Podcasts about John Bunyan

Some of the greatest writings in history were written from prison—like Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail, John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, and Nelson Mandela's Autobiography. The Apostle Paul's letter to the Philippians is no different, but most people have never heard of it. Written from a Roman prison to a church he started in Philippi, Philippians is a short letter full of brilliant theology, no-nonsense wisdom, and tattoo-worthy one-liners that has sparked joy, resilience, humility, and more in the church ever since.

Some of the greatest writings in history were written from prison—like Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail, John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, and Nelson Mandela's Autobiography. The Apostle Paul's letter to the Philippians is no different, but most people have never heard of it. Written from a Roman prison to a church he started in Philippi, Philippians is a short letter full of brilliant theology, no-nonsense wisdom, and tattoo-worthy one-liners that has sparked joy, resilience, humility, and more in the church ever since.

What does it truly mean to walk the narrow way, and are we willing to follow Christ even when it leads through suffering? We are reminded through the life of John Bunyan that the narrow way begins with entering through Christ alone—the only gate of salvation—and continues as a daily walk of obedience, fixing our eyes on Him. Though Bunyan faced imprisonment and hardship for his faithfulness, we see that God used those very trials to draw him into deeper communion and to produce lasting fruit, even through writings that continue to lead many to Christ. In this, we learn that affliction is not wasted but becomes a place where God reveals His presence and purposes more fully. Therefore, we commit ourselves to walk the narrow way with perseverance, trusting that as we remain faithful in both ease and trial, God will use our lives—however simple—for His glory and for the eternal good of others.   

Some of the greatest writings in history were written from prison—like Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail, John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, and Nelson Mandela's Autobiography. The Apostle Paul's letter to the Philippians is no different, but most people have never heard of it. Written from a Roman prison to a church he started in Philippi, Philippians is a short letter full of brilliant theology, no-nonsense wisdom, and tattoo-worthy one-liners that has sparked joy, resilience, humility, and more in the church ever since.

John Bunyan spent 12 years of his life imprisoned for preaching without a license. It was during this period of confinement that he penned one of the most influential works in English literature, “The Pilgrim's Progress.” Join John Bradshaw on location in England and learn how Bunyan influenced generations with his vivid storytelling and deep theological insights, and the relevance his allegorical masterpiece still has for us today.

Righteousness Season 2, Episode 5 Gospel Vocabulary In this episode of GraceWalk Radio, Derek and Caleb explore the meaning of righteousness and why it is central to the gospel. They unpack the difference between imputed righteousness—the perfect righteousness of Christ credited to believers by faith—and imparted righteousness, which grows over time in the Christian life. Through stories from figures like Martin Luther and John Bunyan, they highlight how true freedom comes not from striving to be good, but from receiving Christ's finished work. The conversation ultimately points listeners to rest in the unchanging truth that in the gospel, Jesus Himself is our righteousness.Follow GraceWalk Radio on X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@gracewalkradio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Derek Levendusky is the Lead Pastor at Redeeming Hope in Clarksville, TN. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.redeeminghope.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Caleb Berg is one of the Pastors at GraceLife Church in Avon, NY. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.gracelifeavon.com

Some weeks the loneliest seat in the house is the one right next to your spouse. If you love Jesus and they don't (or they used to, and now it's complicated) this episode is for you.Whether your spouse is a non-believer or simply lukewarm in their faith, the conversation walks through six practical, hope-forward practices for staying steady... without slipping into bitterness, pride, or quiet compromise.In this episode:What "unequally yoked" really means — and why it can apply even when both of you say you're Christians (02:28)Why praying for your spouse and your own heart has to be a daily rhythm, not a one-time desperate ask (06:00)The micro-compromises that quietly erode your faith — and how to guard against them (07:13)How 1 Peter 3:1-2 reframes your everyday life as a witness without ever making you preachy (09:33)Why you need a few people in your corner who will tell you the hard truth in love (14:23)Taking ownership of discipling your kids when your spouse won't — the Eunice and Lois story (19:10)The danger of turning your spouse into an evangelism project and forgetting to actually love them (21:19)Resources & mentions: 1 Peter 3:1-2, 2 Timothy 1:5 (Eunice and Lois), Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis.If this episode encouraged you, share it with one couple who needs to know they're not the only ones. Subscribe so you don't miss next week's conversation, and leave a review to help more couples find One Degree Marriage.

Sole Liberty - Example of John Bunyan

Some of the greatest writings in history were written from prison—like Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail, John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, and Nelson Mandela's Autobiography. The Apostle Paul's letter to the Philippians is no different, but most people have never heard of it. Written from a Roman prison to a church he started in Philippi, Philippians is a short letter full of brilliant theology, no-nonsense wisdom, and tattoo-worthy one-liners that has sparked joy, resilience, humility, and more in the church ever since.

Join The Revd Canon Dr Alison Joyce, Rector of St Bride's, and St Bride's Choir for this week's reflection in words and music. This Sunday is the Sunday after Ascension when Jesus rose bodily into heaven. St Bride's Choir opens our reflection with the Gloria from the Ascension Mass by the finest of the Spanish Renaissance composers, Tomás Luis de Victoria. In our reading from Acts, Jesus tells the disciples of the power of the Holy Spirit which they will receive and that they must spread his word across the earth. "And when he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight." Alison reflects on the strange theological limbo of the Sunday after Ascension, when Christ has departed – having set the disciples their mighty task – but before they receive the empowering Holy Spirit which will enable them to carry out that task. We conclude with the Ascension hymn "The head that once was crowned with thorns" by the Irish priest, Thomas Kelly, sung to the tune St Magnus by Jeremiah Clarke (he of the famous trumpet tune). The hymn's opening lines owe much to John Bunyan's poem "One thing is needful". Information about our weekly Sunday services in St Bride's of Choral Eucharist at 11am (www.stbrides.com/worship-music/wo…horal-eucharist/) and Choral Evensong at 5:30pm (www.stbrides.com/worship-music/wo…choral-evensong/) can be found on the website. Find out what's happening at St Bride's at www.stbrides.com/whats-on If you enjoy listening, please leave a comment below or subscribe to our channel. It is great to get your feedback. SUPPORT ST BRIDE'S ================== We are hugely grateful for people's generosity which we wholly rely on to continue our work, maintain our wonderful architectural heritage and support world-class music-making. People are often surprised to learn that St Bride's receives no external funding. If you would like to make a donation, you can do so at www.justgiving.com/stbrideschurchfleetstreet

As this series progresses, John, Blaine, and Allen discuss ways to govern one's internal reality through the categories of thoughts, emotions, and loves. This episode focuses on our thoughts. How do we align our thought life with Jesus? What are the Circle of Interest and the Circle of Control—and which should we pursue most? And how can we curate the countless inputs vying for our attention?Show Notes: Enter the Ladder of Love October 2026 retreat lottery here. The books referenced are Atomic Habits by James Clear, The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen, and The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. The Thoughts, Words, and Deeds Examen by Valerie McIntyre can be found here. The Pause App is available here. Send your questions about this series to questions@WildatHeart.org.Keywords: Spiritual Warfare, Emotional Regulation, Prayer_______________________________________________There is more.Got a question you want answered on the podcast? Ask us at Questions@WildatHeart.orgSupport the mission or find more on our website:WildAtHeart.org  or on our app.Apple: Wild At Heart AppAndroid: Wild At Heart AppWatch on YouTubeThe stock music used in the Wild at Heart podcast is titled “When Laid to Rest” by Patrick Rundblad and available here.More pauses available in the One Minute Pause app for Apple iOS and Android.Apple: One Minute Pause AppAndroid: One Minute Pause App

Some of the greatest writings in history were written from prison—like Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail, John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, and Nelson Mandela's Autobiography. The Apostle Paul's letter to the Philippians is no different, but most people have never heard of it. Written from a Roman prison to a church he started in Philippi, Philippians is a short letter full of brilliant theology, no-nonsense wisdom, and tattoo-worthy one-liners that has sparked joy, resilience, humility, and more in the church ever since.

"Christmas Evans was helped by a few books written by four Johns. There was John Owen, his favorite author. There were John Bunyan and Jonathan Edwards. Finally, there was John Gill, who Evans so appreciated that he translated his commentary into Welsh." For more information, visit CBTSeminary.org

"Christmas Evans was helped by a few books written by four Johns. There was John Owen, his favorite author. There were John Bunyan and Jonathan Edwards. Finally, there was John Gill, who Evans so appreciated that he translated his commentary into Welsh."For more information, visit CBTSeminary.org

"Christmas Evans was helped by a few books written by four Johns. There was John Owen, his favorite author. There were John Bunyan and Jonathan Edwards. Finally, there was John Gill, who Evans so appreciated that he translated his commentary into Welsh." For more information, visit CBTSeminary.org

Some of the greatest writings in history were written from prison—like Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail, John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, and Nelson Mandela's Autobiography. The Apostle Paul's letter to the Philippians is no different, but most people have never heard of it. Written from a Roman prison to a church he started in Philippi, Philippians is a short letter full of brilliant theology, no-nonsense wisdom, and tattoo-worthy one-liners that has sparked joy, resilience, humility, and more in the church ever since.

Every believer is called to some form of ministry. But what do we do when that ministry is tough? Or requires us to engage people we wouldn't necessarily choose?“Dr. Andrew” – an Arab Christian – shares insights from his ministry to Muslims – a ministry he never imagined he would do. Learn how he, in faith, followed Christ into challenging ministry. And how you can do the same.If you are blessed by this encore podcast, please leave us a five-star rating. Also share the Christian Emergency Podcast with your friends and feel free to share on social media.To learn more about resources mentioned in this episode, see the following.What Every Christian Needs to Know about the Qur'an, by James R. White: https://www.christianbook.com/every-christian-needs-know-about-quran/james-white/9780764209765/pd/209765Answering Islam: The Crescent in Light of the Cross, by Norman L. Geisler and Abdul Saleeb: https://www.christianbook.com/answering-islam-crescent-light-the-cross/norman-geisler/9780801064302/pd/64303?en=bing-pla&event=SHOP&kw=academic-0-20%7C64303&p=1179517&dv=c&msclkid=675964e6b18319ccc60004c7eeaf21ad&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping%20Main&utm_term=4580702881405433&utm_content=s-all%20productsThe Qur'an: What Everyone Needs to Know, by Jane McAuliffe: https://www.christianbook.com/the-quran-what-everyone-needs-know/jane-mcauliffe/9780190867676/pd/867676?en=bing-pla&event=SHOP&kw=academic-0-20%7C867676&p=1179517&dv=c&msclkid=418e37fb09d0189cc0fc57da56138222&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping%20Main&utm_term=4580702881405433&utm_content=s-all%20productsPilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan: https://www.christianbook.com/pilgrims-progress-john-bunyan/9780802456540/pd/56548?event=ESRCGChristian Emergency Alliance: https://www.christianemergency.com/Follow the Christian Emergency Alliance on Twitter: @ChristianEmerg1Follow the Christian Emergency Alliance on Facebook: @ChristianEmergencyThe Christian Emergency Podcast is a production of the Christian Emergency Alliance.Soli Deo Gloria

“God stands nearest when pressure is greatest.” Jesus declared that his disciples would be his witnesses “to the ends of the earth.” Early Christians lived out this proclamation in powerful and palpable ways. Today we struggle to witness to those close to us, let alone to those at the ends of the earth. This series offers a glimpse into ways early Christians witnessed. Impacted? Let us know: Creekside.Me/Respond Miss a sermon in this series? Watch them all at Creekside.me/sermons

As we mentioned last week, Media Gratiae is currently producing a new study with Jeremy Walker. We're excited about this project and will share more details with you in the coming months. This week we bring you the final conversation between Jeremy Walker and Teddy James on the corporate prayer service. While last week's episode focused on preparing the heart for gathered prayer, this week turns to the practical side: How can a church begin a regular prayer service if it doesn't have one? And once it exists, how can we participate more faithfully—whether leading out or following along? We pray this episode equips and encourages you, your family, and your church as you approach the throne of grace together. Show Notes: The Corporate Prayer Service Sermons: Leading in Prayer: https://youtu.be/WjI_2I8O5Do Engage in Prayer: https://youtu.be/pLCHOFliU7Q Piercing Heaven - https://www.wtsbooks.com/products/piercing-heaven-prayers-of-the-puritans-9781683593348?variant=31497830793278 Valley of Vision - https://banneroftruth.org/us/store/devotional-books/the-valley-of-vision/ Prayer by John Bunyan - https://banneroftruth.org/us/store/christian-living/prayer-by-john-bunyan/ A Way to Pray (A Method of Prayer) by Matthew Henry - https://banneroftruth.org/us/store/christian-living/way-to-pray/ Want to listen to The Whole Counsel on the go? Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast app: https://www.mediagratiae.org/podcasts You can get The Whole Counsel a day early on the Media Gratiae App: https://subsplash.com/mediagratiae/app

In this episode, Champ Thronton talks about the life of the author of 'The Pilgrim's Progress.' Champ Thornton is the director of children and family resources at Crossway and the author of numerous books for kids and families. He is also the author of 'The Story of John Bunyan: The Prisoner Who Wrote Pilgrim's Progress' from Crossway. ❖ Listen to “How to Answer the Hard Questions Your Kids Ask About God" with Champ Thornton:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a review, which helps us spread the word about the show.

Episodio especial 001 - El Progreso del Peregrino de John Bunyan - Conmemoración del día mundial del Libro by CCRTV

This is part two of the conversation we began last time with Dan, Diana, and Adria from Called to Peace Ministries.  As some of you know, the namesake for this podcast is one Mr. Greatheart, a character from Part Two of John Bunyan's allegory Pilgrim's Progress. Mr. Greatheart is a guide, one charged with the responsibility of leading and protecting Christiana (the wife of Christian from Part One) and her children to the Celestial City. He is, that is, a pastor, and the fact that part of his charge was to protect Christiana is an apt truth to consider for this conversation. We want to fulfill that charge well. I'm grateful for these whose voices help us do that. We encourage you to also subscribe to our newsletter where, on third Mondays and at other times there may be additional content. You can do so here. You can help support this podcast by supporting us on Patreon. You can do so here. EPISODE NOTES Notes and resources relevant to this episode: EPISODE NOTES Notes and resources relevant to this episode: For an explanation of the name and intention of these occasional interviews, read this, or listen to it here or here. Called to Peace Ministries Protect the Flock Dan and Shannon Boeck, Rediscovering Christ: A Survivor’s Guide to the True Church Dan and Shannon Boeck, Domestic Abuse and the Dechurched: Are people abandoning the church or is the church abandoning its people? Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed Tyler Staton, Familiar Stranger: (Re)Introducing the Holy Spirit to Those in Search of an Experiential Spirituality C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity Timothy L. Sanford, I Have to Be Perfect When you buy a book using a link on this page, Greatheart's Table receives a commission. Thank you for supporting this work! Podcast music provided by Cool Hand Luke and used with permission.Intro: “Holy Vanguard” / LyricsOutro: “Wonder Tour” / Lyrics / Video To find our more about Greatheart's Table, visit us here.

In this episode, Travis and producer Eric take a lighter, conversational approach—reacting to famous quotes about money from pastors, theologians, and religious thinkers. The discussion explores the long-standing tension between wealth, faith, and morality, as they debate whether money is inherently dangerous, a tool for good, or simply a neutral resource that reflects the character of the person who holds it. Along the way, they unpack ideas from figures like Billy Graham, John Wesley, Norman Vincent Peale, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, John Bunyan, and G. K. Chesterton—agreeing with some, pushing back on others, and laughing at a few that feel wildly out of touch. The result is a candid conversation about whether money corrupts people, empowers them to do good, or simply amplifies who they already are. The difference between having money and being controlled by money Why some religious traditions view wealth with suspicion Whether wealth can actually increase your ability to do good in the world The rise of prosperity gospel thinking and why it's controversial Why some philosophical quotes sound profound but fall apart under scrutiny The idea that money itself isn't moral or immoral—people are 1. Money isn't inherently good or evil.Several quotes highlight the difference between possessing wealth and letting wealth possess you. The real issue is the character and priorities of the person handling the money. 2. Wealth can expand your ability to create impact.If used intentionally, having more financial resources can increase the scale of generosity, philanthropy, and positive change. 3. Ideas about money often reflect deeper beliefs about power, responsibility, and morality.Throughout history, thinkers and religious leaders have debated whether wealth leads to corruption or simply reveals a person's true values. “There is nothing wrong with men possessing riches. The wrong comes when riches possess men.” — Billy Graham “Earthly goods are given to be used, not to be collected. Hoarding is idolatry.” — Dietrich Bonhoeffer “He who bestows his goods upon the poor shall have as much again and ten times more.” — John Bunyan “The Bible tells us to love our neighbors and also our enemies—probably because they are generally the same people.” — G. K. Chesterton Connect with Travis Chappell:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/travischappell• Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/traviscchappell• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travischappell• Other: https://travischappell.comTravis Makes Money is made possible by High Level – the All-In-One Sales & Marketing Platform built for agencies, by an agency. Capture leads, nurture them, and close more deals—all from one powerful platform. Get an extended free trial at gohighlevel.com/travis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this powerful message from our Easter series, "The Power of the Cross," Pastor Ben Hays explores the profound depth of what Jesus endured on our behalf. Drawing from the prophetic words of Isaiah 53, we uncover five specific "weights" that Christ carried so that we no longer have to bear them ourselves.Using the classic imagery of John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, Pastor Ben illustrates how the heavy burdens of our past—guilt, shame, and sorrow—only fall away when we reach the foot of the cross. Whether you are feeling the sting of rejection or the heaviness of life's disappointments, this sermon offers a roadmap to the "imputed righteousness" that changes everything.

La victoria que ha vencido al mundo - 1 Juan 5:1-5. - Abraham Sanz ¿Alguna vez te has sentido abrumado por la duda sobre tu propia fe o el temor ante un futuro incierto? Este mensaje, basado en la primera carta del apóstol Juan, aborda una de las necesidades más profundas del corazón: la seguridad de la salvación. A través del testimonio de John Bunyan, se nos invita a reflexionar sobre la diferencia entre estar a salvo y vivir con la plena certeza de ello. En el mensaje de hoy encontrarás claves fundamentales para fortalecer tu caminar espiritual. En un tiempo de presiones externas y luchas internas, este mensaje es una invitación a dejar atrás el miedo y a correr la carrera cristiana con el vigor y el gozo que sólo produce saberse guardado por el poder del Todopoderoso. Te animamos a escuchar con atención para descubrir que tu victoria no depende de tus fuerzas, sino de la fidelidad de Aquel que te llamó. 1 Juan 5:1-5.

It's Wednesday, February 18th, A.D. 2026. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Jonathan Clark Iranian authorities killed 19 Christians Article 18 reports Iran's security forces have killed at least 19 Christians during recent anti-government protests. The Islamic Republic's security forces brutally cracked down on demonstrators, including Christians.  Believers already face persecution for participating in activities like prayer gatherings, baptisms, and Bible distribution. In December, five Christians received prison sentences totaling 50 years for such activities. Iran is ranked 10th on the Open Doors' World Watch List of the most oppressive countries to be a Christian.  Nuclear deal between America and Iran Speaking of Iran, the country sent representatives to meet with U.S. officials in Geneva, Switzerland yesterday. The two countries agreed to “guiding principles” for a potential nuclear deal. At the same time, the U.S. is conducting a military build-up in the region. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that striking a deal with Iran is difficult because of its commitment to radical Islam.  Secretary Rubio urged Europe to embrace Christian heritage Secretary Rubio addressed the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday.  He criticized Europe for embracing globalism, open borders, massive welfare states, and climate activism. Rubio said, “We in America have no interest in being polite and orderly caretakers of the West's managed decline.” Instead, he called for European countries to partner with the United States on the basis of their common heritage—Christianity. Listen. RUBIO: “America was founded 250 years ago, but the roots began here on this continent, long before the men who settled and built the nation of my birth arrived on our shores, carrying the memories and the traditions and the Christian faith of their ancestors as a sacred inheritance, an unbreakable link between the old world and the new. “We are part of one civilization, Western civilization. We are bound to one another by the deepest bonds that nations could share, forged by centuries of shared history, Christian faith, culture, heritage, language, ancestry and the sacrifices our forefathers made together for the common civilization to which we have fallen heir.” Jeremiah 6:16 says, “Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls.” Border Czar: We arrested 4,000 illegals & recovered 3,000 kids in MN In the United States, White House Border Czar Tom Homan announced the conclusion of Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota last week. Immigration enforcement officers are in the process of leaving the state after having made over 4,000 arrests since December. Homan noted that officers also recovered over 3,000 missing children. HOMAN: “I.C.E. is a legitimate federal law enforcement agency. We're not out scouring the streets to disappear people or deny people their civil rights or due process. In addition to taking public safety threats off the street, I.C.E., here in this state, have located 3,364 missing, unaccompanied alien children -- children the last administration lost and weren't even looking for.” Planned Parenthood closes Florida abortion mill Planned Parenthood announced Monday it will close one of its abortion mills in Florida.  The Lakeland, Florida killing center will fully close next month. This ends 50 years of the abortion giant's presence in the area.  Planned Parenthood locations have fallen from 567 in 2021 to 488 last month. However, Katherine Van Dyke with American Life League warned, “By shedding this ‘dead weight,' they're not retreating. They're regrouping to push the abortion pill regimen through virtual channels, streamlining abortion on demand.” 348th anniversary of Pilgrim's Progress And finally, this week is the 348th anniversary of the publication of John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. His first volume of the book was announced on February 18, 1678. Bunyan began the work from prison. He was sentenced for holding unsanctioned religious services. Despite suffering for his faith, he produced a Christian classic that would influence the church for centuries.  The 19th century English preacher Charles Spurgeon, who read Pilgrim's Progress 100 times, said of Bunyan, “Read anything of his, and you will see that it is almost like reading the Bible itself. He had read it till his very soul was saturated with Scripture; and though his writings are charmingly full of poetry, yet he cannot give us his Pilgrim's Progress—that sweetest of all prose poems—without continually making us feel and say, ‘Why, this man is a living Bible!'” Jeremiah 15:16 says, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your Word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O LORD, God of hosts.” Close And that's The Worldview on this Wednesday, February 18th, in the year of our Lord 2026. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

If your god is all-powerful, why does he need backup? Somewhere between “not against flesh and blood” and organized christian exorcism, the idea of spiritual warfare turned a metaphor about personal temptation turned into a full-blown cosmic battle plan — complete with the Armor of God from Ephesians 6!In this episode we trace how our old mate Paul's language about “principalities and powers” evolved into demon panic, virtue cosplay, holy war rhetoric, and modern evangelical spiritual warfare and culture war politics. From Origen's internal battle with sin to Bunyan's allegorical demon politics to 17th-century Catholic exorcism manuals, we unpack how spiritual warfare became a theological Swiss army knife — used to explain temptation, demon possession, dissent, minorities, skepticism, and culture war Christianity. When the enemy is invisible, it could be anyone.If this episode made you laugh, think, or quietly question reality, come join our little coalition of the reasonable at PATREON. Bonus content, early releases, and a community that prefers evidence over exorcism. Sauces: Ephesians 6, Origen's inner battles, Prudentius' virtue cosplay, a Vatican-approved exorcism handbook (1614), a Protestant demon engraving (1623), and John Bunyan naming his villains things like “Incredulity.” (Full sources available on request.) Email us!  satanismysuperhero@gmail.com  Send a textSupport the showWelcome, Sinners! We're building a cult — the good kind. No robes, just laughs. Catch every blasphemous episode: Listen Here Wear your heresy: Merch Store Support the pod & unlock Hoots songs: Patreon Your reviews, shares, and smart-ass comments keep the cult alive.

It is necessary for the orderly functioning of life for there to be those in authority to approve and oversee what is to be done.  This is essential for the proper functioning of life, but is it so in every case?  In particular, is it so with Christianity?  Jesus was the authority until he ascended to heaven.  Then the Apostles were given special Holy Spirit powers to exercise authority.   An outstanding example was the drama with Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5 v.1-11) who told lies to the Apostles, but Peter said, “You have not lied to men but to God.” [v.4]Our thoughts on this question arose from today's reading in Mark 11 where we read, “as he (Jesus) was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and elders came to him and they said to him, ‘By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” [v.27-28]  These men were the bosses, no one was supposed to teach unless they gave them authority, this is one reason why John the Baptist went into the wilderness to preach.    It was this exercise of authority that saw the disciples thrown into prison when they taught in the temple (Acts 4 v.1-3) although later, such was the prestige of the Apostles, created by their miracles, that dramatic scenes unfolded. (Acts 5 v.12,13,17-20), but “none of the rest dared join them.” History shows that as the early believers evolved into large established churches these churches too began to exercise an attitude of authority climaxing in the power of the Pope and the cardinal system. In the Middle Ages, if you were not appointment by church authorities to minister in a church, you had no authority to preach. Some, such as John Bunyan, were put in prison for doing so.But as we will read at the end of Mark's Gospel, Jesus said, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.  Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved …” [16 v.15,16]. That authority is given to everyone, so we all have the responsibility to share our faith. Paul challenges us when he expresses this responsibility in the bluntest terms, “Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel”  [1 Cor.9 v.16]  

Allegories. Christians love allegories! That’s a story element of having a person, place, or thing meant a a direct picture of something else, like Jesus or moral virtues. Some people think Jesus did this in parables, or C.S. Lewis did this with Narnia. Others point to Pilgrim's Progress as a prime example. Even if they're right about that, might some readers and authors focus so much on possible “allegories” that we miss great stories’ deeper meanings? Episode sponsors The Unraveling of Emlyn DuLaine by Lindsay A. Franklin The Case of the Heart Stone by Tulli Cole Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett Mission update New at Lorehaven: the Authorship has launched! Listen to last week's episode, or read the companion article. Also, join the Guild by Saturday, Jan. 31 for Stephen's livestream: How to Sell a Sci-Fi Novel in Just Twenty-Five Easy Years Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Quotes and notes Allegory is a form of literature in which material figures represent immaterial virtues or vices. So in Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, the character Timorous represents fear and Mr. Worldly Wiseman represents worldly wisdom. In our day, distinction of genres has been muddled a bit, so we tend to regard any story with symbolic elements in it as allegorical, but it was not always this way. C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, for instance, are not allegories, even as often as they are referred to as such, and Lewis himself said as much. The parables of Jesus could be said to contain allegorical elements, some more than others, but they are not strictly speaking themselves allegories. Jesus definitely deals in the world of virtues and vices, but he is most immediately interested in the world of human beings, their hearts, their words, and their deeds. “How Not to Read the Parables,” Jared C. Wilson The reason for the long history of the misinterpretation of the parables can be traced back to something Jesus himself said, as recorded in Mark 4:10–12. When asked about the purpose of parables, he seems to have suggested that they contained mysteries for those on the inside, while they hardened those on the outside. Because he then proceeded to “interpret” the parable of the sower in a semi-allegorical way, this was seen to give license to the hardening theory and endless allegorical interpretations. The parables were considered to be simple stories for those on the outside to whom the “real meanings,” the “mysteries,” were hidden; these belonged only to the church and could be uncovered by means of allegory. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart 1. Jesus's parables aren't just allegories Sometimes the Lord interpreted His tales this way. For example, He says the seed is like His word and different soils are like different hearers (see Mark 4:13–20; Matthew 13:18–23; Luke 8:11–15). But we may miss His main point if seek out the Secret Allegories. No less top church fathers seem to have started this trend. Famously he read many allegories into the Good Samaritan tale. But the central point is to answer, “Who is my neighbor?” At other times He simply said, “The kingdom of heaven is like…” Meaning the whole parable says something about His kingdom. What follows might be a prophecy of doom in the end times. Or it might be an illustration of human behavior fit for His reign. His parable may be about groups, individuals, morals, or salvation! In either case, “he who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 2. Pilgrim's Progress is allegory; Narnia is not Many readers fondly remember John Bunyan's classic quest tale. The allegories start simple but accessible, especially for Puritans. “Christian” is a Christian. “Evangelist” is. Apollyon is just a demon! Then as we've previously explored, the allegories get complicated. God, angels, the Bible, and Heaven are literal. So are good and evil. At one point Moses himself cameos as a Law-enforcing antihero! Altogether, Bunyan is both less and more creative than we thought. However, we needn’t impose our view of Progress For instance, many Christians learned to like Narnia by accepting the common belief that Lewis put “allegories” into his fantasy tale. Stephen recalls one article around the movie release in 2005. The writer meant well, but made up all kinds of silly “allegories.” He believed the Pevensies are apostles and weapons are prayer. Lewis himself specifically says outright that he did not do this. Aslan isn't an “allegory” for Jesus. He is Jesus, working his good will in many worlds across a fantastical barely glimpsed multiverse. One's view of “allegory” shouldn't overturn clearly stated words. Otherwise we'd all end up reading our own ideas into the Bible too! 3. Forced allegories may ruin some stories Frankly, forcing allegories into stories risks rejecting their real truth. With limited allegories, Jesus made sure His parables carry layers. With mixed/complex allegories, Pilgrim's Progress has aged well! By avoiding direct allegories, Narnia can be subtle yet also overt. And for new Christian-made fantasy, we can expect the same. Kids and grown-ups can lose themselves in the story, not pulling it apart for useful parts, but being surprised by deeper meanings. History shows this is a far more powerful way to read stories. Instead of making them into Teaching Tools, as if stuff we make up could replace God's word, stories help us see our own responses. This is a far more human emphasis closer to imagination's purpose. And for new writers out there, we encourage going deeper. Allegories look like ultimate meaning, but they're really 101 level. Example: any sword may evoke Ephesians 6. But it's first a sword. You don't have to limit this idea to the word of God or even prayer. Swords have more resonance in Scripture than just one text. They're tools of men and angels alike to defeat or restrain evil. So don't reduce the concrete object to some spiritual abstract. Really this comes down to how we see the world. Do we expect a bodiless “spiritoid” eternity? Or one where matter itself matters? Scripture promises a union of tangible New Earth and New Heaven. Ultimately our stories must hearken to this reality. So study deep! Com station Top question for listeners How do you look for deeper meanings in the Bible and stories? Next on Fantastical Truth Next week is Groundhog Day, and we've already seen this story: Your favorite Christian author, who usually talks about book updates and inspirational life anecdotes, is suddenly posting about controversial political stuff. Should readers impose “no politics! no religion!” rules on story creators who feel strongly about a topic? Or might we expect more from authors posting or not posting hot takes?

Episode 26 of the follow podcast is a bit of a microcosm - a conversation with some friends about what life looks like together. It's so great to have Daniel Leung back on the podcast - this time with his partner, Maki Nishikaze. They've spent 15 years learning what it's like to live life with others invited to the table. A great opportunity to be inspired towards it for each of us in our own way. Season #6: Follow Fresh - Following along with the OneChurch.to teaching series "new." in January 2026 - we're learning new ways to pray, to rest, to do community and to give. These conversations are jumping off into more personal or deep ways of exploring the same ideas. *Stuff We Mentioned* [or wished we did] - Follow Wednesdays: https://1church.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/3187098 - The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pilgrim%27s_Progress - Alpha: https://onechurch.to/alpha/ - Prayer by Timothy Keller: https://timothykeller.com/books/prayer - Inductive Bible Study: https://biblestudy.tips/inductive-bible-study/ - Proxemics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxemics ----- The Follow Podcast is an honest and open conversation for anyone actively learning to live like Jesus. Check out the related weekend teaching, "A New Way to Belong": https://youtu.be/7gxXB61BXiE Submit your own question for the follow podcast here: https://onechurch.to/followpodcast ----- Chapters: 0:00 Intro 3:10 Normalizing Hospitality 7:50 Community On Purpose 17:40 Changed by Other People 30:12 How to Get Started in Community 38:23 Getting Past Hurt From Community 44:46 Being Ok With Community Theology 47:36 Creating A Culture of Safety 52:17 Getting Practical About Physical Spaces 55:17 Creating Community Outside Your Home 59:11 A Very Enriching Way to Live your Life

The latest part in our Pilgrim's Progress series.Minor updating has been done to make this recording more understandable.If you'd like to delve deeper into the lessons of this episode, check out the following resources (affil links):The Pilgrim's Progress Old English: https://amzn.to/4j1j3XgThe Pilgrim's Progress Modern English: https://amzn.to/3W3SNlvLittle Pilgrim's Big Journey: https://amzn.to/41YDs9GSupport our mission:▪️ Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/wanderingpilgrims▪️ Patreon: patreon.com/TheWanderingPilgrims▪️ Shop: teespring.com/stores/the-wandering-pilgrims▪️ Our Website: www.thewanderingpilgrims.comConnect with us for more insights and updates:▪️ Instagram: instagram.com/thewanderingpilgrims▪️ Facebook: facebook.com/The-Wandering-Pilgrims▪️ YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCbvMuDo9dpaQ0Bu71lRRiQw▪️ Twitter: @WanderPilgrims▪️ Truth Social: @wanderingpilgrims

Episode 171: The Story of John Bunyan (a special episode for Ezra Scholtz) Don't forget to follow along at angelaodell.com! 

Welcome back to another episode of the unSeminary podcast. We're talking with Andrew Hopper, Lead Pastor of Mercy Hill Church in North Carolina. Planted in 2012 with just 30 people, Mercy Hill has grown into a multi-campus, fast-growing church known for its gospel clarity and sending culture. In this conversation, Andrew shares why adoption and foster care have become central expressions of Mercy Hill's mission—and how those practices flow directly out of the gospel. He also unpacks the heart behind his book, Chosen: Building Your Family the Way God Builds His. Is your church unsure how to engage big social needs without drifting from the gospel? Are you looking for a way to mobilize people beyond church walls while keeping discipleship front and center? Andrew offers a clear framework for doing both. Doing good as a sign of the kingdom. // Andrew addresses a common tension churches feel between community engagement and disciple-making. Mercy Hill refuses to treat these as competing priorities. Acts of service—whether foster care, adoption, or family restoration—are not the kingdom itself but signposts pointing to it. Meeting tangible needs creates openings for gospel conversations. These ministries don't replace evangelism; they amplify it by demonstrating the heart of God in visible ways. A church’s collective heartbeat. // Mercy Hill's deep involvement in adoption, foster care, and family restoration didn't start as a top-down strategy but emerged organically from the gifts and passions within the church. Many leaders and members have adopted children themselves, shaping the church's collective heartbeat. Rather than attempting to address every social issue, Mercy Hill chose to focus deeply on a few—believing churches are most effective when they lean into the specific good works God has prepared for them. This focus has mobilized hundreds of families and created a powerful witness in their community. Rope-holding and shared responsibility. // Not everyone is called to adopt or foster, but everyone can hold the rope. Drawing from the William Carey analogy, Mercy Hill equips members to support families on the front lines through prayer, childcare, meals, financial help, and presence. Over time, they've learned that rope-holding works best when built on existing relationships rather than formal assignments. The goal is to ensure no family fights alone in what Andrew describes as intense spiritual warfare. Big vision with baby steps. // Mercy Hill isn't afraid to cast a bold vision—whether for global missions, adoption, or church planting—but they pair that vision with accessible next steps. Prayer nights, giving opportunities, short-term service, and relational support allow people to grow into greater obedience over time. High challenge without guilt creates healthy discipleship. Why Andrew wrote Chosen. // Andrew wrote Chosen: Building Your Family the Way God Builds His not to promote a program, but to give churches a theological foundation for engaging adoption and foster care. The book weaves together Andrew's family story, Mercy Hill's journey, and a deeply gospel-centered motivation rooted in Scripture. Designed to be used individually or in groups, Chosen includes discussion questions and practical guidance for churches or small groups wanting to explore this calling in community. Andrew's prayer is that the book would catalyze thousands of Christian families to participate meaningfully in caring for vulnerable children and families. Gospel-driven motivation. // Underneath everything is Andrew's conviction that gospel motivation outlasts guilt. Behavior rooted in grace goes further than behavior driven by pressure. Adopted people adopt people. Chosen people choose people. That theological clarity fuels Mercy Hill's sending culture, their community impact, and their ongoing growth. To explore Andrew's resources on adoption, foster care, and grab his book, Chosen, visit andrewphopper.com/chosen or follow him on Instagram @andrewphopper. You can learn more about Mercy Hill Church at mercyhillchurch.com. Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I'm grateful for that. If you enjoyed today's show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they're extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live! Thank You to This Episode’s Sponsor: Portable Church Your church is doing really well right now, and your leadership team is looking for solutions to keep momentum going! It could be time to start a new location. Maybe you have hesitated in the past few years, but you know it's time to step out in faith again and launch that next location. Portable Church has assembled a bundle of resources to help you leverage your growing momentum into a new location by sending a part of your congregation back to their neighborhood on Mission. This bundle of resources will give you a step-by-step plan to launch that new or next location, and a 5 minute readiness tool that will help you know your church is ready to do it! Click here to watch the free webinar “Launch a New Location in 150 Days or Less” and grab the bundle of resources for your church! Episode Transcript Rich Birch — Hey friends, welcome to the unSeminary podcast. We have got a multi-time guest on, and you know what that means. That means that I really respect, deeply admire, and want you to listen up, and today is no exception. Excited to have Andrew Hopper with us. He is the lead pastor of a church that they should be following, that you should be following. He’s a lead pastor of Mercy Hill Church with five locations, if I’m counting correctly, in North Carolina, and is repeatedly one of the fastest growing churches in the country. I love this church on many levels. They’re centered on the gospel and have a radical commitment to sending people to the nations. They have a desire to make disciples and multiply churches. Andrew, welcome to the show. So glad you’re here.Andrew Hopper — Man, I’m so pumped to be here. Love the podcast. Really appreciate it, man.Rich Birch — Yeah, I’m honored that you would come back. For folks that that don’t know Mercy Hill, give me a bit of a kind of an update. Tell us a little bit about the church.Andrew Hopper — Yeah.Rich Birch — Maybe update us from last time you were on.Andrew Hopper — Yeah, man. So just real quick, planted in 2012. We had 30 people, all you know kind of young professional age, and man, just really believe that God could do something incredible ah through, you know just through our our open hands, and he did.Andrew Hopper — And so it’s been 13 years. It’s crazy. We’ve been sort of pushing the same boulder up the same mountain for 13 years, just flywheel kind of concept and keep pushing. And ah the Lord has done an incredible thing, like you said, five campuses. And man, just moved into a new home and hub. That was from last time we had a chance. That’s been really great. Andrew Hopper — We were in a rented location for a long time as our main like broadcast campus. We’re a video-based multi-site. And so um it’s ah it was a three or four-year journey to raise the money and build this new facility. But we’re in, and the Lord has really blessed that with tons of new people, highest baptisms, sent ones, first time guest numbers, all everything that we’ve done. This has been a, you know, we’ve gone been on a ride – praise God for that. It’s it’s, um, it’s for his sake and his renown, but this year has been unlike the others. So it’s been…Rich Birch — Yeah, you were saying beforehand, it’s like 30 or something like 30 some percent year over year growth. That’s insane to keep up with.Andrew Hopper — It is man. And the, and the giving does not, uh, you know, the giving doesn’t happen.Rich Birch — Reflect that yet.Andrew Hopper — So it’s, it’s like, we’re trying to do ministry on a budget of a church that’s 3000, but a church that’s running 4,500. And it’s like, how do you do that effectively without killing everybody?Rich Birch — Nice.Andrew Hopper — All your staff, I mean, so, but we’re, we’re learning, man, we’re figuring it out. It’s fun. We got, we just planted our sixth church. So that’s apart from the campuses. This is first time, Rich, we’ve planted a church in our own city.Rich Birch — Oh, nice. That’s cool.Andrew Hopper — It’s been really, a really cool dynamic and it’s been fun. He’s doing great. Man, it was a college student that we met when he was 19 years old at North Carolina AT&T 10 years later. He’s an elder here. He’s done a lot of different things. And man, he goes and plants a new church in Greensboro about five minutes from one of our campuses and they’re doing great.Rich Birch — Wow. Yeah, that’s so good. Well, the thing, there’s lots I love about Mercy Hill, but one of the things that I’ve loved about your church from the you know the chance we’ve had to journey a little bit over the years about it is you just have real clarity around the mission, this idea of making disciples, multiplying churches. It’s like that has been rock solid from the beginning. When you think about we want churches to have discipleship at its core, this idea of a church that actually grows people up in their relationship with Christ. What matters most at the foundation? How are you keeping that so foundational to you know what’s happening at Mercy Hill?Andrew Hopper — Yeah, I think um I think that we always sort of bought into kind of what we see in Acts 2 as a little bit of a flywheel. We call it gather, group, give, go. A lot of churches have something like that.Andrew Hopper — The the difference, I think, at Mercy Hill a little bit than what I see ah in in in a lot of churches that we help mentor and coach is that 2020 hit and everybody was like, man, what is a church? What is discipleship? What are we going to do now? And and people were kind of… And I do think it was and it wasn’t, you know, it wasn’t just me. I mean, our, you know, our executive pastor Bobby, he was really integral in this. We sort of really doubled down on no, I kind of think the church is going to come back. Rich Birch — Right.Andrew Hopper — And I kind of think what we were doing is sort of what our church is set up to do. It kind of a brand thing. We are sort of a big box sending brand. And that, you know, for us, when we look at Acts 2, we’re like, dude, the gathering, there’s no more there’s no more important hour for discipleship and evangelism. And I know there’s a lot of things written against that. And people are kind of almost like downplaying it. Andrew Hopper — We’re just like, man, we just don’t believe it. We believe people need to be in a group. You know, we they need generosity is lead step in discipleship, give. And we got to teach people that there’s a mission bigger than themselves. And if we do that, it’s going to funnel more people into the gathering. Andrew Hopper — So I think fundamentally what I would say, we need to get, you know, we could talk about our value, you know we can talk about values to gospel and [inaudible] identity, but I think landing on you know, it’s very hard now to, to not get a word salad book form or thing. When you ask somebody, how are you making disciples? It can just be like…Rich Birch — Right. Very vacuous. Who knows what that means? Yeah.Andrew Hopper — For us, it’s just been a very clear, simple process.Rich Birch — Right.Andrew Hopper — Like, man, we believe if someone is in the gathering, if they’re in relationship, if they’re being pushed on generosity, and if they’re living for a mission bigger than themselves, that’s a current of maturity that will move them. They just get in the stream, they’ll move.Rich Birch — Yes. Yeah. Yeah. It’s so good.Andrew Hopper — that’s kind of So you know for us, I think that’s as, you know we’ve we’ve tried to simplify things there.Rich Birch — Yeah. And, and your last episode, I’ve pointed a ton of people to it, uh, to really, and we really unpack a lot of what you talked about there in more detail.Andrew Hopper — Right. Yeah.Rich Birch — You’re going to want to go back and, uh, and listen to that. You’ve reached as a church, you’ve reached a lot of people who don’t grow up in church that it’s like, there’s a lot of people who are there. You know, we used to say we ain’t your mama’s church, but mama didn’t go to church, you know? So, you know, and it’s been a long time that people were there. What challenges have you seen, you know, helping move people from curiosity into real ongoing discipleship? So like, I think there are, we’re seeing a swell of attendance across the country. People are like, oh, I’m kind of interested in this, but we got to move them from just, oh, this is something interesting to like, oh, I’m actually want to grow my relationship with Jesus.Andrew Hopper — Yeah, I mean, and it’s it’s funny too, Rich, you probably have a better bird’s eye view of this than I do. But I feel like churches that have been faithfully growing for like the last 10 years, they’re not really doing a lot different now. Or even though there’s this big swell happening, what I do think is that some churches have sort of decided like, oh, clarity does matter.Rich Birch — Yes. Yeah, that’s true.Andrew Hopper — And don’t try to be friends with the culture. We’re going to speak in and be prophetic. And, you know, even even to the you know Proverbs 25:26 says, you know, there’s there there’s no there’s no benefit in a muddied spring. You know, it’s like you got to be sort of you got to figure out if we’re going to be clear.Andrew Hopper — So, I you know, for me, I think like and you’re right, we do reach most of the people that we reach that are in the camp that you’re talking about our college age. We reach a lot of people, though, ah that are, you know, they’re they’re coming back to the faith because they’re a southerner.Rich Birch — Sure.Andrew Hopper — You know, they they kind of they kind of were, you know, they they did have some church in their background. They’re coming back. Their kids are not only born, but they’re realizing they’re sinners and they don’t have answers. They’re trying to figure that out.Rich Birch — Right. Right.Andrew Hopper — They’re coming back to church.Andrew Hopper — And, you know, I think the biggest thing that moves people from like interest into a decision point is just being very clear on this is what the gospel is. This is the life it compels you to. Are you going to be in or out?Andrew Hopper — One of the things we say at Mercy Hill a lot is like, man, if you’re if you’re just intrigued, you know, if you’re interested, you’re not going to stay at Mercy Hill because we’re never going to let you, you’re going to get pushed every week. And it’s like, man, people are not really in or like that. I’m not going to do that. You know, they’re just like, no I’m not going to sit here and get like pushed every single week on something I don’t really… And the flip side is when people say, all right, you know what? Stake in the ground. I’m in.Rich Birch — Yeah, we’re doing this, yep.Andrew Hopper — I wanna look like this, I want to build my life on this. It’s like, well, now, you know, it’s it’s man, I’m hopefully, you know, putting tools in the belt every single week to live that life.Rich Birch — Yeah. Yeah, it’s good. I do think there was a time where people wandered into our churches where I don’t think that happens as much anymore. I think people, when they arrive, they come with questions, with live active questions that they’re trying to wrestle with, kind of regardless of where they’re they’re at in their journey.Andrew Hopper — Yeah.Rich Birch — And they’re what you to your point around, you know, there’s no benefit in a muddy stream. People aren’t looking for anything that sounds like, well, what do you think? Because the reason why they’re there is because they’re asking questions. And so, you know, they’re they’re looking for clarity, like I think you’re saying. Rich Birch — Well one of the things I love about your church is there’s a high commitment to, you’re you’re you’re tearing down what I think is a false dichotomy. Sometimes I think when churches come to this idea of outreach or making a difference in their community, there’s this there can be this gap or false dichotomy between doing good in our communities and making disciples. Like we gave that up at some point. We were like, you can’t, you know, we can’t do both of those things for some reason. Why, why did we do that? Why did we, as churches say, we can’t both make a difference in our communities and also make disciples?Andrew Hopper — Yeah, I think it’s, I actually have a lot of sympathy for the fundamentalist leaning. I know it sounds a little bit weird. Rich Birch — No, that’s fine.Andrew Hopper — Churches that led from the, you know, from the good do good in your city kind of thing. I don’t think they’re right, but I do have sympathy for that because I understand how quickly that sort of, you know, is so hijacked by liberal, by theological liberalism to where it’s finally man we’re digging wells and wherever but we’re not talking about who the true source of living water is. Like we don’t want to be offensive we just want to do good without speaking the whole you know you know live your life as a Christian only use words if necessary, whatever, you know. And and I so I understand why people kind of fled and have fled that.Andrew Hopper — Like, you know, I’ve even had our church before when I when I talk about adoption or we we have a ministry, and a ministry called No More Spectators. We’re like moving people towards community ministry. And we had people kind of going on like, oh, my gosh, this seems like a sign of like churches start going this way and then they lose the gospel.Andrew Hopper — And I’m like, well, the reason you’re kind of feeling like that is because a lot of churches have done that. You know, you’re not [inaudible] like that just out of nowhere. Now, of course, I think it’s a little bit immature and we’ve got to push through. The way we talk about it, Rich, is, man, we want to do good in our community as signs of the kingdom coming.Andrew Hopper — They are not building the kingdom. You know, if we go repaint a house or house a homeless person, one day that person would parted with that house, whether they, you know, get messed up and leave or whether they do great and then would die one day, you know.Andrew Hopper — Or, if we have, ah you know, if we go and, and you know, we’re going to, for example, we have ah ah a family in our church that they need a ramp built because, man, the the brother is struggling with MS and he’s, they’re they’re fighting it like Christians do. We’re going to go do that. You know, we’re going to go build that ramp. That ramp’s going to rot and die one, you know, rot and rot away one day. And, you know, whether it’s 100 years from now or whatever.Andrew Hopper — Like it’s not literally the kingdom. But when the outside world sees us engage and, you know, our church will talk about this primarily when we think about community ministry, we think about it in terms of adoption, foster care and families count, which I can talk to you about. I think it’s bringing a sign of the kingdom that is to the community around us to say, hey, this is not the gospel. But it sure points to the gospel. Rich Birch — Right, right.Andrew Hopper — You know, it’s a pretty good signpost of like, yeah, there’s a kingdom coming where kids aren’t separated from their parents, you know. And and so that’s kind of the way that we think about, it’s not, you know, it’s not the kingdom. It’s a sign of the kingdom that is coming.Rich Birch — Yeah, let’s let’s dive in. So adoptions, foster care, families count. These are not small issues. Like you started with like putting a ramp on, painting somebody – those are like, okay, I can organize my head around that. And then we jump to what I think are obviously significant. How, it can be easy, I think, for church leaders it can be easy where, you know, we got a lot of fish to fry in our own backyard. When you see big problems like that, help us unpack that. Why do you as a lead pastor, why are you passionate about these issues? Why are these the things that you’ve chosen?Andrew Hopper — I think it’s, man, I think it’s great. I mean if you can’t if you don’t mind I’ll go back and give you a little bit of context. I’m a context [inaudible]… Rich Birch — Yeah, absolutely. Let’s do it. Yeah. Andrew Hopper — …number one so I always want to frame it in where we’ve been. But the short answer to the question is I think that every church because it is made up of individual believers that have individual gift matrix, you know they’re they’re gifted the church is gifted in a unique way because the people which are the church are gifted in a unique way, right? Andrew Hopper — And so to me, you know, slapping, you know, a top down every single church has to to manifest signs of the kingdom in X way, which, for for example, I’m not to pick on it, but like, you know, the whole diversity church kind of movement. I love you know, if that’s your brand, that’s awesome. That’s great. Go, go bring signs of the kingdom in that area. But you know what people do is they take their thing and then slap it on every single church. You know, this is the sign of the kingdom that you have to manifest.Andrew Hopper — I don’t think that. It takes every kind of church to reach a city because there’s all you know, there’s every kind of people in the city. Right? For us, though, and I think for a lot of churches that that maybe are are made up a little bit like we are, I think there is a lot of meat on the bone for adoption, foster care, families count ministry. And I think churches could be greatly helped by latching on to maybe, you know, something in particular, maybe this, maybe this specifically. How we got there, Rich, was we had we had, you know, huge movement in our church in 2019. I was very convicted.Andrew Hopper — Some of the exponential stuff was coming out, you know, mobilizing people outside the walls of the church. And I really was, man, I was just really affected by that. And I don’t want the dichotomy, you know, I don’t want, well, you your people serve in the church and not outside the church. It’s like, no, most people serve outside the church. If you watch them, they are serving inside the church as well. It’s it’s like a it’s like, man, you know, just just because serving inside the church is not the finish line, don’t demonize it because it is a starting place.Rich Birch — That’s good.Andrew Hopper — So it’s like, I don’t like that kind of whole thing. But but it did affect me to say, OK, what are we doing to push to the outside? So we we we did a thing. You would have loved this, man. But it except for the fact that it didn’t really work that good. OK, it was awesome.Andrew Hopper — It was, we still have the domain name – nomorespectators.com – I had the tagline: Jesus didn’t die to create spectators. He died to create servants, not spectators, workers, not watchers. We, man, you could go to nomorespectators.com and, you know, it was like, it was like a funnel for all of these community ministry opportunities in our city. So it was, you know, people from the housing, you know, authority type stuff would post things. And it was, it was all this kind of, it had a bunch of stuff in it. Andrew Hopper — In the end of the day, great idea. It was a little too complex. Our people latched on to the foster care, pregnancy network, you know, ended up being families count, Guardian ad Litem and adoption. So our guy that was over all that at the time our sending director, which is hard for me to have a good idea that ends up dying hard, okay that’s just tough for me.Rich Birch — You had a great sticky statement and everything. Come on.Andrew Hopper — I’m the king of sunken cost bias. Okay. Like, I’m like, dude. And so finally around 2020, he came to me and he said, bro, I know this is hard for you. Cause it was like a two year initiative. He’s like, this is hard. He said, No More Spectators needs to just turn into Chosen. And it needs to be like, you had this idea for 30 different things. It just, this needs to be our niche, man. You know, we we don’t do a lot of these other things, but we do this really well.Andrew Hopper — And it was hard for me. Ultimately, it was great wisdom by them, not me. And we started going down that road. And partly, I think it’s because, Rich, is heart is near to my heart. I have an adopted daughter. A lot of our staff have adopted kids. We just have a guy right now. Our associate director of first impressions at the Rich campus is in Texas right now, you know, bringing their daughter home.Andrew Hopper — I mean, so it’s just, and so it’s sort of started to morph into, and the the the big thing I’ll say, and I, you know, I’ve been talking a lot here, but the big thing I’ll say is, if you think about the way I just ah described all that, it doesn’t start with the need in the community. It starts with the gift matrix of the church. The poor we will always have with us. Like there there is no there’s no scenario until Jesus comes back that there’s no kids that need to be adopted, you know.Rich Birch — Right, right.Andrew Hopper — And it’s just the reality of it. And so there’s always going to be need in the community. It’s more about, okay, what are the Ephesians 2:10 works that your church, because the church is made up of people who are individually called, what are the you know what are those works that God has set out for your church? Rich Birch — That’s good.Andrew Hopper — And, you know, so for us, we just felt like, dude, this is a a heartbeat thing. Our people got more, they get more fired up. The greatest thing I’ve ever been able to mobilize our people for prayer for is go to the abortion clinic and pray. I mean, a thousand people on their face in the pavement. It’s like, it just strikes a chord with our church and who we are. So we wanna run after that.Rich Birch — Yeah. Well, I love that. And we’re going to dig out a bunch of this, but let’s think about it first from a perspective of somebody who’s maybe attended your church. They just started. They’re they’re relatively new, you know. The idea of something as weighty as adoption or foster care, that’s a big ask. And you know when you yeah how do I experience that as someone who’s just new? What are some ways that I could get plugged in? What does that look like? That, that, cause I, I’m hard, it’s hard to imagine that I go from zero to, to, you know, adoption, you know, how do I end up or flying to Texas to, you know, pick up a kid. That’s a lot. Help me understand. How are you, cause I know you guys are so good at moving people along from kind of where they are to where you’re hoping to – what’s that look like? What’s the kind of, how do you bring people along in this?Andrew Hopper — Man, totally. I think you’re right. I think it’s a combination of big vision on one end and then baby steps on the other. But the big vision matters.Rich Birch — That’s good.Andrew Hopper — Like we don’t want to be scared of the big vision. So, you know, for example, our weekender process, which I know you talked about some, you know, that weekender process, you know, people literally for years, we would give them a passport application in the weekender process. Because we’re like you’re at this church you’re probably going to be overseas at some point on a mission trip. And so to me it’s like people are like dude that probably scares the crap out of people. And it’s like well, I mean we want to make sure they know what they’re getting into, you know. We’re not telling them they got to do that tomorrow… Rich Birch — Right.Andrew Hopper — …but that is the, and then and then there’s all these baby steps, right? Like hey come to you know, every February we do Sent weekend. Come to the prayer night. Like that’s a baby step. That’s not you getting on a plane to go to Nepal. But you know hey we’re doing this missions offering at the end of the year, like maybe get you know. So there’s all these I would say that our the way we think about Chosen ministry, which again: adoption, foster care, families count, and rope holding, which is a big part of this discussion… Rich Birch — Okay. Andrew Hopper —…is that way. It’s big vision on the front end so we’re never going to tell somebody, hey you know, I know you could never do this. Like I’ll never…I think people can do it and they should. Or or you know more Christians than are should. At the same time we’re also not guilting anybody. Like so I’m I you know the the first thing I’ll tell people is like, hey, you know we start talking about adoption. I always say always say, hey, we have not lined up a bunch of little kids in the lobby for you to take one home today, okay. And then I’ll tell them, that’s next week.Rich Birch — That’s great.Andrew Hopper — Okay, so yeah but and we we try hard to like put some levity in it. Man, we’re not everybody’s not going to do that. In fact, a minority, of a small minority is going to do it. But everyone can be involved and there are baby steps.Andrew Hopper — So we try to highlight giving, man. Like if you someone adopts from Mercy Hill, we pay 25% of their adoption. Okay.Rich Birch — Wow. Yep.Andrew Hopper — If they’re a member and they’re in a community group, they get 25%. All right, well, you know, we’re going to connect that. Like, man, you you are never going to adopt. You feel like that’s, but it’s like, well, I give $100 a month to the church. Rich Birch — Right.Andrew Hopper — Well, hey, what? You know, you’re you are you are supporting.Rich Birch — We’re making a difference.Andrew Hopper — We do parents night out, you know, for all of our foster and adoptive parents. We do it quarterly. It’s like, hey, those are opportunities to come and serve, man. You can serve the meal you can do. We do rope holding, which I know we’ll probably talk about. But but the the idea of rope holding is just like, man, I’m not going to do this, but I can be in the corner for somebody. They’re in my community group. I want to be their first call if they need a babysitter or they need, you know, a gift card, or whatever they need.Andrew Hopper — So I think, man, we try to do big vision. You know, we’re going we’re going to set a huge vision, you know, for 2030 for 2030. Actually, we just hit our vision for 2025, which is 200 adoptive or foster families. There’s a lot of ways people can be involved with it.Rich Birch — So good. There’s, I think thing I would encourage friends who are listening in, you really should be following Mercy Hill, Andrew, because I do think you’re a very unique communicator where you, and you just described it. And I think to you, it’s just like, that’s just what you do. But this idea of like, you’re calling people to a high bar, but you’re not leveraging shame, guilt. you know, it’s, and I think so many times our language can kind of lean in that direction. Or we can, if we really are trying to push people towards something, or we can just undersell the vision. You know We can be like, oh, it’s not that it’s not that big of a deal. You know It’s not for everybody. So I would encourage people to listen in.Rich Birch — Talk to me about rope holding. How is that, what’s that look like? Unpack what that looks like a little bit.Andrew Hopper — Yeah, so rope so the the the rope-holding analogy, which a lot of your listeners probably gonna already know this, but you know William Carey, Andrew Fuller, William Carey, father of modern missions, he’s he he he makes the statement, “I’ll dangle at the end of the rope in the pit, if you’ll hold the rope,” talking to Fuller. And Fuller held the rope for him. Like, you know, Carey the mission field, Fuller’s raising money, preaching sermons, organizing mission boards. So that’s kind of the picture. Right.Andrew Hopper — So we say, all right, not everybody is going to go down into the pit of foster care adoption, even even families count. I mean, these are these are massive spiritual warfare battlegrounds you know um which is one of the reasons why our church wants to be involved so much. I mean you if you want to talk about getting to the you can do all the rhetoric in the world, brother, you want to get to the very bottom of societal issues, you you be involved in somebody’s story that’s trying that’s trying to get their kids back from the foster care system. You’re trying to help them with that. I mean, every you could fatherlessness, poverty, drug abuse. I mean, everything you can think, you know.Rich Birch — Right.Andrew Hopper — So this this is just spiritual war. So what we tell people is like, hey, man. If we got people that are mobilizing for for adoption and foster care, we better have people in their corne,r because the enemy is going to bring his war machine.Rich Birch — Right.Andrew Hopper — And we see it all the time. I mean, you’re going to see, you know, a family steps in to adopt and you’re going to start seeing them, you know, there can be sickness. They can have marital problems. They can have financial things that come up. They can begin to believe lies, frustrations. I mean, There’s just so they can become, you know, their their heart can start getting hard toward the system. I mean, there’s so many things that come at them. And so what we say is we need people in their corner, right. Andrew Hopper — Now, it’s funny because like the way our church has operated was at first we said, all right, we’re going to we’re going to do, you know, the the community group is going hold the rope for the people. And and that that was fine. The problem is when we really kicked off this ministry, so many people got involved that it became overwhelming to the group. So we said we got to start this… Rich Birch — Right. Andrew Hopper — …rope holding ministry. The rope holder ministry is good. It’s like, what does a rope holder do? They kind of do whatever the person needs them to do. Rich Birch — Right. Andrew Hopper — So there are examples of the rope holding ministry going really well, where it’s like, hey, man, they’re they’re helping with ah child care with the other kids when they’re going to foster care appointments in court. And or, hey, we’re we’re helping you do some things around the house whenever you’re overseas doing your adoption, which is going to put you three weeks in country. You know, there are some good examples like that. Andrew Hopper — But the other thing that we’ve learned is, you know, foster care and adoption families that are that are walking through this, they’re going through a very trying time. And to just pair them with somebody they don’t know and say, hey, look, here’s your supporter, it can be a little bit like, oh, that’s awesome, and then they never reach out to them.Rich Birch — Right.Andrew Hopper — They never reach out – the rope holder’s ready.Rich Birch — Right.Andrew Hopper — But it’s just like, dude, I don’t I don’t know you. And this is a hard time.Rich Birch — Who are you? Yeah, yeah.Andrew Hopper — And so what we’re trying to figure out now as we reboot that rope holder idea is, you know, how how do you kind of integrate relationships they’ve already had? Almost like, hey, do you have this massive pool of people called rope holders? Or when an adoptive family comes up, you say to them, hey, who can we shoulder tap, rope holder for you.Rich Birch — That’s good.Andrew Hopper — And then we’ll train them.Rich Birch — Oh, that’s cool. Yeah.Andrew Hopper — But not have this pool, but say for you, we’ll put them in. So that’s kind of what we’re, so as part of our reboot for 2030, you know, that’s sort of what’s in our mind right now.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s cool.Andrew Hopper — We have a whole playbook for the way we’ve done it, which anybody, you know, if anybody wants any of those things, they can go to AndrewPHopper.com/chosen. And I can send you any of that stuff we have, but on the rope holder side, you know, just full transparency, we’re still, you know, kind of, of you know, and I’m sure it’ll always be that way that we make an improvement.Rich Birch — Yeah, always trying to make it better. Yeah. And I want to, yeah, at some point in this journey, you decided, hey, we’ve got to put this vision and framework into writing, like we and you actually ended up writing a book, and friends who are listening in, I want to encourage you to pick up a copy of this book. Listen, we’re almost half an hour in. I know you’re interested in this. This is the kind of thing you, Andrew’s a trusted leader. He’s, I’ve had a chance to take a peek at the book. This will be super helpful for you. But, but that’s a lot of effort to put this together into a book. What pushed you from just leading this ministry to ultimately saying, hey, I want to capture this into a resource that could help other people?Andrew Hopper — Well, you know, Rich, I never really saw myself as like a writer, just like a practitioner, man. Let’s just keep keep working on the thing and going.Rich Birch — Right.Andrew Hopper — And truthfully, I got approached. Hey, would you have any interest in writing? You know, New Growth Press is the one that’s editing this book and putting it out. And it was funny, though, because the second I was asked, I was like, man, I know what we should do [inaudible] that should be what we should do. It’s it’s our it’s it’s my story’s family story with our special needs child that we’ve adopted. It’s our church’s journey. But more important than either of those two things, it’s a grounding in the gospel-centered motivation. Because I think that is what is so important. We don’t do guilt motivation. And you know, cute kids and sad, cute kids and and sad stories are good reasons, but they you need a great reason, because it’s hard. Rich Birch — That’s good. Yep.Andrew Hopper — You know, and the great reason is of course, adopted people adopt people. And so we delve way into the helplessness of our spiritual condition, how God adopted us and then how, you know, that provides a deep motivation for us to go and do the same for others.Rich Birch — Can you unpack that a little bit more? Because I think this is, ah to me, a core part of the book that I think is really helpful. Even if you’re maybe listening in, you’re thinking, okay, I’m not sure adoption or foster care is necessarily the thing, but you unpack this idea of gospel rather than guilt. And can you talk us through, you know, how, yeah, just talk us through that part, that concept a bit more. Just double click on that a little bit.Andrew Hopper — Yeah. So, you know, when we think about behaviors that flow from the Christian life, there’s really only two ways to think about it, right? Like one of them is we try to do things in order that God would approve of us, you know, that he would, you know, he would, ah he would, he would let us in his family, you know, those those types of things. And we, you know, this is for a lot of Baptistic world, which I am, this was kind of like, wow, this is really revolutionary, but that was 20 years ago – Keller and all that. You know, we just started understanding what more of a gospel center motivation. Andrew Hopper — Of course, the other way to think about Christian behaviors is you are part of the family because of what Christ has done for you. And the family has a culture. The family works a certain way. There’s fruit that will pop out in your life, not so that you can gain entrance into the vine. That’s not how it works. Like, ah you know, you don’t you don’t produce fruit to get in the vine. You produce fruit because you’re in the vine. Andrew Hopper — And so, you know, when we think about like like Titus 2, for example, we think about how the grace of God appears to all men, teaching us not just salvation, but teaching us to obey his commands. So there’s something about salvation that and is inherent to the gospel-centered motivation of of of going out, living the Christian life. You know, it’s it’s kind of the John Bunyan idea when they said, man, if you, you know, if you keep preaching this gospel message, people are going to do whatever they want to do. And he said, no, if I keep preaching this gospel message, people are going to do whatever God wants them to do. Rich Birch — Right.Andrew Hopper — You know, and so I think what we’ve done in this book is just say, hey, that that is true universally in our Christian life. Like if I’m not tithing and I’m stingy, I can do motivation in two ways. Number one, how dare you, you piece of trash that you never, you know why would you never give? Look what God, you know, blah blah blah, blah, blah, guilt, guilt, shame, shame. Right. Andrew Hopper — Of course, the other way to say is like, man, what kind of riches has God given you in the gospel? And what kind of inheritance do you now have as a son of the king? It’s like, all right, that’s powerful, you know, and it will it will take us places that guilt never can. Guilt will work for a while. You can put fire under somebody and it’ll move them. But if you put it in them, they’ll run through a wall, you know. Rich Birch — So true.Andrew Hopper — And so it’s like it’s like, hey, OK, so you could do it with all these different things. We’ve tried to take this book and do that with adoption to say, all right.Rich Birch — Right.Andrew Hopper — We know James 1:27, we need to care for the fatherless and the orphan. We understand. I mean, dude, there ain’t, when you talk about metaphors, there’s two big ones, marriage and adoption, you know? And so if you want to do adoption well, we can do it from two motivations. One motivation is look how many kids need. That’s all and that’s all true. That moves my heart. You know, look, can you believe this story of this kid? And that’s fine.Andrew Hopper — Of course, you could do guilt, too. Like, how dare you, you know, have this nice, happy family and not go adopt a little poor orphan kid. You know, you could do guilt. All those things will be fine. They’ll put fire under you a little bit. But if you want to put the fire in someone that is going to carry them through the long haul of all this stuff, I think it’s better to start with: All right. There’s kids that need to be chosen. Were you chosen?Andrew Hopper — You know, so like one of the you know, one I’ll give you an example. We know of a family here in the tribe. They’ve got an awesome son that is 20-something years old, kids got Down syndrome, and they adopted him from Ecuador. And his story was one day a carpenter was working on this building and he heard cries coming out of a dump, like a trash heap. This child had just been born and been left you know with his deformities had just been left for the dumpster. Andrew Hopper — And they brought him to the orphanage. And next thing you know, you know about three or four years later, he got adopted by this family that we know. And that family’s father, he said, Eddie’s story is my story. I was pulled from a trash heap by a carpenter. And if you it’s like that is powerful. Rich Birch — Right. Yes.Andrew Hopper — You know, when you start thinking about, man, in my sin, I was one who had no part and parcel in the kingdom of God. I was headlong in rebellion. I had rejected. I was not a son. And God lavished his love upon me, that I would be called his child. And if if that has happened to me spiritually, how could I not want to do that? Or at least help those. you know I’m not saying that’s a call for everybody, but be involved in others that are doing that as well.Andrew Hopper — And so that’s what we say. Adopted people, adopt people, chosen people, choose people. And hey, I didn’t answer your last question. Rich Birch — That’s fine.Andrew Hopper — Okay. Your last question was, why did we write the book? Very simply, I think more people just need to think about what I just said. You know, and I think churches do. And I think that if, you know, a lot of churches have adoption-minded people and a little bit of of fuel in that fire might create some really cool ministry in that church. And this book lays really well for being like, man, make it a small group resource for eight weeks. You know, it’s got questions at the end of each chapter.Andrew Hopper — Like my my prayer is that this book would catalyze tens of thousands of Christian adoptions. Rich Birch — Wow. Andrew Hopper — And that’s why we wrote the book.Rich Birch — Yeah. It’s and I thought the same thing as I was looking through it, that this would be a great resource for a small group, a great resource as a staff training thing. Because again, I think there’s two things happening on two levels. From my perspective, there’s what you’re actually talking about – adoption, but then there’s how you talk about it. And I think even both of those, I think could be interesting as a as a staff team to kind of unpack and think about. How do we ensure that what we’re doing is so gospel-infused. That’s part of why i love you as a communicator. I think you do such a good job on that. It’s just fantastic. So I would strongly encourage people to pick it up.Rich Birch — Help me understand the connection. So Mercy Hill is known for, or at least from my perspective, known as a sending church. You know, the thing, one of the and I’ve told again, I told you this before, you’re the first church leader I’ve ever bumped into that has connected new here guests to number of missionaries sent. This like idea of like this funnel of how do we move people all the way along to that? I think that’s incredible. How does that kind of sending culture and adoption, how does that fit together? How does that help kind of fuel the flywheel of what’s happening at Mercy Hill?Andrew Hopper — Well, you you helped me think about this when you came and did our one day for our for our Breaking Barriers group, you know, for the pastoral trainings that we do. Because in your church growth book, you talk about how, ah you know, community ministry is used as an evangelism tool. I’m not, I’m probably butchering the way you talk about it.Rich Birch — Yep. Yep. Oh, that’s good. Yep. That’s great.Andrew Hopper — That was like a big light bulb for me because because we we definitely do that, but we have not leveraged the communications of that.Rich Birch — Right.Andrew Hopper — And so, um you know, for us now, what we’re trying to really think about is how does our adoption of foster care ministry and rope holding and families count ministry, how does that create open? We call them open doors, right? Rich Birch — Yep.Andrew Hopper — Like, how does it create open doors, questions in the community, where people come in? And we’ve seen it. You know, so like when we’re talking about the sending culture, that pipeline starts when new people get interested in faith, they get interested in church.Andrew Hopper — And, you know, like, for example, we we had a guy, we just did a historic video. Man, he’s saved, baptized, serving now, ah or, you know, family, young family, prototypical Mercy Hill guy, like, man, just you know blue collar heart, white collar job, just that. I mean, just everything we talk about. Right. He’s our he’s kind of our guy. And the way he got connected was his boss had signed up to be a rope holder. And it just blew his mind. Like, why would a guy take limited time and go help these families? I mean, he of course, he thought it was a good thing. But it really intrigued them. Andrew Hopper — And so we’ve tried to we’re trying to leverage more of the communication side. It’s tricky. You don’t want to be like, hey, look at us you know in the community. At the same time, I’m like, man, this year, you know when we’re going to do a pretty significant upgrade to some of the there our foster care system has, there’s a house that has a backyard and the backyard is where families come to play with kids, play with their kids they’re trying to get back from the foster care.Rich Birch — Right. Yep.Andrew Hopper — And we’ve said like, you know what, man, if these parents are putting in, that needs to be like the best, the best backyard, and you know?Rich Birch — Right. Yeah, absolutely. 100%.Andrew Hopper — And so, you know, we’re, we’re going to do a significant investment in some, you know, whatever…Rich Birch — Play structures and yeah. Andrew Hopper — …like a, you know, whatever, like a pergola type thing. They’re going put a shed out there. All going to connect it, pavers, all that stuff is what we want to do. And, you know, we’re, we’re looking at that and I’m going like, yeah, I mean, I get it. Like you don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, but at the same time, that’s not for us. That’s for people that are interested to say like, why would a church do that? You know, like why do they care so much?Andrew Hopper — And it’s because, Hey, sign of the kingdom. We want to build families through adoption. We want to restore families through foster care and families count. This is part of that. So we’ve tried to we’ve tried to use it as a way. And I would really encourage church leaders to think about that. Like, hey, is your community ministry actually an evangelism strategy?Rich Birch — Right. Yeah, that’s good. Love that. And yeah, I would encourage you continue to encourage you to think through those things because I do think that there’s, we’ve seen that there’s huge opportunity for folks who don’t normally attend church. They’re interested the way I’ve said in other contexts is they see it as a good thing. We see it as a God thing. We’re not going to fight them over the semantics of it at the front end. Because like you say it’s it’s the kingdom puncturing through that grabs their attention and you’re like oh what what you know what’s going on there? It’s a first step – how do we encourage those people? Rich Birch — Like on that backyard project, I no doubt if you’re rallying a bunch of guys to go work there, I know that there are guys in your church who have friends who they could invite who don’t attend church who maybe would never walk in your church who’d say, hey, will you come and work for a Saturday for a couple hours and swing a hammer and help us do this thing? Let me explain what this is about.They absolutely would show up, right? 100% they’d show up and and they’ll get intrigued by that. And they’ll be like, oh, what’s going on there? That’s that’s fantastic. Rich Birch — Well, friends, unabashedly, I want you to pick up copies of, not just a copy, copies of this book. So where do we want to send people to pick up copies, that sort of thing?Andrew Hopper — Yeah, man, they can just go to andrewphopper.com/chosen. Rich Birch — Perfect. Yep.Andrew Hopper — The book’s out so they can pick up a copy. I mean, it’s also just like on Amazon or whatever, but that link will take you straight to New Growth Press.Rich Birch — Right.Andrew Hopper — So, yeah, man, would love it. Would love to hear from anybody who’s using it well in a church context um to catalyze Christian adoption.Rich Birch — Love it. Anything else you want to share just as we close and how can people track, go to the website, other places we want to send them as we close up today.Andrew Hopper — Also on Instagram, we have a lot of stuff on Instagram, andrewphopper on Instagram. Yeah, the last thing I would say as a closing thought, Rich, is you know, the Christian adoption boom has sort of happened 20 years ago. People started talking about this a lot more. And now you can feel in some of the podcast world and all that, there’s a bit of a backlash, not not to don’t do it, but also like, hey, no one told us how hard this was going to be. Andrew Hopper — You’re dealing with traumatic situations, kids that have been brought, you know, I mean, it’s, it’s crazy. One thing I try to do in this book is I try to say, Hey, that’s not a good reason to take our ball and go home, you know.Rich Birch — That’s good.Andrew Hopper — Instead we just need to try to shoot as straight as we can. And I do that in this book, man. It is hard. It’s you’re on the front lines of spiritual war. I mean, it’s almost like, dude, the, the, the greatest transfer of faith from one generation to another happens in the home. We love it when adults get saved. I get that. But let’s be honest. Statistically, where does it normally happen? Right. Rich Birch — Yeah. Kids. Andrew Hopper — And so if you got a home that’s broken apart, that Christians are trying to put back together, what did we think Satan was going to do? You know, and so instead of taking our ball and going home, let’s just call it what it is, and then ask the Lord to steel our spine… Rich Birch — That’s good. Andrew Hopper — …and to move forward with the mission. So, yeah, man, I’d love for people to pick it up. And I appreciate the time to talk about it today.Rich Birch — Andrew, thanks so much. Appreciate you. Just want to honor you for the work you do. You’re a great leader. And I love how God’s using you and your church to make a difference. Thanks for being on the show today.Andrew Hopper — Thanks, brother.

100th episode!!!! Hello everyone and welcome back to Trudge Report. The whole crew is back in action this week as we are all home and settled in post New Year. After a quick around the horn and recap of our holiday and New Year travels and escapades we do some brief sports talk before getting into the main material of the show. We pay homage to Shawn's long time mentor in recovery of over 14 years who recently passed away and went to the Big Meeting in the sky. Next we pay tribute to 100 episodes of Trudge Report. Each of us take a turn talking about lasting memories and how we started. The recovery segment is all about fear. Irrational fear, self-centered fear, fear in early recovery as opposed to current day fear. How we deal with these fears and most importantly, how we turn it over to our Higher Powers and the steps we take to eliminate or lessen these fears.“The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and they that lack the beginning have neither middle or end.” - John Bunyan. Don't forget to like, share, rate, and download the podcast on all of your listening platforms. Check out and subscribe to our YouTube channel, @trudgrereportpod, for other content surrounding sports and trending topics. Trudge on good people. Contact the Guys:Instagram: @trudgereportpodFacebook: Trudge ReportTikTok: trudgereportpodYouTube: @trudgereportpod 

A saved John Bunyan now labors for the souls of others in his ministry. As he gains more visbility in his service, the enemy attacks him through the tongues of some very evil people.

John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress is widely regarded as one of the most significant works of Protestant literature. It's been translated into over 200 languages and was once only second to the Bible in popularity. Ed Stetzer talks with Andy Draycott about his book, Into the Pilgrimverse, that has transformed this 17th century classic into a modern-day journey delving into issues like biblical fidelity, missions, gender, race and sexuality in this spiritual classic on Ed Stetzer Live. Ed Stetzer Live is a listener supported program. To donate, click here. To learn more about Ed Stetzer, click here. To learn more about Ed Stetzer Live, click here.Donate to Moody Radio: http://moodyradio.org/donateto/edstetzerliveSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The latest part in our Pilgrim's Progress series.

The gospel of God is to be offered freely to all. Accordingly, all who hear the gospel have a warrant to believe it. As Samuel Rutherford wrote, 'reprobates have as fair a warrant to believe as the elect have.' This week we consider the offer of the gospel made freely by God, addressed to every sinner—indeed, addressed to you and to me.    Featured resources: – Iain H. Murray, 'The Free Offer of the Gospel,' Banner of Truth Magazine, Issue 11 (June 1958).  – Robert Murray M'Cheyne, excerpt from his sermon 'The Acceptable Year of the Lord' on Isaiah 61:1–3, found in Andrew Bonar, Memoir and Remains of Robert Murray M'Cheyne (1844, repr. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1966, 2024), pages 583–4.    Banner Resources on the Free Offer of the Gospel:  Andrew Fuller, 'The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation' in The Works of Andrew Fuller (clothbound, 1012 pages) Iain H. Murray, Spurgeon vs. Hyper-Calvinism: The Battle for Gospel Preaching (paperback, 168 pages) John Bunyan, The Jerusalem Sinner Saved (paperback, 144 pages) John Murray, The Free Offer of the Gospel (booklet, 32 pages)     Explore the work of the Banner of Truth: www.banneroftruth.org Subscribe to the Magazine (print/digital/both): www.banneroftruth.org/magazine Leave us your feedback or a testimony: www.speakpipe.com/magazinepodcast

In this episode, we talk about allegory and cattle. Oh, and Pilgrim's Progress

Real spirituality begins the moment you do something for someone who can never repay you. In this solo episode, Raghunath and co-host Prana Priya take John Bunyan's famous line—"You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you"—and hold it up to the light of Bhakti Yoga. From music-industry schmoozing to Vrindavan's envy-free culture, from 12-step wisdom to deathbed courage, this conversation explores what happens when relationships shift from "What can I get?" to "How can I serve?" ******************************************************************** LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108 *********************************************************************

In Episode 224 of Theology In Particular, Joe and Daniel speak with Dr. Jim Renihan about the life of Wiliam Kiffen, his literary output, and the controversy he had with John Bunyan about church communion.   Contact: For information about International Reformed Baptist Seminary, go to irbsseminary.org. For feedback, questions, or suggestions, email Joe Anady at tip@irbsseminary.org.

November 12, 1660. English nonconformist preacher John Bunyan is arrested. During the 12 years he spends in prison, he starts writing his famous book The Pilgrim's Progress.Support the show! Join Into History for ad-free listening and more.History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser.Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Every Christian's pilgrimage in this world will one day come to an end. Today, Derek Thomas describes Christian's arrival at the Celestial City in The Pilgrim's Progress and presents lessons we can draw from this happy ending. For your donation of any amount, receive The Pilgrim's Progress book by John Bunyan, together with Derek Thomas' video teaching series on DVD. You'll also get lifetime digital access to this 19-message series and its study guide: https://gift.renewingyourmind.org/4401/offer   Live outside the U.S. and Canada? Get the digital teaching series and study guide with your donation: https://www.renewingyourmind.org/global   Meet Today's Teacher:   Derek Thomas is a Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow and Chancellor's Professor of Systematic and Pastoral Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary.   Meet the Host:   Nathan W. Bingham is vice president of media for Ligonier Ministries, executive producer and host of Renewing Your Mind, and host of the Ask Ligonier podcast. Renewing Your Mind is a donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Explore all of our podcasts: https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts

The Puritans called the Lord's Day "the market day of the soul," when God's people are strengthened and refreshed on their journey toward heaven. Today, Derek Thomas explores John Bunyan's illustration of the Delectable Mountains. For your donation of any amount, receive The Pilgrim's Progress book by John Bunyan, together with Derek Thomas' video teaching series on DVD. You'll also get lifetime digital access to this 19-message series and its study guide: https://gift.renewingyourmind.org/4401/offer   Live outside the U.S. and Canada? Get the digital teaching series and study guide with your donation: https://www.renewingyourmind.org/global   Meet Today's Teacher:   Derek Thomas is a Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow and Chancellor's Professor of Systematic and Pastoral Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary.   Meet the Host:   Nathan W. Bingham is vice president of media for Ligonier Ministries, executive producer and host of Renewing Your Mind, and host of the Ask Ligonier podcast. Renewing Your Mind is a donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Explore all of our podcasts: https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts

God's people are not immune to doubt, discouragement, and depression. But even in these dreaded times, we have hope in Christ. Today, Derek Thomas explores one of the darkest yet most profound scenes in The Pilgrim's Progress. For your donation of any amount, receive The Pilgrim's Progress book by John Bunyan, together with Derek Thomas' video teaching series on DVD. You'll also get lifetime digital access to this 19-message series and its study guide: https://gift.renewingyourmind.org/4401/offer   Live outside the U.S. and Canada? Get the digital teaching series and study guide with your donation: https://www.renewingyourmind.org/global   Meet Today's Teacher:   Derek Thomas is a Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow and Chancellor's Professor of Systematic and Pastoral Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary.   Meet the Host:   Nathan W. Bingham is vice president of media for Ligonier Ministries, executive producer and host of Renewing Your Mind, and host of the Ask Ligonier podcast. Renewing Your Mind is a donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Explore all of our podcasts: https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts

While some dangers in the Christian life are easy to spot, others are subtle and insidious. Today, Derek Thomas considers the seductive temptations of Vanity Fair in The Pilgrim's Progress. For your donation of any amount, receive The Pilgrim's Progress book by John Bunyan, together with Derek Thomas' video teaching series on DVD. You'll also get lifetime digital access to this 19-message series and its study guide: https://gift.renewingyourmind.org/4401/offer   Live outside the U.S. and Canada? Get the digital teaching series and study guide with your donation: https://www.renewingyourmind.org/global   Meet Today's Teacher:   Derek Thomas is a Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow and Chancellor's Professor of Systematic and Pastoral Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary.   Meet the Host:   Nathan W. Bingham is vice president of media for Ligonier Ministries, executive producer and host of Renewing Your Mind, and host of the Ask Ligonier podcast. Renewing Your Mind is a donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Explore all of our podcasts: https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts

During difficult times, Christians can be vulnerable to temptation and doubt. Today, Derek Thomas brings encouragement from The Pilgrim's Progress, the classic book by John Bunyan: God will not desert His people. For your donation of any amount, receive The Pilgrim's Progress book by John Bunyan, together with Derek Thomas' video teaching series on DVD. You'll also get lifetime digital access to this 19-message series and its study guide: https://gift.renewingyourmind.org/4401/offer   Live outside the U.S. and Canada? Get the digital teaching series and study guide with your donation: https://www.renewingyourmind.org/global   Meet Today's Teacher:   Derek Thomas is a Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow and Chancellor's Professor of Systematic and Pastoral Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary.   Meet the Host:   Nathan W. Bingham is vice president of media for Ligonier Ministries, executive producer and host of Renewing Your Mind, and host of the Ask Ligonier podcast. Renewing Your Mind is a donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Explore all of our podcasts: https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts

Send us a textGUEST: JAMIE BAMBRICK, Associate Pastor Hope Church, Craigavon, Northern IrelandFor nearly 1500 years, Britain has been a Christian nation—Roman Catholic for centuries and then Protestant since the Reformation in the 16th century. In fact, the nation has an official Christian church—the Church of England.Britain is known for some of the most impactful preachers, such as John Knox (Scotland), John Bunyan, Charles Spurgeon, William Booth (Salvation Army), and Martin Lloyd Jones. It would not be an overstatement to say that Britain was the seat of Protestant Christianity for several centuries.So it is hard to understand how a nation known for its Christianity is so willing to throw it all away. How is that happening? Over the last 20 years or so, Britain has welcomed millions of Muslims into their land to the point that the most common birth name in England is Muhammad. Nine major cities, including London, have Islamic mayors. Muslims openly call for jihad and Sharia Law on the streets of England and Muslim gangs have raped English girls for years while the government covered it up for fear of creating “Islamophobia.”Jamie Bambrick is a pastor and well-known YouTuber in Belfast, Northern Island, which is one of four nations that comprise the United Kingdom (England, Wales, and Scotland are the others). Jamie joins us to discuss the societal suicide that is taking place, particularly in England, and how Christians in America need to be aware and vigilant about what is taking place here. For example, New York City, the cultural and financial hub of our country, is set to elect a communist Muslim to be mayor. The same thing is taking place here in Minneapolis.Jamie will also report on how other liberties are being restricted through arrests for social media posts and praying outside abortion clinics to a nation ID card called BritCard, which will allow government to track and control your life and movement.From co-authors Mark Hopson and Jamie Bambrick, Set Free is for anyone searching for answers, wrestling with doubts or wondering if real change is possible. It's about breaking free from the lies we believe — about ourselves, about God and about what will make us happy. It's also about discovering the truth, purpose and hope we were made for.