The Christian Chronicle Podcast

Former Christian Chronicle intern (2021) Makyra Williamson (Tigard, Oregon) is a twentysomething-year old Christian professional who is open to marriage someday. In this episode, she talks about being single in the church in the U.S. in the 21st century. She also talks about dating, how to set her up on a date and how not to set her up on a date. And she reflects on how to be complete and full as...

Coach Garth Pleasant ( Horton Road Church of Christ, Jackson, Michigan ) is one of the winningest college basketball coaches of all time (720 wins, 19 national tournament appearances and four national championships at Rochester Christian University, Rochester Hills, Michigan , over 38 years). In all that time, Coach Pleasant and his teams never played a single home game ... because they didn'...

Note: We had some issues with the audio and recording on this one. We apologize for the "glitches." Recorded immediately before the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Christian Chronicle editorial board member Trindi Mitchell opens up about what Kamala Harris'  run for president means to her (and many others). Mitchell expands on the theme on why representation matters, not only in na...

In this episode recorded before a live audience at the Church of Christ in Falls Church , Virginia , The Christian Chronicle's Erik Tryggestad interviews C.W. Goodyear , author of President Garfield: From Radical to Unifier (Simon & Schuster). Garfield, the 20th president of the United States, served in office for only 200 days before he died from an assassin's bullet (he was only th...

From the Norton Colloquium at the 101st Harding University Lectureship , The Christian Chronicle's editor-in-chief Bobby Ross Jr. leads a panel of preachers as they discuss how (and whether) to talk about politics in the local church. Dr. Jeremie Beller is The Christian Chronicle's opinions editor. He serves as dean of the College of Bible at Oklahoma Christian University and minister wi...

Liza Corso is a two-time Team U.S.A. Paralympic medalist in the women's 1500m (Silver, Tokyo, 2020 and Bronze, Paris, 2024). She is also a senior psychology and nutrition major at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee. In this episode, Liza talks about what it is like run at a world-class level while seeing through her vision impairment. She also talks about how her faith and her runnin...

From the Norton Colloquium at Harding University's 101st lectureship , members of The Christian Chronicle news team bring stories of what God is doing around, and through, God's people...in some of the hardest and scariest circumstances. Audrey Jackson , Bobby Ross Jr. , Sawmi Sektak and Erik Tryggestad give eyewitness reports of what they've seen as they cover the news among Christ...

From the Norton Colloquium at Harding University's 101st Lectureship , Heritage 21 Foundation 's Stan Granberg , 21st Century Christian 's Carl Royster and The Christian Chronicle 's Erik Tryggestad discuss what current trends portend for the future of Churches of Christ. They also reveal plans for the Church Research Council , a new joint venture of The Christian Chronicle , H...

Almost half of the world's migrants claim Christianity according to new research from Pew Research Center . In this episode, we hear from two Christian immigrants, Eduardo and Odalis Vasquez , Church of Christ members who are part of the 7.7 million people who fled Venezuela over the last few years. The Vasquezes talk about why and how they left their home behind and what it is like to try to...

According to Pew Research Center , immigration is the second-most important issue to White evangelical Protestants who plan to vote in the November 2024 U.S. presidential election. Note: Pew places White Church of Christ members (7 out of 10 Church of Christ members nationwide) in the "White evangelical Protestant" research cohort. So, then, immigration may be one of the top issues for C...

The recent emergence of in vitro fertilization (IVF) as a legal and political issue is raising new ethical and moral questions among Christians. If life begins at conception, when is conception? What is a soul and when does a human being have one? Advances in science and technology mean that Christians know more about the human body than ever before, but those same advances sometimes lead to quest...

LIVE from the campus of Great Lakes Christian College in Lansing, Michigan , we bring you Dr. John Nugent , author of Priestly Presence: A Church for the World's Sake (Fortress Press) . Nugent draws from the levitical priesthood as a pattern for what God calls the church to be and do in the world, most of all during a time when the struggle for power in the world is growing acute. Link to Pri...

Almost one year before he recorded this episode, Rubel Shelly appeared on Episode 39 of The Christian Chronicle Podcast to talk about his book, Male and Female God Created Them: A Biblical Review of LGBTQ+ Claims . That remains the most popular episode of this show. Shelly returns to talk about his follow-up work, The Ink is Dry: God's Distinctive Word on Marriage, Family and Sexual Responsib...

Church of Christ kid and small-town high school athlete Colt McCoy grew up to be one of the greatest college football players of all time before going on to play 13 seasons in the National Football League . Just a few weeks before recording this conversation with The Christian Chronicle , McCoy announced his retirement from playing the sport that made him famous. In this episode, he opens up about...

Darcy Todd ( Woodland West Church of Christ , Arlington, Texas ) is the 2024 Starbucks North America Barista Champion . She recently beat out 17,000 Starbucks baristas for the title. In this episode, she'll not only tell the story of how she did it, she'll explain how working in a Starbucks is not so different from working in a church (one with exceptional coffee!). She'll even thro...

In 2010, Ose Ehimare and her four(!) unborn children faced poor chances of survival unless they could get special medical care not available where they lived in Abuja, Nigeria . God made a way for Ose to come to the U.S. to get the care she needed for herself and her children at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta . But she was 6,000 miles from home and all alone in a strange land. That's wh...

How much should you trust the people in your own congregation to not steal money? This may seem like an almost offensive question, but in this episode we explore the astonishing increase in embezzlement in congregations and ministries around the world. According to data from our guest, 1 in 3 churches will become victims of embezzlement at some point and 6 percent of all Christian giving worldwide...

S.J. Dahlstrom is one of the most award-winning and critically-acclaimed authors of youth fiction. He is the creator of the " Wilder Good " series of nine books that follow the adventures of a 12-year old boy growing up in the American West. Dahlstrom is a four-time winner of the Wrangler Western Heritage Award , five-time winner of the Will Rogers Medallion , four-time finalist for the...

Rochester Christian University , founded in 1959 as North Central Christian Junior College, has deep roots and strong ties to Churches of Christ. Like other colleges and universities in this tradition, Rochester Christian built itself around its school of ministry and theology so that its graduates would become leaders and ministers in churches around the world. In June 2024, Rochester Christian m...

In front of a live audience at Sycamore View Church of Christ in Memphis, Tennessee, we interview Josh Ross, author of Coreology: Six Principles for Navigating an Election Season Without Losing Our Witness . So many things that Christians hear, read and talk about these days have to do with how they get along with political opponents or how they use their political power. In this conversation, how...

These days, politics in the United States seems to be a dividing force even among Christians. Over the last few years, how many Christians changed congregations or cut off relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ over politics? How many Christians feel, and sometimes give into, the temptation to attack other Christians because they identify with a different political figure or party? In t...

After years of decline, Hermitage Church of Christ maintain its facility at a cost of $3,000 per week while its ministry languished. So the congregation sold its building and became New Garden Church . In this episode we explore how becoming a guest in its own community changed how New Garden Church discerns God at work in Hermitage and how it ministers with its neighbors. What lessons could other...

Bestselling author ( Ghosted: An American Story ) and Church of Christ daughter Nancy French opens up about her new memoir and allegations of childhood sexual abuse by a minister. She talks about how sexual abuse happens in Christian churches and organizations and why they sometimes protect perpetrators and not their victims. And, in Christianity, where forgiveness of sins and redemption are centr...

In our first-ever show before a live audience, we're pleased to present C. Leonard Allen , author of 16 books that explore Christian life, most of all Christian life together in the church. In his latest book, a memoir titled The Bookroom: Remembrance and Forgiveness , Allen retraces the story of his lifelong search for answers to the questions that he first learned to ask as a boy in his fat...

Less than a week after an assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump , three preachers talk about how and what they preach when political violence is on the rise. Featuring: Jerrard Davis , minister, Spencer Church of Christ , Spencer, Oklahoma David Duncan , preaching minister, Memorial Church of Christ , Houston, Texas Robin Gough , preaching minister, Fairfax Church of Christ , Fair...