We respond to questions from the Deep Thinkers! This week's edition includes questions on: When and when not to judge What kind of care do new Christians need to receive from the church, and who is responsible for it? Why do many people who have wrong beliefs still seem to have true joy and peace? and more! With Will Harrub, Jack Wilkie, and Joe Wilkie
We continue the discussion on worship in song with comments and questions from our Focus+ members. Topics include: Whether it's important to have technically proficient song leaders What to do if you attend a church with weak singing Why men especially need to take singing seriously How churches of Christ view those who use instruments in worship With Will Harrub, Jack Wilkie, and Joe Wilkie
This week's episode looks at the importance of music in our praise to God. Topics include: - How music combats Christian gnosticism - Why we don't use instruments - The proper and improper place of emotion in worship - Questions about praise teams, clapping, and touring chorus groups With Will Harrub, Jack Wilkie, and Joe Wilkie
The world's evil has been on overdrive lately. We discuss the latest headlines with an eye toward what Christians should do in the midst of the madness. Topics include: - Why being "above it all" or burying our heads in the sand is not holier - Whether we should just "let the world be the world" - The crowd-pleasing impulse to blame our fellow Christians - The importance of developing discernment and understanding the times - Effective ways to stand up With Will Harrub, Jack Wilkie, and Joe Wilk...
This week we discuss how NOT to use the Bible when trying to discuss the Scripture with others. Topics include: - Right and wrong ways to use the Scripture to make a point - "Tone policers" and "mic droppers" - The place of the Old Testament in our lives today - How to respect someone's argument even when you strongly disagree With Will Harrub, Jack Wilkie, and Joe Wilkie
We discuss whether God expects physically able married couples to bear children, or if it's just a personal choice. Topics include: - Our culture's hatred of kids - Whether "Be fruitful and multiply" still applies today - The benefits of kids - Advice for those who want children but don't/can't have them With Will Harrub, Jack Wilkie, and Joe Wilkie
Our resident licensed therapist, Joe Wilkie, leads a discussion of the pros and cons of therapy. Topics include: - Therapy vs "Therapy Culture" - How therapy terms get weaponized to excuse sinful behavior - The right way and wrong way to think about brokenness and weakness - A debate over whether society would be better or worse off without therapy With Will Harrub, Jack Wilkie, and Joe Wilkie
We discuss the church's statistical decline and what it could mean for the future. Topics include: How the decline of Christendom in Europe gives us a glimpse of what may be headed our way What will happen if and when persecution ramps up Why the community church model reached so many people, and why we expect it to fail Why Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy are seeing a resurgence and what we can learn from them With Will Harrub, Jack Wilkie, and Joe Wilkie...
Every year, more men leave the pulpit. Churches struggle to replace them. Many smaller congregations can't afford to bring someone in even if they wanted. Among those who still preach, some are unqualified. In short, the church is in a tough spot when it comes to the future of preaching. Is our current system of selecting, training, and hiring to blame? We discuss: - Who should become a preacher? - Is there a better way to match preachers with vacant pulpits? - What are the pros and cons of prea...
The role of preacher is a central part of most churches today. But is it supposed to be? We discuss: - The Biblical concept of the preacher - Stereotypical preacher problems - Are sermons overrated? - The problem of members disrespecting their ministers and more! With Will Harrub, Jack Wilkie, and Joe Wilkie
Not everyone is going to be a preacher, elder, teacher, or missionary... so how can they serve the church? What has God called them to do? We discuss: - How we've overrated ministry and church work and underrated other efforts - What is the end goal of "making disciples?" - What's true and untrue about "all of life is worship" - What "priesthood of all believers" means in practical terms - Is every Christian called to evangelize? - How the church has misunderstood kingdom work...
Summer is usually a church's busiest time of year as VBS, camp, and other events start to fill the calendar. We discuss the pros and cons of these events for spiritual formation. Topics include: Have youth and family ministries been sincere but misdirected from the start? When camps help young Christians grow into spiritual adulthood, and when they hinder The danger of building a walk with God around scheduled spiritual highs Is it time to reconsider VBS? With Will Harrub, Jack Wilkie, and Joe W...
As June begins and the rainbow flags start flying again, we revisit the origins of the LGBT movement and how the decline goes back much farther than we typically think. We discuss: - 90's propaganda - The sexual revolution - Abortion's role - The rise of pornography in the 1950s - How Christians opened the door to it all by forfeiting the family
People have long had cultural role models, but in today's world of social media there are more voices than ever before. Who are today's major voices, what are they teaching, and how do we navigate the positive and negative influences? We discuss: - Taylor Swift, Candace Owens, Andrew Tate, "Trad Wives," Joe Rogan, and more - Feminism on the left and the right - Powerless masculinity, powerful masculinity, and finding balance - How parents and church leaders can use cultural role models to teach ...
"Pharisee" is a religious insult so broadly used that is often becomes almost meaningless. But the word does have a meaning, and it's important we understand it. We discuss: - The history of the Pharisees and why they weren't all bad - How progressives overuse the term - What Pharisaical Bible study looks like - What Pharisaism looks like in the church today - How to guard against a Pharisaical heart With Jack Wilkie and Joe Wilkie
Not everything is a black and white, thou shalt/thou shalt not issue. For some, this means we should not talk about such issues but rather leave everything up to individual interpretation. Phrases like "But is it a sin?" and "You can't bind that" are thrown around to shut down discussion. But discernment is at the heart of Christian maturity. This week, we discuss the difference between the two approaches and why God wants us to engage our brains. Topics include: - The importance of discerning G...
You won't find the words "place membership" in the New Testament. And, when you're baptized, you're added by God to His church. So do we need to publicly declare our membership with a local congregation? We discuss, including: - Defining "church" and "member" Biblically - Is church an "organism" or an "organization?" - Do baptized teens become members separate from their parents? - Individualism vs. Collectivism - The importance of elders (and other church leaders) in defining membership With Wi...
The guys decided to have some fun this week and sat down to draft 22 Bible books apiece. Tune in to see where the books got taken and how their favorites line up with yours. And, tell us who's "team" of 22 books you would pick if you could only read and study one set. With Will Harrub, Jack Wilkie, and Joe Wilkie
We continue the discussion on prayer by examining a number of specifics, including: - How should public prayers differ from private prayers? - "Abba Father" and reverence vs. closeness - How to know when an answer is from God - Does "Let the men pray in every place" extend to the home, including with one's wife and children? With Will Harrub, Jack Wilkie, and Joe Wilkie
Prayer is one of the basics of the Christian faith, but it's also a remarkably deep concept that raises all kinds of questions. Topics include: - Why do we need to pray if God already knows our thoughts? - Does it make a difference to pray audibly vs. just in our heads? - Do we pray to all 3 members of the Godhead, or just the Father? - Does prayer change God's mind? - Does God hear everyone's prayers? and more. With Will Harrub, Jack Wilkie, and Joe Wilkie Join Focus+ to get access to our weekl...
The majority of kids raised in Christian homes continue to leave the church in adulthood. In fixing the problem, the most logical place to start has to be the biggest external influence in their lives - namely, the public schools. We discuss: - Just how bad it's gotten (even in the "good" schools) - The Deuteronomy 6 mandate - Valid reasons vs. excuses - Ways churches can get creative to help families With Will Harrub, Jack Wilkie, and Joe Wilkie
The church will be driven by masculine sensibilities or by feminized sensibilities - it can't be driven by both. This week we explore how the church has become driven by feminized sensibilities, why that isn't God's design, and what the consequences have been. Topics include: - Why femininity and masculinity are both needed, and the only way they can coexist - What a feminized pulpit, eldership, and congregation look like - How political correctness and self-policing hinder the truth - Why weak ...
The church's task of confronting "sin in the camp" is clearly laid out in the Scriptures... and yet it almost never happens. Why not? What would it look like if we did practice it? We discuss: - The OT roots of the practice - What a lack of church discipline has caused - Why discipline is the only loving way - The danger of overreach - How church discipline might change the world With Will Harrub, Jack Wilkie, and Joe Wilkie
This week the guys each bring three lessons they've learned about marriage. Topics include: - Why self-esteem is so important to a marriage - A mindset both spouses need to bring to the relationship - How to get better at conflict Tune in to catch these and six more lessons. Got one to contribute? Comment on our Facebook page!
With millions of immigrants crossing the border into the US in recent years, and immigration becoming arguably the biggest concern of this year's election, what should Christians think about the issue? We discuss: - Why the issue can't be ignored by Christians - What the Bible has to say - How issues like this make us better Bible students - Whether Christians can have national interests, or if being "not of this world" prohibits us - What obligations we have on the matter Check out Focus+ to ge...
This week we discuss the age of accountability and how we should think about youth baptisms (including our own). - Why we reject infant baptism - Reasons for younger (10-13) baptisms - Reasons for older baptisms (16 and up) - The role of fear as a reason to get baptized - When, if ever, is rebaptism necessary? With Will Harrub, Jack Wilkie, and Joe Wilkie
We look at the disastrous culture of individualism and following our hearts. "Do what makes you happy" and "I come to God in my own way" set people up for misery and separation from God. Yet, many churches are built on this ideology. Topics include: - How "Follow your heart" culture has infiltrated churches - Why the heart wrecks lives and marriages - What's wrong with the minimalist, libertarian view of the Bible - How to know when you're following your heart vs. following God With Will Harrub,...
Dr. Brad Harrub joins the show to talk about climate change! In this episode: - The history of climate alarmism - What the science really shows - Biblical environmentalism and caring for God's world - How news media manipulates through fear - The indoctrination and weaponization of young minds for the cause With Will Harrub, Jack Wilkie, and Joe Wilkie
We dive into the elder qualifications of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 and discuss the importance of getting them right while also looking at the controversies involved. Topics include: - How the qualifications have been downplayed, and the consequences we're seeing - What does "able to teach" mean? - Why "peaceable" is a more important qualification to get right than you might think - Does an elder have to be married? - Do an elder's children have to be baptized, faithful Christians? With Will Harrub...
Christians were caught unaware by the rise of the internet, but we can't afford to make the same mistake with the newest booming technology. Almost overnight, artificial Intelligence has gone from a fringe technology to a feature of everyday life. While it comes with numerous useful features, it certainly has its dark side, too. We discuss what you need to know about the issue in this episode, including: - The history and where it stands today - The threats to relationships posed by AI - A dark ...
