benefit a person if they gain the whole world but lose their soul?”, (Mark 8:36) that question could easily be applied to our current situation: “What does it benefit a person if they survive the COVID-19 crisis but lose their soul?”
Personally, I have seen a significantly greater openness to the gospel and to prayer in many people during this crisis, and I praise God for that. I believe that God is more concerned with the well-being of our souls than with our physical comfort. At the same time, it is also the call of the people of God to relieve suffering when possible (see Matthew 25:31-46), as we look forward to the end of sickness and death forever for those in Christ because of what He accomplished in his life, death, and resurrection.
The Human Heart is an Idol Factory
Hulk claims that “in three short months, just like He did with the plagues of Egypt, God has taken away everything we worship.”
The thing is, just taking away people’s money doesn’t make them stop worshiping money. Oftentimes it is not what we have that we worship, but what we want – that’s what it means to covet.
One of the things I learned working with refugees and the impoverished Roma population in Hungary, is that some of the people who worship money the most are those who don’t have any of it. They seek after it, believing that if they had it, they would be content and fulfilled. Some of the most materialistic people I have known are people who lacked materially. On the contrary, I have known many wealthy people who were incredibly generous – having learned firsthand that money and possessions will never fill the God-shaped void in one’s soul.
Martin Luther stated that “the human heart is an idol factory.” In other words, even if God did take away these idols, (which are all clearly still here, with the exception of sports) the underlying problem would still exist, and we would just make and find new idols to worship with our time, energy, resources, and attention.
What we need is something deeper: regeneration, new birth, a transformation from the inside out, which is the work of God in our lives.
The Name of God
I find it absurd that Hulk uses the name of God as his personal motto: “I am that I am.”
The name Yahweh derives from the Hebrew word for “to be” – which is why God told Moses to tell Pharaoh that “I am who I am” if Pharaoh asked the name of the God who had sent Moses.
To use this name as a personal motto is borderline, or perhaps blatant blasphemy, in my opinion.
In Conclusion
While it is a bit ironic that Hulk Hogan, a celebrity, is calling out the cultural idol of celebrity worship, and his point about God taking away our idols is dubious at best (if God shut down stadiums to stop our worship of athletes, how does he then reason that the shutting of churches is to be understood as punishment for people not going to church???), his core point is a good one: rather than just waiting for this to be over, we should take this time to refocus on our relationship with God and repent where necessary of giving other things the place in our hearts which rightly belongs to Him.
Theology for the People 