In this episode of the Just Thinking podcast, Darrell and ‘Omaha’ (Virgil) discuss the Statement on Social Justice & The Gospel, which was released on 9/4/18, and with which Darrell was directly involved. Resources Related episodes * N/A Related blog articles * Angry At Sin Related external media * Statement on Social Justice & The Gospel * Darrell’s interview on Airing the Addisons - 9/14/18 (Urban Family Talk) Support To support the podcast, please click here or copy/paste the f...
Sep 19, 2018•1 hr 24 min
In yet another incident of violence involving police and an ethnic minority, Dallas, TX police officer Amber Guyger, has been charged with manslaughter for shooting and killing Mr. Botham Jean. Reportedly, Officer Guyger mistook Mr. Jean’s apartment for her own and shot him when he opened the door to his own residence. In this episode of the Just Thinking broadcast, Darrell and ‘Omaha’ (Virgil Walker) discuss the concerning circumstances surrounding this incident, while pointing listeners...
Sep 12, 2018•1 hr 20 min
The funeral for the “Queen of Soul”, Aretha Franklin, who died on August 16, 2018, was held on August 31, 2018. The Rev. Jasper Williams, pastor in Atlanta, performed the eulogy. In reflecting on Aretha Franklin’s legacy, Williams who, in 1984, eulogized Franklin’s father, Rev. C.L. Franklin, made some rather pointed and blunt comments about the state of the “black community” in America today. In this episode of the Just Thinking broadcast, Darrell and ‘Omaha’ (Virgil) unpack Williams’ “c...
Sep 05, 2018•54 min
In this episode of the Just Thinking podcast, Darrell and Omaha (Virgil Walker) continue their discussion of Living Out ministry’s 10-question audit, “How Biblically Inclusive Is Your Church?”, which they initially discussed in episode 42, entitled ‘The Narrow Road’. This is an expanded, “double-album” episode in which the aforementioned brothers take the time to exposit each of the 10 “audit statements” one-by-one, and apply gospel-centered context to each statement in the spirit of “spe...
Aug 29, 2018•1 hr 41 min
It seems increasing numbers of so-called ‘evangelical’ Christian ministries are buying into a socio-cultural paradigm of Christianity, particularly as it relates to “affirming” professing believers who identify as “same-sex attracted”. One of the ways they do this is by focusing on virtues like ‘community’, ‘unity’, and ‘diversity’. So much so that a ministry based in the United Kingdom has gone as far as encouraging churches to audit themselves to ensure they are being “biblically inclus...
Aug 22, 2018•1 hr 14 min
Can one politician affect evangelicals so much that they feel they no longer have a home in the church? Apparently so. In this episode of the Just Thinking podcast, Darrell and Omaha (Virgil) discuss how one self-described evangelical ‘woman of color’ suddenly feels “homeless”, metaphorically speaking, with Donald Trump in the White House. Scripture texts: Acts 17:26-27; Col. 3:1-3; 1 Cor. 6:19-20. Resources Related episodes * N/A Related blog articles * Hijacking 'Evangelicalism' Related...
Aug 15, 2018•54 min
On June 26, 2018, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, an avowed Democratic Socialist and active member of the Democratic Socialists of America, defeated incumbent Democrat Joe Crawley in New York City’s 14th District Congressional election. Since then, Ocasio-Cortez has become the new face of socialism in America, attracting support from all walks of life, particularly from Millennials. In this episode of the Just Thinking broadcast, Darrell and Virgil (Omaha) dig deeper into what socialism is (and...
Aug 08, 2018•54 min
On this episode of the Just Thinking broadcast, Darrell and Omaha (Virgil Walker) discuss the 2018 Revoice Conference, held in St. Louis, MO on July 26-28, under the mission of: “Supporting, encouraging, and empowering gay, lesbian, same-sex attracted, and other LGBT Christians so they can flourish while observing the historic, Christian doctrine of marriage and sexuality.” Listen as these brothers, lovingly yet firmly, express their own concerns about how Revoice, and evangelical movemen...
Aug 01, 2018•54 min
A group of evangelical Christians has come together under the banner ‘Call To Pause’ to argue against the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court. Their primary rationale is that Kavanaugh’s appointment would be detrimental to the poor and “disenfranchised” and would foster an ongoing “culture war”. Listen as Darrell and ‘Omaha’ (who is back in the saddle after a two-week hiatus from behind the mic) take an in-depth look at what ‘Call To Pause’ is advocati...
Jul 25, 2018•54 min
Sinful anger is a problem for many people, including Christians, perhaps even you. But what is “sinful” anger? How do we discern sinful anger from righteous anger? How are you and I, as Christians, to deal biblically with our sinful anger? Listen in as Darrell flies solo and takes listeners through the Robert D. Jones book ‘Uprooting Anger: Biblical Help For a Common Problem’ in an effort to help us understand better how to deal with our sinful anger in a gospel-centered way. Resources Re...
Jul 18, 2018•54 min
On July 2, 2018, Trinity Church of Portland (Oregon) released a statement announcing the removal of Dr. Art Azurdia from his positions as an elder and Senior Minister of Word and Worship at Trinity Church. This sad news served as the impetus for the Just Thinking podcast addressing the broader issue of sexual immorality within the body of Christ as a whole. Please note that this is an expanded episode of the podcast and that Darrell is flying solo, as his trusty sidekick and wingman ‘Omah...
Jul 11, 2018•1 hr 36 min
This week we are getting to know the guys behind the podcast. Listen as Darrell and Virgil ask each other questions that they would like to know and you would like to know as well. Resources Related episodes * N/A Related blog articles * N/A Related external media * N/A Support To support the podcast, please click here or copy/paste the following link into your browser - https://justthinking.me/support/ Disclaimer © Darrell B. Harrison and Just Thinking…for Myself 2012-2020. Unauthorized ...
Jul 04, 2018•54 min
Immigration. It’s today’s “issue du jour” both in the world and in the church. Constant media reports of children being forcibly separated from their families at the border between the United States and Mexico have people around the world, including many Christians, angry and upset about America’s immigration policy. But is it possible to set aside emotions and consider what the Scriptures objectively say about this issue? Listen as Darrell and Virgil attempt to find out what, if anything...
Jun 27, 2018•1 hr 16 min
Since the earliest days of Christianity, false doctrine has been a threat to the gospel of Christ and to His church. This is no less true today as false teachers, from within and without the church, continue to mislead countless souls by deliberately misinterpreting and misconstruing the Scriptures in accordance with their own sinful agendas. How are we, as Christians, to respond to false teachers and the false doctrines they espouse? How can followers of Christ know for certain what is t...
Jun 20, 2018•1 hr 24 min
Recently, celebrities Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, two people who seemingly had it all: wealth, notoriety, and popularity, committed suicide. When a person commits suicide, particularly someone who is well known, invariably the question is asked: Why? Notwithstanding the specific reasons why either Spade or Bourdain would decide to take their life, the gospel has an answer to that question. Listen in as Darrell and Virgil address the topic: Suicide and the Gospel. Resources Related ep...
Jun 13, 2018•54 min
On May 25, 2018, citizens of the Republic of Ireland, in an effort to achieve a “modern Constitution for a modern country”, according to its Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, voted to repeal the 8th Amendment to its Constitution which, since 1983, had outlawed abortion except in cases where the life of the mother is at risk. When the results of the referendum were announced, supporters of the repeal literally celebrated the outcome. Many would say abortion is a solely “women’s issue”. Needless...
Jun 06, 2018•1 hr 28 min
The Barna Group recently published a follow-up to a study originally conducted in 1993 about how Christians view their personal responsibility in evangelism and sharing the gospel with others, and the results are disheartening, to say the least. So disheartening, in fact, that Darrell and Virgil considered the study results worth addressing on an episode of the Just Thinking podcast. Listen in as the brothers look deeper into the study results and talk about some reasons why the numbers a...
May 30, 2018•54 min
On May 18, 2018, 17-year old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a former student at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, allegedly used a firearm to murder 10 of his classmates and injure 10 others. Predictably, calls from special-interest groups, politicians, and others for tighter “gun control” laws immediately sprang up on social media and in the mainstream media. But are guns actually the problem? Conversely, are more laws the solution? In this episode of the Just Thinking podcast, Darrell and...
May 23, 2018•58 min
In this episode of Just Thinking, Darrell and Virgil give listeners to the podcast two for one. First, the brothers take a look-see at what the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is doing to promote social justice within its organization, including achieving what its president, Steve Gaines, refers to as a “maximum percentage” of ethnic diversity on the various committees within the group. And if that wasn’t enough SJWism for you, the brothers discuss a move by the University of Connecticu...
May 16, 2018•54 min
Why would a 7-word tweet by Kanye West, a black man, be so upsetting to so many black people? And why do black people make other black people pay a price for thinking outside of what is considered to be culturally normative? To answer these questions, Darrell and Virgil take you back to Genesis 1 and discuss, with a little help from Friedrich Nietzsche (of all people), how the ability to use one’s mind and think for one’s self is an evidence of what it means that we are individually and u...
May 09, 2018•54 min
Much is being made today of local church congregations becoming more ethnically diverse, and that ‘white supremacy’ is primarily the reason why “white churches” aren’t more ethnically diverse than they are. But Christ promised that His kingdom would be composed of believers from “every tribe, tongue, and nation”, so what’s really driving this effort to movement to make white congregations less white? Listen as Darrell and Virgil exposit the Scriptures and explain why this is similar to wh...
May 02, 2018•54 min
In this episode of Just thinking, Darrell and Virgil discuss the wide-ranging theological impacts of an Episcopal church in San Francisco that is making news for its plans to host a Beyoncé Mass in late-April 2018. Resources Related episodes * N/A Related blog articles * N/A Related external media * This California Church is Hosting a Beyoncé Mass (Huffington Post) Support To support the podcast, please click here or copy/paste the following link into your browser - https://justthinking.m...
Apr 27, 2018•55 min
In this episode of the Just Thinking podcast, Darrell and Virgil address a concerning development among Christian social justice advocates – the adoption of the doctrine of “sin by proxy.” Sin by Proxy is a term Darrell coined (listen to episode 23) to define the theology of social justice Christians who blame current generations of white people for sins their ancestors may or may not have committed against black people in America in previous decades and centuries, and are demanding they ...
Apr 20, 2018•54 min
The MLK50 Conference held on April 3-4, 2018 by the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) has been controversial, to say the least. Some Christians saw the conference as unifying and necessary, whereas others saw it as divisive and unproductive. The MLK50 Conference is a topic that Darrell and Virgil intended to not discuss on the Just Thinking podcast but were urged to by many who reached out to them on social media after having heard some of the messages that were emanating fro...
Apr 11, 2018•1 hr 17 min
In this episode of the Just Thinking podcast, Darrell and Virgil get very personal by sharing with listeners their respective experiences of how God, in His providence, led them from Pentecostalism and Arminianism to Reformed theology and the Doctrines of Grace. Resources Related episodes * N/A Related blog articles * N/A Related external media * What Is Reformed Theology? (Dr. R.C. Sproul, Ligonier Ministries) * What Is Reformed Theology? (Dr. R.C. Sproul) * Experiencing the Truth: Bring...
Apr 06, 2018•1 hr
In this episode of the Just Thinking podcast, Darrell and Virgil conclude their discussion of the National Geographic article ‘There’s No Scientific Basis for Race – It’s a Made-Up Label’ and argue why the church needs to wholeheartedly reject the socio-cultural and “scientific” lies to which it has been so susceptible to believe in recent decades, lies that have served only to divide, not unify, the body of Christ along class and ethnic lines. Resources Related episodes * N/A Related blo...
Mar 30, 2018•1 hr 3 min
It is a sad state of affairs when a secular publication conveys a universal truth that many Christians have, and continue to, refuse to accept. Namely, that ‘race’ is a myth. In this episode of the Just Thinking podcast, Darrell and Virgil discuss at length, with a little help from that renown theologian Frederick Douglass, a National Geographic article that leverages objective scientific evidence to completely obliterate – perhaps to the consternation of many so-called ‘race workers’ and...
Mar 23, 2018•1 hr 4 min
In this current milieu of social justice and racial reconciliation, the evangelical church in America is expected to be all things to all people. This is particularly the case regarding the expectation of churches composed of primarily of white congregants to pursue ethnic congregational diversity solely for the sake of ethnic diversity. But is that truly the church’s mission? In this episode of the Just Thinking podcast, Darrell and Virgil discuss the reported “quiet exodus” of black Chr...
Mar 16, 2018•1 hr 9 min
The recently-released film Black Panther is proving to be a box-office blockbuster, having earned over $700M worldwide to-date. But is that news as positive for the church? In this episode of the Just Thinking podcast, Darrell and Virgil discuss, perhaps to the consternation of some, how the phenomenon that is the Black Panther movie is influencing many Christians, especially black Christians, in forming a theology of identity that is rooted primarily in ethnicity and ancestry rather than...
Mar 09, 2018•1 hr 1 min
The current socio-cultural milieu is such that ‘race’ is increasingly becoming a factor and variable in almost every aspect of our existence as human beings. ‘Racial reconciliation’ is now the cause du jour among many individual Christians and churches, so much so that opinions are rampant as to the best approach to bring black people and white people together. In this episode of Just Thinking, Darrell and Virgil discuss a unique approach white people, in particular, can take to bring suc...
Mar 02, 2018•1 hr