Podcasts about common life

What if the most radical act in today's frenetic world is simply embracing the ordinary? For three years, we've been sharing our philosophy of "A Common Life," but we realized we've never fully explained what that means. When someone recently suggested we change our name to "An Uncommon Life," we knew it was time to articulate our vision more clearly.A common life acknowledges that we share this journey with others. In a deeply divided world, we're making a call to remember our fundamental interconnectedness—in our communities, neighborhoods, and on this planet. The Latin root "communis" reminds us that life was never meant to be lived in isolation.While so many voices push us to be extraordinary, spectacular, and loud, we're championing the beauty found in mundane moments. As our digital world accelerates toward virtual reality, blurring the lines between human and machine, we believe slowing down to embrace our humanity is revolutionary.This isn't about elitism—a rich life is accessible to everyone. Whether it's savoring morning coffee, tending a small garden, cultivating relationships, or practicing silence, these simple acts reconnect us with what makes us human. Just a century ago, everyone lived by the sun's rhythms. Today, most can't even tell you when it rises or sets. Reconnecting with these natural patterns pushes us back toward our humanity.Our philosophy embraces seasonal rhythms, place-based living, deliberate simplicity, integration of spiritual and physical life, and the centrality of the shared table. We're inviting you to notice the world around you, participate actively in life's rhythms, slow down intentionally, and connect meaningfully with your community.Join us in this quiet revolution. In a culture obsessed with the extraordinary, perhaps embracing the common is the most radical act of all.Community Newsletter - The CommonDM us on the Socials or email us at Taylor@acommonlife.coMusic on the podcast was composed by Kevin Dailey. The artist is Garden Friend. The track is the instrumental version of “On a Cloud”

Sunday September 21, 2025 – By Bob Cote Romans 12:2

The battle of ideas in our common life begins with confronting nihilism.

​​In this episode, Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with Luke Bretherton about the vocation of the church within the grounded, everyday realities of the local. Luke brings a rare breadth of learning to dilemmas so many are wrestling with, from the shaping of congregational life to how our common life became so atrophied and objectified in contemporary culture. Framing these big questions in ways that land in the ordinary, Luke explores memory, inheritance and place, and, unpacking the ancient democratic practices of the commons, he shows how these very commons became enclosed. Digging down into the impact of these trends, not only the loss of local power but also the crisis of institutional imagination in many churches, we explore what kinds of leadership and structures are needed to recover agency and to reimagine mission. This is a hope-filled engagement with how the Holy Spirit is calling God's people on the ground into a story of civic and spiritual renewal. Along the way, we discover that “love fully realised” is not about providing services, nor about freedom of choice, but looks and tastes like communion.Luke Bretherton is Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at Christ Church, Oxford, where he also directs the McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Life. Luke is also a Canon of Christ Church Cathedral and has duties as a Church of England priest. Until 2024 he was the Robert E. Cushman Distinguished Professor of Moral and Political Theology at Duke University in America. He has also been Visiting Professor at St Mellitus Theological College, London. Alongside his work as a theologian, Luke has long been involved in community organising and practical collaborations with churches, charities and mission agencies. He has written many books, most recently A Primer in Christian Ethics and Christ and the Common Life, and he hosts the podcast Listen! Organize! Act!LinksFor Luke Bretherton:https://www.theology.ox.ac.uk/people/rev-canon-professor-luke-brethertonhttps://x.com/WestLondonManPodcast: Listen, Organize, Act! Organizing & Democratic PoliticsBooks:A Primer in Christian Ethics: Christ and the Struggle to Live WellChristianity and Contemporary Politics: The Conditions and Possibilities of Faithful WitnessChrist and the Common Life: Political Theology and the Case for DemocracyHospitality as Holiness: Christian Witness Amid Moral DiversityFor Alan J Roxburgh:http://alanroxburgh.com/aboutFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/alan.roxburgh.127/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonsnetworkBooksForming Communities of Hope in the Great Unraveling: Leadership in a Changing World (with Roy Searle)Joining God in the Great UnravelingLeadership, God's Agency and DisruptionsJoining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World: The New Shape of the Church in Our TimeFor Jenny Sinclair:Website: https://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/from-jenny-sinclairLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-sinclair-0589783b/Twitter: https://twitter.com/T4CGFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TogetherForTheCommonGoodUKInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/t4cg_insta/ Get full access to Leaving Egypt at leavingegyptpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Part 3 of 4: Existential despair means hopelessness about human life having meaning and purpose. How does this lead to danger in our common life?

The book of Acts is Luke's sequel to his Gospel. It reports some of the history of the first Christians and the early church. Having been given the gift of God's Holy Spirit, these disciples of Jesus began to leave their mark on the world, and to leave us today with hope for how we might do the same.

The two ways our common life has become ethically incoherent, and what we can do to begin to make a good and just society

Pastor Daniel Longmore | James 5:7-20 | GI Free Church

Our dysfunctional politics follow a hollowed-out metaphysics of meaning making.

In the first sermon of our values series, we're looking at what it means for a church to live life together and how the church should fit with our common life. 

We were made for relationship — to be seen, loved, known, and committed to others. And yet we increasingly find ourselves, in the words of sociologist Jonathan Haidt, “disoriented, unable to speak the same language or recognize the same truth. We are cut off from one another and from the past.”On our podcast Haidt and bestselling author Andy Crouch pair up to explore how the technology era has seduced us with a false vision of human flourishing—and how each of us can fight back, and restore true community:“A person is a heart, soul, mind, strength, complex designed for love. And one of the really damaging things about our technology is very little of our technology develops all four of those qualities.” - Andy CrouchWe hope you enjoy this conversation about the seismic effects technology has had on our personal relationships, civic institutions, and even democratic foundations — and how we might approach rethinking our technologies and reclaiming human connection.This podcast is an edited version of an online conversation recorded in 2022. Watch the full video of the conversation here. Learn more about Jonathan Haidt and Andy Crouch.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:The Happiness Hypothesis, by Jonathan HaidtThe Coddling of the American Mind, by Jonathan HaidtThe Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion, by Jonathan HaidtCulture Making, by Andy CrouchPlaying God, by Andy CrouchStrong and Weak, by Andy CrouchThe TechWise Family, by Andy CrouchMy TechWise Life, by Amy and Andy CrouchThe Life We're Looking For: Reclaiming Relationship in a Technological World, by Andy CrouchErnest HemingwayFrancis BaconHoward HotsonGreg LukianoffWolfram SchultzThe Sacred Canopy, by Peter L. BergerEpictetusMarcus AureliusRelated Trinity Forum Readings:Brave New World, by Alduous HuxleyBulletins from Immortality: Poems by Emily DickinsonPilgrim at Tinker Creek, by Annie DillardPolitics and the English Language, by George OrwellThe Origins of Totalitarianism, by Hannah ArendtCity of God, by St. Augustine of HippoChildren of Light and Children of Darkness by Reinhold NiebuhrOn Happiness, by Thomas AquinasRelated Conversations:Rebuilding our Common Life with Yuval LevinThe Challenge of Christian Nationalism with Mark Noll and Vincent BacoteThe Decadent Society with Ross DouthatScience, Faith, Trust and Truth with Francis CollinsBeyond Ideology with Peter Kreeft and Eugene RiversJustice, Mercy, and Overcoming Racial Division with Claude Alexander and Mac PierHealing a Divided Culture with Arthur BrooksAfter Babel with Andy Crouch and Johnathan HaidtTrust, Truth, and The Knowledge Crisis with Bonnie KristianHope in an Age of Anxiety with Curtis Chang & Curt ThompsonTo listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to join the Trinity Forum Society and help...

The moral lens on our common life is a way to address our broken politics. Our politics is broken because we are an aimless people, unable to think and talk about meaning and purpose.

Send us a textToday on the podcast the guys sit down with JR Rosko to talk about the Order of the Common Life.Rev. Dr. J.R. Rozko is a seasoned pastor, educator, and missiologist dedicated to integrating theological formation with local church ministry. He holds a Doctorate in Missiology from Fuller Theological Seminary, focusing on missional ecclesiology.   He co-founded and served as National Director of Missio Alliance for over eight years.  Currently, he and his wife, Rev. Canon Amy Rozko, co-lead Common Life Church in Canton, Ohio, where J.R. serves as Pastor for Calling & Community Development.   J.R. is also a novitiate member of the Order of the Common Life, a global ecumenical religious order reimagining monastic formation in everyday life.  He, Amy, and their two daughters, Aubrey and Junia, reside in Canton, Ohio, where they are deeply involved in their local community and congregation. www.orderofthecommonlife.org

Could modern monasticism and its role in today's church revitalize your faith?   Host Curtis Chang welcomes pastor and modern-day monastic Jared Boyd to explore the transformative power of modern monasticism. Discover how ancient spiritual practices are being revived through the Order of Common Life to renew the Church, strengthen clergy integrity, and address challenges that have led many toward deconstruction. Learn how intentional community and contemplative rhythms can foster deep spiritual growth and vibrant faith—offering a vision for the future of church renewal through monastic traditions.   Resources mentioned in this episode: About St. Benedict of Nursia About St. Francis of Assisi Phyllis Tickle's Divine Hours Phyllis Tickle defines Fixed-hour prayer Book of Common Prayer (online version) Rule of St. Benedict (pdf) Ralph Winter (Ralph D. Winter Research Center) Mother Teresa's A Dark Spiritual Life and Love of The Poor More from Jared Boyd: Order of Common Life  Jared's website Jared's Instagram Jared Boyd's Finding Freedom in Constraint: Reimagining Spiritual Disciplines as a Communal Way of Life Jared Boyd's Imaginative Prayer: A Yearlong Guide for Your Child's Spiritual Formation Good Faith Live “Watch Party”: Russell Moore, David French, & Curtis Chang: Trump's First 100 Days   Follow Us: Good Faith on Instagram Good Faith on X (formerly Twitter) Good Faith on Facebook   Sign up: Redeeming Babel Newsletter

Separating words from their meanings is a tactic in the battle to erode the authority of goodness to constrain powerful people from acting badly.

Using our government's recent security breach on Signal and Jeffrey Goldberg's reporting on it as a point of departure, we help you understand the friend/enemy binary in our society.

WIGN Short Form helps you understand the moral dimensions of our common life, and why they are important.

This is January 26th's sermon by Gage Crowder answering 1) what is real community? 2) why do we need real community? and 3) what does real community look like? Community is one of TRC's primary distinctives because we believe that culture building relies on community building. Gage Crowder teaches literature and Bible at Providence Classical School in Huntsville, Alabama. In addition to his studies at Birmingham Theological Seminary, he is a contributing member of the Huntsville Literary Association and the Academy of Philosophy and Letters. His poetry and prose can be found in the The Legend, Poem Magazine, the Birmingham Arts Journal, Panoply and elsewhere. Trinity Reformed Church is a CREC church in Huntsville, AL. seeking to extend and unite the Kingdom in the Huntsville area. Check out our website, Facebook or YouTube!

If today was the last day of your life, do you think you'd have any regrets or before you died? No matter how wise, successful or accomplished you might be, chances are, you probably answered yes. Why? Well, because it's an inevitable part of life to fail and fall short at times. Fortunately for us, however, we don't always have to make the mistake to learn the lesson. We can always turn to the older and wiser generations who have come before us and reflect on what their personal experiences have taught them. With that said, here are the a few of the most common regrets people tend to have as they look back on their lives. We also made a video on the life lessons to learn before it's too late:    • 10 Life Lessons To Learn Before It's ...   Writer: Chloe Avenasa Script Editor: Vanessa Tao Script Manager: Kelly Soong Voice: Amanda Silvera    / amandasilvera   Animator: Korin Werlina YouTube Manager: Cindy Cheong

#BRN #Finance #1883 | Common Life Insurance Mistakes | Phillip Snyder, CLU, The Warner Companies | #Tunein: broadcastretirementnetwork.com | #Independent. #GetTheFullStory. #JustTheFacts. #Everyday. #AllInOnePlace.

St. Paul, and Jesus, Tell Us We All Have A Common Life That We Are All Called to Live. What Does That Really Mean? As St. Paul writes to the Church, he answers a question that is normally asked of Church leaders. The question? Are you saved? St. Paul gives an answer to the Church in his writing. He doesn't answer, Yes, I am! He answers, Yes, WE are! Salvation in Jesus Christ is never merely personal or individual. Jesus doesn't save us individually, then bring us together. Rather, He saves us together. He unites us within salvation. St. Paul continues within his writing. The world divides itself over and against one another. St. Paul will have none of that division. What we have in common, St. Paul writes, is much more important than anything that might distinguish ourselves. Why? The Homily continues to explain St. Paul's message to the Church . . . and to us! We Have A Share in the Life of Jesus Christ St. Paul also writes that we all have a share in the life of Jesus Christ. He writes that we all have a common life that we are all called to live . . . not separately . . . but together. Hmmm! What does that really mean? The One Place In Scripture Jesus Describes His Mother Also in the Homily, we hear from the lips of Jesus the one place in scripture where He describes His mother! Listen to this Mediation Media. Listen to: St. Paul, and Jesus, Tell Us We All Have A Common Life That We Are All Called to Live. What Does That Really Mean? -------------------------------- Image: Saint Paul Writing His Epistles: French Artist: Valentin de Boulogne:  1600s -------------------------------- Gospel Reading: Luke: 11: 27-28 First Reading: GAL 3: 22-29

The Challenge of Christian Nationalism with Mark Noll and Vincent BacoteAs the lines between faith, politics, and patriotism have become, in some quarters, increasingly blurred, it is increasingly important to understand the origin, ideas, and consequences of Christian Nationalism — what it means, why it matters, and how best to respond.“Responsible Christian patriots try to show how Christianity can be a service to the nation; extreme nationalists make Christianity a servant of the nation.” - Mark Noll“If you think about the cross: patriotism, rightly construed from a Christian point of view, will put the flag at the foot of the cross. Christian nationalism wants to drape the [flag] over them. So is God serving your country, the sponsor of your country, or are you, as a Christian, operating wherever you are and having loyalty, but not your primary loyalty to your country over God?” - Vincent BacoteWe hope you find this conversation insightful and helpful as you consider the state of our culture and shared political life, and your role in reviving responsible Christian patriotism.This podcast is an edited version of an Online Conversation recorded in June of 2021. You can access the full conversation with transcript here. Learn more about Mark Noll and Vincent Bacote.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind by Mark NollGod and Race in American Politics: A Short History, by Mark NollThe Civil War as Theological Crisis, by Mark NollIn the Beginning Was the Word: The Bible in American Public Life, by Mark NollThe Political Disciple, A Theology of Public Life, by Vincent BacoteReckoning with Race and Performing the Good News, by Vincent BacoteThe Spirit in Public Theology: Appropriating the legacy of Abraham Kuyper, by Vincent BacoteRelated Trinity Forum Readings:A Narrative of the Life of Frederick DouglassCity of God by St. Augustine of HippoChildren of Light and Children of Darkness by Reinhold NiebuhrLetter from a Birmingham Jail by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.Related Conversations:Rebuilding our Common Life with Yuval LevinThe Challenge of Christian Nationalism with Mark Noll and Vincent BacoteThe Decadent Society with Ross DouthatScience, Faith, Trust and Truth with Francis CollinsBeyond Ideology with Peter Kreeft and Eugene RiversJustice, Mercy, and Overcoming Racial Division with Claude Alexander and Mac PierHealing a Divided Culture with Arthur BrooksAfter Babel with Andy Crouch and Johnathan HaidtTrust, Truth, and The Knowledge Crisis with Bonnie KristianHope in an Age of Anxiety with Curtis Chang & Curt ThompsonTo listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to join the Trinity Forum Society and help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum SocietySpecial thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

Chaos, Common Life, and Christ (1 Samuel 1:1-20) | 090124 by One Ancient Hope Presbyterian Church

Introduction This Passage is a continuation of the ones before it. Remember the focus is offering ourselves up as living sacrifices. The believer's response to God's mercy is personal sacrifice that will strengthen life in the church as well as personal relationships. Sacrificing oneself to God is accomplished…

Lisa Bright is a gifted Master Splankna Practitioner and runs a successful spiritual direction practice called Bright Pathways. You can visit her website or schedule time with her by clicking HERE. Today we're unpacking the tricky word "trauma" and discussing just how normal it is to experience common trauma. Common traumas can be described as normal every day issues that we may not recognize are really effecting us overall or long term. We may also not connect a common trauma experienced in an earlier stage of life with a current symptom or issue we're suffering with. _____ Thank you for listening to The Energy to Heal Podcast where you're learning about Splankna, a method for inner-healing and freedom from emotional blocks. We encourage you to reach out and ask questions about Splankna and the work that each of us do. Please email us at bee@emboldenlabel.com and we will get in touch with you shortly. Bee & Laura both have individual platforms and conduct Splankna with individual clients related to those platforms. Please reach out for more information on what we both do individually and get in touch if you want to work with one of us. If you're interested in finding a Splankna practitioner near you, click HERE to select a practitioner from the Splankna website. If you are struggling in any way with your mental health or otherwise, we encourage you to seek professional help immediately. Splankna practitioners are trained in this specified modality and work with clients in either a therapeutic approach, ministry or coaching approach. Please make sure that your practitioner has the proper professional qualifications that you may be looking for. Disclaimer: This show highlights a variety of mental health struggles, negative emotional blocks and other sensitive topics. Please listen at your discretion.

How do we build communities of collaboration and care? Are our communities in the West in crisis? What are the “common objects of love” that we share, and how do we—average Christians who care—seek those out and build on them?We were delighted to talk with Jake Meador on some of these questions, which he touches on in his first book, In Search of the Common Good. Join us as we consider different angles on the practices we engage with that can change the imagination of our time.Jake Meador (jakemeador.com) is a writer, speaker, and editor from Lincoln, Nebraska. He writes about place, politics, culture, and the ways that Christian faith speaks to all of the various questions that those topics raise. He also wrote a thesis on Kwame Nkrumah, a mid-20th century Ghanaian politician. He's the author of two books, In Search of the Common Good: Christian Fidelity in a Fractured World and What Are Christians For?: Life Together at the End of the World. He serves as the editor-in-chief at Mere Orthodoxy (mereorthodoxy.com), a contributing editor with Plough magazine, and a board member with the Davenant Institute.Timestamps(02:23) A crisis of common life(10:21) Example: Declining birth rates as a social problem(19:07) Practical recs: asking for help, offering home(29:04) The historical church on property rights(34:16) Practices for communities: caught, not taught(38:22) Roots we don't choose(44:23) Identity is particular; Christianity is still bigger(47:31) Who's on the land, who's good for the land?(01:03:48) OK but we gotta talk about Kwame Nkrumah. Wild.Links and References in This EpisodeYa'll. Jake is a well-read man. We got a long list of books for your perusing pleasure (and easier searching).* Strangers in a Strange Land: Living the Catholic Faith in a Post-Christian World, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput (2017)* The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation, Rod Dreher (2017)* Resurrecting the Idea of Christian Society, R. R. Reno (2016)* The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America, George Packer (2014)* Out of the Ashes: Rebuilding American Culture, Anthony Esolen (2017)* Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, Robert Putnam (2000)* Nancy Pearcey (author)* Kirkpatrick Sale (author)* Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West, Andrew Wilson (2023)* Wendell Berry (author)—I don't even know what to tell you, he's written a lot.* Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution, Carl Trueman (2020)* Why Marx Was Right, Terry Eagleton (2018)* An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (2015)* Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, Robin Wall Kimmerer (2015* Pope Francis on a “throwaway” society (article link)* John Paul II on a “culture of death” (Evangelium Vitae (1995))* The Cold War and the Color Line: American Race Relations in the Global Arena, Thomas Borstelmann (2003)—And here are some additional resources or terms mentioned in this episode, not a resource, exactly, but it might make this conversation searchable/accessible to global listeners:L'Abri is a “Christian residential study center ministry”Several theologians, church fathers, and theorists talked about property rights: John Calvin, St. Basil of Caesarea in Cappadocia, John Locke, and Emil Brunner on “the inner infinity of God's law”.If you like this podcast, please consider…→ Sharing feedback or questions! www.podpage.com/communion-shalom/contact→ Supporting us on Patreon! patreon.com/communionandshalom→ Following us on Instagram! @communionandshalom—CreditsCreators and Hosts: David Frank, TJ EspinozaAudio Engineer: Carl Swenson (www.carlswensonmusic.com)Podcast Manager: Elena This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communionshalom.substack.com

How do we draw people together in deeper and more meaningful ways that provides space for their questions and encourages them to flourish in their faith? In this week's conversation on FrontStage BackStage, host Jason Daye is joined by Jared Patrick Boyd. Jared is a pastor, a spiritual director, and the founding director of The Order of The Common Life. His most recent book is entitled Finding Freedom in Constraint. Together, Jared and Jason explore the hope we find in the midst of the strains the church is currently experiencing, including people walking away. Jared highlights the value of spiritual formation in community as a vital and beautiful way for relationships to deepen and endure.Dig deeper into this conversation: Find the free Weekly Toolkit, including the Ministry Leaders Growth Guide, all resource links, and more, at http://PastorServe.org/networkSome key takeaways from this conversation:Jared Patrick Boyd on the importance of openness and communication in addressing and resolving spiritual struggles: "If I have my entire spiritual life kind of privatized I never have to talk about what isn't working for me."Jared Patrick Boyd on the significance of personal development and self-awareness for those in leadership and pastoral roles: "As leaders and pastors, we have to dig really deep wells in our own lives."Jared Patrick Boyd on the acceptance and humility in allowing God's help in addressing significant challenges: "Let God do the deep, deep work that needs to be done."----------------Looking to dig more deeply into this topic and conversation? FrontStage BackStage is much more than another church leadership show, it is a complete resource to help you and your ministry leaders grow. Every week we go the extra mile and create a free toolkit so you and your ministry team can dive deeper into the topic that is discussed.Visit http://PastorServe.org/network to find the Weekly Toolkit, including the Ministry Leaders Growth Guide. Our team pulls key insights and quotes from every conversation with our guests. We also create engaging questions for you and your team to consider and process, providing space for you to reflect on how each episode's topic relates to your unique church context. Use these questions in your staff meetings, or other settings, to guide your conversation as you invest in the growth of your ministry leaders. Love well, live well, & lead well Complimentary Coaching Session for Pastors http://PastorServe.org/freesession Follow PastorServe LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | FacebookConnect with Jason Daye LinkedIn | Instagram...

Send us a Text Message.In this episode of History Fix I speak with Sue Burns about her book "A Common Life: A Voice From the Progressive Era." When Sue's great great grandmother's 100 year old diary was discovered disintegrating in an attic, she went to great lengths to help her mother preserve it. Then she took it even further, researching the historical context in which Mary Anne Mosher Briggs lived and transforming her life story into a book. Join me for a peek into Mary's life to discover how even the most "common lives" can be extraordinary.  Get "A Common Life: A Voice From the Progressive Era" on AmazonSupport the show! Buy Me a CoffeeVenmo @Shea-LaFountaine

Jared Patrick Boyd is a pastor, spiritual director, and founding director of the Order of the Common Life, a missional monastic order reimagining religious vocations for the twenty-first century. He and his wife have four daughters and live in Columbus, Ohio. On this episode of the podcast, Jared and I discuss his latest book, Finding Freedom in Constraint: Reimagining Spiritual Disciplines as a Communal Way of Life.  As we discuss his book, we talk through the ways spiritual disciplines can be practiced in community. We consider how the beatitudes can be practically applied to help us know ourselves better and walk in deeper relationship with Christ. Jared also offers some practical tips on how you can begin to live more intentionally in community and suggests that the first step in a deeper spiritual growth may be a commitment to silence and solitude. If you are looking for way to grow in your relationship with the Lord or if you have ever wondered how ancient monastic principles could be lived out in modern life, this podcast is a great place to start. Subscribe to The Ordinary Christian Podcast

Hello, my friend. Welcome back to The Encouraging Word Podcast. It's good to be with you. We're starting a new series today that I hope encourages you, especially if you find yourself searching for purpose or trying to discern God's will for your life. Whether you're deciding what to study after high school or determining how to spend your days in retirement, or anywhere in between, you are uniquely designed to live a life that expands the kingdom and brings glory to God.

This week on the Max Lucado Encouraging Word Podcast, we are starting a new series that I hope encourages you. Especially if you find yourself searching for purpose or trying to discern God's will for your life. Whether you are deciding what to study after high school or determining how to spend your days in retirement, or anywhere in between, you are uniquely designed to live a life that expands the kingdom and brings glory to God.

In the 1440s a goldsmith from Mainz called Johannes Gutenberg developed a movable type printing press which catalysed the European printing revolution. It heralded a technological leap in communication tools which had far reaching consequences for the societies of the Low Countries, particularly in urban centres where print shops were established. A large market for books already existed in the Low Countries, in no small part because of the existence of Common Life schools and subsequent high rates of general literacy. With the copying and widespread distribution of texts becoming so much quicker and easier, other fields of work began to shift and develop, as different skills and networks were needed to smoothly bring content to the public. In this episode we are going to first take a look at what a 15th century printing workshop might have been like, before meeting some of the pioneers who would pull the printing presses and perfect the processes pertaining to the profitable publication of pamphlets, prayer books and other pre-16th century paper imprinted particularities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learning in Wartime with Lewis and Tolkien and Joe LaconteTrinity Forum Senior Fellow Joe Loconte joins our podcast to discuss the friendship and legacy of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. He highlights how their wartime experiences, and their subsequent refusal to become disillusioned and disenchanted in the aftermath of World War I allowed for some of the greatest works of literature in modern history.In the moral and cultural tumult of the inter-war years, their example of resilience and imagination is inspiring. As Joe Loconte shared, they were using their art to actively resist the totalizing and dehumanizing ideologies that were ascendent in their day:And it's just no coincidence. They are deliberately pushing back, I think, in a way that, that some biographers have not maybe fully appreciated. They are pushing back in their writings against the totalitarian impulse and trying to defend the role of the individual, the choices that individuals have to make.Joe Loconte reminds us of the surprising return of hope for those who look up—as Samwise Gamgee says in the Lord of the Rings,” In the end the shadow was only a small and passing thing. There was light and high beauty forever beyond its reach.”This podcast is an edited version of an online conversation recorded in 2020. Watch the full video of the conversation here, and learn more about Joe Loconte here.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:C.S. LewisJ.R.R. TolkienThe Searchers: A Quest for Faith in the Valley of Doubt, by Joe LoconteThe End of Illusions: Religious Leaders Confront Hitler's Gathering Storm, by Joe LoconteGod, Locke, and Liberty: The Struggle for Religious Freedom in the West, by Joe LoconteA Hobbit, A Wardrobe, and A Great War, by Joe LoconteMere Christianity, by C.S. LewisJohn LockeLord of the Rings, by J.R.R. TolkienF. Scott FitzgeraldErnest HemingwayErich Maria RemarqueThe Wasteland, by T. S. EliotThe Inner Ring, by C.S. LewisOwen BarfieldHugo DysonPhantastes, by George MacDonaldThe Four Loves, by C.S. LewisRelated Trinity Forum Readings:A Time to Stand, by Helmuth James von MoltkeBrave New World, by Aldous HuxleyChildren of Light and Children of Darkness, by Reinhold NiebuhrThe Golden Key, by George MacDonaldRelated Conversations:Rebuilding our Common Life with Yuval LevinThe Challenge of Christian Nationalism with Mark Noll and Vincent BacoteThe Decadent Society with Ross DouthatScience, Faith, Trust and Truth with Francis CollinsBeyond Ideology with Peter Kreeft and Eugene RiversJustice, Mercy, and Overcoming Racial Division with Claude Alexander and Mac PierHealing a Divided Culture with Arthur BrooksAfter Babel with Andy Crouch and Johnathan HaidtTrust, Truth, and The Knowledge Crisis with Bonnie KristianHope in an Age of Anxiety with Curtis Chang & Curt ThompsonAdvent: the Season of Hope with Tish Harrison WarrenCaroling Christmas and Christian Formation with Keith GettyTo listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to join the Trinity Forum Society and help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum SocietySpecial thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

We are in an anxious age. By some estimates, a third of all Americans will struggle with anxiety in their lives, and nearly 20% currently suffer from an anxiety disorder. For those suffering the mental distortions of anxiety, life can be difficult, and hope elusive. And for many Christians who have tried and failed to stop their slide into fear and worry by simply “laying down their burdens,” they may feel an added sense of spiritual failure as well.We're joined on our podcast by psychiatrist Curt Thopmson and theologian Curtis Chang who help us explore a counterintuitive approach to understanding our anxiety:I believe the Bible and Jesus's own life invites us to treat [anxiety] not as a problem to make go away, but precisely as a signal. A signal, an invitation, what I call an opportunity, an invitation to walk through anxiety, to actually experience it in the way that actually we were designed to by God for spiritual growth in Jesus, where we actually meet Jesus more deeply, precisely in our anxiety.It's not that we have to make anxiety go away, and then finally, then we're like qualified to somehow be with Jesus. It's that actually in our experience of anxiety, that's where we encounter Jesus most deeply and encounter the truths about ourselves most deeply.This podcast is an edited version of an online conversation recorded in 2023. Watch the full video of the conversation here. Learn more about Curt Thopmson and Curtis Chang.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:The Anxiety Opportunity: How Worry is the Doorway to Your Best Self, by Curtis ChangThe Age of Anxiety, by W.H. AudenThe Anatomy of the Soul, The Soul of Shame, The Soul of Desire, by Curt ThompsonJonathan HaidtRichard SchwartzRelated Trinity Forum Readings:Man's Search for Meaning, by Viktor FranklWrestling with God, by Simone WeilAugustine's ConfessionsBrave New World, by Aldous HuxleyThe Long Loneliness, by Dorothy DayRelated Conversations:Rebuilding our Common Life with Yuval LevinThe Challenge of Christian Nationalism with Mark Noll and Vincent BacoteThe Decadent Society with Ross DouthatScience, Faith, Trust and Truth with Francis CollinsBeyond Ideology with Peter Kreeft and Eugene RiversJustice, Mercy, and Overcoming Racial Division with Claude Alexander and Mac PierHealing a Divided Culture with Arthur BrooksAfter Babel with Andy Crouch and Johnathan HaidtHow to Know a Person with David BrooksTrust, Truth, and The Knowledge Crisis with Bonnie KristianHope in an Age of Anxiety with Curtis Chang & Curt ThompsonTo listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to join the Trinity Forum Society and help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum SocietySpecial thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

During Advent and Christmastide–and at all times–how can we understand and fully experience the formative power of music? And amid distraction and anxiety, how can we keep Christ at the center of our hearts as we sing?As Keith Getty explains, Christmas carols are not only about festivity, but also formation. For all of the delight they bring, they stand as musical masterpieces that teach deep truths, embed them within our memory and consciousness, unite a disparate people in praise, and cultivate and orient our sense of joy:“We're fearfully and wonderfully made. We remember tunes and we forget sermons, not because we're bad people, but it's because of how God made us. The carols are special because repetition is a form of liturgy. And each Christmas, the liturgy of singing provides such an opportunity for us.” - Keith GettyThis podcast is an edited version of an online conversation recorded earlier this month. Watch the full video of the conversation here, and learn more about Keith Getty here.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:Sing! How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church, by Keith and Kristen GettyJohn LennoxWinston ChurchillCharles WesleyFelix MendelssohnJeremy BegbieAlistair BeggIsaac WattsJohn CalvinKeith Getty is an extraordinary hymn writer, musician, and catalyst for the modern hymn movement. He joined us for a special Trinity Forum Online Conversation to explore music, formation, and beauty which we're pleased to bring you now as a special podcast during this season of Advent.This podcast is an edited version of an online conversation recorded earlier this month. Watch the full video of the conversation here, and learn more about Keith Getty here.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:Sing! How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church, by Keith and Kristen GettyRelated Trinity Forum Readings:Bright Evening Star, by Madeleine L'EngleWhy God Became Man, by Anselm of CanterburyPilgrim at Tinker Creek, by Annie DillardThe Strangest Story in the World, by G.K. ChestertonHandel's Messiah Related Conversations:Rebuilding our Common Life with Yuval LevinThe Challenge of Christian Nationalism with Mark Noll and Vincent BacoteThe Decadent Society with Ross DouthatScience, Faith, Trust and Truth with Francis CollinsBeyond Ideology with Peter Kreeft and Eugene RiversJustice, Mercy, and Overcoming Racial Division with Claude Alexander and Mac PierHealing a Divided Culture with Arthur BrooksAfter Babel with Andy Crouch and Johnathan HaidtTrust, Truth, and The Knowledge Crisis with Bonnie KristianHope in an Age of Anxiety with Curtis Chang & Curt ThompsonAdvent: the Season of Hope with Tish Harrison WarrenTo listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to join the Trinity Forum Society and help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum SocietySpecial thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

The season of Advent calls us to remember the incarnation of Christ into our world while anticipating his future return. Yet what does Advent have to tell us about our present “now and not yet” moment?In her new book Advent: The Season of Hope, priest, author, and Trinity Forum Senior Fellow Tish Harrison Warren draws our attention towards the ways the church reflects and represents the incarnation of Christ, and how our waiting can be transformed from drudgery to joy by the object of our hope:The only way that waiting can be transformed to this thing that is full of joy, that has anticipation, that is hopeful and not just drudgery or sorrow is if the character of the one we are waiting for, or who is asking us to wait in this case, is trustworthy, and if what we're waiting for is worth the wait. - Tish Harrison WarrenThis podcast is an edited version of an online conversation recorded in December of 2023. Watch the full video of the conversation here. Learn more about Tish Harrison Warren.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:Liturgy of the Ordinary, by Tish Harrison WarrenPrayer In the Night, by Tish Harrison WarrenAdvent: The Season of Hope, by Tish Harrison WarrenReceiving the Day, by Dorothy BassRelated Trinity Forum Readings:Bright Evening Star, by Madeleine L'EngleWhy God Became Man, by Anselm of CanterburyPilgrim at Tinker Creek, by Annie DillardThe Strangest Story in the World, by G.K. ChestertonHandel's Messiah Related Conversations:Rebuilding our Common Life with Yuval LevinThe Challenge of Christian Nationalism with Mark Noll and Vincent BacoteThe Decadent Society with Ross DouthatScience, Faith, Trust and Truth with Francis CollinsBeyond Ideology with Peter Kreeft and Eugene RiversJustice, Mercy, and Overcoming Racial Division with Claude Alexander and Mac PierHealing a Divided Culture with Arthur BrooksAfter Babel with Andy Crouch and Johnathan HaidtTrust, Truth, and The Knowledge Crisis with Bonnie KristianHope in an Age of Anxiety with Curtis Chang & Curt ThompsonTo listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to join the Trinity Forum Society and help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum SocietySpecial thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

You've almost made it to the end of the year and we're sure you've made some common, innocent mistakes that have cost you financially. Don't feel bad, we all do it. On this episode we are recounting true stories and sharing common life mistakes that eventually cost you big later down the road. Some of these might sound familiar, while others may be a cautionary tale that saves you--and your bank account--a major headache.

In a society where so many feel unseen and unknown, how do we become the kind of people who deeply see and know those around us? The conflict and division in our society demonstrate the need for people committed to pursuing human connection, even across lines of difference. What can we do – as individuals and in community – that will help us really understand the people in our lives?David Brooks, author of How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen, joined us to explore what it means to know others and to be known by them:When I ask people, tell me about a time you've been seen, they tell me with bright eyes and joy in their face, they tell me about time somebody totally got them. Because seeing someone, if I see potential in you, you'll see potential in yourself. If I beam my attention on you, you'll blossom. And so it's just super powerful to feel seen. But it's also powerful and fantastic to feel like you're the seer.This podcast is an edited version of an online conversation recorded in 2023. Watch the full video of the conversation here. Learn more about David Brooks.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:Bobos in Paradise, On Paradise Drive, The Social Animal, The Road to Character, The Second Mountain, and How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen, by David BrooksFrederick BuechnerIris MurdochDan McAdamsMónica GuzmánE. M. FosterJennie JeromeWilliam GladstoneBenjamin DisraeliHarry NyquistAndy CrouchMichael GersonMan's Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl Thornton WilderOprah WinfreyKate MurpheyRelated Trinity Forum Readings:Man's Search for Meaning, by Viktor FranklWrestling with God, by Simone WeilRelated Conversations:Rebuilding our Common Life with Yuval LevinThe Challenge of Christian Nationalism with Mark Noll and Vincent BacoteThe Decadent Society with Ross DouthatScience, Faith, Trust and Truth with Francis CollinsBeyond Ideology with Peter Kreeft and Eugene RiversJustice, Mercy, and Overcoming Racial Division with Claude Alexander and Mac PierHealing a Divided Culture with Arthur BrooksAfter Babel with Andy Crouch and Johnathan HaidtTrust, Truth, and The Knowledge Crisis with Bonnie KristianHope in an Age of Anxiety with Curtis Chang & Curt ThompsonTo listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to join the Trinity Forum Society and help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum SocietySpecial thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

We were made for relationship — to be seen, loved, known, and committed to others. And yet we increasingly find ourselves, in the words of sociologist Jonathan Haidt, “disoriented, unable to speak the same language or recognize the same truth. We are cut off from one another and from the past.”On our podcast Haidt and bestselling author Andy Crouch pair up to explore how the technology era has seduced us with a false vision of human flourishing—and how each of us can fight back, and restore true community:“A person is a heart, soul, mind, strength, complex designed for love. And one of the really damaging things about our technology is very little of our technology develops all four of those qualities.” - Andy CrouchWe hope you enjoy this conversation about the seismic effects technology has had on our personal relationships, civic institutions, and even democratic foundations — and how we might approach rethinking our technologies and reclaiming human connection.This podcast is an edited version of an online conversation recorded in 2022. Watch the full video of the conversation here. Learn more about Jonathan Haidt and Andy Crouch.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:The Happiness Hypothesis, by Jonathan HaidtThe Coddling of the American Mind, by Jonathan HaidtThe Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion, by Jonathan HaidtCulture Making, by Andy CrouchPlaying God, by Andy CrouchStrong and Weak, by Andy CrouchThe TechWise Family, by Andy CrouchMy TechWise Life, by Amy and Andy CrouchThe Life We're Looking For: Reclaiming Relationship in a Technological World, by Andy CrouchErnest HemingwayFrancis BaconHoward HotsonGreg LukianoffWolfram SchultzThe Sacred Canopy, by Peter L. BergerEpictetusMarcus AureliusRelated Trinity Forum Readings:Brave New World, by Alduous HuxleyBulletins from Immortality: Poems by Emily DickinsonPilgrim at Tinker Creek, by Annie DillardPolitics and the English Language, by George OrwellThe Origins of Totalitarianism, by Hannah ArendtCity of God, by St. Augustine of HippoChildren of Light and Children of Darkness by Reinhold NiebuhrOn Happiness, by Thomas AquinasRelated Conversations:Rebuilding our Common Life with Yuval LevinThe Challenge of Christian Nationalism with Mark Noll and Vincent BacoteThe Decadent Society with Ross DouthatScience, Faith, Trust and Truth with Francis CollinsBeyond Ideology with Peter Kreeft and Eugene RiversJustice, Mercy, and Overcoming Racial Division with Claude Alexander and Mac PierHealing a Divided Culture with Arthur BrooksAfter Babel with Andy Crouch and Johnathan HaidtTrust, Truth, and The Knowledge Crisis with Bonnie KristianHope in an Age of Anxiety with Curtis Chang & Curt ThompsonTo listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to join the Trinity Forum Society and help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum SocietySpecial thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

The question “How do I know what's true?” comes up with increasing frequency and urgency in our time of angry polarization, deliberately-stoked outrage, and earned distrust. There is money to be made and a growing market for the kind of misinformation that reinforces our views and confirms our preconceptions — as well as a large price to be paid:“We like to tell ourselves that we're consuming this political media because we're going to be good citizens and we're going to be well informed and have, you know, very rational opinions and all sorts of flattering things like that. But in practice, what our behavior suggests is that that's not actually why we're consuming this media.“We're consuming it because of how it affects us emotionally and how it makes us feel better about ourselves than other people. How it excites us, how it sort of inflames us.” Drawing on her experience as a journalist, Bonnie Kristian joined us in October 2022 to explore the sources that contribute to widespread confusion and conspiracy thinking. She offers insight into ways to combat misinformation and pursue truth in our own lives, families, and church communities, and we hope you'll find this conversation encouraging, and practical.This podcast is an edited version of an evening conversation recorded in 2022. Watch the full video of the conversation here. Learn more about Bonnie Kristian.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What it Means to Follow Jesus Today, by Bonnie KristianUntrustworthy: the Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community, by Bonnie KristianHannah ArendtN.T. WrightThomas AquinasRelated Trinity Forum Readings:The Origins of Totalitarianism, by Hannah ArendtCity of God, by St. Augustine of HippoChildren of Light and Children of Darkness by Reinhold NiebuhrBrave New World, by Aldous HuxleyOn Happiness, by Thomas AquinasRelated Conversations:Rebuilding our Common Life with Yuval LevinThe Challenge of Christian Nationalism with Mark Noll and Vincent BacoteThe Decadent Society with Ross DouthatScience, Faith, Trust and Truth with Francis CollinsBeyond Ideology with Peter Kreeft and Eugene RiversJustice, Mercy, and Overcoming Racial Division with Claude Alexander and Mac PierHealing a Divided Culture with Arthur BrooksAfter Babel with Andy Crouch and Johnathan HaidtTrust, Truth, and The Knowledge Crisis with Bonnie KristianHope in an Age of Anxiety with Curtis Chang & Curt ThompsonTo listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to join the Trinity Forum Society and help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum SocietySpecial thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

Healing a Divided Culture with Arthur BrooksIn his book, Love Your Enemies best-selling author, thought leader, and professor Arthur Brooks blends cutting-edge behavioral research and ancient wisdom to offer a better way to bridge divides and mend relationships.In March of 2022, The Trinity Forum hosted an Evening Conversation with Brooks to help us explore just how to love those we disagree with and be agents of redemption and reconciliation amidst a divisive time. Arthur unpacked several of the strategies necessary to overcome such cleavages and restore harmony, and the moral courage required:“We often hear today, in our culture of activism and anger, that real courage is standing up to the people with whom you disagree, sticking it to the people with whom you disagree publicly. That's moral courage.That's wrong. That is maybe a perfectly fine thing to do. You should stand up and say the things that you believe. But that's not moral courage.You know what moral courage is? My father taught me this as a kid. Moral courage is standing up for the people with whom you disagree. Standing up to the people with whom you agree on behalf of those with whom you disagree. That's moral courage”.- Arthur BrooksWe hope this conversation kindles in you a deeper affection for your neighbors, and a greater desire to see the divisions in our communities and our nation be healed.This podcast is an edited version of an evening conversation recorded in 2022. Watch the full video of the conversation here. Learn more about Arthur Brooks.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:Love your Enemies, by Arthur BrooksStrength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life, by Arthur BrooksArthur SchopenhauerJohn and Julie GottmanDalai LamaRelated Trinity Forum Readings:City of God by St. Augustine of HippoChildren of Light and Children of Darkness by Reinhold NiebuhrRelated Conversations:Rebuilding our Common Life with Yuval LevinThe Challenge of Christian Nationalism with Mark Noll and Vincent BacoteThe Decadent Society with Ross DouthatScience, Faith, Trust and Truth with Francis CollinsBeyond Ideology with Peter Kreeft and Eugene RiversJustice, Mercy, and Overcoming Racial Division with Claude Alexander and Mac PierHealing a Divided Culture with Arthur BrooksAfter Babel with Andy Crouch and Johnathan HaidtTrust, Truth, and The Knowledge Crisis with Bonnie KristianHope in an Age of Anxiety with Curtis Chang & Curt ThompsonTo listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to join the Trinity Forum Society and help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum SocietySpecial thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

Justice, Mercy, and Overcoming Racial Division with Claude Alexander and Mac PierA recent Gallup poll found that over 70% of Americans are both worried about and deeply dissatisfied with the racial tensions and divisions in the country. And yet when those numbers are broken down, you'll find that around a third of white Americans consider a race to be a significant problem in the country, compared to around three quarters of African Americans and nearly 60% of Latinos.Given these differences both in perception as well as the many differences of opinion that are embedded in it, how do we understand and live out the biblical mandate to love our neighbor? How do we learn to know and love our neighbor across difference?Dr. Mac Pier and Bishop Claude Alexander join our podcast to help us think deeply about our various spheres and stations and how through intention and vulnerability, we can begin to heal divides, overcome injustice, and create new places of mercy and flourishing:“It's really important for those of us that have had opportunities to really think about what is our role in making things right…and in God's commitment to that. And just as God met our need for justice on the cross, he invites us to meet the need for justice in community with one another.” - Mac PierWe hope this conversation inspires you to deepen your commitment to being an agent of reconciliation right where you are. Because as Dr. Pier shares, it's a “radically powerful thing when we become enveloped relationally and affectionately by people that are different from ourselves.”This podcast is an edited version of an online conversation recorded in November of 2021. Get a full transcript and watch a video of the conversation here. Learn more about Bishop Alexander and Dr. Pier.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:Required: God's Call to Justice, Mercy, and Humility to Overcome Racial Division, by Bishop Claude Alexander and Dr. Mac PierNecessary Christianity: What Jesus Shows We Must Be and Do, by Claude AlexanderA Disruptive Gospel: Stories and Strategies for Transforming Your City, by Mac PierA Disruptive Generosity: Stories of Transforming Cities through Strategic Giving, by Mac PierA Disruptive God: Encounter Psalm 23 and Discover God's Purpose For You, by Mac PierRelated Trinity Forum Readings:A Narrative of the Life of Frederick DouglassCity of God by St. Augustine of HippoChildren of Light and Children of Darkness by Reinhold NiebuhrLetter from a Birmingham Jail by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson MandelaRelated Conversations:Rebuilding our Common Life with Yuval LevinThe Challenge of Christian Nationalism with Mark Noll and Vincent BacoteThe Decadent Society with Ross DouthatScience, Faith, Trust and Truth with Francis CollinsBeyond Ideology with Peter Kreeft and Eugene RiversJustice, Mercy, and Overcoming Racial Division with Claude Alexander and Mac PierHealing a Divided Culture with Arthur BrooksAfter Babel with Andy Crouch and Johnathan HaidtTrust, Truth, and The Knowledge Crisis with Bonnie KristianHope in an Age of Anxiety with Curtis Chang & Curt ThompsonTo listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to join the Trinity Forum Society and help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum SocietySpecial thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

Megan Bendtzen is the CEO and Founder of TheDoctorofFun.com. A former Fortune 100 Work Zombie

What is ideology? What are the consequences of an era when seemingly every human issue is viewed through an ideological lens?In October of 2021, the Trinity Forum and Comment magazine partnered for an evening conversation to explore precisely these questions. Cherie Harder and Anne Snyder moderated a conversation with philosopher Peter Kreeft and Rev. Eugene Rivers to unpack the nature and implications of ideology's reign in our present culture — both what it's doing to our intellectual vitality as a society, but perhaps more urgently, what it's doing to our civic and organizational life across sectors and geography:“So from a Christian point of view, what's the most important and first thing we must do in order to save Western culture or Western civilization?...Well, I think the first answer is stop idolizing it. Stop making the salvation of Western civilization your summum bonum, your final end, and religion a means to it. Religion is not a means to politics.” - Peter KreeftThis wide ranging conversation takes on the spiritual dimensions of our ideological age, and centers our hope not in politics, but squarely in the love of God in Christ. Dr. Kreeft and Rev. Rivers call us back to the first things, asking us to look afresh at our political commitments, and to see the image of God in the face of our neighbor.This podcast is an edited version of an evening conversation recorded in 2021. Get a full transcript and watch a video of the conversation here. Learn more about Dr. Peter Kreeft and Rev. Eugene Rivers.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:Christianity for Modern Pagans, by Peter KreeftThree Philosophies of Life, by Peter KreeftSuma of the Suma, by Peter KreeftIf Einstein Had Been a Surfer, by Peter KreeftThe Philosophy of Jesus, by Peter KreeftDoors in the Walls of the World, by Peter KreeftSocratesElizabeth AnscombeThe Screwtape Letters, by C.S. LewisDonald WilliamsThe Dust of Death, by OS GuinnessFrantz FanonMartin Luther King, Jr.Abraham HeschelThe End of Ideology, by Daniel BellExodus and Revolution, by Michael WalzerFrancis SchaefferCarl F. HenryJames BoyceJohn J. DiIulioAchieving our Country, by Richard RortySt. AugustineBilly GrahamAleksandr SolzhenitsynRelated Trinity Forum Readings:A Narrative of the Life of Frederick DouglassCity of God by St. Augustine of HippoChildren of Light and Children of Darkness by Reinhold NiebuhrLetter from a Birmingham Jail by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.Brave New World, by Alduous HuxleyRelated Conversations:Rebuilding our Common Life with Yuval LevinThe Challenge of Christian Nationalism with Mark Noll and Vincent BacoteThe Decadent Society with Ross DouthatScience, Faith, Trust and Truth with Francis CollinsBeyond Ideology with Peter Kreeft and Eugene RiversJustice, Mercy, and Overcoming Racial Division with Claude Alexander and Mac PierHealing a Divided Culture with Arthur BrooksAfter Babel with Andy Crouch and Johnathan HaidtTrust, Truth, and The Knowledge Crisis with Bonnie KristianHope in an Age of Anxiety with Curtis Chang & Curt ThompsonTo listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to join the Trinity Forum Society and help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum SocietySpecial thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

Decadence isn't a word most of us use on a daily basis, and yet author and columnist Ross Douthat believes that it perfectly captures the state of a largely stagnant and sclerotic American culture.In his book, The Decadent Society, Douthat explores both the meaning of decadence and the trajectory that led us there. But in addition to diagnosing our state of cultural stagnation, he points with great hope toward societal renewal:“I think the escape from decadence is probably a dynamic thing where technology, politics, and religion are all sort of operating together, but it's hard to imagine it happening without a really strong religious element within it.” - Ross DouthatThis conversation is being released for the first time as part of our podcast series on the Challenges of Modernity, and we hope you'll both enjoy it and that it provokes you to consider those paths toward societal renewal that give Douthat hope.This podcast is an edited version of a conversation recorded in 2020. Learn more about Ross Douthat.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:The Decadent Society: How we Became Victims of our Own Success, by Ross DouthatFrom Dawn to Decadence: 1500 to the Present: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life, by Jacques BarzunHatchet, by Gary PaulsenSteven PinkerBrave New World, by Alduous HuxleyRobert GordonKarl MarxRod DreherRob BellJames PikePope FrancisPeter ThielMartin LutherIgnatius of LoyolaWatership Down by Richard AdamsThe Great Gatsby, F. Scott FitzgeraldRelated Trinity Forum Readings:A Narrative of the Life of Frederick DouglassCity of God by St. Augustine of HippoChildren of Light and Children of Darkness by Reinhold NiebuhrLetter from a Birmingham Jail by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.Brave New World, by Alduous HuxleyRelated Conversations:Rebuilding our Common Life with Yuval LevinThe Challenge of Christian Nationalism with Mark Noll and Vincent BacoteThe Decadent Society with Ross DouthatScience, Faith, Trust and Truth with Francis CollinsBeyond Ideology with Peter Kreeft and Eugene RiversJustice, Mercy, and Overcoming Racial Division with Claude Alexander and Mac PierHealing a Divided Culture with Arthur BrooksAfter Babel with Andy Crouch and Johnathan HaidtTrust, Truth, and The Knowledge Crisis with Bonnie KristianHope in an Age of Anxiety with Curtis Chang & Curt ThompsonTo listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to join the Trinity Forum Society and help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum SocietySpecial thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

Douglas E. Christie, Ph.D., is Professor of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University. He is author of The Word in the Desert: Scripture and the Quest for Early Christian Monasticism; The Blue Sapphire of the Mind: Notes for a Contemplative Ecology; and The Insurmountable Darkness of Love: Mysticism, Loss and the Common Life. He is the founding editor of the journal Spiritus and served as co-director of the Casa de la Mateada Program in Córdoba, Argentina from 2013-2015. Doug and I talk about why the poetic and apophatic theology of Hadejwich of Antwerp and Jan Van Ruusbroec might be important for our times, incarnational risk and AI, kindness as a spiritual practice and much more. Listen to Doug's first appearance on Contemplify here. Visit contemplify.com for the shownotes.