Culture and Response

In this early episode, we discuss many things regarding Christianity and politics. We start out by discussing how involved Christians should be politically and how our faith intersections with politics. We talk a little about how we talk about politics and how it's okay to not vote. We also discuss how politicians on both sides of the aisle politicize Christians and their belief. We then talk about being one issue voters and how to apply that to political ideology. Finally, we wrap up with a few take homes from Pastor Brad McMullen.

In this episode, we begin with a quick insight topic in the spirit of Halloween on our favorite scary movies. We then begin discussing this week's topic on TV shows. We talk about why we watch TV shows and some of the types of TV shows we watch. We then discuss how the content in those shows affects us personally from a faith and morality perspective. We also discuss how TV shows can affect our relationships. From there, we talk about the perception of Christianity and how it relates to TV shows. Finally, we wrap up by attempting to discuss where we can draw the line with the content we consume and preview next week's episode. 

We begin this episode with a brief shout out to some of our international fans from down under and a discussion on Outback Steakhouse's presence in Australia. We then begin by discussing our definitions of fake news as well as some definitions provided by listeners. We discuss a few facts from recent university studies regarding the sources of fake news and how it spreads. From there, we differentiate between different types of fake news and begin a discussion on the Ad Fontes Media Bias Chart (https://www.adfontesmedia.com/interactive-media-bias-chart/) and how it analyzes news for biases and reliability. We also discuss social media's role in fake news and how it can easily spread on various sites as well as their role in suppressing it. Finally, we discuss the dangers of fake news as Christians and how we can combat it. 

Our 20th episode is another monthly musings episode. We recap what has been going on over the last few weeks in our lives and how that has affected our souls, relationships, and faith. We discuss a variety of topics such as new hobbies, vet visits, new vehicles, vacation, and the new Hardees Prime Rib burger. We discuss different ways to cope with stress, and how taking time for yourself is important especially in current times. We also discuss how taking that time for yourself is important for reflecting on your personal life. Finally, we preview next weeks topic. 

In this episode, we talk about a few different things. These are topics we want to discuss, but couldn’t devote an entire episode to them. We start off by discussing the current state of masks in the world of COVID and how we approach that. We discuss some comments from Pastor Brad McMullen as well as some of the political positioning as a result of masks. We then hit on a Laettner Doss requested topic - dinosaurs and discuss our favorites. We also discuss the post office and the current world of mail in ballots and how to handle voting in 2020. We offer some tips on voting absentee. Then we discuss another important topic from Laettner, sharks. Finally, we wrap up by discussing the latest Netflix controversy, Cuties. We talk about why it's controversial, and some reasons it shouldn’t have needed to be made.

In this episode, we begin by discussing a controversial statement from Fox Sports talking head Skip Bayless where he criticizes Dak Prescott for his admittance for struggling with anxiety and depression. From there, we begin our discussion on music and the intersection between music and our faith. We talk about the types of music we listen to and how it affects our day to day lives. Then we discuss times music has united us and broken us down. We finally get into the aspects of music and worship, and how secular music can run counter to our relationship with Christ. Cord then offers a take home statement from his son. 

In this episode, we talk about the recent developments with former Liberty University president Jerry Falwell, Jr. We recap some of his actions over the last few years. We discuss the optics of himself, Liberty, Christians, and the Church by breaking down the impact it has on all of them. We talk about how we as Christians should respond to this and how we can react to it spiritually. We discuss his inner circle and how the family and university move on from this. We also talk about how this impacts Lynchburg and the surrounding community. Finally, we offer some take home statements on how Christians can respond to this.

In this episode, we discuss how Sports intersect our faith and relationships. We talk about why we enjoy sports and then why we don’t enjoy sports. We give examples of some occasions where we were able to use sports as a vessel for God’s love and some examples of where sports caused conflict in our lives. We also talk about how sports can be misprioritized in multiple ways. We end by discussing some ways we manage our love for sports and how we can be better about not letting sports hinder our call to be Christ-like. 

In our 15th episode, we begin by discussing a quote from Marty Smith, an ESPN reporter from the Radford area (https://roanoke.com/sports/mcfarling-for-marty-smith-emotional-roller-coaster-precedes-homecoming/article_9a0645d1-0f70-55e2-9a69-2fba1faf3169.html) and how we can apply it to our lives. We then talk about apologizing and reconciling. We discuss the difference between then two, as well as forgiveness. We also talk about why apologizing and reconciling is hard. Then, we discuss some details about reconciliation and the objectives in doing so. We then talk about some scripture, and how it applies before discussing some practical ways to apologize and reconcil before offering a few take home statements.  

In this episode, we discuss our insight topic with a quote from a worship leader that talks about how sin and pain are both related and unrelated. After that, we begin our episode on humility and the american dream. We define humility as well as the american dream. We discuss how the american dream has changed in our lifetimes, and how our viewpoints on it have shifted. We then discuss how our faith aligns or misaligns with that dream. From there, we discuss how our personal ambitions and achievements go against being humble within our current self. We also go into a discussion on self-help and how to bring God alongside our pursuit to be more humble.

After a brief sabbatical, Cord and Steven are back to discuss some of the reasons why they've been absent from the mics. We start off with a (very?) old worship lyric from How He Loves for our insight topic. Then we dig in and discuss three big things from each of us that has been going on and how we've seen God work through those things, or how we've been missing God from birthdays, to weddings, to work, and house projects. We then deliver a few take home statements from what we learned over the last month and how we can apply those to our lives. 

Our 12th episode begins with a fun insight topic on the difference between a playlist and a setlist, spurred by Cord's young son Laettner. After a brief tirade on that, we dive into our discussion on relationships. We discuss the different types of relationships we face from home to work. We also discuss what gets in the way of deepening our relationships. From there, we talk about how we can get in our own way as well. We also discuss how gender plays a role in our abilities and willingness to open up new relationships. We then discuss how we can build bridges instead of barriers, offering four take home statements from the discussion. 

In this episode, we begin by digging into a lyric by one of Steven’s favorite bands for an insight topic that is sourced from Jeremiah 31. We then dive into the episode discussion on fears by distinguishing two different types of fears. We also talk about times fears have held us back, how to use them for good, and examples of times we have used them for good. We finish up by talking about how we can trust God in our fears and deliver a few take home statements that summarize the episode. 

Our tenth episode features a special guest, our dear friend, Skylar Osborne. Skylar joins us to talk about something a lot of young Christians face- maintaining a relationship with God throughout college. We pose some questions to her about what has helped and what hurt her relationships with God and others, how she managed to find a church home, and how her relationships and her decisions affected her walk of faith.

In this episode, we start with an insight topic that Cord was battling with in being a father and how to react in a unique circumstance. Next we get into our episode discussion about extending grace to yourself. We define grace and how it intertwines with the love of God. We also talk about how we are hard on ourselves and how we can be our own worst critic. We also talk about how it it can be too easy or too hard to extend grace to ourselves. Then we talk about how we can be better about extending grace to ourselves. Finally, we introduce next week’s special guest.

Episode 8 begins with a new insight topic. We asked ourselves what we would have done differently the last Sunday at church before social distancing and quarantining began if we had known what was coming. Next we dig into our main topic of discussion regarding negativity on Facebook by discussing the source of negativity on Facebook and why content on Facebook can seem so negative. Then we discuss some ways to counteract negativity, both by participating and by not participating. Finally, we wrap up with three take home statements and introduce next week's topic.

In this episode, we being with a discussion about our souls before talking about a new song by Cory Asbury called "Dear God" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHmO7cRRZac). Our main focus for this episode is why casual church is so much easier than committed church. We talk about what the meaning of church is, what draws us into becoming committed to a church, and discuss some statistics on churchgoing. We then turn to why we need church, what reasons we have for skipping church, and what the value is in attending church. We also talk about some harder conversations such as what the church does to make it harder to being committed to going to church and how financial commitment changes things. Finally, we conclude with four take home statements and introduce next week's topic.

In this episode, with talk with our dear friend Jennifer Vaughan about how addiction consumed her life until she turned to God. We also talk about how our souls are amidst a troubling time in America. Cord shares a little bit of background information about Jennifer before she gives her testimony and answers a few questions we had about how she handled and still handles addiction. She talks about her most helpful tools, how her upbringing influenced her, and how God worked through her recovery. She also helps deliver a few take home statements that can be applied to not only addiction, but other facets of life as well.

In this episode, we dig in to an insight topic that seems to be very relevant with current events: social media and misinformation. Then we begin talking about having difficult conversations with various groups of people, such as those we love, those we work with, and those with worship with. We discuss the types of difficult conversations we have and where we have them. We also discuss the challenges we face in having those difficult conversations, such as how to approach them and finding ways to say things that might come off as hurtful. Then we talk about how to be better in having those conversations, and leave you with a few take home statements that we feel are helpful in having those conversations. Finally, we introduce a special episode for next week. 

In our fourth episode, we take a deep dive on why we are so quick to throw shade at others. We start the episode by discussing our souls, then we get into our insight topic. This weeks insight topic is a quote from Francis Chan on how the coronavirus pandemic is treating churches (https://www.christianpost.com/news/q-conference-god-using-covid-19-as-time-to-prune-the-church-says-francis-chan.html). After discussing that, we get into the main topic of the week. We discuss why we have a tendency to slander others and where we see it. We talk about three degrees of slander and how they differ from another. Then, we discuss what how we should handle being victims of slander. We then go on to discuss how we can improve ourselves to not be a source of gossip and offer a few takeaways and solutions that we discovered. Finally, we highlight next weeks topic. 

In our third episode, we ask "is the grass always greener on the other side?" We start with our usual discussion about our souls, then we delve into a song lyric from the song "Hearing Voices" by Anberlin. Next, we get into our main topic of the week by discussing different ways we and others see "the greener grass." We talk about why we run from adversity in favor of "the greener grass" and where we experience these types of decisions. We also discuss how "the greener grass" affects our relationships, and how relationships themselves also make us want a change in scenery. Then, we recap what we learned and offer some takeaways. Finally, we give a short preview of next weeks episode. 

Our second episode focuses on worry, how we have struggled with it, and how we approach it. After discussing how our souls are, we discuss a recent blog post from Timberlake Church (https://www.timberlakeumc.org/blog/jeremy-drinkard) from our good friend Jeremy Drinkard about an experience he had serving at one of Timberlake's blessing boxes. We then get into the main focus of the podcast, discussing both the little and the big things we worry about, what the opposite of worry is, and the source of various causes of worry. Next, we dissect some scripture regarding worry (Matthew 6:25-34), and some key points from a recent sermon from Pastor Matthew Laskey at Timberlake that are applicable to worry. Lastly, we wrap up by talking about what we can do with our worry and a give brief preview of next weeks show.

In our debut episode, we discuss at length about how we're handling the Coronavirus pandemic spiritually, physically, and emotionally. The episode begins with us talking about how our souls are. Then, by highlighting a song we are enjoying lately, breaking down the lyrics a little bit, and talking about its relevancy with the current season. Next we discuss the reality of the pandemic, some statistics, and some stories from an emergency room doctor in New York City. We talk about how our relationships have changed, both for the good and the bad, and what habits we have broken or began. Next we get into spiritual disciplines and practices that we have applied to help us throughout social distancing. Finally, we end with a small preview of next week's episode.