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!
In this episode, we continue our conversation with award-winning author Carolyn Weber. We discuss her story of life and her academic career, including balancing her witness while engaging fruitfully in her discipline. How should Christians and aspiring pastors think of cultivating their writing and word-craft? How can faithful Christian thinker maintain a posture of humility and openness to new ideas and thinkers that challenge them?
We are joined on this episode by Carolyn Weber, professor of English and the award-winning author of Surprised by Oxford and Sex and the City of God. We talk with Dr. Weber about her story of life and faith, including her conversion while studying English literature at the University of Oxford.
Beginning in Fall 2021, the CPT will partner with the Wheaton College Graduate School in offering an M.A. in Theology with a concentration in Ecclesial Theology. This program is designed for students interested in studying theology with a specific orientation toward ministry in the local church. On this special mid-week podcast episode, CPT staff are joined by Marc Cortez, a Professor of Theology at Wheaton, to discuss this new program, its unique value for students, and how you can find out more and apply.
Is there a liturgical renewal movement in low-church evangelicalism? How can pastors and worship ministers rehearse the story of redemption through the liturgy of worship every week? How can we view music and preaching not as separate parts of the worship service, but as synchronized ways of embedding the gospel in our hearts? Listen now to our interview with Paul van der Bijl, Director of Worship and Music at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Chicago.
In this episode, we continue our conversation with CPT President Todd Wilson about his new book, The Enneagram Goes to Church: Wisdom for Leadership, Worship, and Congregational Life. How can the Enneagram help us cultivate pastoral wisdom and relational, emotional intelligence? What self-knowledge can it offer pastors? What insight can it give in to the insecurities and compulsions that drive us to protect ourselves from shame, fear, or our own anger? How can Christ work in our hearts and minds through a tool like the Enneagram?
Why did a trained New Testament scholar and longtime pastor become so interested in the enneagram? On today's episode, CPT President Todd Wilson shares his journey of discovering the enneagram and discusses many of the common objections and questions about it within evangelical circles. What are the theological convictions undergirding its "appropriation" for pastoral and formational use in the church? Todd's new book, The Enneagram Goes to Church: Wisdom for Leadership, Worship, and Church Life, releases on March 16, 2021 (Intervarsity Press).
On today's episode, we are joined by CPT Fellow Jennifer Powell McNutt. She serves as the Dyrness Chair of Biblical and Theological Studies at Wheaton College and is an ordained minister in the PCUSA. We discuss her story of family, faith, and education, including discerning a call to ministry as a woman. We also explore some of her research on the Enlightenment, Calvin, and Reformed tradition's legacy of the pastor theologians in Calvin's Geneva.
What are some of the distinctives of Anglican worship forms? What does a liturgy that is both historically rooted and culturally and linguistically responsive serve God's people? What are the advantages and disadvantages of these forms? This week, we continue our conversation with CPT Fellow, John Yates. We discuss these and other questions, including what to make of the recent trend towards more "liturgical" forms of worship and the future direction of the Anglican Communion.
We begin our conversation with CPT Fellow John Yates, who serves as the Rector of Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Raleigh, NC. In this episode, we discuss growing up in a ministry home, and John's story of education, including his experience serving as a study assistant for John Stott in London.
We continue our conversation with CPT fellow Trygve Johnson on pastoring in an academic institution and corporate spiritual formation. What are the key issues and challenges facing college-age Christians? How do liturgical rhythms form us into competent Christians, able to move out into the world on mission, empowered by the truth of the Gospel?
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
