Chats Under the Sun

We are filming a teaching documentary on pornography. John-Michael and I spent most of this week in DC and Philadelphia filming with Garrett Kell, Deepak Reju, & Ellen Dykas who are all speaking in the documentary. We talked through our week, talked a bit about the project, how we prepared for three tightly-packed film days, and how epic our speakers are. Here is the outline of the documentary if...

I doubt that Owen needs much of an introduction at this point. He is one of my favorite conversationalists, one of the most insightful men I know, and a close friend. We talked a little about the deep cynicism we have all developed toward any form of establishment, doing meaningful work, the limits of humor, what books we are working through at the moment (shocker), and a fascinating chat about ho...

In 2007 Rachelle Starr founded Scarlet Hope as a ministry to share the hope and love of Jesus with women in the adult entertainment industry in Louisville. Since then they have expanded to seven cities across North America. I got to sit down with Rachelle and talk about how she got involved in helping women in the sex industry, the lessons she learned from years of running Scarlet Hope, and how th...

Tim Jones, Holden Wynn, Josiah Blan, and I are Supervising Coordinators at Recenter ministries here in Louisville. Recenter is part homeless shelter, part drug recovery program, and part affordable housing. Re:Center is wholly dedicated to presenting the Gospel to the hurting and downcast in Louisville. Our responsibilities are to essentially run the shelter over the weekends. We sat down and talk...

Dr. Kyle D. Claunch is an Assistant Professor of Christian Theology here at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. This podcast took nearly 6 months to schedule but it was 100% worth the wait. We talked about his journey to the ministry and to Southern, the value of systematic theology for the local church, some hilarious stories about chasing alligators in Louisiana with his family, and the books...

Dr. C. Berry Driver, Jr. is the Associate Vice President of Academic Resources, Seminary Librarian, and Professor of Church History here at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. As far as I am concerned, he has one of the most fascinating jobs in the world. We talked about how he got into ministry and library science, growing up in the Civil Rights Movement, and the value that church history has...

Jonathan Started SWAT Ministries with his wife in 2011 to combat human trafficking in Thailand. They primarily train rescue agents and trafficking victims in self-defense. The work that Jonathan is doing is incredible and I thoroughly enjoyed talking to him. Learn more about SWAT Ministries here: https://www.swatministryintl.org Watch You Are Beautiful: https://redeemtv.com/ Watch Contraland: http...

I spent an introspective hour with two of my closest friends as we talked about how we understand ourselves as creative people, whether the term “Creative” is helpful or mega pretentious, and how we go about the various projects we are involved in. I absolutely love these kinds of conversations. I thoroughly enjoy digging into the psyches of creative people and learning about what makes them move....

John-Michael Bout and I have spent the last few months working on a teaching resource to combat pornography. This topic is incredibly important to us and we are thrilled to tell you guys what we have been up to. Here is a link to the outline that we built. It explains the documentary very well. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1A5Q4RZP4rZNxgk47HfkXlvppCCQQ0Qr2/view?usp=sharing JM is on Instagram @a...

David & June taught Jiu Jitsu and self defence to sex trafficking survivors in Thailand and other parts of the world while working for an organization dedicated to fighting human trafficking. Their stories are absolutely incredible. I don’t think I have teared up in any podcast I have done so far, but I did in this one. I can’t recommend this episode enough. This is the 50th episode of CUTS an...

Laurens is one of the few authentic Dutchman here at Southern. It was fascinating talking to him as a lot of my cultural and church heritage is Dutch, though I am a few generations removed from the homeland. We chatted about a few theologians we like, the process of translation for 9marks, and Biblical Theology. Laurens is a thoughtful dude, and I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation. Follow Laure...

Wilf Wikkerink is the CEO of Book Depot, the largest bargain book wholesaler and retailer in North America. In 2021 Book Depot was awarded the prestigious “Canada’s Best Managed Companies designation.” Needless to say, I was incredibly stoked to be able to sit down with Wilf and ask him some questions. We talked about his time at Dordt College, the lessons he learned from various internships, sell...

FINAL EPISODE. I hope y'all have enjoyed this colossal podcast. Here is the final part. I sat down with two of my favorite men and talked about why we read, the genres of books we have been into, and the books that we read in 2021. I LOVED this conversation. I thoroughly enjoy talking about books and in this case we talked for nearly 4.5 hours. I figured that dividing this podcast up into three pa...

PART 2. I don't think I have laughed as much in any other podcast as I did in this one. I sat down with two of my favorite men and talked about why we read, the genres of books we have been into, and the books that we read in 2021. I LOVED this conversation. I thoroughly enjoy talking about books and in this case we talked for nearly 4.5 hours. I figured that dividing this podcast up into three pa...

PART 1. I have been looking forward to this podcast for months. I sat down with two of my favorite men and talked about why we read, the genres of books we have been into, and the books that we read in 2021. I LOVED this conversation. I thoroughly enjoy talking about books and in this case we talked for nearly 4.5 hours. I figured that dividing this podcast up into three parts would be the best wa...

Jesse and I recorded a quick episode about the song he recently released: Am The Moon. I am a colossal fan of the song and Jesse’s music and I love deep analysis of creative work. Stream Am The Moon basically anywhere.  Follow Jesse on Instagram @boutjesse I am on Instagram @itsthevalk Cheers. 

Davin visited Pan de Vida in Santiago de Queretaro Mexico for the first time on a missions trip when he was 15. Since then he has spent a couple of years there on and off and has recently been promoted to a position managing the home and maintaining the relationships and funding between Canada and Mexico. Davin is planning on going down and running the orphanage for the next ten years and I think...

Daniel is one of the pastors of Living Water Reformed Church in Brantford Ontario. He spent a bit of time at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary before going to Westminster Seminary in California. We talked about his journey to the pastorate and the books he is reading at the moment. I have a lot of respect for Daniel and I really enjoyed our conversation. Find out more about LWRC and Daniel at...

Hannah is an emerging singer-songwriter from Hamilton Ontario. We talked about everything related to the songwriting process from inspiration to mastering. She sent me some of the songs from her upcoming EP and they are absolutely fantastic. Hannah is a great conversationalist I really enjoyed discussing music with her. I can’t wait for the full EP coming early next year. Support Hannah with a cof...

Matt is the Executive Director of Refuge International, an organization that partners with local churches to help refugees and immigrants. We talked about Matt’s mission work overseas and how Refuge is working with the new influx of Afghan Refugees. Like I mention at the beginning of the podcast, I screwed up the audio quality pretty bad, but there are so many valuable insights in the conversation...

Jeffrey is the president of Bible Translators in Training here at Southern Seminary. We talked about some of the complexities that go into translating the  Bible, how different languages interact with each other, and how someone's worldview will radically affect their translation choices. I love the biblical languages, and I love this chat.  Find Jeffery on Instagram @jm_dockall Find the...

Cam has served as a missionary in Africa in various capacities for several years. Pretty much every time I talk to him he has a new story, so I knew I had to have him on. In addition to a bunch of gnarly athletic exploits, Cam is seriously well-read and we chatted about liberal theology and the church in North America and Africa. Find Cam on Instagram @_cameronparham I am always @itsthevalk Peace...

Sam is an M. Div. Student at Southern who works in the President's Office and the Bookstore. He is one of the interns who work on The Briefing podcast by Albert Mohler and we talked about what goes on behind the scenes. We also discussed a ton about books and a bit about the church fathers. Sam is an insightful dude, and I really enjoyed talking with him. I am always @itsthevalk Cheers Fam.

Anonymous Joe is a man in his 60s and a missionary in a closed Asian country. I met him in my Hebrew class and had a lot of great conversations. I asked him to do the podcast and he agreed so long as I keep his name and country undisclosed. He has a lot of great insights, especially about using your retirement to do meaningful missions work.  I am on Instagram @itsthevalk Cheers fam.

Nao is a Japanese Student here at Southern. We met during our first week, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed talking with her about life in Japan and what it's like to move here to America. We talked about a ton of stuff, mostly around what it’s like to be a Christian between two cultures. I absolutely loved this conversation. Find Nao on Instagram @nao_nohmi Find her podcast @teatime.with.us.pod I am al...