God commands His people to be “given to hospitality” (Rom. 12:13). This is one way we show Christian love, as we fellowship and break bread with one another. We must view our homes, then, not just as a place for personal retreat, but as a hub for evangelism, discipleship, and personal ministry.

In this podcast, Scott Brown and Jason Dohm, joined by Gil Arterburn and his daughter Summer, discuss the joys of hospitality as well as common barriers that often hinder families from opening up their homes. Many fail to practice hospitality because they think their resources are not “good enough.” Yet you don’t need a big home or a fancy steak dinner to be hospitable. Giving of what you have, in a spirit of love, is all you need to encourage others in the Lord. 

Membership in a local church involves more than just signing a card and occasionally showing up for a Sunday service. God’s Word gives particular duties that church members are to uphold toward their church leadership, fellow members, as well to their own respective families. But just what are these responsibilities?  In this podcast, Scott Brown and Jason Dohm, joined by special guest Trent Moody, answer the question, outlining the top ten duties of church members. 

One, work and pray for the unity of the spirit. Two, seek the salvation of the different groups of people you relate to—those in our families, communities, and workplaces. Three, submit to your church leaders as they are faithful to Christ. Four, contribute cheerfully and regularly to the church. Five, faithfully assemble with your local church. Six, maintain family and private devotions. Seven, watch over each other in brotherly love. Eight, don’t practice things which jeopardize your own faith or another’s faith. Nine, be slow to take offense. And, ten, submit to biblically-defined church discipline. 

Robert grew up as an only child in the small town of Beckley, West Virginia. Though his father never had much money, he had a tremendous work ethic and taught Robert the value of hard work. This said, his dad had no interest in the things of God, while his mom possessed a simple faith in Christ and took her son to a local country church. Entering his teens, Robert professed faith and was baptized at age 14. Yet, deep down, he had no change of heart. 

Joining the Air Force at 18, Robert served four years as an intelligence analyst. During this stint, he and a good friend began discussing various religions, and Robert shared what he knew of the Bible with him. In God’s providence, his friend became a true believer, and God used his friend’s testimony to later bring Robert to true faith, as he was confronted with what sin is and his need for real repentance. Impassioned to share the gospel, Robert met his wife through street preaching. Married to Andrea since 2012, he is currently pursuing a MA in Theological Studies at Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary.

When it comes to having tough conversations with a spouse, friend, fellow believer, or co-worker, some are willing to sail right into the storm and throw everything on the table. Others, by contrast, are terrified in approaching any discussion that’s remotely uncomfortable. Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum, God’s Word gives clear principles to guide our hearts and words as we prepare for difficult talks. 

In this podcast, Scott Brown and Jason, joined by guest Taylor Tsantles, discuss these principles. The first is to love sincerely from the heart. We should strive to have this relationship equity with others, even before challenges arise. This will help smooth the way when tough conversations are necessary, because they know we care about them as a person. The second is to avoid harmful communication patterns such as using harsh words or tones, refusing to listen, and trying to force outcomes. We should instead be filled with the Spirit and be on a mission to bless—even when sharing hard truths.  

In the last half of the 20th century, the singing of the Psalms hardly existed in the evangelical church. But Psalm-singing has made a resurgence. Why is this? It’s happened as increasingly more Christians and local churches have embraced the sufficiency of Scripture, recognizing that God has given His people an inspired hymnal of 150 psalms. 

In this podcast, Scott Brown and Jason Dohm, joined by special guest Scott Aniol, discuss this encouraging trend. There’s great value, they explain, in learning and singing the entire book of Psalms. As with expository preaching, this practice forces us to sing about themes we may not need in the moment, but we do need for shoring up our souls for the entire Christian life. Learning the full breadth of the Psalms will form our hearts to repentance, trust, thanks, and praise—giving us the posture that’s needed for every experience we face as Christians. 

As Christians, we’re not free to dress as we please. Because we’ve been “bought at a price” we’re to “glorify God in [our bodies]” (1 Cor. 6:20). We learn this lesson from our first parents. Adam and Eve dressed their own way by covering their loins with fig leaves. Yet God viewed their effort as inadequate and designed more substantial clothing, using skins from a dead animal. The doctrine of clothing thus points to the substitutionary atonement of Christ:  He removes our filthy garments and replaces them with robes of righteousness. 

In this podcast, Scott Brown and Jason Dohm, joined by special guest Jeff Pollard, break down the doctrine of clothing, explaining that it’s about far more than modesty.  If Christ has purchased us with His blood, how we dress matters. To paraphrase Abraham Kuyper, “There is not one square inch [of our clothing] over which Christ . . . does not cry, ‘Mine!’” Ultimately, our clothing isn’t about us and what we like. It’s about giving ourselves to the Lord to bring glory to Him in how dress. 

God ordained music not merely to convey particular moods, but to form our affections after His Word. As Christians, we’re to teach and admonish “one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Col. 3:16). This is a non-optional mandate. But how does a dad, with no musical background, cultivate music in his home? How can the local church foster robust singing in the congregation? 

In this podcast, Scott Brown and Jason Dohm, joined by special guest Scott Aniol, discuss how to create a culture of music in the home and church. For dads who lack experience, they encourage investing in a good set of hymnals and using the SingYourPart app and relevant online videos to bolster the process. For churches, they explain that the human voice, not musical accompaniment, should be the prominent feature in corporate worship. Be it at home or church, the voice of God’s people should joyfully sing forth His praises. 

For 35 years, Alexander Strauch’s book, Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership, has been the premier book explaining the biblical teaching on church eldership, which is shared pastoral leadership by a council of scripturally-qualified elders. Theologically sound and eminently practical, Alex’s book helped ignite a worldwide awakening to this long-neglected and misunderstood subject. 

In this podcast, Scott Brown and Jason Dohm welcome Alex to discuss his completely revised edition of his classic work. The new version, titled Biblical Eldership: Restoring the Eldership to Its Rightful Place in the Local Church, features a word-for-word exposition of all the key biblical texts on eldership—as the original—yet offers a new chapter, “Making Pastoral Eldership Work,” as well as a more developed discussion on the full parity—yet functional diversity—of elders within a local church.  

In a recent MacArthur Center for Expository Preaching podcast titled “John MacArthur Is My Youth Pastor,” Austin Duncan raised objections to the family-integrated church movement. Duncan, who serves as College Pastor for Grace Community Church as well as Director of the MacArthur Center, cited a “friendly argument” with Voddie Baucham on the matter while lodging numerous criticisms of the family-integrated model.  

But is Duncan’s critique correct? In this podcast, Scott Brown and Jason Dohm address his objections, point by point. They express high regard for the teaching ministry of John MacArthur and agree with some of Duncan’s concerns while also refuting numerous mischaracterizations. Resting their case on the sufficiency of Scripture, they maintain that the structure of the church and family should reflect the structure revealed in the Bible alone. 

Podcast Related Links:

Is The Church A Family of Families? By Scott Brown

Some Answers For Critics by Scott Brown

The Forgotten Mission Field Of The Family by Voddie Baucham

Other Resources by Voddie Baucham

How should a young man prepare for marriage? In this podcast, Scott Brown and Jason Dohm address this question with special guest Hayden Ford who was married a year ago. Hayden credits his parents’ commitment to teach God’s Word daily and to model a godly husband-wife relationship in the home as giving him a great foundation in preparing him for marriage—but young men need more than this to be ready. 

Key lessons from Hayden: Be disciplined students of the Scriptures yourselves, learning God’s attributes and knowing what His Word says about the important issues of life. Purpose to have a consistent income and ample savings. Honor the authorities God has placed in your life, humbly getting their opinion on your readiness for matrimony. And stop seeking marriage as your driving aim, but strive to be more like Christ each day. 

The Scripture’s witness is clear—we’re to joyfully bring our children into the public worship of God. Yet this blessed opportunity is not without challenge, especially for the young who are prone to distraction. So how should parents prepare their little ones for the meeting of the church? 

In this podcast, Scott Brown and Jason Dohm, joined by their wives Deborah and Janet, share practical tips on how to go about this. Drawing from personal experience, they counsel dads to take the lead in training their kids to be attentive through family devotions in the home, and for moms to have clothes and other necessities laid out ahead of time to smooth the way for Sunday worship. Other advice they give: Don’t let your children resort to “playtime” when you take them out for correction or other needs, but seek to grow their affections for the blessings of the worship service.