Recovering the Christian Mind

Matthew Boyd made his Major League Baseball debut as a Toronto Blue Jay on June 27, 2015 and one month later he was traded to the Detroit Tigers. He has played 8 years of his 9 year career with the Tigers, but not without adversity. He was sidelined for the entire 2022 season after flexor tendon surgery in September 2021. More recently, 16 pitches into a game against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, something didn’t feel right. Two days later he would have season ending Tommy John surgery. Matthew is a committed follower of Jesus Christ. How does the Christian faith work when something isn’t right, when we are facing adversity, setbacks, and disappointments?

In this episode of Recovering the Christian Mind we revisit an interview with Dr. Carolyn Weber about her memoir of coming to faith in Jesus Christ as an agnostic while a student at Oxford University: Surprised by Oxford. This is a wide-ranging conversation with includes discussions of anti-Christian bias in academia, the pressures Christian academics face as professors and teachers in academia, and the surprising way God used the intellectual environment of Oxford to bring an agonistic to Himself. This interview was recorded in 2011 and is probably one of my top five favorite conversations I ever had during my 12 years as a talk radio host.

Consider today's episode of Recovering the Christian Mind a Bonus Track to yesterday's conversation with Pastor Jeremy Walker about the excellent new two-hour video documentary on the history of revival, Revival: The Work of God. In this brief conversation, Jeremy and I discuss the production aspects of the documentary: the beautiful locations they visited, including historic churches and places, and the pastors and professors they interviewed to help all of us place revival in its proper biblical and historical context.

Pastor Jeremy Walker is the Writer and Presenter of the new Reformation Heritage Books documentary, Revival: The Work of God. This two-hour video documentary sets revival in its biblical and historical context, freeing us from our contemporary pragmatic view which sees revival more as a result of human creativity and ingenuity than a true work of the Spirit at the sole initiative of our sovereign God. Pastor Walker says, "In times of reviving, God does what He always does. But there's a pace and a power to it that is distinctive; and sometimes it's momentary - it's A sermon; other times it's a period; sometimes it's a lifetime; sometimes it sweeps across a whole region that there's this sort of this elevating of the spiritual tone that I think is incontrovertible. It is the God who, in His grace, draws near to bless in ways that are perhaps beyond, certainly that beggar I think, our low and shallow expectations of Him."

Part 2 of a two-part conversation with World Magazine "life beat" reporter Leah Savas on her new book (co-authored with Marvin Olasky), "The Story of Abortion in America: A Street-Level View 1652-2022."

Here is part one of a two-part conversation I had last week with Leah Savas, the "life beat" reporter for World Magazine. She and Marvin Olasky have collaborated on an important new book which details the impact of abortion in America since 1652. If all you know about abortion in America is the legal battles and public protests, you're missing the real story.

Recent trends in end of life "celebrations" are a clear indication that the traditional funeral is itself, dead. A comprehensive report from the Theos Think Tank in London details these trends away from religious rites and toward more informal gatherings tailored to the unique personality of the deceased. What the report reveals is what it doesn't say explicitly: we are masking the horrific nature of death (and its cause - SIN) with irreverence and humor rather than confronting the reality of what death is, how it has separated us, and where the hope lies.

Rainn Wilson, best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the television sitcom The Office, is out on the circuit promoting his new book, Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution. Viral reels of Wilson's recent appearance on the Rich Roll Podcast are being shared by Christians (and non-Christians) on their social media platforms because so much of what Rainn and Rich are talking about speaks to what Pascal referenced when he said, "There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made know through Jesus Christ.” St. Augustine also famously said, "You move us to delight in praising You; for You have formed us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in You." But the spirituality Rainn and Rich are pedaling as a response to our spiritual longings is not not the spirituality Pascal and Augustine proclaimed. Soul Boom offers a revival of ancient heresies which were confronted and refuted by both the Apostles in sacred Scripture and by the church in its infancy. On today's episode of Recovering the Christian Mind we'll hear what Rainn is saying and respond with the Bible.

Who are the two disciples and what are the implications for using our homes as welcoming places for the gospel?

Listen to this fascinating conversation with Jonty Rhodes, Minister at Christ Church Central in Leeds, UK and the author of Man of Sorrows, King of Glory: What the Humiliation and Exaltation of Jesus Mean for Us. The evangelical church is in very real danger of viewing the work of Christ as something he has done for us in the past, failing to realize that though he is absent from us, he is still very much at work now in the church in his threefold offices of prophet, priest, and king. How is the Lord Jesus Christ at work in the church now, and what are the implications for our worship and service?

In view of the fact that Jesus is coming again, how ought we then to live? In Romans 13:12-13 the Apostle Paul admonishes us to "cast off the works of darkness." What does this mean in practice?

For more than 30 years Alistair Begg has been my "adopted" pastor. I listen to his preaching each Sunday. Currently he is in a series in the short letter of Jude, and in his opening message to this series on Jude he made a point that has been both convicting and encouraging. On today's episode of Recovering the Christian Mind we take Alistair's admonition to heart.

If a Christian takes the Covid vaccine, has he or she tainted the blood of Christ? On today's episode of Recovering the Christian Mind, Pastor Paul responds to a recent guest on Fox News' Fox & Friends who made such an assertion.

On today's episode of Recovering the Christian Mind, Pastor Paul Edwards has an extended conversation with pastor, missionary, and evangelist Paul Washer.

Becket Cook was saved out of a homosexuality in 2009. He now spends much of his time in ministry speaking at churches, universities, and conferences helping believers (and non-believers) understand this issue biblically, theologically, culturally, and personally. Balancing grace and truth when teaching on this subject is of primary importance. His goal is to challenge the current cultural narrative about sexuality in general and homosexuality in particular by demonstrating through his personal testimony and biblical truths that, yes, homosexuality is still a sin, and that following Christ is infinitely more satisfying and joyous. On August 8, 2019 Paul spoke with Becket Cook about his memoir, A Change of Affection: A Gay Man's Incredible Story of Redemption, which was released on July 30, 2019 by Thomas Nelson (Harper Collins).

In this episode of Recovering the Christian Mind we look at the "Jesus Revolution" movie. When Christianity marries Hollywood, the offspring is never pretty.

Are there biblical benchmarks by which we can discern the effectiveness of spiritual leadership? On today's episode of the Recovering the Christian Mind podcast, Pastor Paul gives us the three results of Samuel's spiritual leadership in 1 Samuel 7. At a minimum, these three results are good indicators of the effectiveness of any spiritual leadership.

Samuel built an altar in his home. Is your worship relegated to a weekly public gathering? Or is your home a place of confession, repentance, and praise where God reigns? John Owen said, "What a man is on his knees in private, that he is and nothing more."

When we look back on our defeats and disappointments and see how the hand of God was working in our favor, we must mark those places where defeat turned to victory so that we do not forget God.

On today's episode of Recovering the Christian Mind we consider why Samuel sacrificed a nursing lamb in 1 Samuel 7. One of the things about the Christian faith that offends the sensibilities of good people is that God requires the bloody sacrifice of an innocent to appease His wrath against us.