Real Talk

In this episode, we have the pleasure of sitting down with Andrew and Heidi Hutten who serve as the executive directors of Life Renewal. They were so kind to share their story and how Life Renewal has played a part in their journey. If Life Renewal sounds like it could be an option for you, do not hesitate to check out their website at LifeRenewal.ca To keep up with the podcast, check out our webs...

In this episode, we have the pleasure of sitting down with Rev. Clarence Bouwman, who is the recent retired pastor of Smithville Canadian Reformed Church. We chat about The Church - although what seems like a broad topic, we were able to discuss certain aspects such as terminology, the necessity of gathering, observing the work of Christ in the Church as well as difficult issues including excommun...

In this episode, we have the pleasure of sitting down with Rick Ludwig and Diane Vanderwoude Russel. We chat about their work as funeral directors at Kitching, Steepe & Ludwig Funeral Home as well as about grief and all that it entails, including how we can support those who are grieving. Check it out and let us know what you think. To keep up with the podcast, check out our website : https://www....

In this episode, we talked with MP Arnold Viersen (Peace River-Westlock) about his life as an MP, what he does in Ottawa and in his riding, his private member's bill which is aimed at helping fight human trafficking, balancing Christian principles and party politics and more! Check it out and let us know what you thought :)  To keep up with the podcast, check out our website : https://www.realtalk...

Hey everybody - we're already at 30 episodes! Crazy how time flies. Thanks for all you support so far - we're excited to keep bring you informative and inspiring content.  In today's episode, we reflect on the feedback we've received over the last 4 interview episodes with Pastor Aaron Rock, Jonathon Van Maren, Jon Dykstra, and Mike Hutten. We also note that Mariia's paper is finally available to...

In this episode we tackled the topic of freedom: What does it mean, where does it come from, and how to we maintain it? Mike has been doing a series on freedom on his own podcast, One Christian Thinks, and so we had him back in the studio to break down his research for us. For those of you who are sick of talking about c*vid, fear not, we did not dwell on that topic too much this episode. However,...

In this episode, we spoke with Jon Dykstra, the Chief Editor at Reformed Perspective, the magazine which sponsors Real Talk. In this one, we talked a bit about his work as an editor, the growth and impact of Reformed Perspective of the past two plus decades, and the importance and ethics of Christian journalism. Finally, we dove into some specific articles Jon wrote on hot button issues that you c...

Hey folks! In this episode, we had on Jonathon Van Maren, a Canadian columnist, author, speaker, podcaster, and activist. We had quite the wide-ranging discussion, covering many things including our current media culture, the pitfalls of social and alternative media, conspiracy theories, the persistent problem of porn, pro-life politics and more! Jonathon did a great job breaking down our current...

This is a big one folks! We interviewed Pastor Aaron Rock from Harvest Bible Church in Windsor, ON, who has taken a clear public stance in favour of reopening churches. We went through at least 10 different objections to his stance and had him explain his rationale on each point. We hope that this episode will be helpful for the many Christians, especially those in leadership positions, who are wr...

Our next guest was unable to join us - listen and find out why! In this episode we discuss listener feedback from our last several episodes - mainly related to the Church Order.  Remember to send in your thoughts on COVID, lockdowns & church closures for our next episode!! To keep up with the podcast, check out our website : https://www.realtalkpodcast.ca/   Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for...

In this episode, we sat down with Dr. Art Witten, a self-described Church Order enthusiast, who has a deep understanding of the history and content of the Church Order held by the Canadian Reformed Churches (and by extension, similar versions held by other Reformed denominations). We talked about the history of the Church Order, where it came from, why it matters, how the Canadian Reformed version...

In this episode, we sit down with ARPA's new Ontario Manager Ryan Mans to discuss his new job, the work ARPA has been doing lately, and what to make of the area of politics in a polarizing and frustrating time. Tune in and let us know your thoughts!  To learn more about ARPA go to https://arpacanada.ca/   To keep up with the podcast, check out our website : https://www.realtalkpodcast.ca/   Follow...

In this episode, we chat with Rev. Ryan Kampen about the exciting mission work going on at the Reformed Study Centre, specifically the different projects they have on the go and the thousands of Christians they are helping every month. Tune in to find out more!  Links to check out: https://www.refstudycentre.com/ https://www.christianstudylibrary.org/ https://reformedmissions.net/ To keep up with...

In this episode, we note the listener appreciation for our Christian Apologetics episode with Jeff Morris and our Outsider Perspective episode with Mariia Alekseevskaia, and share the answers Mariia provided for all of your feedback and questions. Lots of good stuff in this one folks!  To keep up with the podcast, check out our website : https://www.realtalkpodcast.ca/   Follow us on Facebook and...

You DO NOT want to miss this one folks! In this episode, we talk with Mariia Alekseevskaia, who is originally from Russia and now lives in Ottawa, about her doctoral thesis paper that examines the Canadian Reformed Churches; specifically how their educational institutions (in Ontario) prepare their graduates for life in a pluralistic and diverse society.  We dove deep into Mariia's groundbreaking...

In this one, we talked with Jeff about the importance of defending the faith, the biblical basis for doing so, the differences between evangelism and apologetics, and the relationship between faith and reason and more!  To keep up with the podcast, check out our website : https://www.realtalkpodcast.ca/   Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, clips, and more!  Facebook: https://www.face...

In this one we discuss if we should continue these feedback style episodes (send us your thoughts!!), reflect on what we learned in our conversation with Scott Dekorte, and announce two exciting upcoming episodes - check it out!  To keep up with the podcast, check out our website : https://www.realtalkpodcast.ca/   Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, clips, and more!  Facebook: https:...

Scott Dekorte from Word & Deed Ministries joined us to talk all about global missions, poverty, relief efforts, indigenous enterprise based solutions and more in this exciting and interesting episode. Tune in and let us know what you think! To keep up with the podcast, check out our website: https://www.realtalkpodcast.ca/ Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, clips, and more! Facebook:...

In this episode we interact with the content and feedback of our last few episodes with Rhonda and Mike and discuss some of our future plans like usual. To keep up with the podcast, check out our website : https://www.realtalkpodcast.ca/   Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, clips, and more!  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReformedRealTalk   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/re...

Rhonda Wiersma joins us for some real talk about the important topic of mental health as we enter this holiday season. We spoke about the attitudes and stigma related to mental health both within and outside the church. We tried to understand how Biblical and Christian counseling differ in their approaches and how we can get involved as counsellors to those struggling in our own lives. Here are a...

Welcome to Part 2 of the Christmas Bonus Episode! If you haven’t already listened to the first part, I would suggest checking that out as it helps to frame our discussion in part two.  In this episode, we spend a lot of time discussing why Christians who share the same fundamental beliefs can disagree so strongly on various issues and why that can actually be a good thing! Let us know what you mak...

Welcome to the Christmas Bonus episode! In this one we have on Mike Hutten from the One Christian Thinks podcast to talk about all things culture. You can check out his podcast and all of our research links down below. This podcast ended up going super long so we divided it into two parts (part two drops tomorrow) to make it easier to consume. In the first half we talk about racism, BLM, and how c...

In this episode, Lucas and Tyler reflect on their interviews with Rev. Hendrik Versteeg and Rev. Bruce Parnell and discuss what each of their experiences can teach us about the types of songs we sing in church. They also try out Instagram Live, show off some cool new art courtesy of Reformed Perspective, discuss their upcoming episode on mental health, and reveal a new bonus episode coming soon! ...

This episode is a special one, featuring interviews with two different pastors who've worked in vastly different contexts. Rev Hendrik Versteeg served as missionary in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea for many years. Rev. Bruce Parnell has served as a pastor in a mission plant church in Stillwater, Oklahoma for many years as well. We talked with them about their different mission experiences in the...

We go through the feedback we received on our episode with Pastor Al, discuss future episode ideas around the topic of addiction, and reveal some of our exciting upcoming episodes! To keep up with the podcast, check out our website: https://www.realtalkpodcast.ca/  Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, clips, and more!  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReformedRealTalk  Instagram: htt...