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!
Author Katelyn Beaty joins the podcast to discuss her recent book, Celebrities for Jesus: How Personas, Profits, and Platforms are Hurting the Church. We discuss the history of evangelicalism as it relates to the use of mass media, as well as how the wider cultural phenomenon of celebrity relates to the evangelical movement. How has celebrity shaped pastors' sense of vocation? What are the dangers associated with the megachurch movement and famous pastors? This and much more on this episode.
CPT fellow Danny Houck joins for a conversation about original sin from his research of Thomas Aquinas' theological anthropology. What is the relationship between philosophy and theology? How does Thomas Aquinas help us navigate this tension? Danny also traces the history of the doctrine of original sin from Augustine to Aquinas, showing that the story of this doctrine in not as simple or clear cut as is often assumed.
PART 2:
CPT fellow Danny Houck joins for the second part of our conversation on Thomas Aquinas and original sin. In this episode Danny traces three challenges he sees in the evolutionary narrative of human origins for a Christian understanding of human fallenness. He suggests that Aquinas' account of human nature and renewal can be put into productive dialogue with these challenges and create new possibilities for theology and Christian discipleship.
Michael Wear, President and CEO of the Center for Christianity and Public Life, joins CPT President Todd Wilson for a conversation on theology, politics, and the intersection between the two. What is the purpose of the separation of church and state? What is at root of the various problems of Christian political engagement and witness in our day? How can and should Christian virtues shape political discourse?
Our May episode on books we, the CPT staff, have been reading.
Richard V. Reeves – Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do about It (2022)
Cormac McCarthy – The Road (2006)
Jim Belcher – Cold Civil War: Overcoming Polarization, Discovering Unity, and Healing the Nation (2022)
Angela Dienhary Hancock – Karl Barth's Emergency Homiletic, 1932-1933: A Summons to Prophetic Witness at the Dawn of the Third Reich (2013)
Why do so many seminary grads have a hard time retaining their knowledge of the biblical languages? What are some of the shortcomings of traditional language learning models and how can we improve upon them? Biblingo co-founder Nick Messmer joins Zach Wagner to discuss the difference between a grammar and translation method and a reading fluency method for language acquisition. What are the advantages of language fluency for pastoral ministry?
Professor Kimlyn Bender joins the podcast to share share about his farmers' town upbringing, how he first became interested in studying Karl Barth, and the importance of ecclesiology working out the tension between the academy and the church. Dr. Bender argues that Barth is the most important Protestant theologian to engage from the 20th century and that central to Barth's intent for the Dogmatics was that it would be a resource for pastors. With particular emphasis on volume of Church Dogmatics, Dr. Bender describes his project of helping pastors engage Barth and his work's relevance for the church today.
Author Trevin Wax joins the podcast to reflect on his upbringing in the church and the idea behind his recent book The Thrill of Orthodoxy. What does it mean to rediscover the exciting and wonderful truth claims of Christianity and the Bible? In a cultural context in which so much about Christianity is taken for granted, how do pastors and theologians underscore the power and influence of our faith? What is the relationship between our modern church culture's pragmatism and the stable truths of the Christian faith? Are doctrine and contextualization at odds in the church's mission?
CPT fellow Jarrod Longbons joins the podcast to discuss his upbringing in the space between the Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions. He shares about his varied interests as a young person and how things like acting and theater connected to his pursuit of theological education and pastoral calling. He then shares his story of PhD with John Milbank, with specific emphasis on Maximus the Confessor's theology of the doctrine of creation. The conversation concludes with Jarrod's reflections on ministry and his unique angles to the discipline of theology through his temperament and experiences.
CPT fellow Dillon Thornton joins the podcast to discuss his story of life, faith, education, and ministry. How does an early calling into ministry unfold over the years of young adulthood? Why is it important for scholars and pastors to study the Pastoral Epistles? How can pastors deal with struggling to find time for writing projects they'd like to pursue? All this and more on this episode.
Rev. Dr. Jacob Rodriguez joins the podcast to share his story of life, faith, and education. He reflects on his feelings of rootlessness and how transience theologically shaped him. He also shares his early exposure to theology and ancient languages that created an early passion for careful study of the biblical texts. Jacob spent time as a missionary in Ethiopia, and in this conversation he notes how Western Christians can learn from the long tradition of faith in Ethiopia and that church's recent experiences of persecution. Finally, we discuss his PhD research on gospel writing and what makes the canonical gospels unique among the other stories about Jesus that emerged in the first centuries of Christian history.
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
