evangelical 360°

Over the last decade spiritual language about revival, prophecy and “anointing” has started showing up at the center of American evangelical politics, and many of us have struggled to name what’s happening without oversimplifying it. In this episode Dr. Matthew D. Taylor returns for another conversation. As a renowned religious scholar and author whose work focuses on Christian nationalism and ext...

The phrase “friendship with Jesus” can sound like sentimental religion, but we wanted to test whether it can actually survive modern skepticism and real pain. In this episode we sit down with Rev. Dr. John A. Vissers, Professor of Systematic Theology at Knox College and longtime pastor and church leader, to talk about his book "Friendship with Christ" and the single passage that has shap...

A prairie-born songwriter learns guitar from prison inmates, writes prayer songs that refuse to tidy up suffering, and somehow ends up performing with symphony orchestras across Canada. That’s the life and work of Steve Bell, and in this episode we talk to him about what faithful art can be when it stops trying to manage outcomes and starts telling the truth. We start with Steve’s early years and...

An atheist kid from Toronto becomes one of the most persuasive evangelical voices in North America, and it starts with a blunt sentence from a classmate: “You need Jesus.” In this episode we sit down with pastor and author, Mark Clark, as he reflects on his upbringing, his testimony, and his passion for reaching skeptics and the next generation.  He shares with us the real-world mechanics behind p...

People love to talk about “evangelicals” as if they’re one neat, predictable block. The global reality is messier, richer, and far more interesting. In this episode we sit down with Dr. Peirong Lin, Chief of Staff for the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), to hear how a movement representing 650 million evangelicals across 164 countries tries to serve the church with integrity, clarity, and coopera...

If you feel like Christian public witness has become all heat and no light, this conversation offers a different way forward. In this episode we sit down with Dr. Darrell Bock, Senior Research Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary and a leading voice on Luke, Acts, and the historical Jesus, to talk about what the church cannot afford to get wrong right now. We start wit...

Politics can feel like a faith test right now. If you’ve ever wondered why public life pulls so many Christians toward either retreat or rage, you’re not alone and you’re not crazy for feeling the tension. In this episode we sit down with Dr. David Koyzis, a political theologian and professor whose latest book, Citizenship Without Illusions: A Christian Guide to Political Engagement, has helped ev...

A childhood surrounded by war, spirit worship, and the collapse of a nation can do something to your soul. It can harden you, hollow you out, or make you obsess over one question: what is real? In this episode we sit down with Dr. Chansamone Saiyasak, a missions leader in Laos and Thailand whose life story moves from the fall of Laos in 1975, to a refugee apartment in the United States, where a kn...

Bethlehem is one of the most storied places on earth, but it’s also a hometown for real families, real churches, and leaders who wake up to uncertainty and still choose to serve. In this episode we sit down with Rev. Dr. Jack Sara, president of Bethlehem Bible College, to hear what life looks like for Palestinian evangelicals who keep the faith alive in the Holy Land under intense political and ec...

He became Grenada’s youngest senator at 22, with a clear path toward national leadership, and then he walked away. In this episode we speak with, Bishop Devon Rachae, as he tells the real story behind that decision and why a call to church planting carried more weight than a seat in parliament. Bishop Rachae shares in depth reflections on Christian leadership, vocational calling, and what it costs...

A quiet kid from Sri Lanka ends up in pulpits all around the world, not because he wanted to be up front, but because the Word of God kept proving itself in powerful ways. In this episode we down with Pastor Asiri Fernando, a leader with Youth for Christ Sri Lanka. We trace his story from early years shaped by YFC, to a simple home and upbringing, to the greater context of a country marked by civi...

The South Pacific sits far from most global power centers, but Rachel Afeaki-Taumoepeau argues it should never sit on the margins of the global church. Rachel is a New Zealand-born leader of Tongan heritage who currently serves as Regional General Secretary for the South Pacific Evangelical Alliance, part of the World Evangelical Alliance. Our conversation is part personal story and part big-pictu...

A Mohawk musician is invited to sing “Amazing Grace” at a major gathering of faith leaders in 1995, and he says no, only because a brand-new song floods his heart and mind and changes the trajectory of his life. That song was “Broken Walls,” and that musician is, Jonathan Maracle, our guest. In this episode we follow the full arc of Jonathan's story, from growing up in Akwesasne as a kid who...

The land beneath our feet has a longer story than most of us were taught and the Bible has far more to say about land, belonging and relationship than our usual readings admit. In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Daniel Zacharias and Dr. Chris Hoklotubbe, two Indigenous New Testament scholars and co-authors of the new book "Reading the Bible on Turtle Island," and we explore what changes...

Abortion is one of those issues where smart, compassionate people can stare at the same facts and walk away with totally different conclusions. And so, in this episode, we slow the conversation down and replaces slogans with careful thinking, real empathy and clear definitions. Dr. Calum Miller is an Oxford-trained medical doctor and philosopher who has published widely on medicine, law, ethics an...

A teenage believer gathers friends for a quiet Bible study because his Catholic boarding school won't allow Protestant meetings, and that small act sparks a lifetime of preaching. In this episode we sit down with Bishop Calisto Odede of Christ Is The Answer Ministries (CITAM), to hear how God shaped his calling through conversion, Scripture and a series of unexpected open doors. We talk about...

An unexpected hug in an Asian grocery store becomes the spark for a family’s spiritual transformation. In this episode we sit down with Amit Khaira, the South-Pacific Regional Director for NXT Move Ministries. Amit grew up in Perth, Australia in a devout Hindu household, but all that changed when a Korean stranger shared the love of Jesus with his mother, and the entire family encountered faith in...

Marketplace ministry is easy to praise and hard to live, especially when your career spans countries, cultures and competing definitions of success. In this episode we sit down with CEO Simoun Ung and trace the story of how an entrepreneur and inventor became a builder of financial inclusion in the Philippines and a leader of Bible translation around the world.  Simoun shares his family’s story, f...

A pastor in Russia chooses his words carefully, not because he lacks conviction, but because every sentence can carry a cost. In this episode Rev. Vitaly Vlasenko joins us. He currently serves as the General Secretary of the Russian Evangelical Alliance and is a Baptist pastor in Moscow. Pastor Vitaly takes the time to reflect on, and share with us, what it means for evangelical Christians to live...

The story of Christianity in Ethiopia is older than most nations, yet its churches are leading through modern pressures that test unity, identity and hope. In this episode we sit down with Dr. Seble Daniel to hear what faithful leadership looks like when a country carries deep Christian heritage and has to navigate ethnic tension and political upheaval. Dr. Seble shares her journey from growing up...

“Evangelical” can sound like a poll category or a culture-war tribe, but in this episode we get underneath the label and ask a simpler question: what does it actually mean, and what does it cost? Our guest is Dr. Bruce Barron, a longtime observer and scholar of Christianity in the global context. We talk about why many evangelicals feel “stuck with the Bible” and why that conviction shapes everyth...

An engineer leaves home for university and finds something she never expected: a faith that feels more real than the world around her. In this episode we talk with Grace Hee, Executive Director of the Women Commission for Asia Evangelical Alliance. Grace grew up in a Taoist family in Malaysia, surrounded by ancestral worship, incense and the pressure of filial duty. An Easter invitation, however,...

Everyone has heard the storyline that modern life squeezes religion into irrelevance. Then the numbers show up and the story flips. In this episode we're joined by Dr. Todd M. Johnson, Director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a key voice behind the World Christian Encyclopedia. Over the course of our conversation we walk through w...

You can build world-class technology and still feel the harder question pressing in: what keeps you fully human when everything around you rewards speed, scale and control? In this episode we sit down with Lewis Cirne, a software entrepreneur whose work in analytics has helped companies see what’s happening inside complex digital systems, and maybe unexpectedly, rewired his own journey of faith an...

A teenager who disliked God becomes a businessman, philanthropist and member of the House of Lords, yet the turning point is shockingly small: an invitation slipped through a letterbox. In this episode we sit down with Lord and Lady Edmiston of the UK to trace that unlikely arc and ask what it means to live faithfully when your work puts you near power, money and public scrutiny.  Our conversation...