Apollos Watered

"Just be biblical!" "Preach the Word!" are phrases we hear from well-meaning Christians who want to see lives transformed. Rarely, however, do we think about exactly how we are supposed to do it. What do we mean by "be biblical"? Does that mean act like those in the first century? And what exactly are we preaching? Christ crucified for sure, but what stories, illustrations, and metaphors do we employ to build a bridge that help our listeners understand what the cross really means? It sounds complicated, but it's actually not as hard as we think. You have probably heard the phrase, "Know your audience!" That's what we are talking about. Communicating to your audience in a way that they understand. As Christians, we call this process, "contextualization." How do we go about communicating the gospel to those from different backgrounds than us that enables us to communicate in a way that they understand without compromising what the Gospel calls for. Today's guest is Dr. Dean Flemming. Dean Flemming (Ph.D., University of Aberdeen) is an award-winning author, Bible teacher, and seminar speaker. He is Professor Emeritus of New Testament and Mission at MidAmerica Nazarene University and teaches New Testament at the Missional Training Center in Phoenix, AZ. He served for 24 years as a theological educator in the Philippines and Germany and has taught in many global settings. Dean is the author of six books, including Contextualization in the New Testament, which won a Christianity Today book award, and a commentary on Philippians that received the Smith-Wynkoop book award. He writes especially on the connection between the New Testament and mission. An ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene, Dean has pastored churches in Ohio and Japan. He is active in his local church, which includes teaching an adult Bible class. Today, he joins Apollos Watered to discuss his book, Contextualization in the New Testament, and how the early church contextualized the message of Jesus to its audience and we must do the same thing as well. This conversation will help you to identify what contextualization is, why and how it was done in the early church, and how it might help you communicate the Gospel effectively today to those in your world. Learn more about Dean Flemming. Sign up for the Apollos Watered newsletter. Join God in what He is doing in and through Apollos Watered by becoming one of our patrons today!

"Christians should not be talking about politics!" is what I heard when I was a young Christian. Is that true? How can Christians be engaged in politics in a biblically faithful way? What does it mean to be a political disciple? Should we as Christians stay out of politics? These are questions that we all must wrestle with if we are to have an effective witness in the world. Join Travis and Dr. Vincent Bacote as they discuss what it means to be a political disciple in a polarized world. Dr. Vincent Bacote is a Professor of Theology and the Director of the Center for Applied Christian Ethics at Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL. He is the author of Reckoning with Race and Performing the Good News: In Search of a Better Evangelical Theology (2020), The Political Disciple: A Theology of Public Life (2015), The Spirit in Public Theology: Appropriating the Legacy of Abraham Kuyper (2005), and has contributed to books including On Kuyper (2013), Aliens in the Promised Land (2013), Keep Your Head Up (2012) and Prophetic Evangelicals (2012). He is a regular columnist for Comment Magazine and contributes to other magazines, including Books and Culture, Christianity Today, Think Christian and re:generation quarterly, and journals such as Christian Scholars Review, Urban Mission and the Journal for Christian Theological Research. He is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and the Society of Christian Ethics. He resides in the Chicago area with his family. Travis and Vincent discuss what it means to be political, why the church needs to have a robust political theology (how God wants us to go about politics that is biblically faithful), common grace, and how our political theology has changed over time, as well as the very purpose of government. Vincent also discusses some other theologians and how they have shaped how we see politics today, names like Abraham Kuyper, John Howard Yoder, and Stanley Hauerwas. While they may be unfamiliar, they have affected how we view and even engage the political process today. Vincent also gives Travis some lessons on Jazz. Learn more about Vincent. Get Vincent's book The Political Disciple. One of the books referred...

Travis and Jake continue their conversation discussing his book, "What Are Christians For?" Surprisingly, there is a great deal of confusion as to what the role of Christians should be in society. Is it only to be disciples who make disciples? Is it to glorify God and enjoy Him forever? What about in our public life? What role does our Christian faith play in the political sphere? Our vocation? Does it have any effect on the environment? The answer may surprise you. Jake is the editor-in-chief of Mere Orthodoxy, an online periodical seeking to be a voice of sanity in the midst of craziness. His writing has appeared in First Things, Books & Culture, Christianity Today, Commonweal, Front Porch Republic, National Review and Fare Forward. He is the author of two books, In Search of the Common Good: Christian Fidelity in a Fractured World and What are Christians for?: Life Together at the End of the World. Travis and Jake discuss Lincoln, Nebraska, Tanzania, Wendell Berry, N.T. Wright, Herman Bavinck, Francis Schaeffer, Elisabeth Elliot, and what our role as Christians is to be in the world. Episodes referred to in this episode: Listen to #234 | What Are Christians For? with Jake Meador, Pt. 1 Learn more about Jake. Check out Mere Orthodoxy. Sign up for the Apollos Watered newsletter. Help water-thirsty souls by partnering with Apollos Watered!

What Are Christians For? Is it only to be disciples who make disciples? Is it to glorify God and enjoy Him forever? What about in our public life? What role does our Christian faith play in the political sphere? Our vocation? Does it have any effect on the environment? The answer is an unequivocal, yes! Jake Meador is today's guest on Apollos Watered, discussing his book, What Are Christians For? Jake is the editor-in-chief of Mere Orthodoxy, an online periodical seeking to be a voice of sanity in the midst of craziness. His writing has appeared in First Things, Books & Culture, Christianity Today, Commonweal, Front Porch Republic, National Review and Fare Forward. He is the author of two books, In Search of the Common Good: Christian Fidelity in a Fractured World and What are Christians for?: Life Together at the End of the World. Travis and Jake discuss Lincoln, Nebraska, Tanzania, Wendell Berry, N.T. Wright, Herman Bavinck, Francis Schaeffer, Elisabeth Elliot, and what our role as Christians is to be in the world. Learn more about Jake. Check out Mere Orthodoxy. Sign up for the class, "God's Greatness | Your Mission" here! Sign up for the Apollos Watered newsletter. Help water-thirsty souls by partnering with Apollos Watered!

What do you need in your relationship with God? I am sure you can think of many things. One thing that has helped so many Christians and churches is developing a relationship with global Christians, and in doing so, you find your vision of God expands, your relationship with God deepens, and your zeal for ministry exponentially increases. Today's guest, Stephen Pardue, takes us on a journey into the global church and how global theology increases our view of God, helps us to join with what God is already doing, and fulfills His mission with our neighbors who are different from us. Stephen T. Pardue (PhD, Wheaton College) directs the ThM/PhD in theological studies and church history at the Asia Graduate School of Theology and teaches theology at the International Graduate School of Leadership in Manila, Philippines. He is the author of Why Evangelical Theology Needs the Global Church and the coeditor of 10 books, including Majority World Theology and Asian Christian Theology. He and his wife, Teri, have four children and belong to Union Church of Manila. Sign up for the class, "God's Greatness | Your Mission" here! Sign up for the Apollos Watered newsletter. Help water-thirsty souls by partnering with Apollos Watered! A couple of the episodes referenced in today's episode: #150 | Scriptural Illiteracy & Secular Imagination, Pt. 1 | Kevin Vanhoozer #151 | Scriptural Illiteracy & Secular Imagination, Pt. 2 | Kevin Vanhoozer

In this second part of our conversation, Travis and Tom discuss our political witness, premillennial dispensationalism, bad theology, Christian nationalism, and how the gospel is bigger than we often realize. While the gospel encapsulates our personal salvation, there is much more involved than just that, but the redemption of all creation. Understanding Tom means understanding not only what he is saying, but what he is responding to. Without that as a backdrop, you miss his point. Listen in and hear not only what he says, but what he is responding to, and as if often the case, it's the abuses in mind. N.T. Wright (Tom) is currently Research Professor Emeritus of New Testament and Early Christianity at St Mary’s College in the University of St Andrews and Senior Research Fellow at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He has authored or co-authored over 90 books, and today he joins Apollos Watered to discuss his newest book, "Jesus and the Powers: Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies." Other episodes referred to in this episode: #150 | Scriptural Illiteracy & Secular Imagination, Pt. 1 | Kevin Vanhoozer #151 | Scriptural Illiteracy & Secular Imagination, Pt. 2 | Kevin Vanhoozer #226 | The Church Between Temple & Mosque | Dan Strange Sign up for the Apollos Watered newsletter. Help water-thirsty souls by partnering with Apollos Watered!

What should our Christian political witness look like in an age of totalitarian terror and dysfunctional democracies? What is the church's role between Jesus and Caesar? What does Jesus' kingdom look like in the shadow of empire? How do we testify to the powers? How do we resist them? Today we welcome N.T. Wright to the show. Prof. Wright is currently Research Professor Emeritus of New Testament and Early Christianity at St Mary’s College in the University of St Andrews and Senior Research Fellow at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He has authored or co-authored over 90 books, and today he joins Apollos Watered to discuss his newest book, "Jesus and the Powers: Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies." Sign up for the Apollos Watered newsletter. Help water-thirsty souls by partnering with Apollos Watered!

What role does politics play in the mission of God? How do we navigate the political field without stepping on a cultural landmine? What should our political engagement look like? And what do we do with things like Christian nationalism? Today's guest is Cherie Harder, President of the Trinity Forum. Cherie Harder serves as President of the Trinity Forum. Before joining the Trinity Forum in 2008, Ms. Harder served in the White House as Special Assistant to the President and Director of Policy and Projects for First Lady Laura Bush. Earlier in her career she served as Policy Advisor to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, advising the Leader on domestic social issues and serving as liaison and outreach director to outside groups. From 2001 to 2005, she was Senior Counselor to the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), where she helped the Chairman design and launch the We the People initiative to enhance the teaching, study, and understanding of American history. Before that, Ms. Harder was the Policy Director for Senator Sam Brownback and also served as Deputy Policy Director at Empower America. She holds an Honors B.A. (magna cum laude) in government from Harvard University and a post-graduate diploma in literature from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, where she was a Rotary Scholar. She is also a Senior Fellow at Cardus, an Editorial Board member of Comment magazine, a past board member of Gordon College and the C.S. Lewis Institute, a current board member of the Convergence Center for Policy Resolution and Faith and Law, and an advisory board member of the National Museum of American Religion. Check out The Trinity Forum Sign up for the Apollos Watered newsletter. Help water-thirsty souls by partnering with Apollos Watered!

There are so many things that are happening in our world today and churches are trying to figure out what to do next. What do we do next? How can we be faithful and fruitful in this moment? How do we do community in this world when people are already so busy? Pastor and author Stephen McAlpine shows us that the answers aren't that complex. We can future-proof our churches. Listen in as Travis and Stephen discuss Stephen's new book, Futureproof: How to Live for Jesus in a Culture That Keeps on Changing (Discipleship resource: a Christian response to cultural change and the future of the church) Check out Stephen's website. Sign up for the Apollos Watered newsletter. Help water-thirsty souls by partnering with Apollos Watered! #futureproof #stephenmcalpine #Christianity #church #churchinnorthamerica #reformation #rechurching #Jesus #Christ #brideofchrist #hope #christisking #apolloswatered #wateringfaith #travismichaelfleming #evangelicalism #Christian #goodnews #churchattendance #americanevangelicalism #committed

The stats reveal trouble in evangelicalism, Bible reading is down, church attendance is down, and the none's are rising. What's going on? In The Great Dechurching, authors Michael Graham, Jim Davis, and Ryan P. Burge have done the work and come back with the stats. It's both better and worse than we could imagine. 40 million people have stopped going to church in the last 25 years and that's just the tip of the iceberg. However, amid such depressing news, there is hope. Because many of them are willing and ready to come back! Listen as Travis and Michael Graham discuss the book, the stats, and what we can do to help connect people to Jesus and His church. Referenced in this episode is Dechurching.com, The Keller Center. Sign up for the Apollos Watered newsletter. Help water-thirsty souls by partnering with Apollos Watered! #thegreatdechurching #Christianity #church #churchinnorthamerica #reformation #rechurching #Jesus #Christ #brideofchrist #hope #christisking #MichaelGraham #theKellerCenter #apolloswatered #wateringfaith #travismichaelfleming #evangelicalism #Christian #goodnews #churchattendance #americanevangelicalism

Everywhere we look its about us. How "we" want things, "our" true self, "our" vision of the world, what "we" want, etc. Even algorithms cater to us, giving us more and more of what we want, but is that the secret to happiness? Getting more of what "we" want? There is a better way. By taking the focus off of ourselves and getting our focus back on God, that's not easy. We need some help. Who could help us refocus? How about from "those who are dead and yet still speak"? We need to go back and listen to those voices with God-centered lives: Jonathan Edwards, C.S. Lewis, and Augustine. Today, we welcome one of the greatest living historians of American history, George Marsden, who can help us do just that. Dr. Marsden brings Edwards into the twenty-first century, along with Augustine and C.S. Lewis, he helps us to see how we can reorient our lives in our modern times to be more God-centered and ordered by our loves rather than the algorithms of our modern world. Dr. Marsden is Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Notre Dame, is an influential historian who has written extensively on the interaction between Christianity and American culture, particularly on Christianity in American higher education and on American evangelicalism. He is well known for his biography Jonathan Edwards: A Life. He has authored other books including The Soul of the American University, Religion and American Culture, Fundamentalism and American Culture, and C.S. Lewis’s “Mere Christianity”: A Biography. Marsden studied at Haverford College, Westminster Theological Seminary, and Yale University; he has taught at Calvin University, Duke University, and the University of Notre Dame. Today, we discuss his newest book on Edwards, "An Infinite Fountain of Light: Jonathan Edwards for the Twenty-First Century." Sign up for the Apollos Watered newsletter. Help water-thirsty souls by partnering with Apollos Watered!

Where does Christianity stand between Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and the like? How do we build a relationship with those of other religions without losing ourselves in the process? What are the bridges that need to be crossed to lead them to Jesus? What is the mission of the church today? What role does the cultural mandate play? And how can the 20th-century Dutch missiologist, J.H. Bavinck help us understand the mission today so that we can do it both faithfully and fruitfully? What role does contextualization play in communicating that mission? That's what we discussed on today's show! Daniel Strange is the director of Crosslands Forum and the vice president of The Southgate Fellowship. He is one of the inaugural fellows of The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics and is the author of Their Rock Is Not Like Our Rock: A Theology of Religions (Zondervan, 2015), Plugged In (The Good Book Company, 2019), and Making Faith Magnetic (The Good Book Company, 2021) (the book we are talking about today!) He is a contributing editor for Themelios and an elder of Hope Community Church, Gateshead, U.K., which is part of the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches (FIEC). It's a fantastic, fun, and faith-filled conversation that can help you build a bridge with unbelievers so that they too can know Jesus. This is a must-listen! Check out #177 Daniel Strange, Pt. 1 and #178 Daniel Strange, Pt. 2 Sign up for the Apollos Watered newsletter. Help water-thirsty souls by partnering with Apollos Watered!

Part 2 of our conversation with Jen Pollock Michel as we continue to discuss her book, In Good Time. We are all busy, and have a hard time cultivating the habits that enable both being and doing. If we can't cultivate good habits, we have a harder time fulfilling God's mission. In this episode, Travis and Jenn discuss some of the seven deadly sins, and how our contemporary online lives are often guilty of the sin of vainglory, and our constant scrolling is a form of the ancient sin of acedia. We need to address these sins and cultivate habits that enable godliness. Jen is a writer, speaker, coach, and podcast host. She is the author of five books: A Habit Called Faith, Surprised by Paradox (winner of Christianity Today’s 2020 Award of Merit for Beautiful Orthodoxy), Keeping Place, and Teach Us to Want (winner of Christianity Today’s 2015 Book of the Year). She holds a B.A. in French from Wheaton College, an M.A. in Literature from Northwestern University, and is working to complete an M.F.A from Seattle Pacific University. After eleven years of living in Toronto, Jen now lives in Cincinnati with her husband and two youngest children. You can follow Jen on Twitter and Instagram @jenpmichel, subscribe to her Monday letters at www.jenpollockmichel.com, and listen to episodes of the Englewood Review of Books podcast. Learn more about Jen Listen to Part 1 Sign up for the Apollos Watered email. Help revitalize the church in this moment! Support the ministry of Apollos Watered and transform your world today!

Are you tired of being tired? Tired of being stressed out? Tired of not getting stuff done? How are those New Year's resolutions coming along? We all can get frustrated and overwhelmed with all the things that need to be done. Every year there is a new guru who pops up to help us do more, but what about "be" more? How can we get done what we need to get done, but resist hurry and practice peace at the same time? Today, we welcome Jen Pollock Michel onto the show to discuss her book, In Good Time. Jen is a writer, speaker, coach, and podcast host. She is the author of five books: A Habit Called Faith, Surprised by Paradox (winner of Christianity Today’s 2020 Award of Merit for Beautiful Orthodoxy), Keeping Place, and Teach Us to Want (winner of Christianity Today’s 2015 Book of the Year). She holds a B.A. in French from Wheaton College, an M.A. in Literature from Northwestern University, and is working to complete an M.F.A from Seattle Pacific University. After eleven years of living in Toronto, Jen now lives in Cincinnati with her husband and her two youngest children. You can follow Jen on Twitter and Instagram @jenpmichel, subscribe to her Monday letters at www.jenpollockmichel.com, and listen to episodes of the Englewood Review of Books podcast. Learn more about Jen Sign up for the Apollos Watered email. Help revitalize the church in this moment! Support the ministry of Apollos Watered and transform your world today!

Where is the church headed? What do we do about the great dechurching that we see going on in the United States? What role does the culture play today? What about the church? Are we to give a Christian culture? How can we be "thicker" in culture than in the secular world? Travis and Albert discuss the state of the church, Christianity in America, contextualization, politics, the doctrine of subsidiarity, changing the world, the necessity of Christianity for liberal democracy, the Bockenforde dilemma, staying Christian in a society that is increasingly in opposition to Christian convictions, the Constantinian temptation, what it means to be countercultural today, the Global South, and so much more! Learn more about Dr. Mohler, his program The Briefing, and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Sign up for the Apollos Watered email. Help revitalize the church in this moment! Support the ministry of Apollos Watered and transform your world today!

Can our Lord be seen by our politics? What do our politics say about us? Is the message of Jesus communicated in it? What about the way of Jesus? How is our Christian witness being affected by our politics? Do the means we employ reveal the message we believe? What happens if we focus on the message but miss the means? Listen in as Travis and Pete continue their conversation on politics in evangelicalism. Travis welcomes special guest Pete Wehner to the show today. Pete is a Senior Fellow at the Trinity Forum, a writer and thinker who served in the Reagan administration and both Bush presidencies including as head of the office for strategic initiatives. He has written three books and has written for many publications, recently for The Atlantic and the NY Times. I met Pete at a symposium and found him to be a thoughtful and insightful voice in evangelicalism and into evangelicals' political involvement. He is a committed Christian, a political insider, and a voice needed for this moment. Sign up for the Apollos Watered email. Help revitalize the church in this moment! Support the ministry of Apollos Watered and transform your world today!

Is our political focus, which we believe is for the greater good, actually doing the opposite for the Christian witness today? How do we maintain our integrity in the midst of political compromise? Is there a third way? Should we focus on the lesser of two evils? What happens if we continue to do that? Travis welcomes special guest Pete Wehner to the show today. Pete is a Senior Fellow at the Trinity Forum, a writer and thinker who served in the Reagan administration and both Bush presidencies including as head of the office for strategic initiatives. He has written three books and has written for many publications, recently for The Atlantic and the NY Times. I met Pete at a symposium and found him to be a thoughtful and insightful voice in evangelicalism and into evangelicals' political involvement. He is a committed Christian, a political insider, and a voice needed for this moment. Episodes featured in today's show: Misreading Scripture with Individualist Eyes by Randy Richards. Sign up for the Apollos Watered email. Help revitalize the church in this moment! Support the ministry of Apollos Watered and transform your world today!

Travis and Kevin reflect on their favorite episodes and books for 2023 and give a vision for Apollos Watered moving forward to help you water your world! Sign up for the Apollos Watered email. Help revitalize churches by supporting Apollos Watered!

Listen in as many of the guests from Apollos Watered over this past year read the Christmas story. Merry Christmas! Sign up for the Apollos Watered email. Help revitalize churches by supporting Apollos Watered!

Where is their idolatry in the evangelical church today? What idolatries have we smuggled into the church? How do we handle this? What will happen if we don't? How do we reach our crazy post-everything world today? Is there anyone we can turn to? Is there a person who can give us clarity? Is there a different perspective that we have to consider? In this second conversation with professor and former missionary, Matthew Bennett, they continue to discuss his book, Hope for American Evangelicals. Using Lesslie Newbigin as a guide, Matthew takes a missionary perspective to help us look at the American evangelical house and what needs to be done to remodel it by removing the rot and enhancing the good. Travis and Matthew discuss evangelicalism, missions, contextualization, multi-ethnic ministry, sexual ethics and so much more. It's a conversation to help you find the connecting points to reach your world with the glorious news of Jesus. Check out part 1 of the conversation or Reaching and Teaching Ministries International. Sign up for the Apollos Watered email. Help revitalize the church in this moment! Support the ministry of Apollos Watered and transform your world today!