Podcast appearances and mentions of marty duren

Most pastors want to be liked and respected by their congregations. This desire is part of the reason they are motivated to serve others. However, approval addiction can become a major barrier to leadership. When people pleasing becomes the priority, pastors often do more harm than good in their congregations. Marty Duren joins Josh and Sam to discuss this important topic. The post Approval Addiction, People Pleasing, and How Pastors Can Let Go appeared first on Church Answers.

Marty Duren joins Amy Fritz on the Untangled Faith podcast to explore the intersections of faith, politics, and societal issues. Subscribe to my newsletter: https://untangledfaith.substack.com In this episode Amy and Marty: Talk about Marty's journey away from the Moral Majority Discuss the impact of Christian Nationalism and how that's different than patriotism Consider how proximity changes how we understand different issues. Talk about why Marty hates the word "impactful"!   Featured Guest Mary Duren Kingdom in the Midst - On Earth as It is in Heaven Marty on Bluesky: Marty Duren (@martyduren.bsky.social) — Bluesky Marty on Facebook: Facebook   Resources mentioned Faithful Counseling- get 10% off here: BetterHelp - Get Started & Sign-Up Today Marty's Book, The Disparate Ones https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-disparate-ones-essays-on-being-in-the-world-but-not-of-the-world/ae8b8e3c312ea6ff?ean=9781736282182&next=t&next=t Blood Brothers https://amzn.to/41qTiYq The Hundred Years' War on Palestine https://amzn.to/4i3G9fa Whose Promised Land  https://amzn.to/43lCULB A Stranger In the Land https://amzn.to/43lCULB   Tell Your Friends! If you loved this episode, leave us a review on your favorite podcast app and share it with a friend. Tag us if you share it on social media.   Follow Untangled Faith wherever you listen to podcasts Follow on Apple podcasts Subscribe on YouTube Follow on Spotify Follow on Podcast Addict   Want to share your thoughts with us or talk about partnering with the show? Email: amy@untangledfaithpodcast.com Follow me on Instagram Follow me on Threads Follow me on BlueSky

Journalist and author Tim Alberta joins Uncommontary host Marty Duren in a conversation about Christians in an American age of extremism.

GUEST: MARTY DUREN Writer and former podcaster Marty Duren joins the show to provide a unique perspective on thankfulness and hope. He and host, Melvin E. Edwards, discuss their favorite music, memories, and bucket list travel destinations. We hope you will join the conversation and feel inspired to have a similar conversation with your own friends and family on Thanksgiving Day. Episode sponsors: Blinkist: https://blinkist-us.pxf.io/q4BPQO Anker: https://anker.pxf.io/rQOYrQ The full video is available at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfMbDu9D33pLyWHp7hfREgQ

Pastor and author Eric Costanzo talks to Uncommontary host Marty Duren about how marginalized Kingdom voices can help the church in America.

Catherine Mansell of Coffee Bean Corral joins Uncommontary host Marty Duren in a conversation that's all about coffee.

Matthew Heise joins Uncommontary host Marty Duren in a conversation about persecution of Lutheran Christians in the early days of the Soviet Union.

João Chavez joins Uncommontary host Marty Duren in a conversation about post-Confederacy Southern Baptist missions in South America.

Veteran "Godbeat" journalist Bob Smietana joins Uncommontary host Marty Duren to discuss his observations on religion in America.

Professor Paul D. Miller joins Uncommontary host Marty Duren in a conversation about the danger of Christian Nationalism.

On this episode, pastor and author Eric Schumacher joins host Marty Duren in a coversation about the challenges men have grieving miscarriages.  Transcript Marty Duren: Welcome to Launch-The GCC Podcast. I'm your host, Marty Duren, director of communications for the Great Commission Collective. We're a global network of churches partnering together to plant churches and strengthen leaders. My guest today on Launch is Eric Schumacher. He's a pastor and author. We're going to be talking about his book, Ours: Biblical Comfort for Men Grieving Miscarriage. This is a timely subject. It's always applicable, whether you're dealing with miscarriage in your own family, or whether you're a pastor and you're dealing with people who are struggling through the aftermath of having had a miscarriage. This is a timely and helpful book. Paul David Tripp says "This book is full of helpful insights and answers, but the best thing it gives you is Jesus." I hope both this book and this conversation are helpful to you. Marty Duren: Welcome back to Launch. As previously mentioned in the intro section, my guest is Eric Schumacher, and he has written a really, really helpful book. If you're a pastor, you possibly have been through this yourself. If not, you definitely have counseled someone who has been through, a couple who's been through miscarriage. The unique thing about Eric's book is its biblical comfort for men grieving miscarriage. This is just recently out, right? Eric Schumacher: Yeah. It releases July 1. Marty Duren: Oh, so it's recently not out. Eric Schumacher: We're recently not out. Marty Duren: We're recording just before it releases. Eric Schumacher: For a limited time only, it's not out. Marty Duren: That's right. So prayerfully by the time you get this, you can pre-order it on your favorite online website. So welcome to Launch, man. It's really great to have you here. Eric Schumacher: Yeah. Thanks, Marty, for having me. I've enjoyed knowing you over Twitter for quite some time. So it's good to put a face and a voice with the account. Marty Duren: Oh, okay. So putting a voice with it means you've never listened to my other podcast, right? Eric Schumacher: Well, whoa, whoa. Yeah. Let's talk about my book, shall we? Marty Duren: Okay. Truth comes out. We're not editing this part either, dude. Hey, for folks who don't know who Eric Schumacher is, take a couple minutes to...you're a pastor, but what else? Eric Schumacher: I'm a husband of Jenny for almost 24 years. So next month we'll celebrate 24 years. Marty Duren: Congrats on that. Eric Schumacher: We have five kids in our home, four teenagers right now. Oldest will be 20 next month. The youngest is 10; four boys and a girl. That keeps life very busy. And my wife, Jenny, is a... She's my better 9/10. She's tremendous. Marty Duren: That's awesome. I can believe that. I can believe that she's 9/10 of the better. Eric Schumacher: Yeah. Although, don't multiply me by nine and think that's all she is. I'm being very generous with myself. Marty Duren: So, you got all these kids. You got a 10-year age range with five kids. Are they at least involved and interested, that like all play soccer one game after another? Or is like one in dance, one in piano, one in soccer, one in archery, that kind of thing? Eric Schumacher: The oldest one's in college, so he's pretty self-sufficient. And the 17-year-old has a really nice girlfriend, and that keeps him busy. And he has a summer job, so I'm thankful for that. The 15-year-old, he is involved in soccer and just started in a robotics competition team, that they went to the world championships in Houston. He was the robot driver for the whole team. Marty Duren: That's cool. Eric Schumacher: He's our outdoorsman. He's always outside doing something. He took over the shop in our garage when we moved to this new-to-us house. And he, unknown to any of us, discovered he had some kind of saw that would cut metal. So he started cutting circular saw blades, strips out of them, and making knives and like a [inaudible 00:04:19], throwing bat-sharpened things that could probably do a lot of harm to somebody. Marty Duren: Do the robots throw those? Eric Schumacher: No, he hasn't figured that out yet. I'm trying not to suggest that idea. Right now his dream is, he says when he turns 18 and graduates high school, he's going to be moving to Alaska and living as a survivalist. And he thinks he's prepared for that because he watches Life Below Zero and Bear Grylls. Marty Duren: Okay. I mean, what could go wrong? Eric Schumacher: I know. Buddy, there's a little bit more- Marty Duren: Has he read Into the Wild? Eric Schumacher: No, he has not. And I'm thinking about showing him that film. Marty Duren: Yes. Eric Schumacher: Buddy, there's a little bit more than knowing how to skin an animal and drink your own urine to living in Alaska. Although he was out at a friend's acreage a year or two ago, and their dog ran up with a rabbit that it had just caught. He was probably 13, pulled his pocket knife out and he skinned the rabbit, gutted it right there, and put her on a spit and built a fire and cooked it over it and ate it. Marty Duren: Wow. He went [inaudible 00:05:27] Castaway in about 10 seconds there, didn't he? Eric Schumacher: Yeah, he did. I'm going to get him a volleyball just to keep him company. Marty Duren: That's awesome. Eric Schumacher: Our daughter's 13. She's wonderful. She's a budding author. She's 50,000 words into a novel she's working on, and it's good. Better than I've written as an adult. Our 10-year-old, he's the sweetest and friendliest of all of our kids. And we're just trying to desperately figure out how to keep him that way. Marty Duren: Yeah, I hear you. I hear you. That's fantastic. Well, let's talk about Ours: Biblical Comfort for Men Grieving Miscarriage. I'm going to open up by saying that my wife and I never went through this, so I don't know how common or uncommon that makes us, and as a pastor, and I was in full-time pastoral ministry for 20-plus years I think, I can barely remember one or two incidences. So I think I'm somewhat of an anomaly that this is not a thing that I dealt with in ministry a lot. Of course, there's the possibility that people didn't even talk about it. You know, it happened in our church and people didn't say anything about it. But you're addressing the men in the story, so the dad-to-be and the unique struggles. What I love about your book is that you relate it to so many things were happening in the life of Jesus. So let's talk about it. First of all, how did you come to write this book? Eric Schumacher: Years ago, for your listeners' sake, my wife and I have experienced four miscarriages. I believe the statistic is one in four pregnancies end in miscarriage. As a pastor, one of the reasons you don't often hear about it is because people don't talk about it. I had written for Risen Motherhood, an article about my experience with miscarriage in order... They asked me to write it in order to help women understand what their husbands are going through. And so a few years back then, Abbey Wedgeworth asked me if I would include a testimony as a father in her book, Held. It's actually a companion volume to ours, but a 31-day resource, journaling resource, with devotions, walking through a Psalm. I got the book, and it's just fantastic. Eric Schumacher: It became immediately my go-to resource on miscarriage. And I just loved everything the Good Book Company did with it. All through our miscarriages, one of the things I talk about in the book is that I just never heard men talk about miscarriage, and I experienced firsthand how unprepared other men in the church were to care for a man walking through miscarriage, and even hospitals, just everywhere. For obvious reasons, miscarriage is thought about as a woman's thing, which it is, because they're the ones that are miscarrying, they're the ones that were pregnant. But every child has a mother and a father, and every mother wants the father to be involved in the pregnancy and wants the father to rejoice over the birth of the child. Eric Schumacher: I don't know who picked the title of the book at the Good Book Company, but that's what the name Ours is all about, is that this is ours. And so I just wrote Carl at the Good Book Company an email and said, "Hey, fantastic work on this volume. It's really good, and you really need to write one. You need to publish one for men, and I want to write it." They were gracious enough to do it, take a risk on it. Marty Duren: Is that how that works? Is that how that works, I just find a book and say "This is a great book and you need to write a companion and I need to write it." Is that how it works? Eric Schumacher: Sometimes, I guess. I don't know. First time I've tried it, but it won't be the last. Marty Duren: Worked for you. What I want to do is read some of the chapter titles and just let you comment, because it's set up with really short chapters. There's 31. So it's a month's worth of brief devotions with some opportunity for reflection. So it's not just, "Hey, I'm going to read this and go to work," it's "I'm going to sit with this a little bit. I'm going to process this and process myself as I process this." Let's hit just a few of the chapter titles, give everybody an idea of what's going on. And then I think this is going to become a go-to for a lot of folks, to be honest with you. Second chapter, Have I Really Lost a Child? What is that? And why is it significant? Eric Schumacher: What you mentioned earlier about incidents from the life of Jesus for your listeners, the book walks through the book of Luke in over 31 days. What I did before I wrote it is, I wrote down questions that are common for people to ask as they're going through miscarriage, and then put them together with the Suffering Servant and how he cared for suffering people. And so I picked Luke. One of the many reasons I picked Luke is because it starts with barrenness with Elizabeth and Zechariah, and then it opens with a chapter dealing with children in the womb. We're in a culture that you and I and everyone listening, we all know this, that there's a lot of debate about abortion right now. And we're in a culture that does not always value life in the womb, or diminishes the value of life in the womb. Eric Schumacher: And miscarriage is an unseen suffering in the sense that, maybe if you've been able to have a sonogram, you've seen the child, but often it's unseen, a very unseen loss. And so you didn't know this child, most often you weren't able to hold the child unless it was far enough along you could, after delivery. And so it's easy to say, was this really a baby? Was this really this? And I love the fact that right there in the first two chapters of Luke, he uses the word [inaudible 00:12:01], which is the word for baby, or child. And he uses it of what leapt Elizabeth's womb and what Mary laid in the manger. And it's every bit as much a child. Marty Duren: Does God Know What I'm Going Through? Eric Schumacher: Yeah. That question. It's easy to look at Jesus and say, "Well, he was never a father. Does he know what I'm going through?" But the main event in the Gospel of Luke, what it's leading up to, is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God. And that means our God knows what it's like to lose a child, to watch a child die, and he can sympathize. Marty Duren: What Do I Do With My Anger? Eric Schumacher: Miscarriage is one of those situations where I think, as fathers, we feel this right and benevolent desire to protect our wives, protect our wife, and protect our children. And miscarriage is one of those things where it doesn't matter what you do, there's nothing you could have done to protect your wife or your child from this pain and its loss. So anger is a common response to feeling an injustice, to feeling frustrated because what the good thing you want to have happen, you're not able to do, something's frustrated it. So, yeah, I think Jesus offers some good hope there for men who are experiencing anger in response. Marty Duren: You have a chapter on caring for the man caring for his wife. I can't imagine much more of a minefield for a guy, especially for guys, what we think of as the typical guy, who's not greatly in touch with his emotions and doesn't always know how to respond when the wife is deeply in touch with hers. Talk a little bit about the guy who this has happened to, or the pastors ministering to a dude, and he's just like, what do I say to my wife? Eric Schumacher: Yeah. I think you hit the nail on the head. Everyone grieves in different ways and at different times. And that really comes out in miscarriage, because often when they find out about the miscarriage, the man moves into not necessarily fix-it mode, because he can't fix it, but to-do-list mode. And if there's other children, I need to make sure they get to school, I need to run them to soccer practice, I need to make sure meals are covered, I need to go to the pharmacy to pick up medications for her. I'm going to do all the things I can to sort of just bury my emotions in busyness. And there can also be the temptation to think, if he is grieving and feeling emotional about this, to think, well, man, I can't really say anything about that. I can't say that I'm not doing well, because this happened to her. And I don't want to diminish her grief by just sitting on the bed with her and weeping. Eric Schumacher: I tell guys, your wife, you were both there when this child was conceived, and she wanted you to be there when the child was born, and you planned to raise this child together. Don't make her walk through this loss alone. This was always yours together. Somebody else can run the kids around. You have church, family, friends, somebody else can get the meals. Somebody else can do all the things, but you're really the one who needs to be sitting with her and mourning with her. And if you don't feel those feelings right now, just sympathize with hers, and your feelings will come. And sometimes the Lord allows us to grieve at different times so that we can care for each other in those seasons. If the Gospel of Luke is about anything, it's about God taking on flesh and being present with us. Be that with your wife. Marty Duren: So here's the chapter that when I saw it, it really grabbed my attention. Does My Grief Make Me Useless to Jesus? Does My Grief Make Me Useless to Jesus? How did you even come up with that [inaudible 00:16:33]? Eric Schumacher: Depending on what sort of tribe people are in spiritually and all that, you, we can get this mindset that to be useful to Jesus, we always need to be doing something, out there accomplishing something, serving somebody else, these sorts of things. When grief gets to be so intense that all we can do is sit there and cry, we can begin to think, well, now I'm not only a failure to my wife because I can't do all the things, and I'm not only a failure to my children, now I'm a failure to God. Because if I really had faith, I'd be strong enough to get up and get out there and brush this off and go do things. Eric Schumacher: That's not the Jesus we meet in the gospel. He's weeping at Lazarus's tomb, and he's so sorrowful in the Garden of Gethsemane, his soul is sorrowful even to the point of death. And I would add our grief is not useless, it's a form of worship. Because grief is a way of saying, "God, I know you exist. I know that you're good. I know that this situation is wrong in some sense, because the world's broken," and there's no reason to grieve unless you believe those things about God. And so it's an acknowledgement of his goodness and that he's the only one we can turn to. Marty Duren: How Should I Care For My Other Children? Eric Schumacher: Depending on how each of the parents are doing, it can be difficult just to interact with the other children in the midst of grief. But the other thing is, is what can these kids, depending on their ages, understand? And I don't think it's wrong to bring our children into our grief. This is a sibling. They may have known about the pregnancy. It may have been early enough they didn't know about it, but they are going to live in a world that is filled with death and sorrow and brokenness, and this is an opportunity to show them how we face it and hope in Jesus through it. Marty Duren: I don't think you addressed this in the... You don't have a chapter by this name. You might address this, so I'm going to ask you to talk about it a little bit, because it's right in the same narrative. A lot of miscarriages do happen, and you just referenced this, really early on. The mom knows that she's expecting, has probably shared it, probably showed Dad the lines, or the line, whichever way it goes, on the test. And then they may not have told other people. So you mentioned [inaudible 00:19:40] they might not have told anybody yet. Because maybe it's pre a certain amount of weeks and they're going to [inaudible 00:19:45] a certain amount of weeks, then there's a miscarriage, they lose the baby. Marty Duren: Talk to a pastor who's counseling, or a couple who are going through that very scenario, and they're trying to decide who they tell and what they tell and when they tell. Because if they're really grieving, they can't hide the grief. And so they go to church on Sunday or they go to church on Wednesday night or go to some activity related to church, and they're grieving. They can't hide the fact that they're grieving, but they don't just want to come out and say it. Walk through how to address how you share that story. Eric Schumacher: I think it's a really great question. One thing I like to emphasize is that every miscarriage is unique, none of them duplicate entirely, the circumstances stage the pregnancy, all those things. And the people are unique. So all of that needs to be taken into account as you answer that question. I would begin by just sympathizing with them, validating their grief, that it's right that they feel this way. It's a right and good way to feel, and then to ask them, who are the people that know you best, and that you feel like would understand and be safe to share with? They could share with the whole church if they wanted to, or if they wanted to just share with you and the pastoral staff or their small group leaders or their small group, or whoever it might be. Eric Schumacher: I would encourage them, who are the people that are going to understand and care for you? Because particularly, even with an announced pregnancy, you live with that every day. And the people you tell rejoice with you, but they're not preparing a nursery; they're not dreaming about playing football in the backyard; and they're not acquainted with this child in the ways that you are and dreaming about this child the way that you are. So it's very easy for people to hear the news, be sorrowful with you, and then just move on and sort of forget about it, which is tragic. And that can be very hurtful if a church responds like that. And so I think part of what I want to do as a pastor is point them to people who are going to sit with them in the grief and remain with them in the grief and make sure they're cared for after the initial announcement. Marty Duren: Eric Schumacher, your book is Ours: Biblical Comfort for Men Grieving Miscarriage, will be available I think you said July 1st, Eric Schumacher: That's right. Marty Duren: From the Good Book Company. Do you know if they're going to be offering, if a church wanted to buy 20 or 30 or whatever, can they order directly from the company at a rate or [inaudible 00:22:42]? Eric Schumacher: You can. And, in fact, if you're with a church or ministry, the Good Book Company on their website has a ministry partners program, where if you sign up through whatever ministry that you help lead, you can get a free sample of any resource you want, and then I think 40% off for ministry purposes purchases. It sounds self-serving, but I would just encourage every pastor to grab two or three or four or five copies of both Abbey's book, Held, and Ours, and just have them in your study so that you don't have to wait to order it when the miscarriage happens. You can grab a copy of each and head to their home with a meal and just leave it as a gift for them. Marty Duren: That's awesome. Eric [inaudible 00:23:31], hanging out today, man. Eric Schumacher: Yeah. Thank you, Marty. It's been good. Marty Duren: Thank you for listening to Launch-The GCC Podcast. If you haven't subscribed already, why not take a moment to do that in your favorite podcast app. Also, rate and review the podcast when you get a moment. That helps us with search results. And recommend us to your friends, maybe other pastors that you know who will benefit from the content from this podcast. Also, don't forget to check out our website, if you haven't done that already. It's gccollective.org. That's gccollective.org, and there's a lot of helpful information. There's articles, there's how you can join the GCC, whether a church planter or an existing church, and plenty of other content that'll help you grow spiritually and encourage you in your leadership journey.

Historian and author Tracy McKenzie joins Uncommontary host Marty Duren in a conversation about non-virtuous Americans.

Public Theologian, Dr. Russell Moore, joins Uncommontary host Marty Duren to talk about the present and possible future states of American Evangelicalism.

This episode of Launch is the audio track of a conversation between GCC's Director of International Ministries Corey Schmatjen and GCC pastor and regional network leader, Kenyatta Lewis. Watch this conversation on Vimeo. Episode Transcript: Marty Duren: Welcome to Launch, the GCC Podcast. I'm your host, Marty Duren, Director of Communications for the Great Commission Collective. We're a global network of churches partnering together to plant churches and strengthen leaders. Marty Duren: On today's episode of Launch, you'll hear another conversation with our international ministries director, Corey Schmatjen, this time with Kenyatta Lewis. Kenyatta is the Senior Pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel in the Turks and Caicos. That's in the Caribbean, for those of you who are failing geography. He is well known among the GCC family. He's been the lead pastor there for a number of years. You may remember they dealt with a volcanic eruption in the not too distant past, and Kenyatta has dealt with some serious health issues, from which the Lord has brought him healthily through. And we are grateful for that. Think you're going to enjoy this conversation. Now here is Kenyatta and Corey. Corey: Well, welcome. My name is Corey Schmatjen. I serve with the Great Commission Collective as a Director of International Ministries. And I'm here today with Kenyatta Lewis. Kenyatta pastors a church in the Turks and Caicos. But even more than that, he provides regional care for our churches in the Caribbean. Corey: Well, Kenyatta, it is a joy to have you with us, and it is a big deal that you are here today, which we'll talk about in just a moment. I know it's been a challenging year for really everyone, when it comes to the pandemic, but for you in particular. COVID, a volcano in the Caribbean, St. Vincent, where you're from, as well as cancer. Could you just share a little bit with us what you've gone through this past year? Kenyatta: Yeah, yeah. Corey, it is so good to be here. Thank you for having me here. It's such a pleasure to be here, and I made it a plan to come here, and I'm just so thankful that I was able to come and just to share with other persons. Kenyatta: Yeah. So my journey over the last year has been a bit rough, to say the least. I went to St. Vincent. So I'm living in Turks and Caicos. And my family was in St. Vincent at the time. And I went to St. Vincent in March of 2021 on my daughter's birthday. And we celebrated that, and we had a great time. Kenyatta: And I was about to leave. I was living St. Vincent around April the 16th, and then the volcano, St. Vincent has an active volcano. It was having what was called... I forget the term now. I think it's effusive eruption or whatever, but it was steaming since December of 2020. And while I was there, April the ninth, it exploded. And thankfully, we were living in what was called a Green Zone, safer zone. So we were further south. The volcano was in the north of the island. And it erupted April the ninth. So here I am in St. Vincent, and I'm watching a live volcano erupting. And the ash bloom, and it went, I think what, 50 kilometers in the air and everything. So that happened. Kenyatta: But in the midst of that, God's people came together, and I had an opportunity to be in the middle of the relief effort. So we talked, probably a day or two after, and we spoke. And then you were like, "Hey, GCC is fully behind what's happening." Now I pastor in Turks and Caicos, though I'm Vincentian, and [inaudible 00:03:51] who is Vincentian. So we connected with him and started doing some stuff together. And then some relationships that I had with, or rather I have with Samaritan Spurs and Mission of Hope Haiti, and then our church back in Turks and Caicos and individuals, people were just coming together and saying how could we help? So I was in the middle of food and water and bringing relief effort and really enjoying it. Kenyatta: Then one day I was getting some knapsacks, 14 knapsacks to give to kids who were in a shelter. And I started feeling sick, really, really, really sick, really bad headache. And I had to be hospitalized. That was around April the 30th. I went to the hospital and they diagnosed me with a brain stroke. They said I had a brain stroke. And that was difficult to hear, of course, because I'm a young guy. I may only looks so right, but I'm still young. And my blood level, my hemoglobin level was extremely low, eight point something. So for the rest of May into June, I was just recovering. Kenyatta: And then eventually I went back to Turks and Caicos and my primary general practitioner, I went to him and we did a series of tests. And when he got back one of the results, he prayed with me. He's a Christian. He comes to our church. He got back one of the results and he said, "You're going to have a journey ahead, a very difficult journey." And he prayed with me and I went, "Okay, okay. Cool." And then one day I was home. This is in July, I was home. And the doctor called. I had done a colonoscopy. I don't recommend it. That was my first time. And I hope it would be my last time. And he called me and he said, "You have colon cancer and it's spread to the liver, and you have to go to Jamaica and you have to operate on it right away." Kenyatta: And I was like, "I need time." And right after he called, the hospital called. And right after the hospital called, somebody else called to work out me getting on a plane and whatnot. And everything changed in 30 minutes. And it was just difficult at that time. But God opened so many doors. So I'm on a plane, went to Jamaica, went with a friend of mine and they operated August 2nd. The doctor had said it was going to be a four-hour operation. It lasted nine hours. But again, God's grace. And that has been a theme that I got what was considered the A team, the best care possible, probably in the Caribbean, that these guys were all internationally known. They were all well-respected. So one guy worked on my colon and one guy worked on my liver and they were considered the best in their field. And they were so good. They were so encouraging. And they, by God's grace, they got it. They got the section of the colon that was infected out. They took half my liver. Kenyatta: And then I realized after that, they had also taken my gallbladder, which they added, "Oh, by the way, you don't have a gallbladder anymore." So recovery was difficult. And I was able to travel back to extent Turks and Caicos around August 27. So I spent a month in Jamaica and then just slowly getting back to normal, slowly getting back to normal. And then I started chemotherapy in October. And as difficult as it has been, because I'm still doing chemo and chemo is another, it's another trip, right? As difficult as it has been, the grace of God, his goodness, his mercy, people like yourself, praying, other church, churches all across the world, literally all across the GCC network in the Caribbean, just coming together and praying. It has been amazing. And I've seen God's grace. I've seen God's hand, I've seen God's provision during the most difficult time of my life I could say. And I've seen God's goodness through. Kenyatta: So I'm still in the midst of my treatment. I have eight cycles to do. I'm at number four. I'm praying that I don't have to do all eight because the chemo takes a turn on my body, but I'm so grateful that they were able to get it. It had not progressed as far as it could have been. I think it was stage three, going to stage four and the chemo has been helping. And I have a great oncology team, great support. The church back in Turks has been so wonderful. So I've been blessed. I've been blessed. Corey: Well, Kenyatta hearing that story, I would not wish that or desire that for anyone. And at the same time, we know that God uses suffering. Kenyatta: Yes. Corey: And could you just share with us, I think it was a comment that a local pastor made as he engaged with you and saw not only your suffering, but how you shared and talked about your suffering as well. Kenyatta: One of the things that we had prayed was that God would use this as an opportunity to advance his kingdom and his name. So we were very open with what was happening and what I was going through. And my wife Divia was just excellent. She was writing these updates and she was sending it out and people were sharing it. And we felt it was important to share with people. So Turks is a very small community. It's a very close knit community, also less than 50,000 people. And oftentimes people have gone through difficulties, but they keep it to themselves. They don't share, for whatever reason. And I was just the opposite, just sharing. So when I got back to Turks, people were walking up to me and saying, "Hey, Pastor Kenyatta, we are praying for you. Our church prayed for you." Kenyatta: And a few pastors said to me, "Thank you so much for being so open because that's not the norm. Thank you so much for being so transparent. Because people get sick, they keep it to themselves. They don't share it with anybody and whether they die or whether they recover or whatnot, it's not of value that people are sharing. And you are doing the opposite. You are actually saying this is my struggle. And this is what God is doing." Kenyatta: And I've had people from English-speaking churches, Haitian Creole speaking churches who have said, "We have heard what's going on. And we are praying for you." Members of their churches have said to me, "We have heard what's going on. We are praying for you." Pastors have come and said, "Thank you so much for being vulnerable and being transparent. We are praying for you."` And I think what that has done, it's in a small way, just brought the community of churches, churches that I've worked with in the past, churches that we as a church in Turks and Caicos, we have worked with who have said, "We are praying for you." Kenyatta: And I hope that that vulnerability would help other people to realize, hey, pastors are human and we go through struggles and we go through challenges and we need, as much as you do, we need your prayers. We need your support. We need your, "Hey pastor, we are thinking about you. We are praying for you." So it was so good hearing that. It's not always easy being that transparent, but it's something that God has really placed on our heart. So we are very open with these struggles [inaudible 00:12:09] time. So when people ask, "How are you doing?" I say, "Today has been a good day." Or "Today is a good day." And if it's not, I say, "You know what? I was crying and it was probably the medication. Probably I'm getting older, but I'm thankful again for God's grace. He's been so, so good." Corey: Well Kenyatta, as a network leader for the Caribbean, obviously this was not part of your grand strategy. And obviously God is using it for much good and to advance his kingdom and testify at the reality of our Lord and savior through you. Speaking of church plant in the Caribbean, to transition here, when people think of the Caribbean, let's be honest. They think of vacation, at least in that sense. Kenyatta: Sun. Corey: Sun. Yeah. Kenyatta: And sea. Corey: Especially this time of year, winter. Kenyatta: Yes. Corey: But there's challenges to church planting in the Caribbean. Why don't you speak to some of those challenges that you face, but also the vision that you have for your people and your region, the Caribbean? Kenyatta: Yeah. So the Caribbean, English-speaking Caribbean, well, let me backtrack. The Caribbean has four main languages. Spanish is number one. Cuba still in the Caribbean because it's washed by the Caribbean sea. So Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico is American and it's still located. And then we have Haitian Creole. We have Dutch and we have English. So about 5 million people speak English, and that's across a number of countries, about 14 countries. So you have the Jamaica, which is bigger, Trinidad, which is bigger. Then you have small places like St. Kitts, Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda that have less than 100,000 people. So it's very diverse. Kenyatta: Now in the English-speaking Caribbean, we share some common things, common history, economic block, political system and structures. But there also some differences. There are racial differences, it's a very multicultural place. The Caribbean is, people think it's only Afro-Caribbeans, but you have in the Caribbean, Asian-Caribbean, so it's very multicultural. And while it's beautiful, there's some challenges, especially challenges to church planting. But you and I know when we say church planting, we are couching it in the idea that we are speaking of a specific type of church planting or a specific church that will be planted. Kenyatta: So one of the challenges that we have in the Caribbean is that it's a very churched area. We have a lot of churches and not all these churches are healthy. And some of these churches have hurt people, whether inadvertently or not, it's been, I don't know if you want to call it church abuse, if that's a good term. So some people have been turned off from churches and as such planting a church of the type that we want to plant is difficult because you're now talking to people who have been burnt, people who have been hurt, people who have said, "I've done the church thing and I don't want to do it again." Kenyatta: But in addition to that, you also have some church models and some church structures that are not the healthiest, probably skirting the whole idea of what an orthodox church is. So you have the prevalence of these movements and they're growing and they're influencing people and we know they would cause long term damage, because they're not healthy. They're not preaching a clear doctrine. They're not in relationships. And it's just not a good representation of who Jesus Christ is. So you have that to compete against, along with the other difficulties where each island brings its own unique context. So planting in Barbados, high cost of living. Planting in rural Jamaica, planting in Antigua, planting in Turks, while there's some similarities, there are also some challenges. Kenyatta: And we don't have a large number of theological institutions in the Caribbean. We have a little bit more now. So even trained pastors, that's another challenge, that a number of persons, I don't have exact figures at this time, but a number of church leaders have not been theologically trained. Or if they have, it's been minimal. So that poses a challenge. And I remember Lausanne Committee, about probably 10 or so years ago, mentioned one of the biggest problems that we face our church is biblically illiteracy. Kenyatta: So when you have a church leader who hasn't been exposed to solid grounded theological training, you know what's going to happen in the pulpit and then people are going to grow up in the church, so to speak, with a very limited understanding of who God is, a limited understanding of the gospel, a limited understanding of how the gospel impacts them. So that again is another challenge that some people are coming to the church need to unlearn what they've heard and then you need to reteach them, hey, this is what it is. So that's another challenge as it relates to church planting. Corey: So it sounds like the challenges are quite a few, manifest in terms of ethically, linguistically and politically. Kenyatta: Yes. Yes. Corey: Put all those together. Kenyatta: Yes. Corey: But that God uses gospel to unite. And I trust to use you, Kenyatta, to help train up theologically sound, gospel-centered church planters that would plant churches that would be healthy and multiplying in the Caribbean. Kenyatta: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Corey: And that is a hope, isn't it? Kenyatta: And that's something that's on my heart, too. It's something that God has placed on my heart to see spiritual renewal take place in the Caribbean amongst the healthy churches and also to see a spiritual awakening. There have been pockets here and there of where the gospel has been preached and it has borne fruit and churches have been formed. But then again, you have cases where it's not happened and the church has become a byword. The church has become secondary to what's happening. The church is losing relevance amongst young people. So it's my heart to see a renewed church, a strong church. And as you mentioned, a multiplying church. And we use the word healthy a lot in GCC, because it's actually one of the things that we focus on, healthy leaders, healthy churches. But even though we use it a lot, we can't over emphasize the importance of a healthy church and a healthy leader because there's such an increased prevalence of unhealthy churches and unhealthy leaders. Kenyatta: And we don't want to be pointing fingers and stuff like that, even though sometimes we may have to, but my hope and my vision for the Caribbean is that we will have healthy churches and strong leaders, people of integrity, people who are being discipled. And as such, God would be pleased to bring a spiritual awakening throughout the Caribbean region, through these churches and through these leaders. Corey: Amen. Kenyatta: Amen. Corey: Well may God get you healthy, Kenyatta to lead the charge there in the Caribbean. And may God continue to show his mercy upon you, his goodness and his power and provision for you. I think there's much work yet to be done in the Caribbean. And we're excited. We're leaning in, we're praying for you. Kenyatta: Yes. Thank you. Corey: And care for you, Kenyatta. Kenyatta: Thank you. Corey: Thank you so much for sharing today. Kenyatta: Really appreciate that. Thank you for having me, Corey. Corey: You're more than welcome. Well, thank you as well. If you'd like to know more about the Great Commission Collective, please see gccollective.org. Marty Duren: Thank you for listening to Launch, the GCC podcast. If you haven't subscribed already, why not take a moment to do that in your favorite podcast app. Also, rate and review the podcast when you get a moment. That helps us with search results and recommend us to your friends, maybe other pastors that you know, who'll benefit from the content from this podcast. Also, don't forget to check out our website if you haven't done that already. It's gccollective.org. That's gccollective.org, and there's a lot of helpful information. There's articles. There's how you can join the GCC, whether a church planter or an existing church and plenty of other content that'll help you grow spiritually and encourage you in your leadership journey.  

Dr. Lisa Bowens joins host Marty Duren in a conversation ranging from slavery to the Civil Rights Movement as African American preachers engaged Paul.

John Samvura, Regional Director of GCC East Africa, joins a conversation with GCC's Director of International Ministries Corey Schmatjen. This episode of Launch is another audio track from an interview done in February 2022.  Link to John Samvura interiew in Vimeo. Episode Transcript Marty Duren:                Welcome to Launch, The GCC Podcast. I'm your host, Marty Duren, director of communications for the Great Commission Collective. We're a global network of churches partnering together to plant churches and strengthen leaders. On today's episode of Launch, you're going to hear GCC's director of International Ministries, Corey Schmatjen in conversation with John Samvura from Africa. John Samvura is a church planter. He is originally from Congo, but he is currently living in Rwanda. In addition to being a church planter, he is GCC's regional director in East Africa. This conversation was recorded via video at the lead conference in February, 2022. This is the audio track from that video, which you can see on our Vimeo channel. It will be linked in the show notes today. Corey:                          Well, welcome. My name is Corey Schmatjen and I serve with the Great Commission Collective as the director of International Ministries. And today I have with me, John Samvura. John is a church planter and our regional director of the Great Commission Collective in East Africa. John is from the Congo, but lives in Rwanda. And John, it is such a joy to have you here today. John:                            Thank you so much. . Corey:                          I was just reminiscing about our time together when we first met over one year ago in Rwanda providentially, got COVID, you know the story well? But yet God allowed us to really get to know one another over that time, get to know you, your wife Zawadi, your son, Jayden. And it was such a joy. And during that time, got to know you on more personal level and realize that, wow, the church planting runs the family. There is a legacy there, and maybe you start off just sharing a little bit about your history, particularly the legacy of your father in church planting in East Africa. John:                            Thank you so much, Corey. As you said, I was born in the Congo, raised in Rwanda, several other countries, and I'm Rwandan actually. I'm from Rwanda. That's where I am a Rwanda national. I live in Rwanda and work in East Africa, as you've said. My father Andres Samvura, was a pastor and a church planter in Rwanda, in Congo, and I grew up seeing him work, and by God's grace, he began the movement of the Church of the Nazarene. So wherever you see the Churches of the Nazarenes in Rwanda and influenced the churches of the Nazarenes in Congo, the Eastern part of Congo as well. And then now, a lot of churches that were well planted during his time, they're still there and they're still growing. And... Corey:                          How many churches? Cause, I mean, I know it's a lot. John:                            Yeah, it is a lot. Now they will get to about 300 churches like local churches, if you were to count local churches. But I have seen many of those churches actually begun in our living room. And as a child, we would move, plan the church, my father was involved in a training assessment and in making sure that things are happening and I saw the hand of God in doing that. And I really believe that God loves the church and the transformation of the world. God works through the church. I have high value for the church and I've seen the church being used to transform real lives and real communities over my lifetime. Corey:                          Now I remember hearing your story that you didn't necessarily want to be a church planter, but God moved on your heart and changed your heart to follow in the footsteps. So to speak of your father. John:                            Actually, I would say, God really grabbed me. I grew up trying not to be not only a church planter, but also not to be a pastor. In where I come from, you are likely going to do what your parents do. I tried not to because one of the reasons is we were moving a lot. And the more I made friends, we move. Whenever I had... I wanted to have my kids have real friends stay in a place. I don't mind moving, but I didn't mind moving even that time. I didn't want to be a pastor at that time because I thought I could do something else. I wanted to do much better. My brother who is actually one of our pastors as well in our network was to be the pastor. He went to do theology, I chose to do business information technology. I didn't want to be a pastor. I tried not, but God grabbed me and you can't run away from God, Corey. You really can't run away from God on my ordination service, I said, "I didn't want to be a pastor," and many people like, "How didn't you want to be a..." But because many of the pastors knew me, they knew how God really brought me and used different... Even as I was trying to run away, He was pursuing me. And He shaping me to this day. Now, I don't think I need something more than what I'm doing. I am so passionate about serving the church and seeing churches planted, not just any church, but Christ centered churches, Bible preaching churches. I am going to do this for as long as I'm still alive and breathing, I want to see to be part of what God is doing. This is God's doing. And I believe that this gospel of the Kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the entire world as the testimony to the nations. And then the end will come. I am pursuing this, Corey. Corey:                          Wait, your heart is evident for church planting. I went to the States for some training. You surrendered to God, His call upon your life. Got some training, came back planted Harvest Mahoko. But your vision, as you mentioned, is so much greater than just planting a single church. You are helping facilitate and lead a church planting network in indigenous church planting network in East Africa. With that said, what would you say to the person who would say, "But John, there are so many churches in Africa. Sub-Sahara Africa, hasn't Africa been evangelized. Why do we need more churches?" John:                            You know what Corey, I am passionate about church planting. And we are not pursuing just any church. We are... As I told you, I am from Rwanda. And Rwanda is known for the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. And statistically, that country was over 80% Christian, but that was more of a movement. It lacked depth. It lacked personal convictions. It goes back to the history where the king became a Catholic and proclaimed the whole country as a Christian nation. And so what says the king, everybody goes. So it lacked the personal change, the personal transformation that a Christian life should be all about. And so we are pursuing making disciples and disciples who are Christ-like, who will walk with Christ, who will seek to glorify Him in all areas of life. By God's grace, we are planting and revitalizing churches in Rwanda. We have a Harvest Mahoko, as you said. It's growing really well. We have Kabare we have in several places in Rwanda, the churches that are really doing well. Now we also have ministries happening in Congo. We have churches in Masisi and Rutshuru, and we already have ready core groups in the city of Goma. And this city of Goma is a very influential city. That is where we have over 20,000 UN staff, and we want to be part of what God is doing. God is calling a people to Himself. Now, Uganda, we have Ernest Hategeka there with Christian Life Bible Church. And there, we are seeing God happen, doing amazing things in Uganda. And we have churches there and we want to plant more and revitalize the existing churches so they can be all about Christ and about His word. When you go to Kenya, we have core groups ready with Andy Ogeto in Kikuyu, we have Ken, we have a Muturi in Nyeri, I can't wait to see what God is going to do in East Africa. And you know what? Burundi as well. And I'm looking at getting to South Sudan because with all this region is known for a lot of, the Great Lakes region with a lot of wars and conflicts. And I believe Christ came so He can reconcile as to Himself and to His father, but also to one another. And we can have a family of Christ. I believe this is the right time for church planting, for church revitalization, not only Rwanda, in Africa alone, but throughout all the nations as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come. Corey:                          I love what you said, "You know our mission, well, planting churches and strengthening leaders." So what I hear is, we want to plant healthy local churches with strong leadership and strong elders and pluralities that can multiply and churches could be formed that are gospel centered and strong and have depth. And I know that is your heart, you're doing that. In just a recap. I mean, all these countries. So Rwanda, Congo, Uganda, Kenya, also Tanzania as well, Burundi. Yeah. John:                            Yeah, yes, and Burundi as well. In the Dar es Salaam, we have a very ready core group with the Florian Camara leading it. And we have visited different parts of Tanzania. The land is ready for Harvest and I can't wait to just be part of what God is doing because God has been working in those countries and He will continue to work. And we just want to be part of that. And it is His mission. We will do the great commission and we want to do it within the Spirit of the great Commandment. Yeah. Corey:                          Well, John, as you look at forming and growing this church planting network in the Great Lakes, East Africa region, what are some of the greatest challenges that you face? And number two, how can we pray for you in that endeavor? John:                            Yeah. We are praying, first of all, that you stand with us in prayers so that God will raise men who are committed and ready to move and to be used by God, and God is raising them, and thank you for praying. And we want to come to pray. The Bible says that the harvest is plentiful, but they harvest as a few that we asked the Lord of the harvest to bring more harvesters to His field. And we are praying and standing and looking and we want to steward out very well those opportunities. And also we are praying that we will get churches, individuals to stand with us. Many of these churches, they just need resourcing to be able to get their leaders trained and equipped well, and also resource to have places of worship to begin with, and we are planting strategically. We want to resource the churches that will multiply and be able to grow on their own. So we are looking at people to stand with us so we can be able to bring together these pastors at least once a year, so we can bring them together for more retraining, strategizing together, praying together, and also being more sharpened and equipped. We are praying that God will help bring people who will stand with us in these countries. In Rwanda, we want to build the churches lands available, and we are looking at resources to put up the buildings. In Uganda as well. Tanzania, Dar es Salaam is ready. The land is available. The core group is ready. We are praying that God will bring forth people to stand with us. So we can launch those churches in Kenya as well. Andy Ogeto in Kikuyu, Ken and Muturi. We are praying that God will bring forth a people who want to go out and with our resources to go and be part of what is God is doing. You may not be able to go physically as Corey, you are coming, but people can stand with us and resource us to go on the field. And we are looking at great harvest and God is in this. And it is His church. It is His mission and ours is to glorify Him and just be part of what He is doing. Corey:                          Well thank you John. Having been in an Africa, I do believe God is on the move and using you in significant ways. It is an honor to have you here with us. We'll be praying for you, and can't wait to see how God grows our partnership with you in the years to come. So thank you so much. John:                            You're most welcome, Corey. Thank you so much. Corey:                          Well, for more information about the Great Commission Collective, you can see gccollective.org, all that we are doing both North America and abroad and fulfilling the Great Commission. Marty Duren:                Thank you for listening to Launch to GCC podcast. If you haven't subscribed already, why not take a moment to do that in your favorite podcast app. Also, rate and review the podcast. When you get a moment that helps us with search results and recommend us to your friends, maybe other pastors that you know, who benefit from the content from this podcast. Also, don't forget to check out our website, if you haven't done that already, it's gccollective.org. That's gccollective.org, and there is a lot of helpful information. There is articles. That is how you can join the GCC, whether a church planter or an existing church, and plenty of other content that will help you grow spiritually and encourage you in your leadership journey.

Journalist and author Tony Messenger joins host Marty Duren for a troubling look at how poverty is criminalized and exploited for municipal gain.

Art historian and professor, Matt Milliner, joins host Marty Duren in a conversation about G.K. Chesterton, Native American art, and the wonder of God.

Great Commisison Collective President Dave Harvey joins co-host Marty Duren for a conversation about what distinguishes GCC as a church-planting network to help potential church planters see the upside of partnering with GCC to plant a church.  You can download a PDF of Is The GCC Right for You? here. For information about assessments and training, email: laura@gccollective.org.

Attorney Matt Martens joins host Marty Duren on this episode to talk about systemic injustices in the US legal system.

Marina Palenyy, formerly of Donbass, Ukraine, joins host Marty Duren to talk about the ongoing war and Ukrainian resilience in the face of it. 

Overview: Pastor Marty Duren joined the show to talk about growing up in church in the South and what ministry has looked like over the years. We covered culture, politics, and more. Hope you're encouraged by the conversation. Links & Show Notes:To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.

Social internet consultant and author Chris Martin joins host Marty Duren to talk about how to recognize what social media is doing to us.

GCC's Director of Training, John, Crabtree, joins host Marty Duren to discuss how our Learning Center can benefit the pastors, elders, and leaders in Great Commission Collective Churches.

We are in a debt of gratitude for this episode. This week we chat with our friend, Marty Duren, about his favorite cookies, hot takes on the TV series Lost, and his coffee routine. No matter if you use a Keurig or a French press, this episode is for you. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/holdonpodcast/message

On this episode Marty and Bob review a movie review, discuss the recent family separations at the border, and explore an Episcopal church property dispute. The post The Incredibles 2 rant, family separation, and Episcopal church property woes—The Fourth Estate, Ep.31 first appeared on Marty Duren.

On this delayed episode Marty and Bob discuss various topics that were in the news three weeks ago. The post Marty and Bob Talk About the News—The Fourth Estate, Ep.30 first appeared on Marty Duren.

On this episode Marty and Bob discuss James Shaw, hero of the Waffle House shooting; the IDF response to the Gaza protests; and several God Beat stories. The post Waffle House Hero, Gaza Mass Protests, the Bible in California—The Fourth Estate, Ep.29 first appeared on Marty Duren.

On this episode Marty and Bob discuss the heroic pilot, Tammie Jo Shults, the beautiful life and haunting death of Pearl Joy Brown, and the disintegration of Bill Hybels. The post Flight 1308, Pearl Joy Brown, and the Disintegration of Bill Hybels—The Fourth Estate, Ep.28 first appeared on Marty Duren.

On this episode Marty and Bob discuss the misunderstood Frankenstein, the blessing of the AK-47s, Russian deaths in a skirmish in Syria, and the meaning of "facts." The post Dead Russians in Syria, Frankenstein, and What is a fact?—The Fourth Estate, Ep.27 first appeared on Marty Duren.

Does generosity flow from our pockets and purses... or does it flow from our hearts? In this episode of the Lifeschool Podcast, we talk to author and cool brother Marty Duren about how we can be more generous people that live lives of blessing. What is it that keeps us from living with the grace and extravagant generosity that we've received as Christians? None of us were born with a single possession. We all started off naked. Everything we have in life—family, intelligence, education, money, homes… EVERYTHING—has been added to our lives by God. What we do with all of it, that's another story. Amazingly, God leaves that in our hands. In This Episode You'll Learn: How the gospel is a picture of generosity... and vice versa. What lurks in our hearts that keeps us from being more generous people. Our unbelief and fear connected to giving and generosity. Why seeing generosity only connected to money falls way short of the truth. Ways to begin to live less selfishly in all of life today. http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1209249450 (Get started here...) http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1209249450 () Most people do have forms of giving, benevolence, and generosity they engage in throughout their lifetime. Let's let the Gospel shape our intentionality and give us new eyes to connect all of this to God's glory. And… it is a BLAST to bless people when they least expect it!   Each week the Big 3 will give you immediate action steps to get you started.https://caesarkalinowski.lpages.co/leadbox/1459e40f3f72a2%3A134ffec37346dc/5713430174498816/ ( )https://123lifeschool.clickfunnels.com/big-3-download ()Download today's https://123lifeschool.clickfunnels.com/big-3-download (BIG 3 right now). Read and think over them again later. You might even want to share them with others…Thanks for Listening!Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you'd like to share? Join us on Facebook and take part in the discussion! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of this page or right below. Also, please leave an honest review for http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1209249450 (The Lifeschool Podcast on iTunes.) Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: https://123lifeschool.clickfunnels.com/big-3-download (Free Download of the Big 3 For Episode #154) Marty's book: https://www.amazon.com/Generous-Soul-Introduction-Missional-Giving-ebook/dp/B0046ZS2YG/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1516247056&sr=1-3&keywords=Marty+Duren (The Generous Soul: An Introduction to Missional Giving) http://www.missiopublishing.com/ (Missio Publishing – More Missional Books and Resources) http://www.caesarkalinowski.com/ (Caesar Kalinowski's Website and Blog with Loads of Resources)   https://www.facebook.com/groups/lspodcast/ ()

On this episode Marty and Bob welcome Vanessa Otero, creator of the Media Bias Chart, and founder of the All Generalizations are False blog, to talk about news, reporting, and bias. The post The Media Bias Chart, feat. Vanessa Otero—The Fourth Estate, Ep.26 first appeared on Marty Duren.

On this episode Marty Duren and Bob Smietana discuss the life of Billy Graham, and struggles at Newsweek magazine. The post Billy Graham, and more struggles at Newsweek—The Fourth Estate Podcast, Ep.25 first appeared on Marty Duren.

On this episode Marty and Bob discuss "fawning over" Kim Yo-Jong's Olympics visit, a bad NYT hire, and the grace of Kate Bowler. The post “Fawning” Kim Yo-Jong, NYT hiring problems, and Kate Bowler's grace—The Fourth Estate Podcast, Ep.24 first appeared on Marty Duren.

On this episode Marty and Bob discuss the problems at Moody Bible Institute and whether the Russia story can ever be untangled. The post Moody Blues and Russia Truth—The Fourth Estate Podcast, Ep.23 first appeared on Marty Duren.

On this episode Marty and Bob discuss the a Nigerian church that morphed into a city, the pope's take on fake news, and the journalistic process. The post Nigerian Megachurch Cities, Snake News, and the News Process—The Fourth Estate Podcast, Ep.22 first appeared on Marty Duren.

On this episode we discuss the erroneous missile attack on Hawaii, friends who break the law, support for Israel among younger evangelicals, and two deranged California parents. The post Fake Missiles, Crazed Parents, Friends on Trial, and Bob's Music—The Fourth Estate Podcast, Ep.21 first appeared on Marty Duren.

Old host Marty Duren is joined by new co-host Bob Smietana to talk about news and reporting. The post Cat Cults, Tom Brady, Mormon Obit, and Michael Wolff—The Fourth Estate Podcast, Ep.20 first appeared on Marty Duren.

One thing is clear: we won't know which poll to trust until it's all said and done. The post T4E Drive Time – October 25, 2016: The Polling Wars first appeared on Marty Duren.

Who won the first presidential debate? Depends on who you ask. But, who cares? Elon Musk is sending us to Mars! The post T4E Drive Time – September 28, 2016: The Debate and Going to Mars first appeared on Marty Duren.

In which I talk about the 25% in Evan McMullin's campaign that he needs to address to secure my vote. The post T4E Drive Time – September 1, 2016: Why I'm 75/25 on Evan McMullin first appeared on Marty Duren.

Todd Littleton, host of the /pa-theo-logical/ podcast, joins me today on this crossover episode. We are discussing the use of language in the public arena (for most of my listeners) and in the church (for many of his). The post Episode 19 – The Fourth Estate Podcast – The use of language first appeared on Marty Duren.

Electioneering by Reality TV? The post T4E Drive Time – August 23, 2016: TV and Election 2016 first appeared on Marty Duren.

Welfare, ISIS, Deportation. Subscribe via iTunes • Subscribe via RSS • Subscribe via Stitcher Sponsors Sponsor/advertiser slots for September 2016 are available. Contact me via the contact form for rates. If you enjoy T4E Drive Time, or the full length podcasts, consider a positive rate and review on iTunes! Thanks for reading and sharing. Don't forget to subscribe to email […] The post T4E Drive Time – August 22, 2016: Welfare, ISIS, Deportation first appeared on Marty Duren.

Whose plan differs from Obama's? The post T4E Drive Time – August 16, 2016: Fighting ISIS first appeared on Marty Duren.

What in the world is Evan McMullin doing? The post T4E Drive Time – August 10, 2016: Evan McMullin first appeared on Marty Duren.

No nation of liberty and law will ever be 100% from threat of terrorism. The post T4E Drive Time – August 2, 2016: Crime and Freedom first appeared on Marty Duren.

Is GWB the last Republican president? He thinks it could be true. The post T4E Drive Time – July 27, 2016: Is the GOParty over? first appeared on Marty Duren.

More thoughts on why to consider a 3rd party or Independent candidate for president. The post T4E Drive Time – July 25, 2016: Third Party Voting first appeared on Marty Duren.

Journalist assassinated, Turkey in turmoil, North Korea acting out. The post T4E Drive Time – July 14, 2016: Turkey in Turmoil first appeared on Marty Duren.