Departied Podcast

A look at the messiahs we often run after, and how this is missing the mission.https://twitter.com/departiedEpisode Resources:David French: Christian Political Ethics are Upside DownKari Lake and "BDE"More Kari LakeThe Young Turks Response to BDELauren Boebert, AR-15s, and awful theologyMatt LaBash - Jesus WeptIn God We Trust Signs in Public SchoolsPew Survey: Declining Church AffiliationDW Interview of Rick Wilson (quoted from around 4:30 mark)Image: In God We Trust on the Gallows

In this episode, I take a look back at the transformation of Ted Cruz over the last six years. It isn't pretty.https://twitter.com/departiedLinks to some of the research for this episode:The Rise and Fall of the Cruz-Trump BromanceCognitive Dissonance and the Peg Turning experiment (correction, in the episode I said this was from 1915. It's actually from 1959) Let's Go Brandon"Leave the rest to the Republican congressmen"Inside Ted Cruz's Last-Ditch Effort to Keep Trump in PowerDavid French: There is No Remaining Christian Case for TrumpJonah Goldberg: The Descent of MenLiz Cheney's slaps away Jim JordanTed Cruz's remarks on Texas seceding from the Union

In this episode, I explore more deeply the consequences of ignoring character in our leaders, in light of the COVID pandemic and the aftermath of the 2020 election.Links:300,000 US COVID deaths could have been averted through vaccination, analysis finds: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/300000-us-covid-deaths-averted-vaccination-analysis-finds/story?id=84753284Trump's faith advisor goes HEAVY METAL!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzIym0eZsH01/4/22 PRRI Study: https://www.prri.org/spotlight/anniversary-of-jan-6-insurrection/

While there is reason to be hopeful, there's always place for lament as well. Some reasons for grief from the past four years, with a special guest monologue from Molly Wahlquist.

What does it mean to be pro life? My observations as a pro life voter in this contentious election year.

This is the second half of my interview with Bethany and Thomas Macias, in which we explore ways our civic engagement can be loving toward our neighbor.

This is the first half of a two-part interview with my daughter Bethany and her husband Thomas, in which we take a look at the conflict in our country and discuss the causes and the possible remedies. They also share the wonderful story of their pandemic wedding.

An analysis of the deal that Donald Trump struck with evangelicals in 2016; the terms of the deal and what each party to the deal received.

An interview with my wife Jill regarding her journey of listening to and learning from the voices of people of color.The title of this episode was coined by Dr. Drew Hart and describes the practice of listening to and believing the lived experiences and stories of others even when their stories seem foreign to us.

Welcome to Season 2 of the Departied Podcast. In this episode I examine modern evangelical End Times beliefs and how those beliefs can drive unhealthy views of our politics and the worth of other human beings.

Some parting thoughts as I close out this podcast.

In this episode I wonder when we will have finally had enough of conspiracy theories, ends-justify-the-means thinking, and the grief at another unarmed black man killed by the police.

This is the second half of my interview with Ira Hall, in which he provides some reasons for hope in our contentious culture and exhortation toward valuing truth more than political narratives.

Part 1 of my interview with Ira Hall, in which we discuss lots of things, including how difficult it can be to see things from someone else's point of view and within their life experiences.

My thoughts on the pandemic, the 9/11 attacks, and what current events say, both good and bad, about our nation's character.

Thoughts on the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter, toxic political idolatry, a better way, and the Coronavirus pandemic.

In this episode I examine how Donald Trump views his presidency through a Reality TV framework, as evidenced by many of his actions during the pandemic.

My thoughts on the pandemic, social distancing, and what I hope are some encouraging words during this time.

My interview with Joel Goza, author of America's Unholy Ghosts. This is a wide-ranging discussion on faith, politics and race, and very few sacred cows survive unscathed.

How do we protect ourselves from lending support to something horrible? What are the narratives we build for ourselves to rationalize that support? Are we good people? A multitude of thoughts on this topic in this episode.

A two-way interview with Josh Lewis, host of the Saving Elephants podcast (http://savingelephantsblog.com)

Part 2 of my interview with Andrew Roberts, in which we discuss current and future prospects for our country, for the church, and talk about how to widen our view.

An interview with Andrew Roberts in which we discuss cultural blindspots and the work it takes to see beyond them, as we try to make sense of the phenomenon that is our current baffling political moment.

The second part of my interview with Hannah Roberts, in which she gives her thoughts on the American church's lack of a theology of suffering and the resulting indifference that is often manifested regarding those who are suffering among us and on our border.

A conversation with my daughter-in-law Hannah about her experiences teaching young immigrants in our city and serving asylum seekers and immigrants on the border.

A response to Dennis Prager's recent fireside chat in which he defends the Donald Trump's Access Hollywood tape by arguing that private conversations don't tell us anything about a person's character.

An interview with Macy Bain, a non-political Gen-Z enneagram 9 who, in her first chance to vote, faced the bad options of 2016

A discussion of the ways we think about voting; shifting from a "lesser of two evils" philosophy to a "qualified vs unqualified" philosophy.

An exploration of the Kingdom values in Mary's Magnificat from Luke 1, and how from the viewpoint of those on the upper side of things we often miss or filter out the message.

An interview with Russell Minick - pastor, former IMB missionary, and a clarifying voice in these confusing times - regarding his principled stances and actions in the Trump era.

This is part two of my interview with my daughter Bethany, dealing with moving forward from disappointment at the inconsistencies and hypocrisies of the church in our current political moment.

This episode explores some of the history of the War on Christmas controversy (that is showing some signs of coming back in 2019), and hopefully points to a better way.

This is the first part of a two part discussion with my daughter Bethany, dealing with faith struggles, the election of Donald Trump, the culture wars, and the church's role in all of the above.

The sequel to episode 9 ("What is truth"). We need to understand and identify the weeds of falsehood in the good garden of truth, as we work to cultivate truth in our culture and politics.

A look at the damage being inflicted on conservatism and Christian ministry in our current political moment. What are we signaling to the world?

This is a "quick hit" episode (shorter episode) that explores the subject of conspiracy theories

A discussion of the importance of truth and an examination of the ways Trump lies to us.

Continuing the discussion from Episode 6 with Molly Wahlquist regarding listening to, learning from, and looking to those who have different lived experiences.

A look at trusting (or not trusting) God in a world of "I alone can fix it"

Part 1 of an interview with my daughter Molly on neighborliness and learning to listen.

This episode takes a look at Presidential bullying, and what it's doing to us.

An interview with a college student about the 2016 election

This episode is a discussion of why it seems that we evangelicals are most known for our fear, and why we are susceptible to human promises of protection.

Everyone is created in the image of God. Does this affect how we talk about and treat our political opponents?

One evangelical's journey out of the GOP