Church & Culture Podcast

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the rise of the “romantasy” genre of literature, as well as the definition and implications of pornography. Is porn only that which you watch visually? What's the difference between reading a sex scene and seeing one? The discussion also explores the increasing consumption of pornography amo...

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a new Pew Research study that was conducted with participants from three dozen countries, reflecting a wide range of religious traditions. The findings showed that not only is belief in life after death widespread, but so is a belief in spirits. The majority of adults in most countries believe that anim...

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they take time to discuss all things related to the pope in light of the recent death of Pope Francis at the age of 88. He served as the head of the Catholic Church for 12 years, and his death certainly sparked a media storm. So this episode takes time to explore the history of the office of the pope, how future pop...

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how just a few weeks ago YouTube celebrated its 20th anniversary. Few could have imagined that a 19-second video of a man looking at elephants at the San Diego Zoo could have led to the creation of a global media powerhouse. With 20 billion videos having been uploaded to date, we thought it was fitting...

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a recent Lifeway Research study which found that despite some disturbing trends in the number of church closures across the United States, 94% of pastors believe their church will still be open in 10 years. Whereas in the 1940s nearly 85% of Americans claimed they belonged to a church, now that number i...

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how for many Americans, Easter is one of the few times in the year they show a willingness to attend a church service. If they do, they'll likely hear about an empty tomb and the significance of the resurrection of Jesus thousands of years later. For many, the hope of new life in Jesus is enough to prop...

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the interesting cultural connection between the demise of Hooters (which has now filed for bankruptcy) and the rise in popularity of OnlyFans. For those not familiar with this website, it's a platform where people offer online content that they've created, which is usually pornographic in nature, to pai...

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss Barna Group teaming up with the Aspen Group design firm to explore possible connections between spiritual formation and the physical spaces that we inhabit. Questions such as: What does it mean to be formed as a follower of Jesus? And can the spaces that we meet in help motivate this growth? Also, how m...

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the Apple TV series “Severance,” which has become something of a modern cultural phenomenon. With only two seasons under its belt, it's already become Apple TV's most-watched series in its history, recently surpassing the wildly popular show “Ted Lasso.” So what is behind the pop...

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they pick up where they left off last week in a discussion prompted by the recent launch of NASA's SPHEREx Telescope, which is hoping to find answers to how the world began. As Christians, we have a firm belief that God created all that there is. However, Genesis says quite a few things with regard to the history of...

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how NASA has made a huge step forward in wanting to bring science into the realm of the existential as this week, they launched into space what's known as the SPHEREx Telescope. It has the goal of answering some pivotal questions like: How did the universe begin? How did galaxies start to develop? How d...

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the recent release of Pew Research Center's Religious Landscape Study. Last conducted in 2014, the 2023-24 study surveyed more than 35,000 Americans concerning their religious affiliations, their beliefs, and their practices. It is simply the largest and most significant study of its kind in terms of ge...

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a recent TikTok trend that involves the promotion of intergenerational estrangement. The buzz language tied to this trend is “going no contact” - when young adult children (specifically Millennials and Gen Z) attempt to solve family issues by essentially ending the relationship and cutting t...

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the human desire to live forever. Earlier this year, Netflix released a documentary called “Don't Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever” about a 47-year-old man named Bryan Johnson, who is on a mission to extend his life beyond all known limits in order to have more time with his son. He is...

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a recent decision from the Starbucks CEO to recapture the coffee company's identity as a “third place” - a place where “community is formed and civility is fostered.” Today's conversation was prompted by an article in The Atlantic that you can read HERE . For many years in the U....

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the decline in the sanctity of weddings that seems to be happening in today's culture. Couples today aren't simply adding unique touches to their weddings, but instead are reinventing them with little to no concern for preserving any type of tradition, much less the Christian tradition. The trouble with...

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how when natural disasters strike (like the wildfires currently happening in California), it is fascinating to witness the spectrum of ways in which people claim God's involvement. There are some who express anger toward God, wondering how He could allow such things to happen. Some argue that God must h...

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a surprising (or not surprising?) shift in the Church in the U.S. At the inception of the early Church, Christianity's promotion of the value of women is what resulted in flocks of women joining the Church. In fact, throughout history, women have predominated the church in number. That appears to be cha...

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how this time of year always leads to both reflection on the year that has passed, as well as thoughts of what the year ahead will hold. For those listeners who subscribe to the Church & Culture blog, you'll have read Dr. White's recent blog titled “ Twelve Predictions for 2025 .” As Ale...

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how to keep the focus of the Christmas season on Jesus, as the birthday celebration it should be. “Keeping Christ in Christmas” has become almost a mantra in response to the ever-increasing consumerization of Christmas and how far we've seemed to drift from the historical event of Jesus's bi...

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss near-death experiences (NDEs) - profound experiences people have when they have been clinically dead and then resuscitated. Studies over the years of those who've had an NDE share similar characteristics or common denominators. And they can provide a powerful testimony on what we might experience in the...

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a question that has been debated quite a bit within the church: Can someone lose their salvation? While there are some Christians who would say, “once saved, always saved,” the Bible clearly points to cases of apostasy, defined as “the abandonment or renunciation of a religious or poli...

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the findings of a Lifeway Research study titled “ Churchgoers Want to Hear Pastors Address Current Issues .” The study revealed that 80% of churchgoers believe their pastors need to address modern cultural issues to help them better understand the state of the world. So, are pastors taking o...

With the results of the 2024 presidential election now determined, we felt it would be helpful to release an early podcast conversation this week. This will hopefully serve as a helpful reminder that we are called to be Christians first, and Republicans or Democrats second - a distant second. And also to remind us that no matter whether the outcome of the election was what you hoped for, that Jesu...

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the growing cultural force of social media influencers. Given what these influencers can make for simply sharing their opinions through their social media platform of choice, it's led many young people from Gen Z and Gen Alpha to aspire to become influencers themselves - a goal that a very minuscule per...