Josh Butler is a good friend and one of the most gifted, enjoyable, and all around brilliant dudes I’ve ever met. He’s a pastor, teacher, scholar, writer, and scandalous witness to the gospel of Christ. I could do ministry with this dude any day of the week. He’s written two incredible books: The Skeletons in God’s Closet and The Pursuing God--both are absolute gems. Josh also serves as a lead pastor at Redemption Church in Tempe, AZ, and served as a pastor for over 15 years at Imago Dei Church ...
Apr 05, 2021•59 min•Ep. 855
Humans can live without sex, but we can’t live without love, intimacy, and community. So where does this leave Christian who are gay, who are also pursuing celibacy as a vocation? Pieter Valk helps us think through this question on a rich, theological, and practical level. Pieter graduated from Vanderbilt University with Highest Honors in Chemistry in 2013. After graduating, Pieter studied at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary for a year with a focus on Lay Leadership and Culture-making. Pieter...
Apr 01, 2021•56 min•Ep. 854
It makes sense. Illegal drugs should be criminalized. Period. The harsher a society is on drug use and drug dealing, the fewer problems it will have. Right? Not necessarily. As long as there are buyers, there will be producers. And as long as people experience pain and trauma, they will seek ways to numb it. Christina Dent is a politically conservative Christian who supported criminalizing drugs until she became a foster parent and saw the negative effects up close. She researched why drug-relat...
Mar 29, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 853
Oftentimes, we don’t know what to do with the ascension. I mean, we believe in it, but we don’t often appreciate the theological necessity of it. Get your Bible’s out for this episode, because Patrick and I dance through various passages of Scripture to reconstruct the lost doctrine of the ascension of Christ. Patrick Schreiner is Associate Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He previously taught at Western Seminary in Portland Oregon (201...
Mar 25, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 852
Is it possible for Christians to maintain unity when they are so divided over hot-button issues like politics, race, and points of doctrine? Do you have to sacrifice conviction for the sake of unity? Is it possible for a zealous Trump-supporter and an ardent Biden-supporter to worship together in the same church without thinking the other person is evil? There is no better person to help us navigate these issues than Dr. Tim Muehlhoff. Tim Muehlhoff (Ph.D., University of North Carolina) is the c...
Mar 22, 2021•53 min•Ep. 851
Dr. Sandy Richter is one of my favorite--and one of the most provocative--biblical scholars, and she comes back on Theology in the Raw for the second time in 10 months to help us think through this important question: should Christian care for the environment? The answer, of course--if you read the Bible--is yes. But why are so many Christians resistant to this question? (Pssst...it’s because we’re often shaped more by American political tribal identities than the actual Bible.) We also wrestle ...
Mar 18, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 850
Kurt is the author of the brand new book: Echoing Hope: How the Humanity of Jesus Redeems Our Pain (https://www.amazon.com/Echoing-Hope-Humanity-Jesus-Redeems/dp/0593193504/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=kurt+willems&qid=1613502655&sr=8-1) And his forms the bulk of our discussion. Do we believe Jesus was really human? Do we overemphasize his deity and therefore lose out on embracing the beauty of his humanity? When did Jesus realize he was God? Do his miracles prove his divinity or sho...
Mar 15, 2021•1 hr•Ep. 849
Clare De Graaf is a cancer survivor, sort of “retired” businessman, a friend, a mentor, the chairman of the board for The Center for Faith, Sexuality & Gender, founder of many Christian non-profit ministries, and one of the most zealous, faithful, wise Christian leaders I’ve ever met. In this conversation, Clare talks about his journey in the faith--which involves many twists and turns, ups and downs--and his contagious outlook on the kingdom of God. You can read more about Clare, his life a...
Mar 11, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 848
As the title suggests, this episode is all about the question of multi-ethnicity in the body of Christ. And Dr. Gray is the right person to challenge us in this conversation. Dr. Derwin L. Gray is the founding and lead pastor of Transformation Church, one of the largest multiethnic, multigenerational, mission-shaped communities in the U.S., located in Indian Land, South Carolina, just south of Charlotte, North Carolina. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 08, 2021•48 min•Ep. 847
Ed Shaw is Associate Pastor at Emmanuel Bristol and part of the editorial team at Living Out. He loves his family and friends, church and city, gin and tonic, and music and books. He is the author of Same-Sex Attraction and the Church: The Surprising Plausibility of the Celibate Life (IVP) and the recently released Purposeful Sexuality: A Short Introduction (IVP). Ed is attracted to the same-sex and has committed his life to celibacy and the ministry of the gospel. In this episode, we talk about...
Mar 04, 2021•49 min•Ep. 846
We discuss three issues in this podcast: (1) Imperial critical readings of the New Testament (i.e. how the NT critiques the Roman empire in its language), (2) the benefit of studying first-century philosophy for understanding the New Testament, and (3) why Romans 7:9-25 is not talking about a Christian or Christians. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 01, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 846
Don Pape is the master Yoda of Christian publishing. He has over 35 years of experience working for some of the biggest Christian publishers and has also been a literary agent. Don is responsible for finding a relatively unknown pastor from Simi Valley named Francis Chan and signing him to a book deal. In this conversation, Don and I talk about what it takes to be a successful writer, the pros and cons of Christian publishing, the role that having a platform plays in landing a book deal, what to...
Feb 25, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 845
The last couple of years has kicked up a lot of dust regarding race relations in America and in the church, but why did it take so long? Thabiti, or “Pastor T,” helps us understand some of the concerns and frustrations that black people have had about how white people (progressives and conservatives) have gone about the race conversation. Pastor T helps us understand what Critical Race Theory is, the real meaning of systemic racism, why issues of justice are not subsidiary to the gospel, and how...
Feb 22, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 844
Justin Bronson Barringer is a pastor, consultant, writer, editor, and a PhD candidate in religious ethics at Southern Methodist University. He’s also a star in the hit reality show Duck Dynasty. (Just kidding.) I met Justin many years ago when he agreed to read (and critique!) early drafts of my book Fight, now called Nonviolence: The Revolutionary Way of Jesus. He was very influential in helping me understand Christian nonviolence and the ethical challenges it presents. In this episode, we talk...
Feb 18, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 843
While many Christians read the book of Revelation as mostly about future events, it’s best understood as a piece of political protest. John is writing to confront Chrisitan Nationalism--in a first-century sort of way. There’s no better person to help us read Revelation in this way than Dr. Dan Morrison. Dan is assistant professor of New Testament at George Fox University and he wrote his doctoral dissertation on Revelation. It’s called: “Apocalypse as Protest: Reading Revelation from Places of P...
Feb 15, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 842
Jon Tyson is a brother from another Australian mother (or mum). Jon’s one of the wisest, most intelligent, astute, prophetic, and spiritually authentic Chrisitans leaders in the church today. This dude walks with Jesus in both heart and mind. In this episode, I wanted Jon to give a prophetic perspective on 2020. How should we think about this crazy year? What should we learn from it? How should we look forward in 2021 and beyond? What should the church keep doing after Covid, and what should the...
Feb 11, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 841
Dr. Hruz (pronounced “rooz”) is an associate Professor of Pediatrics, Cell Biology & Physiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He has a Ph.D. and an M.D. and specializes in pediatric endocrinology. Dr. Hruz has clinical interest in a wide range of endocrine disorders, with a special interest in diabetes mellitus. Dr. Hruz's research interests include intermediary carbohydrate metabolism, glucose transporter structure and function and mechanism of insulin action. Dr...
Feb 08, 2021•56 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Addie was raised in a conservative Christian home and has always had a strong faith in Jesus. Addie also has experienced severe gender dysphoria from a young age, and after much prayer, study, and seeking counsel, she decided to transition from male to female toward the end of college. Add is very happy with her decision, believes it was the right thing for her to do, and still has a robust faith in Jesus. Addie is still theologically and politically conservative, so she doesn’t fit neatly into ...
Feb 04, 2021•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 5
Helena is one of many females who have experienced “Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria,” where gender dysphoria seems to come out of nowhere and is allegedly brought on, in part, through social contagion. Helena talks honestly and opening about her journey where, as a teenager, she used to identify as trans* but later renounced that identity and detransitioned back to her biological sex as female. Helena believes she was brainwashed into this identity through various online social media sites such as ...
Feb 01, 2021•1 hr 23 min•Season 2Ep. 4
In this third part of our series “Diversity of Trans*,” I sit down with my good friend Kyla Gillespie. Kyla is female, transitioned to male 10 years ago, then back to female 4 years ago. She tells her story in this episode and discusses why she transitioned in the first place, the results of that transition, her encounter with Jesus in 2017, her decision to detransition back to her birth sex, and her ongoing journey in the gospel. Pre-order my book Embodied: Transgender Identities, the Church, a...
Jan 28, 2021•59 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Renee has experienced gender dysphoria from an early age and it’s never gone away. She hates wearing dresses and has never worn make-up, which means she doesn’t at all resonate with the culturally defined gender stereotypes of western culture. Renee is also a radical follower of Jesus, has a masters in Theology and is pursuing a Ph.D., and aspires to be a writer and theological educator. While she experiences ongoing gender dysphoria and doesn’t fit your typical narrow box of femininity, she als...
Jan 25, 2021•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 2
Miranda Yardley is an engaging writer, an astute thinker, and a atheist #transsexual (Miranda's preferred term) who's been very outspokenly critical of many tenets of trans* activist ideology. In this episode, we talk about #autogynephilia, the meaning of sex and #gender, human nature, why it’s impossible to change sex, the role that porn plays in the rise of youth exploring sexual and gender identities, and many other things. Check out Miranda's work here: https://mirandayardley.com/en/ Pre-ord...
Jan 21, 2021•1 hr 24 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Tish Harrison Warren is the real deal. Super raw, super wise, down to earth, yet can hang in the loftiest ivory towers. Tish is a priest in the Anglican Church in North America. She is the author of Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life, which was Christianity Today's 2018 Book of the Year, and the forthcoming Prayer in the Night: For Those Who Work, or Watch, or Weep (IVP, 2021). These two books form the backbone of our conversation, and toward the end of the podcast we get...
Jan 18, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 840
What does the Bible—not culture, not democrats, not republicans, but the freakin’ word of God!—say about immigration? In this podcast, Danny and Preston sit down to talk about what the Bible says about immigration, including how to respond to undocumented immigrants, and also how this intersects with politics and culture on the issue. Dr. Carroll is half-Guatemalan and was raised bilingual and bicultural. In his youth, he spent many summers in Guatemala and later taught at El Seminario Teológico...
Jan 14, 2021•50 min•Ep. 839
David Bennett is the real deal. As he details in his book A War of Loves, David used to be a gay activist and ardent opponent to Christianity. But then one day, God met him in a pub. And the rest is history. David is currently a Ph.D. student in theology at Oxford University and a dynamic speaker, theologian, and evangelist. In this episode, we talk about his story, celibacy, Jesus, same-sex sexuality, Jesus, the gospel, Jesus, sexual desire and its intrinsic relationship to communion with God, ...
Jan 12, 2021•50 min•Ep. 838
Whether you love him or hate him—and it seems like these are the only two options—we are now living in a post-Trump world. What does this mean for Christianity? How should Christians think through 2021? Preston and Karen sit down to banter around about all things related to Christianity and culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 07, 2021•1 hr•Ep. 837
Monica is a survivor of sexual abuse and rape, and she talks about how people who have gone through the same kind of trauma can heal and walk a path of freedom. Monica is a speaker, mentor, leader, and the co-host of "Christian Sexuality: Conversations about Jesus, Sex, and Gender"--a youth curriculum on sex, sexuality, and gender. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 04, 2021•43 min•Ep. 836
Jason Soucinek is the Executive Director and founder of Project Six19. Dedicated to talking honestly about matters of sex, sexuality and relationships. Jason has spent almost two decades engaging audiences of all ages and backgrounds. He is an internationally recognized seminar and conference speaker and published writer on issues surrounding sexuality and youth culture. He can be heard on the following podcasts: DriveTime, Sex + Christian Parents, and CPYU’s podcast “Youth Culture Matters”. Jas...
Dec 28, 2020•58 min•Ep. 834
This episode is a deep dive into the book of Judges with one of the world's leading experts in the book: Dr. Michelle Knight. We focus mainly on Judges 4-5, the story about that BA Woman, Jael, who smashes a tent peg through the skull of a skilled warrior and the follow up poem that celebrates the incident. We also talk about the horrific rape of the concubine in Judges 19 and some ethical problems with the conquest in the book of Joshua. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adch...
Dec 21, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 833
Jessie and I met way back in college and have been friends for more than 20 years. Jessie is an author, speaker and the resident “big sis” at LifeLoveandGod.com, a Q&A website for teen girls. She’s passionate about helping girls embrace the God who loves them, and to help them apply His truth to their everyday lives. In this episode, we talk about some of the challenges that teen girls face today, from social media to body image issues to porn and other sexual challenges. We then wade into t...
Dec 14, 2020•56 min•Ep. 832
