church and culture

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a topic that has been on the rise as of late - Calvinism. There are really two dynamics behind the ministry of Church & Culture: to look at the interplay between the Church and the culture of our day, but also to examine the culture within the Church itself. And it's with the latter that today's discussion lands.

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There are three helpful resources that Dr. White mentioned during the podcast, particularly when it comes to the debate over passages found in Scripture referencing election and predestination, as well as an understanding of Arminianism. They are:

William Klein, The New Chosen People: A Corporate View of Election.

“N. T. Wright on Predestination and Election,” watch on YouTube HERE.

Roger Olson, Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities.

Another topic that came up frequently in the conversation was grace. Dr. White recently delivered a series at Mecklenburg Community Church called “Christianity's Most Scandalous Idea” that focused specifically on grace as it relates to the Christian faith. You can find that series HERE.

Finally, the idea of women in ministry and leadership within the church is a tension point for those who hold to Calvin's beliefs. You can listen to an earlier Church & Culture Podcast on this: CCP7: On Women in Ministry.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the recent release of Starbucks' “Star Signs” in partnership with the astrology app called Sanctuary. Designed to help you figure out the perfect beverage for your astrological sign, it will also tell you your power words, give you a spring flower and color, and tell you your horoscope. What may seem like a harmless and fun gimmick from Starbucks is, in truth, dabbling in the world of the occult.

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Dr. White has frequently blogged about topics related to the occult over the years - areas where people may believe something to be innocuous, but really they've crossed into the world of the occult. Here are four for you to check out: About Those Angel Numbers, The Season of the Witch, About that Horoscope App and About Those Tarot Cards.

This topic has also been a part of several Church & Culture Podcast conversations. If you're interested, you can go back and listen to them:

CCP45: On Superstition and God's Will

CCP22: On Yoga

CCP11: On Wicca

Dr. White's series at Mecklenburg Community Church called “Paranormal” is a great one to listen to in order to give you a solid understanding of the world of the occult and the spiritual battle going on around us every day. Finally, today's conversation even talked about how this is a huge part of Satan's mission - to deceive people - and what this will look like at the end of time. You may be interested in the series “The Apocalypse: The Message of Revelation for Today.”

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a shocking statistic - that more than 200 million Americans are a part of the world of gaming. That's more than 60% of the U.S. population. Furthermore, the average “binge time” spent gaming has increased to five hours. This is having a profound effect, not only in the lives of children but on marriages as well.

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Dr. White's newly released book is titled Hybrid Church: Rethinking the Church for a Post-Christian Digital Age. Among many topics covered in this book is a look at all that encompasses the digital revolution that has taken place in our culture, including gaming and the metaverse.

There are several news stories posted to the Daily Headline News at Church & Culture that you may be interested in reading for more on this hot topic:

Elanor Hayward, “NHS treats child gaming addicts who attack parents,” The Telegraph, March 27, 2023.

Tom Hoggins, “World Health Organisation adopts 'gaming addiction' as official illness despite industry opposition,” The Telegraph, May 28, 2019.

Sonja Haller, “'This game is like heroin:' Fortnite addiction sending kids to gaming rehab,” USA Today, December 9, 2018.

Chris Moss, “Men and boys are in crisis, and technology is to blame,” The Telegraph, May 10, 2015.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the results of a recent poll from the Wall Street Journal and the NORC at the University of Chicago. The title of the WSJ article reviewing the poll's findings read, “America Pulls Back From Values That Once Defined It.” The poll revealed a radical change in American values since it was last conducted in 1988. And much of that change has to do with a dramatic rise in individualism in the United States.

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If you want to take time to dive into the poll's findings, you can read it all HERE.

There were several books mentioned during today's conversation if you are interested in exploring topics related to the poll's findings. For more on the topic of today's culture as it compares to the founding of our nation, you'll be interested in reading Dr. White's book Serious Times: Making Your Life Matter in an Urgent Day. For more reading on American history Dr. White suggested reading David McCullough's work titled John Adams and Thomas Paine's “Crisis Papers.” To help give you a better understanding of a profound shift in our culture, read James Emery White's book “The Rise of the Nones: Understanding and Reaching the Religiously Unaffiliated.” Finally, for a picture of what our society really values you can read “The Day America Told the Truth: What People Really Believe About Everything That Really Matters” written by James Patterson and Peter Kim.

We would also encourage you to go back and listen to two earlier podcasts that were brought up during today's conversation. The first is CCP2: On Ukraine, Russia and the Orthodox Church discussing how religious divides can lead to violent outcomes. And the second is CCP37: On Christian Nationalism exploring whether America really is meant to be a Christian nation.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss whether it's okay for a Christian to get a tattoo or cosmetic surgery. Culture clings tightly to the belief that we, as individuals, have the right to determine what we do with our bodies and how we use them. But what does the Bible have to say about this topic? How much are we allowed to manipulate our bodies?

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Dr. White referenced several articles from The Atlantic that have been written in recent years on tattoos. Katherine Wu wrote, “Tattoos Do Odd Things to the Immune System” discussing the body's response to ink-filled needles. Amanda Mull wrote, “Tattoos Now Have an Exit Strategy” looking at the increasing popularity of semipermanent tattoos. And finally, Adrienne Green wrote an article titled “Watching Tattoos Go From Rebellious to Mainstream” about how much culture has come to embrace the art of tattoos.

Dr. White did a series at Mecklenburg Community Church called “Is it okay for a Christian to…” looking at everything from watching R-rated movies to smoking marijuana. One of the installments focused on whether it's okay for a Christian to get a tattoo or to be cremated. He also mentioned another series in today's conversation called “Seasons of Life.” The installment on the 40s explored how a fixation on anti-aging and all that we try to do to fight it tends to creep into our mindset during this decade of life.

Finally, Dr. White read an excerpt from an essay written by Lore Ferguson titled, “Beautiful Beyond Our Control.” We'd definitely encourage you to read the whole thing as it's so beautifully written.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss The Chosen - a multi-season series on the life of Jesus written and directed by Dallas Jenkins. The following for this series has been unprecedented, with more than 100 million people who've seen at least part of the show. So is the series biblically accurate? Does it matter whether it follows the Bible verse by verse, or could the Holy Spirit be creatively working through the series?

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Dr. White wrote a blog called "Topical or Expositional" that will offer a helpful explanation to a topic that came up during today's conversation.

The discussion also explored Christian film and television, and how it often changes or is shaped by culture. Dr. White brought up six movies/series (some overtly Christian and others that are more Christian-adjacent) and the cultural differences at the time of their release. For reference, those movies are: Godspell (1973) Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), Jesus of Nazareth (1977), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), The Passion of the Christ (2004) and The Chosen (2017).

Finally, the conversation turned to how series like "The Chosen" do so much to make Jesus relatable to us. Dr. White led a series at Meck that explored a unique side of God - it is called "When God Makes Us Laugh." You can find that series HERE.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the revival that started at Asbury University in Kentucky back on February 8. For those who don't know what that is, what started as a small Wednesday night chapel service turned into a more than two-week long prayer and worship experience with thousands of people pouring into Wilmore, Kentucky to be a part of the experience. Important to this conversation is having a good understanding of what revival is, and why and how God can use revivals to advance the mission of the Church.

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The topic of revival was brought up during our Church & Culture LIVE Podcast, which then prompted today's conversation. If you missed that, we'd love for you to go back and watch or listen to that HERE.

There are two blogs written by Dr. White that we'd encourage you to check out on the topic of revival. The first is called “The Importance of Remembering Camp Meetings,” which discusses the power they held to help bring about social change and spiritual revival. At the end of the conversation, Dr. White talked about how every day the church has a responsibility to turn outward and to be ready for the work of the Holy Spirit. He wrote the blog called “Don't Wait for Revival” urging the church to be on mission.

It was also interesting to see how the outside, watching world viewed the revivals. Thomas Lyons wrote an article in The Atlantic titled “When a Christian Revival Goes Viral.”

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the recent release of the latest book written by Dr. White called Hybrid Church: Rethinking the Church for a Post-Christian Digital Age (Zondervan). Three years of research and writing were poured into this book, charting the sweeping, historic change that has taken place in our culture and in the life of the church. As Dr. White said, never has he prayed more for the ministry of a book he has written than for this one.

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Dr. White has been the author of more than 20 books to date, and he has proven to be on the cutting edge of some critical cultural changes that would impact the church in pivotal ways. If you've not read them, be sure to check out The Rise of the Nones: Understanding and Reaching the Religiously Unaffiliated and Meet Generation Z: Understanding and Reaching the New Post-Christian World.

For a preview of some of the book's content, you can check out this series of four blogs
that gives you a quick insight into the content of the book:

The Need for a Hybrid Model

Church 3.0

Opening the Digital Front Door

The Importance of Affirming Online Engagement

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a modern heretical movement that many people are susceptible to without even knowing it. They had an earlier discussion on this topic - CCP33: On the Rise of Heresy - that you definitely need to go back and listen to if you missed it. But today's discussion takes a deep dive into the “prosperity gospel movement,” also known as the “health-and-wealth gospel.” This is the idea that if you come to faith in Jesus, along with the eternal reward of heaven comes other benefits as well - specifically in the areas of health and finance. This is prosperity preaching, and it has no place in the life of the church.

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A lot of prosperity preachers pull Scripture out of context to make sweeping generalizations about what followers of Christ should expect God to give them. Learning how to properly read and interpret Scripture is so vitally important for those who call themselves Christ followers, which is why Dr. White led a series at Mecklenburg Community Church called “How to Bible”. One of the installments is on how to read and interpret Scripture. He also wrote a blog on this topic titled “Two Main Principles for Getting the Bible Right” that you can read HERE.

A large part of today's conversation centered around the idea of receiving blessings from God, something that is absolutely a biblical truth. But God is not a genie in a bottle, and any type of preaching that says, “If you have enough faith God will give you everything you ask for” is heresy. For a better understanding of blessings that come from God, check out a series by Dr. White called “God's Blessing, Your Life.”

Finally, in case you missed the Church & Culture LIVE Podcast, you can go back and listen to that HERE.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a topic that was sparked by Dr. White's latest series at Mecklenburg Community Church called “Primordial: Genesis and the World's Primeval History.” The culture of our day seems to want to place science and faith at odds with each other when in reality everything in science compliments God's existence - in fact, it demands it. What's ironic is that the study of science itself was deeply rooted in a Christian worldview.

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In addition to the aforementioned series at Meck, there are two other series that Dr. White led on this topic that would be very helpful to check out. The first is called “The Science of God” with installments that explore the science of God's existence, of God's creation and of faith. The second is “Astrophysics… for people who are open to God.” As a culture, we seem to be almost obsessed with cosmic headlines from the Big Bang to black holes, from quarks to quantum mechanics, and from the search for planets to the search for life in the universe. This series explores whether when you delve into such things, they point away from God or to Him?

Dr. White has also written blogs tied to today's conversation that we would encourage you to read. “A Post-Empirical God” discusses the concept of reductive naturalism and how scientists have become increasingly hostile towards religion. “From How to Who” is a blog that discusses the Scopes Trial you heard mentioned in today's episode. It points to the fact that the real issue of our day is not between creation and evolution, but rather between theism and naturalism. Finally, he wrote a blog titled “UFOs… Confirmed?” taking a look at the significance of life on other planets and how future discoveries in science may impact our faith.

Dr. White's book Christianity for People Who Aren't Christians: Uncommon Answers to Common Questions is a great resource for you or others you may know who are open to exploring the Christian faith. He takes on the topic of faith vs. science in this book as well. You can find it HERE on Amazon or from your favorite bookseller.

Once again, we hope that you'll be able to join us for the upcoming Church & Culture LIVE Podcast on Thursday, February 23 from 12 - 1 p.m. You'll be able to access the podcast live through Meck's Online Campus platform. And if you can't make it that day, not to worry - you'll still be able to listen in on the conversation through all the usual channels the next day.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a difficult yet important topic - medically assisted suicide. The conversation was sparked by a podcast listener from Canada, where the Medical Assistance In Dying (MAID) law was passed in 2016 and is set to be expanded this year to include those who are suffering from mental illness. To say that this law has created a slippery slope is an understatement. And with the way things are trending in the U.S., we'll likely not be very far behind.

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The idea of euthanasia or MAID is increasingly viewed by culture as allowing death with dignity, and coincides with the mantra that individual freedom is all that really matters. There are already 10 states in the U.S. that allow what is known as PAD - Physician-Assisted Death. What people seem to be missing is that quality of life should never supersede the sanctity of life. Dr. White has written about this topic in a blog called “The Startling Rise of Suicide” that you can read HERE.

The expansion of the MAID law in Canada to include allowing those with mental illness to take their own lives is particularly disturbing. Although, this is a trend that we've witnessed in the U.S. where more and more states are pushing to allow youth who are suffering from gender dysphoria to undergo procedures without parental input or approval. This was discussed in CCP21: On Gender. Dr. White also referenced a case in the Netherlands where a young girl who had been raped made the choice to die by euthanasia. You can read more about that HERE.

Finally, you heard Alexis again mention the upcoming Church & Culture LIVE Podcast on Thursday, February 23 from 12 - 1 p.m. You'll be able to access the podcast live through Meck's Online Campus platform. And if you can't make it that day, not to worry - you'll still be able to listen in on the conversation through all the usual channels the next day.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a recent article from the UK Times announcing the first-ever gender-neutral production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” from the Edinburgh University Savoy Opera Group. While the rock opera has always been controversial for stripping Jesus of His divinity and ignoring the resurrection, this takes it a step further having the lead role of Jesus played by a non-binary actor. In the words of the creative producer: “Jesus is remembered as being a man, but who are we to decide?”

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The release of this article prompted Dr. White to write a blog titled “The Non-Binary Jesus” that you can read HERE. As he notes in the blog and reiterates in today's discussion, deciding that Jesus is non-binary is a direct result of people's desire to be their own god and remake anything they choose to in their own image.

What's missing for so many is a true understanding of the theology of God and of Jesus. While Dr. White is able to briefly touch on this topic, we'd encouraging you to look into his “Theology on Tap” course. It's a 15-video course breaking down his graduate-level class in systematic theology in way that anyone can understand.

Scripture clearly says that we are made in God's image - male and female. This leaves little room for the idea of being non-binary. As gender is so central to today's conversation, we encourage you to go back and listen to CCP21: On Gender or to check out the “Gender” series delivered by Dr. White at Meck.

There can be no doubt that many in the LGBTQ community have experienced judgement at the hand of the Church. In fact, Dr. White delivered a series at Mecklenburg Community Church called “UnChristian” with one of the installments focusing on those who feel the church is homophobic. You can check out that series HERE. That being said, there is a huge difference between acceptance and affirmation. When Jesus came to planet earth, He came bearing both grace and truth. It was always a both-and, not an either-or.

Finally, make sure you've got your questions ready for the upcoming Church & Culture LIVE Podcast on Thursday, February 23 from 12 - 1 p.m. You'll be able to access the podcast live through Meck's Online Campus platform. And if you can't make it that day, not to worry - you'll still be able to listen in on the conversation through all the usual channels the next day.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the rising clash in culture when it comes to what qualifies as religious exemptions, religious discrimination, and where the line of freedom ought to be drawn when it comes to religious conviction. The clash has become so intense, that many cases are making their way all the way to the Supreme Court.

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A couple of recent court cases were brought up during today's discussion if it's of interest to you to dig into them a bit more. The Supreme Court will be deciding how much employers need to accommodate the religious beliefs of their employees in a case involving a postman who said delivering mail on Sundays would be a violation of his faith. You can read more about that case HERE.

And then a federal case in Oregon dismissed a lawsuit by LGBTQ students who wanted to end religious exemptions at various Christian colleges. You can read more about that case HERE.

Hamline University also found themselves in the news recently after they tried to fire an art history professor for showing art depicting the prophet Muhammad. School officials claimed that this was “Islamophobic,” although the university has since backed off that claim after receiving pushback that the school was simply catering to the religious beliefs of a student. You can read more about this story HERE.

Finally, we hope that you are as excited as we are about the upcoming Church & Culture LIVE Podcast on Thursday, February 23 from 12 - 1 p.m. Stay tuned for more details coming your way!

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how best to discern between superstition and God's will. Dr. White recently wrote a blog titled “About Those Angel Numbers” that sparked a lot of interesting feedback from our readers. What caught people off guard was the idea that something they deemed as loving guidance from up above - a sign from an angel or a deceased loved one - might really be opening up a door for the presence of evil in your life. And this can go far beyond mere angel numbers. So how do you know when you're really receiving a clear prompting from God, or just being superstitious?

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Early in the conversation, Dr. White outlined how numbers found in Scripture can hold significance, particularly the number 40. If this piques your interest, you should check out the series that Dr. White gave at Mecklenburg Community Church called “40: God's Number for Life Change.” You can also get this series in an eBook format HERE.

But while certain numbers are biblically relevant, in the case of things like angel numbers you're getting into numerology, which is where you may be crossing over into the world of the occult. There is so much to unpack when it comes to all that the spiritual realm holds. While Dr. White was able to touch on some of this in today's conversation, you can take a deeper dive into this topic through another Meck series called “Paranormal.” The individual installments of this series take a look at the map of the spiritual world, the three marks of the occult, and putting on the armor of God.

Finally, the conversation turned to discerning God's will for your life, and how to pray to Him when you are trying to ask for clear signs and directions from Him. Another series that you'll find helpful was called “Ultimate Life Coaching: A Thirty-Day Experience.” While the whole series is a really good one to check out, there's a specific installment on finding and following God's will.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how Christians and non-Christians alike don't know what to make of the growing presence in our lives of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in all of its manifestations - from our digital assistants like Siri and Alexa to Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) which is AI reaching levels of human intelligence and beyond. This is an interesting discussion about how we can think Christianly about our ever-changing technological landscape.

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Today's conversation started off with Dr. White mentioning a book written by Max Tegmark called Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. It's a fascinating (and at times frightening) read about AI, its origins and where it's headed. You can find that resource HERE on Amazon.

In 2018, Dr. White wrote a blog about this topic as it relates to potential impacts for Christians and the Church titled, “Start Thinking about AI.” And for more on that, you'll also find AI discussed in his forthcoming book Hybrid Church: Rethinking the Church for a Post-Christian Digital Age, which is available for pre-order HERE on Amazon or through your favorite bookseller.

Finally, Dr. White mentioned two additional resources during the conversation. The first was a Christianity Today piece written by Christopher Reese titled, “Rise of the Machines: New Book Applies Christian Ethics to the Future of AI.” This article highlights the future of AI as it will need to begin making ethical or moral decisions for us. The second is a book written by Oxford professor John Lennox called 2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity that you can find HERE on Amazon.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

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VISIT our blog:
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In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a book released by the American Girl Doll company that's caused a lot of controversy. Titled “A Smart Girl's Guide: Body Image,” many parents thought they were getting their 10-year-old child a book on having a healthy body image. What many parents did not realize is that the book includes a chapter titled “Gender Joy” that attempts to indoctrinate children into things like considering different pronouns or whether they may be non-binary. It even directs children on how to contact specially trained doctors who can help them with access to puberty blockers and transitioning to another gender. Exposing young children to what are very adult and mature topics is a part of something Neil Postman wrote about in his book The Disappearance of Childhood which you can find HERE on Amazon. Needless to say, this was an interesting conversation.

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Today's conversation touched on the topic of gender given the chapter in question in the American Girl Doll book. We'd encourage you to go back and listen to CCP21: On Gender for a more comprehensive discussion about the huge shift that has taken place in culture from those within the LGBTQ community wanting affirmation, not simply acceptance for their lifestyle choices. You will also find the series given by Dr. White at Meck called “Gender” helpful, with three installments covering a theology of sexual identity, all things transgender and parenting and gender.

Children today are truly being robbed of their innocence. An example mentioned by Dr. White in today's discussion was a Danish cartoon - created specifically with children as the target audience - about feats of heroism performed by the male character's unnatural endowment. He wrote about this in a blog titled “A TV Show Built Around an Oversized Male Organ… for Children.” Yes, you read that right. Even Disney is trying to get in on this with their recent releases of Lightyear and Strange World, both including characters engaging in homoerotic behavior. Both movies tanked at the box office.

This is why parents need to step up and reclaim their children's innocence. Whether supporting things like parental rights in education (check out CCP5: On the “Don't Say Gay” Bill for more on this discussion), writing letters, removing financial support from a company, what's clear is that parents need to be informed, involved and in charge. A very helpful series to explore how to do this effectively is “The Under Protective Parent.”

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how one of the best ways to step forward into something new - particularly the new year and all of the possibilities it brings - is to reflect on the past. This episode is devoted to looking back at some of the biggest headlines or takeaways from the past year to get a better sense of what we need to leave behind, and what we need to bring forward with us as learnings into the year ahead.

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On the global stage, one of the biggest events from the past year is definitely the war in Ukraine. In fact, TIME magazine just named Volodymyr Zelensky and the “spirit of Ukraine” as their person of the year for 2022. This was a topic featured both on the podcast in our second episode titled “CCP2: On Ukraine, Russia and the Orthodox Church,” as well as in a two-part blog series. The blogs were titled “Ukraine, Russia and the Orthodox Church – Part 1” and “Ukraine, Russia and the Orthodox Church – Part 2.”

In conjunction with the war in Ukraine and the religious aspects of the conflict, on the homefront there seemed to be a growing rise of the idea of Christian nationalism - that the US was founded as a Christian nation and that we must get back to that. You can listen to the podcast conversation “CCP37: On Christian Nationalism.” But counter to this trend is how the United States is increasingly separating itself from the church. You'll want to check out “CCP32: On a Non-Christian America.”

In this episode they discussed themes that seemed to come out of movies and music this past year, but how much of what is really affecting culture is social media. You can pop over and listen to “CCP25: On ‘Doing' Social Media” to review best practices in what we should and should not share on our socials.

There was a lot of discussion on topics tied to Christian subculture and some of the heated issues that surfaced in 2022. There are three podcasts here that you should check out: “CCP4: On Pastors and Moral Failings,” “CCP9: On Unchurched Christians,” “CCP15: On Denominational Decline” and “CCP31: On Celebrity Pastors.” Dr. White mentioned how so much of these issues are tied to an ever-declining understanding of the doctrine of ecclesiology. In 2022 he released a Church & Culture Course called “Theology on Tap” that would absolutely serve churches to ground themselves in solid Christian theology.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how no matter how big or small your church is, it can be really difficult when someone leaves your church. And if you're the person doing the leaving, it can be equally hard to know if or when it's the right decision to leave. The church is a family, and there are times and ways to exit that are healthy - and others that are definitely not.

Episode Links

At the top of the podcast Alexis suggested that it would be helpful to go back and listen to CCP40: On Criticism of Mega Churches. Dr. White was able to offer a unique perspective on the common critiques, as Meck started out about as small church as you can get, growing gradually to be considered a mega church.

There are a few blogs tied to today's conversation written by Dr. White. The first is for those who are considering whether to walk away from their church home and is titled, “When Should You Leave a Church.” The second is for pastors and church leaders, about the hits and the hurts that come when those who are close to you decide to leave: “People Will Leave Your Church.” And finally, departures are one of the many things that fueled so many pastors leaving ministry. You can read more about that in a blog titled “Add Pastors to the Great Resignation.”

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the criticisms that are frequently directed at mega churches within the Christian community. Dr. White is able to offer a unique perspective on these common critiques, as Mecklenburg Community Church started out about as small church as you can get, growing gradually to be considered a mega church.

Episode Links

One of the criticisms they discussed is that mega churches are all far too liberal in terms of orthodoxy, and that they are watering down the gospel. Dr. White mentioned a book titled Why Conservative Churches are Growing by Dean Kelley, which explored how many of the largest mega churches are those with very conservative doctrinal statements and beliefs.

There are several blogs that Dr. White has written related to some of the criticisms mega churches face. The first is titled “The Very False Dichotomy Between Evangelism and Discipleship” addressing the criticism that large churches focus only on evangelism and not on discipleship. He wrote two blogs on the idea of “community” today, as many feel community cannot happen within the doors of a mega church. These blogs are titled “Community 101: Finding vs. Building“ and “Community 102: Shalom.” Finally, you'll find the blog “The Ending of Seminaries as We've Known Them” as it relates to the often antagonistic attitude that some seminaries have towards large churches.

There are also two Church & Culture Podcast episodes that would be worth the time to go back and listen to that were mentioned during today's conversation. Be sure to check out CCP31: On Celebrity Pastors and CCP 4: On Pastors and Moral Failings.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.