In 2017 when Jordan Peele released Get Out it was an instant hit. Critics loved it, audiences loved it, and it made more than fifty times its budget at the box office. What was it about the film that resonated with so many people and led to Jordan Peele's historic Oscar win for Best Original Screenplay? The film deals on a visceral level with the ugliness of racism in America, causes viewers to ask some necessary questions, and gives us the narrative vocabulary to describe things that we experie...
Aug 15, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Season 2Ep. 62
We're excited, this week, to be joined by fine artist (and Associate Living Master) Josh Tiessen. Josh is a young but immensely talented and accomplished artist currently living in Canada. He is also a follower of Christ who takes his gifts and the platform those gifts give him seriously. His current body of work that just got a deluxe Gallery Edition hardcover book release, Streams in the Wasteland, deals with themes of environmental stewardship and how we all view nature and the surroundings t...
Aug 08, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 61
Our release schedule has gotten a little off with all the life changes the three of us have gone through recently but we're back with another Topic Toss Up and we can assure the listeners that it won't be two months until you all get another one. It's a audience oriented show as both topics come from listener emails we've received in the last couple of months. First up, we revisit the heated hot dog/sandwich debate and may or may not have more clarity on the topic. Secondly, a listener asks a wo...
Aug 01, 2021•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 60
If you've been around the Church or faith communities for a while, the topic of the assurance of salvation is, no doubt, something that you've heard sermons and lessons on or talked about with the folks in your circle. It's an important topic for a number of reasons and on today's episode, we're going to seek to make it clear and simple. Thanks for joining us for this discussion and please let us know via email or social media if you have any questions or think we missed something! Also, regardl...
Jul 25, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 59
It's been two months since we've done a Substantive Cinema show (was really trying to get a great guest on last month but had scheduling issues), but we're back to the format with a very timely subject for July, Richard Linklater's Last Flag Flying (2017). The film brings up substantive questions about patriotism, truth, and friendship as well as being a funny and touching road movie. Watch it on Amazon Prime or our iTunes link below (or your local library) and join the conversation on our socia...
Jul 18, 2021•56 min•Season 2Ep. 58
Hey, thanks for joining us and giving the podcast a listen. If you've been listening to the show for a while or following us on social media, you'll know the last few months have been a busy time for Trevor, Philip, and Vince. This week we're giving ourselves a second to recharge and releasing an episode we did at the end of last year with Josh Murtagh on his podcast, The Two Things You Shouldn't Talk About. We cover a number of topics and we hope you all enjoy hearing us on the "other side of t...
Jul 11, 2021•1 hr 25 min•Season 2Ep. 57
Hey, thanks for joining us! We didn't plan to release this episode on the 4th of July purposefully, but here we are and it's kind of perfect. As American Christians, we can honor neither identity if we are not honest with ourselves and those around us. Bradley Mason joins us to talk about a topic that's become the new buzzword for the thing that folks should fear and oppose whether they know what they're talking about or not: Critical Race Theory. Bradley is a reader and writer, and also a carpe...
Jul 04, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 2Ep. 56
After three consecutive guest episodes, we're excited to be back with the original Substance crew. Shoutout to everyone who's left us a 5 star review on Apple review (thank you Summer & Dani for the newest ones)! We're back in the Bible this week talking about a very familiar story. The Good Samaritan is one of the most widely known parables, both inside and outside of the Church. The story of man in peril being helped by an ethnic enemy after religious leaders see him in need and ignore him...
Jun 27, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 55
This week we're joined by Eric Nevins for an encouraging conversation on ministry in the age of new media. Eric is the host of the Halfway There podcast (and had published around 250 episodes!) and is the Founder of the Christian Podcasters Association. We discuss the power of podcasting, online community, and Eric path of finding his calling. Enjoy and share with a friend! Shoutouts: Skye Jethani Episode The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene A Burning in My Bones by Winn Collier Follow Eric: Ha...
Jun 20, 2021•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 54
And we're back with Part 2! Be sure to check out Part 1 if you missed it and enjoy the conclusion of our wonderful discussion with Jemar Tisby. Jemar Tisby is the New York Times bestselling author of The Color of Compromise & How To Fight Racism, president and co-founder of The Witness: A Black Christian Collective, co-host of the podcast, Pass The Mic, and Assistant Director of Narrative & Advocacy at The Center for Antiracist Research. We pray that these episodes challenge and encourag...
Jun 13, 2021•42 min•Season 2Ep. 53
We are extremely excited to share these next two episodes with you all! Jemar was so generous with his time and insights that we wanted to give it all room to breathe. Jemar Tisby is the New York Times bestselling author of The Color of Compromise & How To Fight Racism, president and co-founder of The Witness: A Black Christian Collective, co-host of the podcast, Pass The Mic, and Assistant Director of Narrative & Advocacy at The Center for Antiracist Research. We pray that these episode...
Jun 06, 2021•48 min•Season 2Ep. 52
What can we say about this episode? Sometimes you just need to argue about hotdogs for 20 minutes. We also went long on our second topic, what it does and doesn't mean to "not cause a brother to stumble," so it's just two topics this time, but we had a great time and hope you do too! *Also, if you listen to this week's episode and read these notes the week it drops, get ready for an incredible show and the best giveaway we've done yet, next week! Shoutouts: Vincent- Spice Adams Instagram Twitter...
May 30, 2021•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 51
First of all, thank you so much for helping us make it to Episode 50! We love doing the podcast and it's been great to hear about those of you who have been encouraged, challenged, and edified by the show. We wanted to make sure we did something special for our 50th episode and we're really pleased with what we came up with. If you've been listening to The Substance for a while, you'll know that Trevor and Philip enjoy and find benefit in the Enneagram and Vincent is a bit skeptical. So to do so...
May 23, 2021•59 min•Season 2Ep. 50
Buy/Rent Minari on iTunes With over 200 nominations for various awards (and over 100 wins), Minari was one of the most buzzed about films of 2020. But due to Covid protocols and many filmgoers not wanting to attend a theater in a pandemic, it went sadly very under-watched last year. But the film is widely available now and we're excited to have Brett McCracken back with us to talk about it! In Minari, writer/director Lee Isaac Chung tells the semi autobiographical story of a Korean family who em...
May 16, 2021•52 min•Season 2Ep. 49
Got a special one for you all with this show! We've had Jesse Eubanks on the podcast before and one of our previous Reflects shows was on the Enneagram. This week, we're bringing them both back! Our previous episode on the Enneagram was more about how Christians should think about it and what ways it might be beneficial. This time, with Jesse's help, we wanted to get more into what it actually is. Jesse is the Founder an Executive Director of the urban missions agency Love Thy Neighborhood, the ...
May 09, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 2Ep. 48
We recorded this one when we were all incredibly busy so we went informal and asked you guys what you wanted to hear us talk about. All three of us took turns answering questions from the listeners on topics like: How did we name our podcast? What are some of our favorite episodes we've done? Who are our dream guests on The Substance? What books would we recommend to everyone? And we talk about some of our favorite media (movies, television, podcasts) as well. Enjoy this laid back episode and le...
May 02, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 34
We haven't done a full show on politics since we relaunched with Episode 13 but after reading Kaitlyn's book we thought it was time to revisit the subject! Similarly to our approach before, the goal of this episode is not to promote partisan ideologies and platforms but rather to encourage genuine reflection about how, as followers of Christ, we think and engage politically. Definitions are knocked out toward the beginning of the show for the major topics we cover, primarily: Liturgy & Spiri...
Apr 25, 2021•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 33
This one has been a long time coming! The topic of abortion is extremely divisive, and sometimes that's fine. But as believers we want to make sure that we're thinking critically and biblically about the issue rather than farming out our thinking to political and social figureheads. What do the majority of women think about abortion? What are the factors that make it more likely for a woman to consider getting an abortion? What can be done holistically to de-incentivize abortion throughout our c...
Apr 18, 2021•58 min•Season 2Ep. 32
It's Topic Toss Up (TTU) time again! On this episode Trevor, Philip, and Vincent answer a listener question about how to stay faithful to Jesus in college, discuss some of the controversies surrounding pastors and their local jurisdictions regarding large assemblies during the pandemic, and look at the devastation that Ravi Zacharias's sin has brought about on his ministry and many people's faith and what we can learn from it. Enjoy and share the podcast with a friend! Sources/Resources: 9 Marks...
Apr 11, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Season 2Ep. 31
“We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.” (Romans 6:9–12 ESV) Happy Easter from the Substance! The tomb is empty, Jesus has defeated death and his kingdom is coming. In this da...
Apr 04, 2021•58 min•Season 2Ep. 30
Today's episode is dedicated to all who cling to Jesus' promise that in him, "you will find rest for your soul." May you find soul rest this week. This week Trev, Vince and Philip's three topics all center around experiencing the gentleness of Christ, and how the church deals with the emotional life of believers. We flow from talking about a recent scathing review of ACBC's Biblical Counseling book of the year, Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund , to talking about what the Bible says about Anger, ...
Mar 28, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 29
We are right around the corner from the release of the 36th feature film in the Godzilla franchise with Godzilla vs. Kong coming out on Wednesday, March 31st. It's not a movie that you may immediately think of as something that is substantive, but the roots of the character and the original film are full of meaning and social commentary. While Godzilla certainly is a spectacle film, it touches on some very important themes. Most notably the film challenges its audience to consider things such as...
Mar 21, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 28
We're finally here. Whether it's clearly articulated or not, the topic of this episode is at the heart of so many of our modern conflicts, inside and outside of the Church. And to a degree, it's simple. The notion of systemic racism is either true or untrue. If we can find no correlation of the claims of systemic racism to reality, then we must reject it. However, if we investigate the claims of those who say that systemic racism is at the core of so many of our societal ills and find them to be...
Mar 14, 2021•56 min•Season 2Ep. 27
We've got a wonderful interview for you all on this episode! Our guest this week is St. Louis based rapper, Flame. With over 15 years in the Christian hip-hop world, Flame has been through a lot. We get into his backstory and how he came to faith, how his rap career and ministry started, his theological influences when he was younger and how some things in his perspective have shifted, the relationship between justification and sanctification in the life of a believer, the role of doubt in the l...
Mar 07, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 26
Barnabas Piper is an author, speaker, Assistant Pastor at Immanuel Nashville, and co host of The Happy Rant podcast. He's also one of the most fun guests we've had on the show! We cover a number of important topics relating to curiosity and creativity, the role of doubt in the life of a believer, the fear of culture that characterizes too many people of faith, parenting from a position that truly trusts in God, and the pitfalls of legalism. All the while having a great time and sharing some soli...
Feb 28, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 25
We're back with another Topic Toss Up! This week we're looking at the aftermath of the Capitol insurrection, a listener question regarding censorship, and how to respond lovingly and appropriately to folks who are caught up in conspiracy theories. If you have any questions or topic suggestions for future shows, let us know! Contact info is at the end of the show notes. Sources: David French article Russ Moore article Report about the pentagon revoking the DC national guard commander's authority ...
Feb 21, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 24
Boy, have we got a show for you all on this episode! Karen Swallow prior joins us for a wonderful conversation on literature, how to develop virtue and exercise discernment and how our faith can grow through reading widely. Karen is a reader, writer, and Research Professor of English and Christianity and Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. She is the author of four books herself along with putting out the Reading and Reflecting series where she helps to make classic works of li...
Feb 14, 2021•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 23
Rommel Ruiz is a strong storyteller and visual communicator, and his work is a significant part of what makes Love Gave such a powerful book. The words are simple and clear and his illustrations beautifully help bring the message of the book to life. In this episode we talk about what his goals with this project were and the role of art in the life of a Christian. Listen and share with a friend! Love Gave giveaway on our Instagram (open until Sunday, February 14th at 5pm CST) Love Gave episode w...
Feb 10, 2021•29 min•Season 2Ep. 22
This week we welcome back returning guest Quina Aragon! Quina is a writer, editor, and spoken word artist. If you haven's listened to Quina's first appearance on Episode 10 (link below), you should absolutely check it out to hear about her testimony and what lead her to start writing children's books. Love Gave continues to build on the themes of a fully Trinitarian Gospel and the ways that each member of the Godhead loves and works in relation to us. Last time, in Love Made, Quina focused on th...
Feb 07, 2021•58 min•Season 2Ep. 21
We're excited to share our first Substantive Cinema of the new year with you all! Soul is the latest release from Pixar Animation Studios. At first look, it may seem like an odd premise for a film primarily targeted to a younger audience, but Soul's plot and themes are wonderful springboards for all sorts of valuable conversations. This week we're joined by Mitch Wiley and we talk about: how Christians discern value in entertainment & the arts, how our lives are enriched by the common grace ...
Jan 31, 2021•57 min•Season 2Ep. 20
