For our June episode on books, we, the CPT staff, have been reading:
JD Vance, Hillbilly Elegy (2016)
Rémi Brague, Kingdom of Man: Genesis and Failure of the Modern Project, (2018)
Elizabeth Goudge, The Dean's Watch, (2012)
Today on the podcast we are joined by Rev. Dr. Michael Niebauer as he shares about his recent book, Four Mountains: Encountering God in the Bible from Eden to Zion. How can Christians encounter Jesus on every page of the Bible? What can we learn from how the earliest Christians read Scripture, and connect seemingly disparate stories in the text? What is distinct about this style of reading as opposed, for example, to 6-week Bible studies or academic study? This and more on today's episode!
Jason Meyer, lead pastor of Urban Refuge Church in Minneapolis, MN, joins the podcast today to tell us about his journey towards becoming a pastor theologian. After serving eight years as a pastor at Bethlehem Baptist, Jason shares what he learned about his own calling, and the identity of a "pastor." This and more on today's episode!
CPT board member Doug Sweeney joins the podcast today. He previews his topic for the 2025 CPT Conference, Good Shepherds: Pastoral Identity and the Future of the Church. What are good Christian pastors supposed to be like? On the other hand, what malformative models of pastoral identity are common in our culture today? Doug also tells us about his 2024 book, Substance of Our Faith: Foundations for the History of Christian Doctrine. Check it out on today's episode!
Casey Hough joins us to talk about his recent book,When Poets Were Warriors: Retrieving a Biblical Vision of Masculinity (B&H Publishing, 2025). “Masculinity” is an increasingly popular subject for public discourse. Drawing on his experiences as a pastor and father, Hough argues that Christians ought to return to the complex and challenging example of Jesus, instead of relying on cultural stereotypes, to form our vision of masculinity. If we consider Jesus Christ to be a model for masculinity, how do we then think about femininity, and any differences or similarities between the two? What should pastors consider as they shape their discipleship ministries? This and more on today’s episode!
Now what? What is the significance of the 2020 election going forward? How can the church be a witness for the gospel in a divided age? Todd Wilson and Joel Lawrence discuss division, unity, and hope in the church.
With the 2020 presidential election now upon us, we take some time to slow down and reflect on our spiritual lives. Love desires the good of and union with the other. How does this relate to our calling in Christ in a polarized election and a fractured society? We are joined for this conversation by Eric Johnson, Professor of Christian Psychology at Houston Baptist University.
How has the cultural situation related to justice, religion, and politics change since the founding of the United States? How should the church engage in politics? How should individual Christians think about their political allegiances? These questions and more are explored as we are joined by Jonathan Leeman, Editorial Director of IX Marks and the author of How the Nations Rage: Rethinking Politics in a Divided Age (Zondervan, 2018).
Kaitlyn Schiess is an author and a ThM student at Dallas Theological Seminary. Her writing has appeared at Christianity Today, The New York Times, Christ and Pop Culture, RELEVANT, and Sojourner. Her first book, The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor was published with InterVarsity Press in September 2020.
Are there legitimate "conservative" and "liberal" impulses in the Christian faith? How does personality and temperament relate to political affiliation for church leaders and congregants? How can pastors shepherd their congregations well during a time of heightened political polarization? We discuss these and other questions with CPT Co-founder Gerald Hiestand, who serves as the Senior Pastor of Calvary Memorial Church, a politically diverse congregation in the near west suburbs of Chicago.
What do apologetic discussions look like in a post-Christian age? How can pastors prepare to answer the apologetic questions raised by contemporary culture and the individuals in their congregations? All humans think in stories and narratives. What is the Christian story? What are the contemporary stories being told in our culture? CPT fellow Josh Chatraw joins the podcast to his unique angle on the task of apologetics and to discuss his new book Telling a Better Story: How to Talk about God in a Skeptical Age.
What is the connection between gnosticism, the incarnation, and contemporary controversies related to race and racial injustice? Cherith Fee Nordling joins the podcast to discuss this question, the over-individualization of Christianity, and the tension of living in the radical middle.
CPT Podcast host Todd Wilson and co-host Zachary Wagner discuss Zach's journey of faith and education so far. How does the so-called "anti-intellectualism" of evangelicalism manifest in local churches? Is this a fair characterization of this Christian tradition? What are the strengths and drawbacks of both Bible college education and a liberal arts education for Christians? Zachary Wagner is the Managing Director of the Center for Pastor Theologians.
CPT fellow Gavin Ortlund joins the podcast gain to discuss his habits of study and writing, as well as his recently published Retrieving Augustine's Doctrine of Creation: Ancient Wisdom for Current Controversy (IVP Academic, 2020). What were the important emphases of Augustine's doctrine of creation and view of what we would call "science"? What can we learn from this church father on humility? In what other surprising ways is Augustine's surprisingly relevant for theological controversies related to evolution, animal death, and creation ex nihilo?
CPT fellow JT English joins the podcast again to share the story of how he gave up his “dream job” at the Village Church in Dallas to accept a call as Lead Pastor of Storyline Fellowship in Colorado. Listen now to this amazing story of God’s provision and guidance.
ARTICLE: “The Gospel Terrifies Me”
COLEMAN FORD
PODCAST: Encountering God in the Bible
MICHAEL NIEBAUER
ARTICLE: The “This Is That” Character of Pentecostal Preaching
AARON FRIESEN
NEWS: Announcing Two New Learning Cohorts
CPT NEWS UPDATE
