Preach and Persuade

How do you know if God is calling you into vocational ministry? How do you know if you should go to seminary? Where do your desires fit into your calling? Expect to hear answers to these questions as well as Sam's own story of how God called him into ministry and the role that Dan played in process.

Are there more or less essential doctrines in the Christian faith? Are there worse sins? How do we order and rank doctrines and practices? In this episode, Sam and Dan discuss theological and ethical triage. They also discuss the need for triage today, especially in the online Christian media world. Some things are not worth fighting about. How do we know what those issues are?

In this episode, Sam and Dan talk about their recent ministry in the South Pacific. They discuss teaching evangelism cross-culturally as well as their recent experiences doing evangelism.

In this episode, we discuss the buzz around Harrison Butker's commencement speech at Benedictine College in Atchison, KS. Throughout Scripture, we see the undeniable reality that Christians are going to be hated by the world. Jesus was called horrible names, slandered, and ultimately killed. He promised nothing different for His disciples. Harrison Butker's speech revealed that the issues of manho...

In this episode, we discuss a quote from Doug Wilson from his interview with Tucker Carlson. After Tucker asked Doug why so many people are out to get him even though his Christian beliefs are quite normal, Doug Wilson responded by saying "I mean it." So what does it mean to mean your faith? The Christian life is not a theory. It is a life of action and holy living. Doctrine is meant to be applied...

One of the sins that everyone does to varying degrees is emotional blackmail. Emotional blackmail is when you condemn someone as guilty because he/she hurt your feelings even though he/she did nothing wrong. And often, these feelings are hurt because of unmet expectations. You have to ask yourself, though, are my expectations realistic? And did I communicate these expectations to this person I kno...

How important is reading? In this episode, we make a theological case that reading the written word is deeply significant, not only the Bible but books of all genres in general. Dan and I discuss our journies with reading and several tips for what to read and how to develop a habit of reading. For more about our ministry, visit: afci.us

In this episode, we discuss the controversial "He Gets Us" Super Bowl ad and the foot-washing scene in John 13. What is Jesus teaching by washing His disciple's feet? Why does Jesus only wash the feet of the twelve? What does the Bible mean by love and hate? We answer all these questions and more as we consider the reality of the gospel. For more information about our ministry, visit: afci.us

What motives should characterize gospel ministry? What are the impure motives that tend to stigmatize many preachers and evangelists? What are the methods consistent with the gospel? Does God care about methods? We answer these questions as we unpack 1 Thessalonians 2:3-4 and consider Paul's ministry amidst a negative world. To learn more about our ministry, visit: afci.us

In this episode, we discuss the history of evangelicalism in America and how we, as evangelical Christians, arrived in a negative world. Long before Aaron Renn popularized his framework of the three worlds of evangelicalism, Dan reminds us that a number of earlier evangelical leaders were warning us about the sudden shift in America in doctrine, morality, and fundamental worldview beliefs. Men lik...

Are we in the middle of a conflict with the spiritual forces of evil? Are there demons working actively against the truth and the kingdom of God? What is our responsibility in this spiritual war? How do we fight and resist the doctrine of demons? Join us as we talk with John Stambaugh as he traces the theme of the cosmic conflict through Scripture. For more information about our ministry, visit: a...

What does true manhood look like? What things should a young man pursue in his life? What place do physical strength and fighting ability have in defining manhood? How important is physical appearance? King David serves as an ideal that young men can strive towards. His life exemplifies biblical manhood and maturity. To learn more about my ministry, visit: afci.us To support this podcast and my mi...

Is there a future for the nation of Israel? Are Jews still considered God's people? What is the relationship between Israel and the Church? What are the different positions regarding Romans 11:26? Is there more than one meaning of Jew? To learn more about my ministry, visit: afci.us To support this show and my ministry visit: https://pushpay.com/g/acfiusa?fnd=yxHf05h0MbuQZgrnfWrSmQ&fndv=Lock&a...

In this episode, we discuss what a true man is by contrasting true manhood with the sons of worthlessness. Throughout the Old Testament, especially in the book of 1 Samuel, a recurring title shows up -- son of worthlessness. A son of worthlessness is what a man should not be. The life of a worthless man is a life a man must reject in order to be a true, godly man. To learn more about our ministry,...

In this episode, we discuss our evangelistic experiences at KU in September of 2023. We regularly practice two types of evangelism: open-air dialogues where students initiate conversations with us and initiative evangelism where we initiate conversations with students. In this episode, we play audio recordings of how we begin our conversations with students when doing initiative evangelism. Also,...

What is the difference between an itinerate preacher and a pastor? Does the church need itinerate evangelists? What does the ministry of an itinerate preacher and evangelist look like? Join Dan and me, as we talk with Stan Hankins, an itinerate preacher and evangelist who has served as an itinerant preacher for over 30 years. To learn more about my ministry, visit: afci.us To donate, visit: https:...

Dan and I discuss the current state of masculinity. More and more statistics and studies confirm a real problem among men. And the cultural narrative continues to equate biblical masculinity with toxicity and mental illness. Dan and I key into the issue of spiritual warfare. The devil wants to make men impotent and passive. The devil wants men to be infertile and immoral. To learn more about my mi...

This is part two of our discussion on the miraculous gifts in 1 Corinthians 12-14. Does Paul use tongues as a private prayer language? Is tongues cognitive speech? Why does Paul value prophecy over tongues in the context of the church? And most importantly, have the gifts in Corinth continued into today? To learn more about my ministry, visit: afci.us To donate, visit: https://pushpay.com/g/acfius...

We continue our debate of continuationism and cessationism as we walk through 1 Corinthians 12-14. Is Paul describing a situation that is descriptive of only the first-century church? Is Paul teaching that the gift of tongues is now a private prayer language? Is the gift of prophecy that Paul is urging the Corinthians to seek the same type of prophecy we see in the Old Testament? We answer these q...

Have the miraculous sign gifts ceased? That is the question Mason and I debate in this episode. Mason gives his most convincing arguments for the continuationist position, and I give my most convincing arguments for the cessationist position. Both of us seek to be as biblical as possible. To learn more about my ministry, visit: afci.us To donate, visit: https://pushpay.com/g/acfiusa?fnd=yxHf05h0Mb...

This is the second episode in our series on cessationism and continuationism. In this episode, we consider the errors propagated by the Word of Faith and Prosperity gospel teachers. Since the miraculous gifts are such a central part of their ministries, it seems pertinent that we distinguish ourselves from them. Expect to hear us talk about their teaching on trips to heaven, the little god's doctr...

Jesus Christ is the eternal God through whom all things were made. As Paul begins his main arguments against the false teachers plaguing the Colossians Church, he starts with the most incredible statements on the nature of Jesus Christ. Truly, any christ who does not possess the attributes displayed in Colossians 1:15-20 is not the Christ who saves.

What is the Pentecostal belief on the second experience of the baptism of the Holy Spirit? Why do we think it is unbiblical? How did Pentecostalism begin? What are the abuses of charismatic gifts and doctrines? We answer these questions in this introductory episode to a series on continuationism and cessationism. In this series, I join my friend, brother in Christ, and fellow church member Mason S...

What does the New Testament prescribe for local church leadership? Who are the officers of the local church? Is there a difference between the pastor, elder, and overseer? Should local churches have a plurality of elders? What is the authority of the elder? What is elder-led congregational ruled polity? What is the office of deacon? We answer all of these questions in this concluding episode of ou...

What is the Lord's Supper? What are the historic positions? How often should we celebrate supper? What does it mean to take the supper in an unworthy manner? Who should take the supper? Why are transubstantiation and consubstantiation unbiblical? We answer all of these questions in this discussion on the Lord's Supper. To learn more about my ministry visit: afci.us To donate visit: https://pushpay...