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!
Why is the call to leadership in Christian institutions so important? How have our institutions fallen into neglect in recent history? What are the modernist assumptions that underlie our mistrust of institutions? Listen to part 1 of our interview with CPT fellow Trygve Johnson, Dean of Chapel at Hope College in Holland, MI.
The public theologian ministers the reality of the gospel to the time and place of their congregational life. Pastors work in a place, a particular community making disciples and teaching them how to live out the life and work of God in them as citizens in the city of God. How does the act of preaching relate to the pastor's work as a public theologian? This episode features a conference talk by CPT theological mentor, Kevin Vanhoozer.
As the pandemic continues, how can pastors and Christians cope with the feelings of weariness, isolation, and depression in these unique circumstances? What challenges has the length of the crisis raised for pastors and churches? How can we be attuned to our embodiment and the ordinary means of grace as we tend to our emotional and spiritual health? CPT fellow Ryan Davidson joins again for this episode.
Podcast host and CPT President Todd Wilson is joined by Zachary Wagner and Joel Lawrence to discuss the fallout from recent events at the US Capitol. What has gone wrong in the church and in our nation to lead to such a deep ideological divide? Where do we go from here?
On a special midweek episode, we share a sermon by CPT co-founder and board chair Gerald Hiestand. This sermon was preached at Calvary Memorial Church outside Chicago on Sunday, January 10, 2021, in response to the deadly assault on the US Capitol by pro-Trump conservatives.
CPT Podcast co-hosts Todd Wilson and Zachary Wagner are joined by CPT Executive Director Joel Lawrence. We discuss the year that was and what its implications are for pastoral ministry and the role of theology in the local church. Join us as we look back on some of the most listened to moments from the podcast in 2020.
How can parents and pastors find a balance between emphasizing the theological significance of Christmas alongside the cultural trappings associated with the holiday? How can this season be an opportunity for discipleship and catechism of children? On this episode, we are joined by CPT fellow Dillon Thornton, author of Give Them Jesus: Raising Our Children on the Core Truths of the Christian Faith.
Is Advent merely an extended Christmas season? What is the function of this season in the liturgical calendar? What is lost when we rush past the penitential season of Advent into the celebratory season of Christmas? CPT fellow Benj Petroelje joins the podcast to discuss the significance of the season of Advent in the church's life – particularly in a year like 2020. How can pastors make the most of this time of year for their congregation?
CPT fellow Tim Fox joins the podcast to share his story of becoming a pastor theologian. Tim Pastor of Christ the King Presbyterian in Austin, TX. We discuss the importance of focused research on the biblical text, the way a love of reading connects to a love of theology, and the significance of staying connected with a local church during academic studies. Tim earn his PhD in New Testament from the University of St Andrews.
How has the Christian faith and its virtue tradition influenced the science of positive psychology and virtue research? Many social scientists acknowledge that virtue reaches its full expression when embedded in a tradition, such as the Christian tradition. Gratitude, for instance, involves the realization that the good that comes to us in our lives often comes from a source outside of ourselves, which Christians often associate with God. We discuss these and other questions, including how pastors and Christians can cultivate the virtue of gratitude.
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
