ReGeneration Podcast

On this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with Patrick Schreiner. Patrick is currently an associate professor at Western Seminary; and in the fall of 2020, he will transition to a new role at Midwestern Seminary, as associate professor of New Testament & Biblical theology. He's also the author of several books. On this episode, we chat about his latest book, The Ascension of Christ. Most Christians are quite familiar with the Resurrection, as details of the story are prevalent in so many of the songs we sing and the well-known Bible stories we hear. But what happens after that? Why didn't Jesus stay? Where did he go? Why did he say it was actually a good thing for him to leave us? Neglecting the Ascension robs us of an immense richness and depth of Christian hope. But when we consider the Ascension with greater thought, we find a renewed hope for the entire world, that in the midst of chaos and despair, the Ascension reminds us of who rules and reigns as the one true King of the world.

On this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with Skye Jethani. Skye is a speaker, consultant, minister, and the author of several books, including Immeasurable and What's Wrong With Religion?. He also serves as the co-host of the popular Holy Post Podcast. In Skye's most recent book, What If Jesus Was Serious?, Skye guides us through The Sermon on the Mount, to reveal how this collection of well-known teachings from Jesus is also one of the most ignored when it comes to the way so many Christians actually live their lives. What if the reason Christianity has lost its influence in culture at large isn't because we take Jesus too seriously but rather, because we don't take him seriously enough? What if, as Skye suggest, "society is hungry for precisely the kind of integrity, gentleness, kindness, and love Jesus reveals in His Sermon on the Mount?"

On this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with Tod Bolsinger. Tod serves as vice president and chief of leadership formation at Fuller Seminary. Previous to his role at Fuller, he served as senior pastor of San Clemente Presbyterian Church from 1997 to 2014. He is the author of several books and on this episode, we discuss his two most recent books, Canoeing the Mountains and Leadership for a Time of Pandemic. Navigating the COVID-19 pandemic and its fallout has been a totally unexpected challenge for church leaders; one so many of us were ill-prepared for. How do we lead in times of such great unknown and uncertainty? How do we take a next-step when the path before is us uncharted and unpaved? How can we continue to lead courageously into the future when the past is what's most familiar and comfortable? This conversation provides us some insight and pragmatic changes we can make in our approach and posture, as we continue to serve and guide our church communities in these difficult times.

On this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with Brett McCracken. Brett is a senior editor for The Gospel Coalition and the author of Hipster Christianity, Gray Matters, and Uncomfortable. His next book, The Wisdom Pyramid, will be released in Feb 2021 and explores an all-important question for our day: How can Christians find wisdom in our over-saturated information age? At a time when we are bombarded with an overwhelming swath of data, how do we know who and what to believe? In this conversation, we go through Brett's wisdom pyramid, level by level. This is an incredibly helpful tool for creating a Christ-centered worldview through which followers of Jesus can thoughtfully engage any and all the information coming our way at increasing speed.

On this episode, Jay chats with Jared C. Wilson, author of the new book The Gospel According to Satan. Some lies are repeated so often they seem like common sense. This is why lies about God are so dangerous. In this conversation, we discuss common lies like, "God just wants me to be happy," "You need to live your truth," and "Just let go and let God." Isaac and Jay also catch up on the strange time we're in, how they're doing in the midst of sheltering-in-place, and ways they're serving and leading their church communities.

On this episode, Isaac chats with Jay about his new book Analog Church, which explores the challenges and opportunities churches face in the digital age. In recent decades, as the digital world has taken over society at nearly every level, the church has increasingly followed suit—but what sort of effect is this having on discipleship, worship, community, and the way we understand the Bible? And in the specific moment we're in now, in the midst of COVID-19 and the fact that churches have been forced into digital spaces, how are we to navigate what it means to be an analog church? Does it still matter that we strive to gather as the people of God, in real time, real space, and real ways?

On this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with Jarrett Stevens. Jarrett is a pastor, speaker, and author of several books, including The Deity Formerly Known As God and 4 Small Words. He and his wife Jeanne live in downtown Chicago, where they lead Soul City Church. On this episode, we chat with Jarrett about his latest book, Praying Through: Overcoming The Obstacles That Keep Us From God. Praying often seems like a futile endeavor. Most of the time, God seems silent and distant. But Jarrett suggests that, whether you know it or not, you're already better at prayer than you think. And even more importantly, God is closer, more attentive, and involved than you can imagine. We discuss these ideas, along with pragmatic steps we can take to praying through the obstacles that stand in our way.

On this episode, Jay and Dan chat with John Mark Comer. John Mark is the Pastor for Teaching and Vision at Bridgetown Church in Portland, Oregon. He is also the author of several books including Loveology, Garden City, and God Has A Name. In this conversation, we discuss his latest book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. So much of the root cause beneath the anger and anxiety of our cultural moment is in the hurried lives we live. But in order to pursue a life compatible with the way of Jesus, we must learn to eliminate the needless busyness of much of our everyday lives and replace it with a deep abiding in Christ, in each and every moment.

On this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with Mark Sayers. Mark is the senior leader of Red Church in Melbourne, Australia and co-host of the podcast This Cultural Moment. He is also the author of several books, including Disappearing Church and Strange Days. On this episode, we discuss Mark’s latest book Reappearing Church. The current cultural climate poses never-before-seen challenges for followers of Jesus. The church-at-large, at least in the West, seems to be losing influence and effectiveness. And yet, Mark has a surprisingly hopeful view of what lies ahead. In this conversation, we delve into the specifics of why Mark believes we’re on the brink of a major renewal and what each and every one of us can do to take part in what God might be up to today.

On this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with Mike Winger. Mike is a pastor and also the featured teacher of BibleThinker online ministry. He is best known for his popular Youtube channel, which has more than 80,000 subscribers. His videos, which delve into various theological topics, have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times. On this episode, we discuss The Apostolic Network (what some call the New Apostolic Reformation), a movement of churches around the world that emphasizes prophecy and physical healings as primary means of experiencing God. We dive into a specific conversation about Bethel Church, one of the leading churches in this movement, and how their extremely popular music is impacting theology in so many of our churches today.

On this episode, Jay, Isaac, Liz, and Chris chat about the ever so popular idea that, “Christianity is a relationship, not a religion.” But why is it that we so often pit “relationship” and “religion” against each other? Are they always and forever diametrically opposed? Or is it possible that there is goodness, beauty, and even a necessity within both ideas, that our faith is a relationship with God but also a religion, in the best sense of the word?

On this special episode of the podcast, we’re sharing with you a part of an event we hosted in March 2019, featuring Andy Crouch. Andy is an author, speaker, and musician, who currently serves as the partner for theology and culture at Praxis, an organization that works as a creative engine for redemptive entrepreneurship. In this teaching, Andy applies some of the principles of his most recent book, The Techwise Family, to the local church. He addresses questions like, “How do we make and build disciples without accepting the promise of ease and instant gratification that technology offers? What should the church consider as we fast have adopted technology, online streaming and video venues?”

On this episode, Jay, Isaac, Liz, and Chris chat about how the marketplace mentality of business in America might be influencing the local church. We explore some of the subtle and not-so-subtle ways so many of us begin to create differentiations and distinctives between our individual local churches in order to gain “market share.” What are some potentially healthier, more effective ways to continue inviting new people into our church communities, while not being driven by a toxic level of competitive spirit against other churches who are on the same kingdom mission?

On this episode, Jay and Dan chat with Kara Powell. Kara is the executive director of the Fuller Youth Institute and associate professor of youth and family ministry at Fuller Seminary. She is the author of several books on faith, church, and younger generations. Her latest book, Growing With, is packed with insights and practical helps for helping young people grow in their faith, staying rooted in Christ while also spreading their wings. On this episode of the podcast, we discuss three specific ways that parents, pastors, mentors, and youth leaders can effectively come alongside young people and journey with them along the path of faith.

On this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with David Bennett. David is the author of the book “A War of Loves: The Unexpected Story of a Gay Activist Discovering Jesus.” He is a fellow at the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics and holds a postgraduate degree in theology from Oxford, as well as a master’s degree in theology from the University of St.Andrews. On this episode we chat with David about his remarkable story of discovering Jesus and his experiences as an atheist gay activist. His surprising journey led him to a life committed to following Jesus as a celibate Christian. We delve in a biblical theology of human sexuality as well as the present and future hope available to all of us.

On this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with Margaret Feinberg. Margaret is a speaker, Bible teacher, and the best-selling author of several books, including Scouting the Divine, Wonderstruck, and The Organic God. Her latest book, Taste and See, explores the intersection between food and our spiritual lives. In this conversation, we discuss what food and the way we eat together can teach us about God and how it can reveal the story of God to us in unique and memorable ways.

On this episode of Twitterology, Jay and Isaac chat with Liz Ditty and Chris Nye about the controversy surrounding Andy Stanley's "Unhitch the Old Testament from the New Testament" comments that had Twitter abuzz. What are we to do with the difficult, confusing, and (at least, on the surface) often ugly imagery of the Old Testament? Is it enough to say that in Jesus Christ, the Hebrew Scriptures have been nullified and made void? Does the Old Testament no longer matter in light of the Gospels? And if they do matter, why? And how should we go about reading such ancient texts?

On this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with Drew Dyck. Drew is an author and speaker, as well as an acquisitions editor at Moody Publishers and a contributing editor to CT Pastors. His written work has been featured in USA Today, CNN, and Christianity Today. He’s also the author of several books, the most recent being “Your Future Self Will Thank You: Secrets to Self-Control from the Bible and Brain Science.” On this episode, we discuss what Drew discovered as he researched his own lack of self-control and the fascinating intersections between science and the Bible when it comes to self-control and willpower, as well as practical encouragement for practicing more self-control in the coming year.

On this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with J.P. Moreland. Dr.Moreland is the Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology at Biola University. He’s written or co-written more 30 books and is considered one of the world’s leading Christian apologists and philosophers. On this episode we discuss the crucial importance of cultivating a love for God with our minds and how imbalanced emphases on both unchecked emotionalism and reckless scientism (not, science) have led so many to walk away from Christian faith, as well as how we might respond.

On this episode, Jay chats with Dr. Michael Shermer, one of the world’s leading skeptic/atheist voices. He is the founding publisher of Skeptic magazine, a monthly columnist for Scientific American, and a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University. He is the best-selling author of books like Why People Believe Weird Things, The Believing Brain, and many others. On this episode we discuss Michael’s season of life as a passionate evangelical Christian, what led him out of that season and into atheism, as well as some challenges he has for Christians to engage their faith thoughtfully and critically.

In this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with Rick McKinley. Rick is the founder and lead pastor of Imago Dei Community and is the author of several books, including his latest Faith For This Moment. On this episode, we discuss the extremely polarized culture in which we live and the unique challenges this poses to followers of Jesus, who find themselves navigating the fine line between resisting, assimilating, and/or redeeming the brokenness of our world.

On this episode of Twitterology, Jay and Isaac chat with Liz Ditty and Chris Nye about the often-instagrammed image of an individual casually relaxing by the lakeside or up in the mountains or at the beach or in a favorite cafe, alone and isolated, declaring, “This is my church today.” But is it? Is this really church? Certainly, quieting down the noise of our lives, getting away to a quiet and beautiful place, to experience God on a personal level through not only the mind but the senses… these are good and wonderful things. But is this church? And if not, what are the dangers in declaring that this is church?

In this episode, Jay chats with John Ortberg. John serves as senior pastor at Menlo Church and frequently speaks at conferences around the world. He is the author of several books, including Who Is This Man?, Soul Keeping, All The Places To Go, and his latest Eternity Is Now In Session. On this episode we discuss the often misunderstood ideas of heaven and eternity. What, when, and where is it? What does the seemingly contradictory “now and not-yet” reality of heaven mean?

In this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with Zach Bolen, lead singer of the band Citizens. In recent years, Citizens has become a household name to many worship leaders, as numerous songs they’ve written have made their way into church gatherings throughout the country, including Made Alive, You Brought Me Back To Life, Oh God, Father You Are All We Need, just to name a few. Zach’s unique songwriting has been reshaping the way songwriters who write for the church are approaching their own music. In this conversation, we discuss Zach’s story, Citizens journey into and away from Mars Hill Church, and what he hopes the future of music in the church might be like.

In this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with Mary Jo Sharp. Mary Jo is the founder of Confident Christianity, an apologetics ministry helping people wrestle with some of the most pressing theological questions of our day. She is also assistant professor of apologetics at Houston Baptist University, as well as a prominent blogger, writer, and speaker. On this episode, we discuss the common cultural notion that the Jesus story is actually based on several pagan myths which some claim carry the same exact key components of the story - virgin births, twelve disciples, death and resurrection, etc. This idea was recently made popular by the Zeitgeist film. Mary Jo skillfully deconstructs these ideas and shows how the Jesus story is unique and historically valid.

In this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with Kurt Willems. Kurt is the founding lead pastor of Pangea Church in Seattle and writes for various print and online publications, including the Pangea Blog and Theology Curator. He also hosts the Paulcast and Rapture Drill podcasts. On this episode, we discuss the massive, common misunderstandings about the book of Revelation and how we’ve gotten to reading the book so wrongly over the years. We also discuss what a responsible reading of Revelation means for our understanding of the end of the world, where the human story is headed and the immense hope we have in Jesus Christ.

In this episode, Jay chats with Liz Ditty. Liz is a spiritual director, speaker, and author of the new book God’s Many Voices. In this conversation, Liz shares her fascinating story of growing up in a cult-like fundamentalist church, how that experience both broke her and led her on the path of discovering God in a deeper way. Ultimately, this led to Liz learning to hear God’s voice in the the highs and lows, extraordinary and ordinary, through the Scripture and prayer. This episode, and Liz’s book, is for anyone who wants to hear more of God in their life but struggle to do so.

The rise of social media has given way to a brand new way of engaging and embracing ideas. While this is often a helpful thing, it can also have some really negative effects. In particular, when it comes to the formation of our theological ideas, our understanding of who God is and what he's up to, and our perspective on the local church and her mission in the world, twitter and other social media platforms have created some harmful caricatures. In this second episode of Twitterology, Jay and Isaac chat with Liz Ditty and Chris Nye about the very tweetable idea that when the Bible becomes difficult or confusing, we should simply "Just Read Jesus." Is this true? Is it enough to just read the direct words of Jesus in the Gospels? Are the "red letter words" of the Bible the only words that truly matter? What are we to make of the over sixty other books of the Bible that do not include the direct words of Jesus?

This is the start of an ongoing mini-series on the ReGeneration Podcast. Introducing... TWITTEROLOGY! These episodes will be uninhibited, raw conversations between Jay, Isaac, and respected voices within the ReGeneration community.  The rise of social media has given way to a brand new way of engaging and embracing ideas. While this is often a helpful thing, it can also have some really negative effects. In particular, when it comes to the formation of our theological ideas, our understanding of who God is and what he's up to, and our perspective on the local church and her mission in the world, twitter and other social media platforms have created some harmful caricatures.  In this first episode, Jay and Isaac explore the growing phenomenon of "de-conversion" and how so often misses the mark of what's really happening amongst followers of Jesus who continue to journey alongside the local church.

In this episode, Jay chats with Tara Beth Leach. Tara Beth serves as senior pastor of Pasadena First Church of the Nazarene (or, PazNaz as it’s affectionately known). She’s also a writer, speaker, theologian, and recently, the author of the book Emboldened: A Vision For Empowering Women In Ministry. In this episode, we discuss the challenges Tara Beth faced as a young woman working towards the most central levels of leadership within a local church, as well as those confusing Biblical passages about women keeping silent and not teaching men. The conversation eventually leads to an encouraging and inspiring call to all Christians, both men and women, to rethink and reshape their church-cultures, to invite and empower women to lead.

This episode is a very personal and poignant conversation between Isaac and his friend Christine Vatuone. Christine is the Executive Director of Informed Choices, a pregnancy resource and medical center in Gilroy, California. Recently, Christine has been covered by major media outlets such as NPR, Washington Post, AP, and Vice News, for her role in a Supreme Court Case regarding resource centers like Informed Choices. But in the midst of this very public work, Christine was hit hard with some personal news that would quite literally change her life. In this episode, Isaac chats with Christine about how we can continue faithfully following Jesus with courage and conviction even when life seems overwhelming and death itself seems to be knocking on our door.

In this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with Eric Bryant. Eric is a part of the leadership team at Gateway Church in Austin, Texas and serves as lead pastor for Gateway South. Prior to that, he served for 12 years as part of the leadership team with Erwin McManus at Mosaic in Los Angeles. Eric is also the author of Not Like Me: Loving, Serving, and Influencing Our Divided World. In this episode, we chat with Eric about the unique challenges of reaching unchurched people in a creative, young, very post-Christian city like Austin and what churches everywhere can do to create environments where younger generations feel welcomed in and invited to not only experience but also participate and lead.

In this episode, Dan Kimball chats with Evan Fu. Dan is the director of the ReGeneration Project. He also serves on staff at Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz, California, overseeing leadership and mission. Before moving to San Diego, Evan was a beloved and involved part of the Vintage Faith community. He was involved with creative arts, participated in a small group, and was an active part of the young adults ministry. But the most surprising thing about it? Evan is not a Christian. In this episode, Dan and Evan discuss how this unique relationship came about and what church leaders and those who aren’t Christians alike can learn about what the local can and should be.

In this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with Os Guinness. Os is widely considered one of today’s most important Christian voices. A renowned author, speaker, and cultural commentator, he’s written more than thirty books and serves as senior fellow at the Oxford Center for Christian Apologetics. He holds a doctorate degree from Oxford University. In this episode, we chat with Os about why he believes we live in an era of tremendous evangelistic opportunity, why in order to be effective, Christians must learn to become thoughtful, theologically-minded, and how church leaders can begin to lead their communities in this direction.

In this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with Steve Patton. Steve is a pastor, writer/speaker, and church planter. He serves on the leadership team of the ReGeneration Project and is currently leading a brand new church plant in Seattle called Reunion. We chat with Steve about what to do with the tension of the Bible seemingly condoning and even encouraging slavery. We discuss Steve’s personal and theological journey regarding the tension and how that’s led him to where he is today, helping to plant a church in Seattle, whose vision statement states, “We imagine a table, and even a city, where all races, genders, generations, socio-economic statuses, and cultures are gathered as one.”

In this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with Chris Nye, author of the book “Distant God.” Chris is a pastor, speaker, and writer whose work has been featured in the Washington Post, Christianity Today, Books & Culture, Preaching Today and various other publications. In this episode, we chat with Chris about an increasingly common question we’re hearing these days from people: “Why is God so distant?” Have you ever had seasons of life like that, where God seems to be far off, aloof, unaware of our circumstances, or, even worse, aware but apathetic? Why does God seem so distant sometimes? And what are we to do in those seasons?

In this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with John Mark Comer. John Mark serves as pastor for teaching and vision at Bridgetown, a thriving young church right in the heart of urban Portland. He’s also the author of several books, including Loveology, Garden City, and God Has A Name. Since last year, John Mark has been leading Bridgetown Church through a series of intentional practices designed to help his community experience actual change in their lives. This is something we all want - to actually change, to actually become more like the people we think God made us to be. In American Christianity, the most common approach to this process is one of intellectual ascent. If we can know enough, learn enough, be smart enough, get inspired enough… we’ll change. Or so we think. In this conversation, we unpack this myth, get to the heart of the matter of change and explore some specific practices that will actually begin the process of change in our lives.

In this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with Scot McKnight. Scot is one of the most prominent Biblical scholars in the world. He is Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary and has authored nearly 30 books, including The Jesus Creed, The Blue Parakeet, The King Jesus Gospel, Kingdom Conspiracy, and A Fellowship of Differents. Scot was also instrumental in the launching of the ReGeneration Project. In this episode we chat with Scot about the words “Gospel” and “Kingdom,” two crucial ideas in Christian theology which have been reduced to overly simplistic caricatures by many today.

In this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with Shamina Isaac. Shamina is a worship leader and singer-songwriter. She also serves on the leadership collective of the ReGeneration Project and has led the music at several of our annual events. Her music has made waves in the music industry over the years and has been featured in feature films. On the episode, we discuss the importance music in teaching theology (in both good and bad ways), as well as specific ways worship leaders can thoughtfully engage song selection.

In this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with Preston Sprinkle. Preston is a professor, speaker, and the bestselling author of several books, including Erasing Hell, Fight, and People to be Loved. He also hosts a popular podcast called Theology in the Raw. They discuss the various views on hell and Preston’s personal journey from one particular view on hell to the uniquely different view he holds today. For many people, the topic of hell poses one of the greatest challenges to embracing the idea that God is good and loving and just. We hope this conversation opens up the dialogue and helps to broaden your horizons as you think about the topic of hell.

In this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with Dr. Gerry Breshears, Professor of Theology at Western Seminary. Gerry also serves on the board of The Bible Project, as well as the elder board and preaching team at Grace Community Church in Gresham, Oregon. Additionally, Gerry serves as a mentor to numerous influential church leaders all over the country. He affectionately labeled a pastor to pastors. We discuss the main themes of Christmas, what we often miss about the Christmas story, the significance of the different genealogies in the various Gospel stories, snake venom in our veins and how Christmas introduces the remedy, and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and the finer points of drinking too much eggnog.

In this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with Joshua Ryan Butler, pastor, speaker, and author of "Skeletons In God's Closet," "The Pursuing God" and . They discuss the difficult topic of hell, why so many of us get it so wrong, and the surprisingly hopeful story that the Bible actually tells us about where the human story is headed.

In this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with Tim Mackie, co-founder of the Bible Project and professor at Western Seminary. They discuss how to read (and not read) the Bible. Specifically, they delve into the both human and divine nature of the Bible, its historicity, what we mean when we say that something is “true,” and a few practical tips for reading the Bible for ourselves.

In this preview episode of the ReGeneration Podcast, Jay Kim and Isaac Serrano chat with Dan Kimball, director of the ReGeneration Project, about the heart behind the ReGeneration Project, why it was started, and a story about a series of intense emails from a surprising individual that led to all of this. They also share what this podcast is going to be all about and how you can be a part of the conversation.