Winsome Conviction

We long for a life characterized by goodness, beauty, and kindness, but the fractures and hostility in our world get in the way. What can we do? On today’s episode, pastor and author Rich Villodas speaks with Tim about some of these themes in his book, Good and Beautiful and Kind. They discuss the role of empathy and the slippery slope of emotional engagement, the danger of depersonalization and the reality of supernatural battle, recall how Jesus would meet people where they are when speaking about the good news. Show notes and a full transcript are available.

Mean-spiritedness and vitriol are contributing to the breakdown in our contemporary discourse, and tactics expressive of affective polarization, where disagreements on policies devolve into bitterness and hatred toward people with whom we disagree, are all too tempting for Christians. And yet, aren’t Christians called to a different way, a different manner of public engagement? On today’s episode, Steve Porter (Ph.D.) speaks with Rick on the role of spiritual formation for shaping how we work in public life. Show notes and a full transcript are available.

The crisis in higher education highlights the vital role of faith-based institutions within the broader educational landscape and the value these institutions provide to society at large. By integrating rigorous academics with religious identity, faith-based universities are poised to address a meaningful, purpose-driven education. Today’s episode is a live recording of a discussion that took place this past December at Biola University with Dr. Barry Corey (Ph.D.), President of Biola University, and Dr. Shane Reese (Ph.D.), President of Brigham Young University, on the impact of faith-based higher education, and this discussion was moderated by Tim. Show notes and a full transcript are available.

In the biblical wisdom literature, Proverbs 4:23 says,”Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” This is sound wisdom, but this bit of advice can often seem irrelevant in matters of church quarreling and cultural rage. And yet, formation in civility, both for the health of the Church and for broader cultural engagement, is crucial. On today’s podcast, Rick and Tim speak with Rev. Dr. Todd Pickett (Ph.D.) on the role of spiritual formation in matters of civility and whether becoming formed to the likeness of Jesus is the highest priority for Christians. They discuss discipleship, the spiritual disciplines, the centrality of the heart, and the practice of attunement in pursuing a good life. Show notes and a full transcript are available.

Over the past decade, there have been rallying cries among supporters of youth sport “to fix” youth sports. One reason youth sports is not working so well is the apparent and increasing incivility at games and sporting events. Today’s guest thinks Christian parents can do better. Ed Uszynksi (Ph.D.) recently co-authored a book, Away Game: A Christian Parent’s Guide to Navigating Youth Sports, and it’s is sure to be a helpful resource for Christian parents who seek to demonstrate good sportsmanship and civility in today’s youth sports culture. Ed speaks with Tim and Mike on some of the key shifts that have occurred in youth sports in the last 50 years, the adult problem with youth sports, and the need to confront the truths and lies when being a supporter of youth sports. Show notes and a full transcript are available.

The biblical call to “love your neighbor” is one of Christianity’s most profound and challenging practices, especially in today’s argument culture. On today’s episode, Tim speaks with professors Katherine Douglass (Ph.D.) and Brittany Tausen (Ph.D.) on their forthcoming book, Love Your Neighbor: How Psychology Can Enliven Faith and Transform Community (released on January 15, 2026), in which they wed insights from social psychology and practical theology to empower loving one’s neighbor. Drawing from evidence-based research, they discuss how to foster meaningful connections, and they share what they are doing with students to transform relationships with neighbors in Seattle, WA. Show notes and a full transcript are available.

The Christian faith should shape and enliven our ordinary, day-to-day activities. But it can be difficult to drum up things to do that are public, practical, and powerful. Tim speaks with J.D. Greear, pastor of Summit Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, and author of recently released, Everyday Revolutionary, on a theology of place. They look to the book of Acts and the ministry of Jesus to draw out some everyday activities Christians can take up to reclaim loving one’s neighbor in our current cultural moment. Show notes and a full transcript are available.

How do we transcend the culture war and transform the world with the good news of Jesus Christ? J.D. Greear, pastor of Summit Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, and author of recently released, Everyday Revolutionary, is on today’s episode to speak with Tim about this question. They draw from the biblical example of Daniel as a model for how we might think about Christian influence in our current cultural moment. J.D. spends time unpacking a call to “live quietly but testify loudly” and what this might look like when it comes to social issues, and they also discuss how the Church might engage culture with a faithful witness that is neither combative nor compromised. Show notes and a full transcript are available.

In the abortion debates, what does a win look like? On today’s episode, Tim speaks with Julia Hejduk (Ph.D.) on abortion and civility. They consider “the sacred core” of pro-choice and pro-life groups, the importance of having a telos, some important communication strategies for addressing conflict, and they also draw from resources in Christianity to consider what might be a worthy goal in these longstanding, contentious debates. Show notes and a full transcript are available.

Are there some topics and issues where we just can’t have a winsome conversation? For many listeners, abortion is likely high on the list. It often seems impossible to find common ground between being pro-choice and being pro-life. Today on the podcast, Tim is joined by Dr. Julia Hejduk (Ph.D.), a professor of Classics at Baylor University. Julia speaks with Tim about the work she has been doing and the friendships that have come about as she seeks to be a bridge-builder on this contentious, moral issue. They discuss a unique event that took place at Santa Clara University in 2018: A Conversation Between Enemies in the Abortion War, the curiosity to know why some women choose abortion, and the Julia's story of her friendship with a woman who holds ideological differences. Show notes and a full transcript are available.

Last year, five months after the terrorist attacks against Israel on October 7th, Simon Greer, a Jewish leader and social entrepreneur, assembled a diverse team of scholars and activists - pro-Israel, pro-Palestine, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and atheist, to study the Israel-Palestine conflict from the ground up. The group spent 10 days traveling through the region to hear from local leaders what has spurred this centuries old conflict. The goal was not to resolve the conflict, but to glean principles that would help with our own conflicts back in America. On today’s episode, Tim, Simon, and Saad Soliman, reflect on their trip and discuss what they learned about how to engage diverse views. Show notes and a full transcript are available.

Simon Greer, a Jewish leader, social entrepreneur, and founder of Bridging the Gap, and Saad Soliman, a Muslim entrepreneur and justice reform advocate, could be enemies. A generation ago, members of their families were trying to kill each other in the Six-Day war. Simon’s uncles fought for Israel in 1967, while Saad’s uncles died fighting for Egypt in that same war. And yet, after meeting at a justice event for formerly incarcerated individuals, Simon and Saad made a choice to work together to build bridges among religious and cultural divisions surrounding the Middle East conflicts. On today’s episode, Tim speaks with Simon and Saad about the work of bridge-building, perspective-taking, and how to work together to build enough shared humanity to live together and thrive while honoring differences. Show notes and a full transcript are available.

On today’s episode, Tim speaks with psychologists Liz Hall (Ph.D.) and Erin Smith (Ph.D.) on the virtue of intellectual humility and the importance of this virtue for addressing biases and in helping with our consumption of social media. Through the course of the discussion, they address the following questions: What is intellectual humility? Do Christians have a responsibility to be intellectually humble? And drawing from resources in the Christian faith, how might we practice this important virtue to help strengthen our convictions? Show notes and a full transcript are available.

Dr. Ed Uszynski (Ph.D.) is back on the podcast to speak with Tim about a provocative cultural moment: when Max Lucado issued an apology to a multi-ethnic church in San Antonio, TX, following the death of George Floyd. The incident received mixed responses, positively received as being an act of racial reconciliation to being negatively critiqued as an act of bowing to the woke mob. So, Tim and Ed practice perspective-taking in order to understand these differing responses, and they explore some of the particulars and nuances that shape a point of view on a contentious issue. Show notes and a full transcript are available.

Psychologists Liz Hall (Ph.D.) and Erin Smith (Ph.D.) are back on the podcast to speak with Tim about myside bias, a prevalent phenomenon that also goes by the name of confirmation bias. While myside bias has been around for awhile, cultural conditions seem to to be exacerbating this type of bias. What cost does myside bias exact on our critical thinking, disagreements, and relationships with others? Tim, Liz, and Erin explore these issues and questions and unpack key terms related to myside bias, including affective polarization, and in-groups. The discussion also highlights the importance of being courageous, establishing “equal ground,” and ways to identify blind spots with our own biases. Show notes and a full transcript are available.

On today’s episode, we’re practicing perspective-taking on the topic of Critical Race Theory (CRT), and we’re getting some help from Dr. Ed Uszynski (Ph.D.). Ed’s book, Untangling Critical Race Theory: What Christians Need To Know And Why It Matters, is an excellent resource on this subject, and it helps the church to frame conversations on race relations and critical race theory. Tim and Ed discuss key terms that are often misunderstood: critical theory, critical race theory, and white privilege, and they look at these from the perspectives of conservatives and progressives to help foster cultural engagement and healthy disagreements. Show notes and a full transcript are available.

On today’s episode, Tim speaks with psychologists Liz Hall (Ph.D.) and Erin Smith (Ph.D.) on how emotions shape perspectives on science, including new scientific technologies. Hall and Smith point to research that indicates emotions are some of the main features causing problems in dialogues between science and religious beliefs and values, and gaining understanding around emotions might help to address some of the uneasy tensions Christian experience between faith and controversial scientific topics. They also suggest practices to cultivate healthy and appropriate emotions when engaging in scientific technologies. Show notes and a full transcript are available.

Tim Milosch (Ph.D.) joins today’s episode for another edition of Report From The Front, conversations with people who are doing it right, to speak with Tim and Rick about his work with Braver Angels, a non-profit dedicated to political depolarization. They discuss the function and benefits of parliamentary procedure - What is it? How to practice it? They discuss how roles like “the chair” and having established boundaries help to diffuse the heat when a disagreement gets combative, and they consider the relationship between the skill of health debate and being a good citizen. Show notes and a full transcript are available.

How do friends who hold differing views of religion and faith maintain a friendship? How do friends handle central and fundamental disagreements about God and faith? On today’s episode, Tim speaks with two such friends - Andrew Reid, professor at Brigham Young University, and Greg Johnson, founder of Standing Together, a bridge-building ministry focused on LDS/Evangelical dialogues. Over the course of 11 years, Andrew and Greg have cultivated a friendship around interfaith dialogue that is intriguing, but it’s been a very challenging process. They unpack parts of their story and what has helped them to maintain their friendship, and they discuss the importance of establishing common ground when working through religious differences and disagreements. Show notes and a full transcript are available.

Undergraduate students have a thirst for interfaith conversations. So this past spring professors and students from Brigham Young University traveled to Southern California to engage in meaningful conversations and build relationships with professors and students from Biola University. On today’s episode, Tim speaks with Andy Reid, associate professor of religious understanding and church history at BYU, and Greg Johnson, a pastor and the founder of Standing Together ministries, a bridge-building ministry focused on LDS/Evangelical dialogues. They reflect on this experience at Biola and consider features of spending time together that provided opportunities for learning and ways to seek God in the faith of others, even while drawing attention to clear differences. Show notes and a full transcript are available.