It’s not everyday you get to hear from the world’s expert on the Westminster Assembly (and who among us does not wish to know more about the Westminster Assembly?!). So sit back and enjoy this freewheeling conversation as Kevin and Chad talk about a guy named John Arrowsmith, the importance of pastoral hospitality, issues of church and state, and how Chad’s profession of faith split his childhood church. Lots of nerdy Presbyterian talk with the occasional mention of hot dogs as well.

Chapters:

0:00 Intro & Sponsors

5:38 A Southerner From the North

8:23 Tell Us About Your Faith

16:58 The Westminster Assembly

32:05 Sponsor Break

33:42 Tell Us About John Arrowsmith

1:02:42 The Neglected Practice of Hospitality

1:13:55 Until Next Time…

Books & Everything:

Everyday Gospel: A Daily Devotional Connecting Scripture to All of Life

Crossway Plus

Here We Stand

Puritan Treasures for Today

Westminster Theological Seminary Biblical Language Certificate

Confessing the Faith: A Reader's Guide to the Westminster Confession of Faith

Plans for Holy War: How the Spiritual Soldier Fights, Conquers, and Triumphs

Listen as the two friends talk about the Land of Lincoln, about influential books and authors in their lives, and how the importance of friendship. You’ll get to learn more about Jason’s background, more about why he loves the PCA, and you’ll get to hear his great laugh.

Chapters:

0:00 Intro & Sponsors

7:41 Hip-hop-Helopoulos

10:32 Administration and Leadership in Pastoral Ministry

26:16 More About Jason

40:10 On the PCA

45:38 Band of Brothers

54:18 Sponsor Break

56:08 Lessons From Ministry

1:05:22 Books

1:11:47 Personal Updates

1:15:41 Who is Laughing at Who?

1:19:41 How Many Wins for Da Bears?

1:20:32 Until Next Time…

Books & Everything:

Ask Pastor John: 750 Bible Answers to Life's Most Important Questions

Crossway Plus

Puritan Treasures for Today

Westminster Theological Seminary Biblical Language Certificate

Persistent Prayer (Blessings of the Faith)

Covenantal Baptism (Blessings of the Faith)

Expository Preaching (Blessings of the Faith)

Reformed Worship (Blessings of the Faith)

Reformed Theology (Blessings of the Faith)

Church Membership (Blessings of the Faith)

The New Pastor's Handbook: Help and Encouragement for the First Years of Ministry

The Preacher's Portrait: Five new Testament Word Studies

The Shepherd Leader at Home: Knowing, Leading, Protecting, and Providing for Your Family

An Able and Faithful Ministry: Samuel Miller and the Pastoral Office

After a summer hiatus, the fellas are back together to kick off a new season of LBE. If you always look forward to the sports banter with these three, then you will LOVE this episode. You get a deep dive on the Olympics, including what makes them so joyful, what other countries besides America to root for, and whether other countries use Americans to announce their sports. After four years-worth of Olympics-related chatter, the three amigos turn their attention to more familiar fare: an enjoyable book they read over the summer and how to become better writers.

Books & Everything:

Ask Pastor John: 750 Bible Answers to Life's Most Important Questions

Crossway Plus

The Heart of Jesus: How He Really Feels about You

1861: The Civil War Awakening

Theo of Golden

Storycraft: The Complete Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction

The Writing Tools

The Writer’s Diet

Kevin is joined once again by his friends—and by now, only somewhat special guests—Justin and Collin. Listen in as the three amigos talk about books, summer plans, and what they are grateful for. Once again, you’ll find that the guys hit that sweet spot that combines ephemeral chatter and over-long monologues.

Books & Everything:

Ask Pastor John: 750 Bible Answers to Life's Most Important Questions

ESV Teen Study Bible

Shaman and Sage: The Roots of “Spiritual but Not Religious” in Antiquity

Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy, 1945-1975

Churchill: Walking with Destiny

The Last of His Kind: Clayton Kershaw and the Burden of Greatness

Priests of History: Stewarding the Past in an Ahistoric Age

Christendom: The Triumph of a Religion, AD 300-1300

They Flew: A History of the Impossible

The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War

The American Revolution: A History

The Cause: The American Revolution and its Discontents, 1773-1783

Final Pagan Generation: Rome's Unexpected Path to Christianity

Select Letters of John Newton

The Joy of Preaching

Expository Reflections on the Gospels

The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook

The Great Abolitionist: Charles Sumner and the Fight for a More Perfect Union

After Disbelief: On Disenchantment, Disappointment, Eternity, and Joy

A Brief History of Thought: A Philosophical Guide to Living (Learning to Live)

We live in a day where authority is often rebuffed and where many people are quick to assume all authority is abusive authority. And yet, some authority is abusive. But the antidote to bad authority is not “no authority” but “good authority.” Kevin welcomes Jonathan Leeman, editorial director for 9Marks, into the virtual studio to talk about Jonathan’s new book Authority: How Godly Rule Protects the Vulnerable, Strengthens Communities, and Promotes Human Flourishing. You’ll hear real life examples of good authority in action, and you’ll hear how authority can sadly be used for evil. Whether you exercise authority or sit under authority (and we all do some of both), you’ll be interested to listen in as two friends chat away on this important topic.

Chapters:

0:00 Intro & Sponsors

2:45 The Blessing and Danger of Authority

14:08 Perspectives on Authority

35:37 Alternative Interpretations of Authority

50:34 Authority, Wisdom, and Leadership

1:00:33 Until Next Time…

Books & Everything:

ESV Spiral-Bound Journaling Bible, Five-Volume Set

Ask Pastor John: 750 Bible Answers to Life's Most Important Questions

Authority: How Godly Rule Protects the Vulnerable, Strengthens Communities, and Promotes Human Flourishing

Kirk Cousins has been an NFL quarterback for 12 years. Before that he played at Michigan State (where he and Kevin met). Before that he was a barely-recruited teenager playing at Holland Christian. And before that, he was a kid in Chicago whose dad helped start Willow Creek (yes, that Willow Creek). If you want to know more of this story, and hear a lot of football talk, you won't want to miss this special LBE episode with the new Atlanta Falcons QB.

Books & Everything:

Ask Pastor John: 750 Bible Answers to Life's Most Important Questions

New Morning Mercies for Teens: A Daily Gospel Devotional

What are you doing with your life? Todd Rester is using a big chunk of his life to translate a seventeenth-century Dutch theologian's magnum opus (all 1.7 million words of it) from Latin into English. Join Kevin and Todd as they take a deep dive into the world of Latin translation, systematic theology, and church history. Who was Petrus Van Mastricht? What was his method? What did he teach? Why does he matter? Come swim in the cool, refreshing waters of Reformed scholastic theology and be encouraged to "live to God, through Christ."

Books & Everything:

Ask Pastor John: 750 Bible Answers to Life's Most Important Questions

ESV Systematic Theology Study Bible: Theology Rooted in the Word of God

Theoretical-Practical Theology

With everything the pastor must do—preach, pray, visit, raise money, organize meetings, write emails, study, write, marry, bury, and baptize—does he also need to be a leader? John Currie, in his new book The Pastor as Leader (Crossway), says yes. But don't fear, this is not about one more impossible task or another time burden for the pastor. Leadership is about living and preaching as a man of God for the people of God. In this practical episode Kevin talks with John Currie, professor of practical theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, about what effective leadership in the church looks like (and doesn't look like). There is plenty of rich food for thought—both for the seasoned (and weary) pastor and for the young man just starting out in ministry.

Books & Everything:

The Pastor as Leader: Principles and Practices for Connecting Preaching and Leadership

The (Not-So-Secret) Secret to Reaching the Next Generation

Don’t Waste Your Life

For most of us, getting married and forging a strong family is the best way to build a prosperous, meaningful, and happy life. That's the message of Get Married: Why Americans Must Defy the Elites, Forge Strong Families, and Save Civilization, the new book by University of Virginia professor Brad Wilcox. Listen in as Kevin and Brad talk explore why young people aren't prioritizing marriage, why elites don't preach what they practice when it comes to marriage, and why getting married is one of the best things you can do for yourself and for others.

Books & Everything:

Get Married: Why Americans Must Defy the Elites, Forge Strong Families, and Save Civilization

ESV Bible App

Light + Truth Podcast

Have you ever wondered if King Arthur was justified in cutting off all four limbs of Monty Python’s Black Knight when he refused the king passage? If so, then you’ll want to listen to this episode of LBE with Eric Patterson. Eric is an author, an important leader in Washington, D.C. and an expert in the theology and history of the Just War Tradition. What are the right reasons for going to war? How should a just war be fought? Was the American Revolution a just war (or even a revolution)? What about the firebombing of Dresden in World War II? Join Kevin and Eric and they try to apply the insights of the Just War Tradition to military conflicts past and present.

Chapters:

0:00 Introductions

7:45 A Basic Guide to the Just War Tradition

15:45 What Makes a War Just?

29:45 Sponsor Break | Crossway

30:28 “It’s Only a Flesh Wound.”

35:25 A Just American Revolution?

46:39 MLK’s Just Cause

51:15 Sponsor Break | Desiring God

52:00 Current Events

Books & Everything:

Basic Guide to the Just War Tradition: Christian Foundations and Practices

Just War and Christian Traditions

Humility: The Joy of Self-Forgetfulnes

Ask Pastor John: 750 Bible Answers to Life's Most Important Questions

With two smart British historians—one from Oxford (Andrew) and one from Aberystwyth (David)--and one curious American pastor (Kevin), you might say that this episode puts the "fun" back in fundamentalism. How did fundamentalism become a pejorative putdown? Are evangelicals and fundamentalists really all that different? What is a fundamentalist anyway? And, to paraphrase Harry Emerson Fosdick, did the fundamentalists win or lose the last century? Join in as Kevin interviews two evangelical scholars about their new edited volume, The Oxford Handbook of Christian Fundamentalism.

Chapters:

0:00 Introductions

6:45 Why So Little Written by Fundamentalists?

11:44 Defining Fundamentalism 

25:20 Fundamentalism & Evangelicalism

36:40 Sponsor Break | Crossway & DesiringGod

38:11 The Scopes Trial & Billy Graham

48:02 Evangelicalism & Politics in America

1:05:25 Did the Fundamentalists Win?

1:08:26 Until Next Time

Books & Everything:

Oxford Handbook of Christian Fundamentalism

Ask Pastor John: 750 Bible Answers to Life's Most Important Questions

Look at the Book