Ellul's Cafe

Reach out to me:profpettitt@gmail.com Today's episode is a live recording from a show we did for our campus radio station! Our special guest is Professor Brain Kammerzelt. He is the head of the Communications Department at Moody Bible Institute. Today, we discuss a variety of topics. Tune in!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reach out to me: profpettitt@gmail.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In light of the inescapable struggles of digital connection, how can we engage with building community in online spaces? How can we avoid being performative and encourage authenticity in virtual communication? Is your online presence truly who you are, or just a highlight reel? Join Professor Jeremy Pettitt and Creative Agency Director Katt for a conversation about community in online spaces, engaging emerging adults, and ditching our idealized self in favor of truer connection. Reach out to me: profpettitt@gmail.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do we maintain faithfulness to Christian faith as a set of beliefs, practices, and ways of engaging with Jesus in this moment without completely disengaging from the cultural context of this moment? How can we use art to practice placemaking in our contexts? What is the value in slowing down and experiencing the journey if the end destination is the same? Join Professor Jeremy Pettitt and graphic designer Savannah for a conversation about building a brand and a visual identity, wrestling with the lensions between culture and Christ, and living in the now. Reach out to me: Profpettitt@gmail.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What makes a good story within a digital platform? How can we use stories as a vessel for the gospel? How do we balance the humanity in stories with our technology in order to connect to our human audiences? Join Professor Jeremy Pettitt and recent communications graduate and soon-to-be missionary Kori for a conversation about the need for good storytelling in the missions world, honoring the voice of the subject in our stories, and tips on the best stroopwafels in the Netherlands. Reach out to me: profpettitt@gmail.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reach out to me: profpettitt@gmail.com Have you ever asked yourself why you’re using that app you just opened? Or found yourself scrolling through an app that you don’t even remember opening? How can we reduce the stress of constant connectivity without disconnecting completely? How do you think you would handle a two week media fast? Join Professor Jeremy Pettitt and Communications professor Raychel “Prof Mack” McKelvey for a conversation about coming of age in a digital era, slowing down our scroll, and practices for managing our social media consumption. Reach out to me: profpettitt@gmail.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Postman, McLuhan, Ellul… what can we take away from the great minds in technology and theology? What does it mean that our media is an extension of ourselves? What are the consequences? From these discoveries, what are some practical applications in our lives to be more conscious consumers in a technology saturated society?Join Professor Jeremy Pettitt and Communications student Rachel for a conversation about what we gain and lose through our uses of media, and how it changes us.Reach out to me: profpettitt@gmail.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Redemption. How do we find redemption in todays world? Jeremy Pettitt discuss on this episode of Ellul's Cafe. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do we control technology? Or does technology control us? Or is it a bit of both? Our answers to these questions will influence if and how we approach and use technology. On one side, Instrumentalism would tell us that technology is value neutral and human choices ultimately determine the outcomes. On the other side, Determinism would tell us that technology drives most of our choices and is ultimately the problem. Join Professor Jeremy Pettitt and Communications student Christine for a conversation that unpacks these crucial concepts,their assumptions and consequences while offering practical suggestions for a more balanced approach to technology in everyday life. Reach out to me:profpettitt@gmail.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How has technology allowed us to be less reliant on God and one another? As we use more digital systems and tools to manage and “improve” our lives, we are tempted to embrace the illusions of control these technologies foster in us. We often use them to lessen our dependance on the very relationships that bring us life. Join Professor Jeremy Pettitt and Communications student Peighton for a conversation about these technological illusions and distractions as well as the ways we can steward our technology and relationships better. Reach out to me: profpettitt@gmail.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when we start preferring interactions with our devices over interactions with real people? Sherry Turkle explores this dilemma in her book, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. Communications students Katt and Hailey, along with professor Jeremy Pettitt, discuss Turkle’s book, the pitfalls of texting, and the daunting prospect of making a phone call. Head over to Ellul’s Cafe for a conversation on the necessity of embodied community in a digital age. Reach out to me:profpettitt@gmail.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What even is technology? To thoughtfully engage in technological discussions, we must first define our terms. There are endless ways to describe technology. Ultimately, our answer lies beyond the physical: technology encompasses all that we use to craft and shape culture and even includes our perceptions of these tools. Join Professor Jeremy Pettitt and guest Professor Matt Snyder for a conversation about the core elements of technology, and how these elements govern our interactions with the things we create. Reach out to me:profpettitt@gmail.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We can view life as one of two stories. The story of evolution places humanity on an upward track of progress; things will get better and better as we advance forward in time. The other story sets us in redemption history—it acknowledges the brokenness and selfishness of humanity but celebrates God’s power to restore us. This redemption story is a tale of our creative powers being used for both death and life. Our duality spurs us to be both designers of stunning architecture and producers of torture instruments. Join Professor Jeremy Pettitt and podcaster Austin Murphy for a conversation on how our paradigms for interpreting humanity’s purpose determine our approaches to technology. Reach out to me: profpettitt@gmail.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How does theology shape and alter our interactions with and use of technology? How does technology form our hearts and minds as human beings? How do we live faithfully as followers of Jesus Christ in the technology saturated cultures of the 21st century? In this introductory episode of Ellul's Cafe, Professor Jeremy Pettitt and podcaster Austin Murphy discuss the origin and rationale for a podcast wrestling with the tensions of real faith in real life at the intersection of theology, technology, and culture. Reach out to me: profpettitt@gmail.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Ellul’s Cafe. A conversation where we bring theology, technology and culture to the table to discuss what it means to faithful followers of Christ. In the tradition of our patron saint Jacques Ellul, this is a conversation with different books, with different authors and speakers, as well as your questions to wrestle with what it looks like to live a faithful life in a technological age.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.