Len is a true Renaissance man. Author of more than seventy books and 1500+ published sermons, Leonard Sweet’s recent publications include groundbreaking textbooks on preaching (Giving Blood), evangelism (Nudge), ecclesiology (So Beautiful) and discipleship (I Am A Follower). The second volume in his Christmas trilogy with Lisa Samson is just out ( St.As ). Len and co-author Lisa Samson are working on volume four (for Dementia and Alzheimers patients) of their “Songs of Light” series. Len often a...
Jan 06, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 9Ep. 935
Peter McGowan is one of the founders of PlainJoe and Storyland Studios. He is a champion of bringing clients’ unique stories to life by broadening their visual vocabulary beyond words and helping shape the cultural influence of their organizations. Having worked with large-scale corporate clients such as Infinity, Nissan, IBM and Johnson & Johnson, as well as creative pioneers including Disney, Universal and Lego – Peter has a robust background in technology, art, and architecture which has ...
Jan 03, 2022•57 min•Season 9Ep. 934
Happy new year! In this episode, I talk about the analytics of the podcast, which has grown like crazy over the years, my heart behind the podcast, its history and future, how I handle criticism, some of the most popular episodes, and I walk through the TITR mission, which is: “To help believers think Christianly about theological and cultural issues by engaging in curious conversations with a diverse range of thoughtful people.” Oh, and I read through several 1 star reviews. Theology in the Raw...
Jan 01, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 9Ep. 933
Jeremy is the founding pastor of Commons Church in Calgary, BC--a rather unique church that prioritizes intellectual honesty and the centrality of Jesus above tight-knit doctrinal statements. I found Jeremy on Twitter and was fascinated by his ecclesiology, so I invited him to come talk about it on the show. We ended up talking quite a bit about belonging, sexual ethics, polyamory, LGBTQ inclusion, and how the philosophy/theology of Rene Girard informs and shapes much of the ecclesiological visi...
Dec 30, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Season 9Ep. 932
Dr. Russell Moore is Public Theologian at Christianity Today and Director of Christianity Today’s Public Theology Project. Dr. Moore is the author of several books, including The Courage to Stand: Facing Your Fear Without Losing Your Soul , Onward: Engaging the Culture without Losing the Gospel and The Storm-Tossed Family: How the Cross Reshapes the Home . A native Mississippian, he and his wife Maria are the parents of five sons. Russ has been very public about addressing the crisis of sexual a...
Dec 28, 2021•57 min•Season 9Ep. 931
In this fourth and final episode in our “scandal of Christmas” series, New Testament scholar Dr. Joey Dodosn walks us through parallel birth narratives in the Greco-Roman and Jewish environment of the New Testament. Reading the biblical birth narratives in these contexts helps us read the story in HD, or through a 3D lens, so that we can better understand the author’s intention in how he’s telling the story. Dr. Joseph (Joey) Dodson is associate professor of New Testament. He studied at the Univ...
Dec 28, 2021•47 min•Season 9Ep. 930
In this third part of our four part series, New Testament scholar Dr. Lynn Cohick walks us through the significance of women in the birth narratives. We talk a lot about Mary, Elizabeth, Jesus’s genealogy (which contains 5 women), how the appearance of women in the genealogy has been misunderstood, and we also discuss the woman at the well in John 4 and how she was not a sexually promiscuous woman. Lynn currently serves as as Provost and Dean of Academic Affairs of Northern Seminary in Lisle, Il...
Dec 20, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 9Ep. 929
We often think of Luke 1-2 and Matthew 1-2 when we think about the Christmas story. But what about Revelation 12? Is this angle a strange, fringe way of looking at the birth of Jesus, or is a primarily lens? In this episode, Dr. Bird and I look at this less-than-familar way of reading the Christmas story. It’s an angle where the bird of a peasant-King is a battle against the socio-political powers to be, powers that are demonically influenced and stand opposed to the upside down kingdom of God o...
Dec 16, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Season 9Ep. 928
I’ve invited 4 different New Testament scholars on the podcast to talk about the Christmas story. In this opening episode, I talk with world renown NT scholar Dr. Craig Keener about Luke 1-2, the politics and sociological scandal of Christ’s birth, his earthly vocation (as a tekton ...woodworker? mason? None of the above?), the location of Christ’s birth, Matthew 1-2 (and the differences between Luke and Matthew), the problem of genealogies, and much, much more. Dr. Keener did his Ph.D. work in ...
Dec 13, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 9Ep. 927
Aaron is gay and so is Liz. They’ve been married for over 15 years and have had an interesting journey. Both are solid Jesus followers and have done a fantastic job helping the church engage LGBTQ related issues with truth and grace. In this podcast conversation, Liz and Aaron share their story and talk about what it’s like being in a queer marriage--a term they prefer over “mixed orientation marriage,” since their orientations aren’t really mixed. Links talked about on todays show https://revoi...
Dec 09, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Season 9Ep. 926
Okay, so if you’re easily offended (and white), then you might want to change the channel. Dr. Tim Gombis is a no-holds-barred honest scholar, who’s not afraid to go to the hard places and challenge the status quo. And that’s exactly what we do in this episode. We discuss the undiscussables; say the quiet things out loud, and push over sacred cows as we seek to get to know Jesus all over again. This episode is a mix of exegetical exploration and cultural analysis (or critique). Tim is a long-tim...
Dec 06, 2021•1 hr 23 min•Season 9Ep. 925
Jay Stringer is is a therapist, author, and speaker who guides men and women to outgrow unwanted sexual behaviors. He’s the author of Unwanted: How Sexual Brokenness Reveals Our Way to Healing , a book that is based on Stringer’s groundbreaking research on over 3,800 men and women addressing the key drivers of unwanted sexual behavior, be that the use of pornography, infidelity, or buying sex. If you want to find freedom from sexual brokenness, it begins by identifying the unique reasons that br...
Dec 02, 2021•48 min•Season 9Ep. 924
In the midst of polarized conversations about race, Dr. George Yancey is a breath of fresh air. He’s a huge proponent of active listening--being genuinely curious about another another person’s perspective and getting outside your echo chamber to consider other points of view. In this podcast episode, we talk a lot about his forthcoming book: Beyond Racial Division: A Unifying Alternative to Colorblindness and Antiracism , which published by IVP (March 2022). Dr. George Yancey (PhD, University o...
Nov 29, 2021•42 min•Season 9Ep. 923
Greg gave a killer talk at this year’s Revoice conference. If you missed it--here it is! Here’s the blurb: What does it mean to adore Jesus in a world that sees our adoration as scandalous? Taking our cues from a few of the Bible’s most notorious worshippers, we’ll celebrate together the stabilizing power of worship — a power no one can take from us. Greg is the author of Single, Gay, Christian (InterVarsity Press, 2017) and No Longer Strangers (InterVarsity Press, 2021). He holds a PhD in Engli...
Nov 25, 2021•21 min•Season 9Ep. 922
Strap on your seatbelts, folks. We’re going for a wild ride through Josh Proctor’s beautifully complex and honest journey. He’s been through more ex-gay therapy sessionss than anyone I’ve ever met. He then fell into sex work. He then fell into Jesus’ arms and maintained an affirming theology. And then he changed this theological view to one that holds to a traditional sexual ethic. Josh is a beautiful human being with a fascinating story! Josh serves as Director of Social Media & Spanish Tra...
Nov 22, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Season 9Ep. 921
This podcast is a recording of a talk I gave at this year’s Revoice conference in Plano, TX. In it, I talk about why LGBTQ people are not just needy but needed in the church. Specifically, there are four major things I’ve learned about Jesus and the Christian way of life from my LGBTQ friends: 1) friendship, 2) marriage, 3) faithfulness, and 4) masculinity. Interested in designing the conference T-shirt for the Theology in the Raw “Exiles in Babylon Conference?” Submit your design to chris@theol...
Nov 18, 2021•32 min•Season 9Ep. 920
Constantine Campbell's doctorate is in ancient Greek language and linguistics (Macquarie University, 2006). He was a professor of New Testament studies for 14 years, having taught at Moore College in Sydney and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago. Campbell is the author of 15 books, with focus on biblical Greek, New Testament interpretation, and the apostle Paul. His book Paul and Union with Christ was the 2014 Christianity Today Book of the Year in Biblical Studies. His latest releas...
Nov 15, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 9Ep. 919
Cameron reached out to me a few weeks ago thanking me for my ministry and he told me a bit of his story. He’s a male to female back to male formerly trans-identified SSA Christian who has been a pastor/chaplain, and he’s married to a female to male back to female formerly trans-identified bisexual Christian. Let’s just say, I was beyond curious to hear more! This podcast episode is me “hearing more!” Interested in designing the conference T-shirt for the Theology in the Raw “Exiles in Babylon Co...
Nov 11, 2021•52 min•Season 9Ep. 918
Jarvis is a friend and an incredible scholar. He has written and spoken extensively on issues related to race, ethnic reconciliation, and the gospel--which is the focus of our conversation. Jarvis is Associate Professor of New Testament Interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he’s taught since 2013. He has published numerous books, including Christ Redeemed ‘Us’ from the Curse of the Law: A Jewish Martyrological Reading of Galatians 3:13 in the Library of New Testament...
Nov 08, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Season 9Ep. 917
Is it a sin to be gay? Would you attend a church that has a gay pastor? What does it mean to be gay? There is still a lot of misunderstanding surrounding the term gay and what it means to be a gay Christian. I discuss these issues at length, which leads into Misty Irons’ incredible talk she gave at this year’s Revoice Conference. Misty Irons is a graduate of Westminster Seminary California (M.A., Biblical Studies) and a member of the Presbyterian Church in America. She has maintained a blog on f...
Nov 04, 2021•58 min•Season 9Ep. 916
Martin Kulldorff was born in 1962 in Lund, Sweden. He received his Ph.D. from Cornell University and is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a biostatistician at the Brigham and Women's Hospital. He serves on scientific advisory committees to the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control. In this podcast, we talk about the efficacy of the vaccine, the concept of herd immunity, the efficacy of natural immunity, the Great Barrington Declaration, who’s at ris...
Nov 01, 2021•52 min•Season 9Ep. 915
Elyse holds a certificate in biblical counseling from CCEF (San Diego) and an M.A. in Biblical Counseling from Trinity Theological Seminary. She has authored 23 books on daily living and the Christian life including the recently released Worthy: Celebrating the Value of Women and the forthcoming Jesus and Gender . In this conversation, we talk about her (or our) journey into a fuller understanding of grace, along with her perspective on the biblical counseling movement. We then discuss various i...
Oct 28, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 9Ep. 914
John Mark Comer is the founding pastor of Bridgetown Church , right in the center of the city (by Powell's Books if you've ever been to Portland) and is the author of six books: The Ruthless Elimination of Hurr y , God has a Name , Garden City , Loveology , My Name is Hope , and the recently released Live No Lies , which is the topic of our conversation. He’s also currently starting a non-profit called Practicing the Way, which aims to create resources for discipleship and formation in local chu...
Oct 25, 2021•1 hr•Season 9Ep. 913
Yup, we go there. Vaccines. I didn’t even intend to go here, but our conversation sort of spilled over into a conversations about the efficacy of vaccines, why there’s “vaccine hesitancy,” and how the unvaccinated are potentially enabling the creation of new variants that could be more deadly. We also talk about what the advent of the Covid pandemic means for the future world. Basically, our future will look vastly different and the church will need to make some serious changes. Mark is the seni...
Oct 21, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 9Ep. 912
Dr. Jennings is Associatet Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies at Yale University and has written several books including The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race (Yale 2010), which won the American Academy of Religion Award of Excellence in the Study of Religion in the Constructive-Reflective category the year after it appeared and, in 2015 and the Grawemeyer Award in Religion, the largest prize for a theological work in North America. His commentary on the ...
Oct 18, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 9Ep. 911
Kimi is an artist, YouTuber, skater, musician, and a has been speaking out about her journey through the topic of race and racism. Kimi had absorbed a certain perspective on race that viewed many things as micro aggressions, but it created so much anxiety and depression in her life that she decided to have a more charitable and, in her words, Christian perspective on race, where forgiveness is the key to freedom and reconciliation. Learn more about Kimi: https://www.kimikatiti.com Come to Boise ...
Oct 14, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Season 9Ep. 910
Matt Chandler is a pastor, speaker, and writer. He’s been pastoring The Village Church in Texas for 18 years and is the president of Acts29. In this podcast, we talk about how he’s handled the last couple of years of politics and Covid--and all the polarization that comes with this. Theology in the Raw Conference - Exiles in Babylon At the Theology in the Raw conference, we will be challenged to think like exiles about race, sexuality, gender, critical race theory, hell, transgender identities, ...
Oct 11, 2021•53 min•Season 9Ep. 909
Lamar has an MDiv from Emory University and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Liberty University. Over the years Lamar has served as a youth pastor, hospice chaplain, football coach, and pastor but his most important role is serving his wife of 16 years and their three beautiful children ages 11, 8, and 3. In 2014, after years of silently struggling with social anxiety and sensory processing disorder, and a host of other significant issues, Dr. Hardwick was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder...
Oct 07, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 9Ep. 908
Rasool and Samuel are both Chrisian, black, and well-versed in the race conversation. While they agree on several things, they disagree on several others, including the definition of racism, whether racism is systemic, and the role of Scripture in addressing racism. In this dialogue, Rasool and Samuel dialogue through these questions and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://ar...
Oct 04, 2021•1 hr 48 min•Season 9Ep. 907
Seda Collier is a transwoman with an interesting story. She had a radical encounter with God while tripping on acid in 1980. Has had several other “God moments” throughout her life. Started transitioning to a woman in 2006. Has a wife, kids, and attends a Baptist church in Eugene, OR. We had a lot to talk about! I “met” Seda through email just a couple of weeks ago. She read my book Embodied expecting it to be like all the other evangelical books out there, and she was pleasantly taken back at h...
Sep 30, 2021•1 hr 43 min•Season 9Ep. 906
