Cross & Gavel Podcast

The formation of good habits and the appropriation therein by the bad is a perennial topic of concern for Christians aiming to live a life worthy of their calling. See Ephesians 4:1. My guest today has written two books that will form the basis of our two part discussion on this very issue. In this first part, we will talk about The Common Rule . Then, later in the semester, we will tackle Habits...

It should come as no surprise that we are living in complex times. Christians are called to such a moment and should act accordingly by engaging more, not less, with the changing landscape. My guest today (Tod Bolsinger) has written two books helping us do just that ( Canoeing The Mountains and Tempered Resilience ): developing a vision for adaptive leadership. For more on Tod and his work, go her...

A recording of Lee Strobel's presentation at the 2021 CLS National Conference in San Antonio, Texas. For more on Lee's work, go here and follow him on Twitter at @LeeStrobel.   Episode produced by Josh Deng, with music from Vexento. A Special Thanks to Nick and Ashley Barnett for their contribution in making this podcast possible.

A recording of James K.A. Smith's presentation at the 2021 CLS National Conference in San Antonio, Texas. For more on Jamie's work, go here and follow him on Twitter at @James_ka_smith.   Episode produced by Josh Deng, with music from Vexento. A Special Thanks to Nick and Ashley Barnett for their contribution in making this podcast possible.

With the Supreme Court on the verge of overturning Roe v. Wade, questions emerge concerning the state of our society and the ability of mothers to participate fully, therein. Here to talk about that whole life is the founder of New Wave Feminists — Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa. Follow her and NWF on Twitter (i.e., @DestinyHDLR, @NWFproTX) and read more about her work here .   Episode produced by Jos...

Joining us today to talk about the cultivation of the Christian imagination and the life J.R.R. Tolkien is the fellow of faith & culture at the Word on Fire Institute and visiting professor of apologetics at Houston Baptist University – Holly Ordway. Her two books on Apologetics and Tolkien can be found here and here (respectively). For more, check out  her website  and Twitter account (@HollyOrdw...

Scripture instructs believers to "be anxious for nothing," creating the illusion that how we respond to stress is entirely a product of personal agency. Our guest today pushes back on this notion, calling for a holistic vision of anxiety rooted in theology and science. Dr. Matthew Lapine has written a wonderful book on the topic, and an accessible article for Christianity Today ( here ). For more,...

Every Sunday, pastors across the nation are telling their congregants to leave the stresses of work behind and focus instead on Jesus. Here to discuss this separation between work and worship, and how the church can do a better job in promoting the integration therein, is Matthew Kaemingk – assistant professor, director of the Richard John Mouw Institute of Faith and Public Life, and associate dea...

In 1943, a German U-Boat attacked an American ship off the coast of Greenland. In the moments thereafter, courage and panic proved to be the currency of choice; some, succumbing to the moment in sheer terror. While others, embodying the sacrificial tenor of true heroes, gave their lives to save their friends. Here to discuss the sinking of the USS Dorchester and the awe-inspiring rescue that follo...

The rampant flood of misinformation has made it increasingly difficult to be a member of the reality based community. Here to diagnose this problem and to offer a solution is senior fellow at the Brookings Institute and contributing writer for The Atlantic,  Jonathan Rauch. Discover his writing and follow him on Twitter at @jon_rauch. Purchase his important new book –  The Constitution of Knowledg...

It's no secret that religion of late has lost its luster in the eyes of many Americans. Cast into relative disrepute for seemingly disrupting the momentum in the fight for equality, religion is no longer seen as the preeminent value once deemed by both political parties. Joining the show today to discuss these issues is the national religion reporter at Deseret News: Kelsey Dallas . Read her  arti...

Another term, another Supreme Court review! Kim Colby and I talk about the cases that impacted the state of religious liberty in America and what the future may bring. Learn more about her work at CLS' Center for Law & Religious Freedom   here .   Episode produced by Josh Deng, with music from Vexento.

Joining us today to talk about conservative Christianity and racial identity in the segregation era is historian Daniel Bare. We talk about the fundamentalist tradition in the early twentieth century and why the influence of the black church was lost during this period. For a sample, read his article in Christianity Today entitled The Uneasy Conscience of Black Fundamentalism  and check out the  r...

From the Book of Numbers to the storming of the Capitol, Andrew L. Whitehead joins us today to discuss Christian Nationalism and its impact on American religion. His new book, with co-author Samuel Perry, offers a seminal sociological study for understanding this new movement, including the various ways Christian Nationalists think, vote, and manifest their desires for a renewed Christian America....

Volume 4 of "Small Brains on Big Books" features Drew Nelson and Mike Schutt discussing Beowulf . You'll love this discussion, even if you didn't love Beowulf in High School.  Andrew Nelson is preacher at Southside Church of Christ in Mount Pleasant Texas, and Mike Schutt is the host of Cross and Gavel audio, Executive Director of Worldview Academy , and Clinical Associate Professor at Trinity Law...

Join host Mike Schutt, Law Student Ministries Communications Coordinator Joan McElveen, Pepperdine 3L Reed Bartley, and law student leaders from other law schools across the country, as they share and discuss virtual meetings that work. 

Listen in on excerpts from our first-ever national Law Student Leaders' Summit, featuring an introduction to Law Student Ministries, an overview of Christian Legal Society's four ministries, an exhortation on the calling of the leader, and some questions and sharing by campus leaders from all over the country. 

On Wednesday, September 9, the Department of Education announced a new rule that will protect religious groups meeting on public university campuses. Kim Colby, the director of the Center for Law and Religious Freedom at Christian Legal Society, lays out why the regulation was necessary, and what it will mean for students.  The Department's announcement is here . 

Join Drew Nelson and Mike Schutt as they discuss the insights and admonitions of Rod Dreher's 2017 The Benedict Option . The book has been widely discussed, and rightly so, in Christian circles since its publication, and, as Drew and Mike discuss, Dreher's challenge to the Church to be the Church is a welcome one, regardless of the relative dangers of secular culture. Yet the book's insights on th...

Kim Colby and Reed Smith of the Center for Law and Religious Freedom unpack the troubling Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia , handed down June 15. Justice Gorsuch seems to abandon his vaunted "textualism" in favor of a convoluted "literalism" with disastrous results. This is part three of three episodes discussing the important Supreme Court decisions of the last three w...

Between June 15 and June 30, 2020, the US Supreme Court handed down three significant decisions of critical interest to religious conservatives. Kim Colby and Reed Smith, attorneys at the Center for Law & Religious Freedom, join host Mike Schutt to discuss each case. Their conversation is divided into three episodes, one for each case.  Episode 92 features Kim Colby on Espinoza v. Montana Dept of...

Between June 15 and June 30, 2020, the US Supreme Court handed down three significant decisions of critical interest to religious conservatives. Kim Colby and Reed Smith, attorneys at the Center for Law & Religious Freedom, join host Mike Schutt to discuss each case. Their conversation is divided into three episodes, one for each case.  Episode 92 features Kim Colby on Espinoza v. Montana Dept of...

Kim Colby, Director of the Center for Law & Religious Freedom, says that the Supreme Court will decide at least eight important religious freedom cases between now and next June. This term and next are "dream terms," she says, for religious freedom lawyers and court watchers. In this episode, she highlights five of these cases, beginning with the "church re-opening" case, South Bay United Pentecos...

Dr. Drew Trotter, executive director of the Consortium of Christian Study Centers , is a film critic who understands the role that movies play in shaping us as a society. His lecture, The Movies and America: What the Nominees for Best Picture Tell Us About Ourselves, is an annual favorite around the country.  In this episode, Dr. Trotter sits down with host Mike Schutt to discuss the nominees for...

Pastor Mark Bertrand has turned to the Psalms for his sermon texts during the global pandemic, and he joins Mike Schutt to discuss insights and encouragement from this rich source. You'll be encouraged as Mark explores how the "Songbook of the Church" speaks to us about lessons in crisis, sources of hope in trial, and the joys inherent in the life of faith. J. Mark Bertrand is the pastor of Grace...