Statistics tell us that church net closings in the U.S. reach about 3,000 a year and every year 2.75 million churchgoers fall into inactivity. We look at the reasons for this decline and address the importance of regular church attendance to growth in the faith. The fellows talk about growing up in various denominations, and the changes they have seen in parishes and congregations—for good and ill—over the course of their faith journeys and how today’s churches can make themselves more meaningful for skeptical Christians.

This week's podcast is sponsored by Magic Mind. Visit www.magicmind.com/NCAJAN and receive 45% off your first order.

Is there moral equivalency in shooting someone in the street

and using AI algorithms to deny medical care to thousands of patients, perhaps leading

to untimely death?  To start the new

year, the fellows take up the topical concept of structural violence, the idea

that organizations and institutions, just because of the way they work, can be

as much a source of human suffering, injustice and harm as an angry man with a

gun. The Bible says murder is a sin, but what about cold indifference? Is sin

so pervasive it inevitably infects all worldly mechanisms? What do Luigi

Mangione and Brian Thompson tell us about the human need for salvation?

For our fifth annual Christmas podcast, we look at the Virgin Mary. Beneath the trappings of tradition and legend, we find a Biblical narrative of an ordinary young woman responding to extraordinary circumstances. We look at the arc of Mary's faith, from her skeptical question "How can this be?" to her courageous affirmation of God's promise of salvation and her resolve to move forward as mother of Christ. The fellows are joined by Ruth Opiyo, a graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and currently a Christian marriage and family counselor.

Scripture exhorts us to be grateful. But can well-meaning Christians apply the message of gratitude the wrong way or in the wrong situations? We discuss the idea of "dark gratitude," which instead of providing support, steers us away from confronting problems, difficulties and outright hardship we need to face. Hat tip to Elizabeth Bernstein, whose article "The Case for Being Ungrateful" in the Nov. 24 Wall Street Journal sparked this week's discussion.

Woke culture has made diversity a dirty word. Christians can reclaim it by rooting human diversity in the context of God's creation, not racial, ethic or sexual identity. Every human is made in the image of God, which alone confers dignity and value to every human life. Diversity follows, as Paul notes, but we remain united--and equal--by the claim God makes on us. Join us as we discuss another paradox: organizations, including churches, that set "diversity" as an end goal invariably fail at it. So, how do Christians allow diversity to bloom organically?

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What is the Christian idea of a flourishing, abundant life? Can the Bible's metaphorical green pastures measure up to a 10.000-acre Texas ranch? And can people flourish in exile, as Jeremiah urges? Download and listen before you buy that next graduation card!

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"To reduce Christian teaching about sex and sexuality to bare, boring, thou-shalt-not moralism is a failure of imagination," Rod Dreher writes in the The Benedict Option. Instead, Churches should strongly proclaim the stability Christian sexual ethics offer men and women who seek true intimacy, romance and fulfilling partnerships in their love relationships. Even as the media and elites attempt to glamorize hook-up culture, pornography and single parenthood, there is growing pushback from many young people, religious or not, who see something terribly wrong with these messages. Christians, in reaching out to those seeking deep and committed love, can provide the vocabulary they need to validate their countercultural decisions. Join us as we discuss the Bible's ringing endorsement of God's gift of human sexuality and physical intimacy.

Past podcasts to check out: "Six Battles Every Man Must Win" (46 and 48), David and Bathsheba (110 and 111), "Does Adultery Still Matter" (212).

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As we continue our look at Rod Dreher’s The Benedict Option, we generally agree American culture lost something valuable when colleges and universities abandoned classical education models, study of the humanities and their respect for the history of Western Civilization. But are Dreher’s suggestions realistic? We debate his call for Christians to forsake public schools for private schools and home schooling. And how should churches restructure their own Christian education programs to teach ideas of objective morality, truth and beauty that modern academia denies exist? Dreher sees both the appreciation and acknowledgement of God’s Christianity as entwined in all learning. Do you agree? Listen and comment.

This week's podcast is sponsored by Magic Mind. Visit www.magicmind.com/NCA and use the discount code NCA20 for 48% off on a new subscription or 20% off on your first one-time purchase.  

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