Conversations with Jeff Bucknam

You’ve sung it a hundred times. Hands raised, eyes closed, the band swelling into the bridge. But have you ever stopped mid-chorus and wondered, “Wait… is that actually true?” Today Jeff and Tommy put some well-known worship lyrics on the threshing floor, because what we sing shapes what we believe. This is Jeff and Tommy’s Threshing Floor. What’s true. What’s not. Why it matters. Executive Produc...

This week covers a lot of ground, which might be a problem if the ground isn’t moving. Jeff and Tommy look at a church that teaches the earth stands still, unpack what people mean when they say “I hear from God,” and then turn to something closer to home: the lyrics we sing in worship. Catchy melodies are great, but good theology matters more. Grab a pitchfork and join us on the Threshing Floor. W...

"Why is our church non-denominational? And what's the difference between all these churches anyway?" Jeff and Tommy hear those questions often, so this week they tackle them. They trace where denominations came from, why they keep splitting, and how to tell an honest disagreement from a dangerous error. Then they put that framework to work on three real clips from across the denominational map. Wh...

"His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire" (Matthew 3:12). Some topics need that winnowing fork more than others, and Christian Nationalism might be at the top of the list right now. Many Christians are asking real questions about faith, citizenship, and where our ultimate loyalty...

Grok. Krick. Sick. It sounds like a nursery rhyme, but it's no joke. Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming the place people go for answers about faith. At the same time, self-appointed apostles are gathering huge audiences online with promises of healing and deliverance. So what happens when Christians hand their discernment over to an algorithm, or to a personality? Jeff and Tommy dig into...

Your social feed has a lot of opinions about God. Some are a little off. Some are way off. And some make you wonder whether anyone opened a Bible first. Grab your Bible, and join Pastor Jeff Bucknam and Pastor Tommy Creutz as they sort the wheat from the chaff. What's true. What's not. Why it matters. This is Jeff and Tommy's Threshing Floor.   Executive Producer and Host: Pastor Jeff Bucknam Co-h...

Everybody's got a story. Today, we're getting to know Joel Aurand, the new Student Ministry Director at our Aurora Campus. Joel spent ten years teaching at Harvest Christian Academy before stepping into this new role, and if you've never met him, this is your chance — to hear how he got here, what he's learned along the way, and what he's excited about now that he's shepherding students full-time....

Everybody's got a story. Today Pastor Jeff gets to know Eric Freckman — a husband, a father, a financial planner, and a faithful Christ-follower and member of the Rolling Meadows Campus of Harvest Bible Chapel. Eric helps people make wise decisions with their money for a living. Today he's just here to have a conversation. Pull up a chair. Executive Producer and Host: Pastor Jeff Bucknam Co-host:...

Matthew Bhushan just walked across a stage to collect his high school diploma. In a few days, he'll walk onto a college campus in Iowa for the first time. In between those two moments is a story about what it looks like to head into a new season with your faith intact — maybe even stronger than when you started. Matthew joins Pastor Jeff to talk about his relationship with Jesus, what he's learned...

Welcome to a new season of Conversations with Jeff Bucknam! Everybody's got a story — and this one might be one of the most personal conversations yet. Pastor Jeff sits down with his oldest son, Ethan Bucknam, who serves as Worship Director at our Crystal Lake Campus. He's grown up in ministry, lived on three continents, and has a front-row perspective on what it means to follow Jesus as a pastor'...

Everybody's got a story. And today's is one of the most compelling we've had. Pastor Jeff sits down with Dr. Jon Kelly — Lead Pastor of Chicago West Bible Church, husband to Danielle, and father of three sons. Jon was born in Chicago and raised in Philadelphia. He's a graduate of Moody Bible Institute, Wheaton College, and holds a doctorate in Global Missions from Southern Theological Seminary. Bu...

Everybody's got a story. And today's is a rich one. Pastor Jeff sits down with Dr. Lina Abujamra — a physician, an author, and a speaker who grew up in Lebanon, where she came to faith in Jesus Christ, before coming to the States to study medicine. The Lord has given her a platform that has encouraged countless people to follow Jesus — and today she shares some of that story with us. They also tou...

Everybody's got a story. Today's comes with a soundtrack — and possibly waffle fries. Pastor Jeff sits down with Eli Moore, a worship leader at Harvest's Elgin Campus and part of the Vertical Worship team. Eli's wife is also an owner-operator of a Chick-fil-A, which automatically makes this one of the most interesting conversations we've had. Don't miss it. Executive Producer and Host: Pastor Jeff...

What if hospitality isn't a personality trait — it's a theological conviction? Today, Pastor Jeff is joined by Paul Haske, an elder from our Elgin Campus, and they're unpacking what the Bible actually says about opening our lives and our homes to others. It's more than being friendly. And I think this conversation might change how you see your front door. Executive Producer and Host: Pastor Jeff B...

Everybody's got a story. Today's goes back to the early church — a time when big questions about Jesus and human nature were being fought over, sorted out, and sometimes gotten badly wrong. Pastor Jeff sits down with his co-host Pastor Tommy Creutz for Part 2 of Heresy Hunters, exploring Legalism and Gnosticism — where these ideas came from, why the church rejected them, and why they still matter...

Everybody's got a story. Today's goes back to the early church — a time when big questions about Jesus and human nature were being fought over, sorted out, and sometimes gotten badly wrong. Pastor Jeff sits down with his co-host Pastor Tommy Creutz for Part 1 of Heresy Hunters, exploring Arianism and Pelagianism — where these ideas came from, why the church rejected them, and why they still matter...

Everybody's got a story. And if you've spent any time in the church, you've probably encountered a conversation about spiritual gifts — maybe a great one, maybe an awkward one. Today, Pastor Jeff and Stephanie Geisler, Central Director of Women's Ministry at Harvest, open up 1 Corinthians 12–14 and dig into the sign gifts together. Honest, helpful, and maybe a little surprising. “Conversations wit...

Welcome to Conversations with Jeff Bucknam. Today, Pastor Jeff sits down with Kent Shaw—a ministry leader who has spent years in the trenches of church planting and training pastors—to talk about what it actually takes to start a church. What does it look like on the ground? What do you wish someone had told you before you started? And what keeps church planters going when it gets hard? Grab a cup...

On this episode of the podcast, Pastor Jeff Bucknam tackles an important question for every church: What should churches sing? Music shapes the worship, theology, and even the spiritual formation of a congregation. But how should churches decide what belongs in a worship service? In this conversation, Pastor Jeff and Pastor Moses explore the biblical purpose of congregational singing, what Scriptu...

We often hear people say, 'I love Jesus, but I don't need the church.' But can you really have the Head without the Body? Today, Pastor Jeff Bucknam and Pastor Jeff Thompson dive into the theology of gathering. We’re exploring why 'attending' church is about so much more than a service—it’s about a calling, a community, and a spiritual formation that simply can’t happen in isolation. “Conversation...

Are Catholics Christians? What are the key doctrinal differences between Catholicism and biblical Christianity? In this thoughtful and gracious conversation, guest host Pastor Dave Learned and Bill Ciofani help unpack the similarities, clarify the distinctions, and bring biblical clarity to an important question. “Conversations with Jeff Bucknam” is a production of Harvest Bible Chapel. Executive...

Can forgiveness exist without repentance? In this episode of Conversations with Jeff Bucknam, Pastor Jeff and Pastor Brit Gilman tackle this thoughtful and sometimes controversial question, examining what the Bible says about repentance, grace, and the heart of the gospel. “Conversations with Jeff Bucknam” is a production of Harvest Bible Chapel. Executive Producer: Wesley Cassford Host: Dr. Jeff...

Have you ever wondered why Christians—people who follow Jesus—can sometimes come across as harsh, judgmental, or just plain unkind? And if we’re honest… did the Church actually learn anything from Covid, or did it just expose what was already there? In today’s episode, we’re asking some hard but necessary questions: Why are Christians such jerks sometimes? And what did the last few years reveal ab...

Welcome to Conversations with Jeff Bucknam. In this episode, Jeff is joined by Dr. Kyle Meeker for a timely and important conversation about deciding on doctrine—how Christians think about truth claims, weigh theological differences, and stay grounded when everything from secondary doctrines to conspiracy theories is competing for our attention. We’ll talk about how to discern what’s central to th...

Everybody's got a story! Listen now as Pastor Jeff Bucknam talks with Cory Anderson, Campus Pastor at the North Shore Campus of Harvest, about Mormonism. Cory previously served as a pastor in Salt Lake City, Utah. Together they discuss the question, "Are Mormons Christians? " If you’d like to explore this topic further, consider these helpful books by Bill McKeever and Eric Johnson, available wher...