Outstanding

With the culture becoming more and more secular, an alarming number of churches do not seem far behind. Host Joseph Backholm is joined by Alisa Childers, lifelong Christian and author of, “The Deconstruction of Christianity: What It Is, Why It’s Destructive, and How To Respond” to unpack the current growing movement known as deconstruction. Alisa shares her story and how she has experienced decons...

Host Joseph Backholm is joined by senior advisor for Concerned Women for America Doreen Denny and Family Research Council's Meg Kilgannon for a conversation about the future protections of women and their sport. Diving into the history of Title IX, Doreen and Meg discuss its original purpose and the harmful revisions the Biden administration recently made. How does one justify allowing men to...

Recently, (and for the last four years) a lot of Americans have voiced their concern about the current state of the economy. It seems the cost of basic survival: food, shelter, and water has just continued to increase. Host Joseph Backholm is joined by The Washington Stand's Ben Johnson for a discussion surrounding the question: What causes an economy to grow or decline? Is there any connectio...

What makes life worth living? This age old question has been in the center of conversation as more countries legalize and support assisted suicide. Host Joseph Backholm is joined by Samuel Sey, founder of Slow to Write, to dissect the morality of assisted suicide. Originally from Ghana, Samuel weighs in on how the West views suicide compared to other parts of the world, what has contributed to thi...

For over 6 months, conflict has ravaged the Middle East. It seems it wasn't enough for Israel to fight one enemy, but recently Iran launched 800 missiles at them, furthering the chaos and destruction in Israel. Host Joseph Backholm is joined by Luke Moon, executive director of the Philos Project, for a conversation surrounding the current and future state of Israel. Starting from the beginning...

Children are not something to be purchased. Host Joseph Backholm is joined by Katy Faust, founder of Them Before Us for a moral discussion on the topic of surrogacy. Unlike adoption, there are few regulations in the world of surrogacy. Katy explains the dynamic and effects that all three types of mothers have on the child, surrogacy tourism, and the Uniformed Parentage Act. Public policy is being...

As the 2024 presidential election draws nearer, one topic has taken over many a politician’s speech: abortion. Since the overturn of Roe v. Wade , there has been debate on the future of America and its stance on the life issue. Host Joseph Backholm is joined by Family Research Council’s Quena Gonzalez to weigh in on the current culture surrounding abortion and where he sees America heading. Touchi...

On April 8th, 2024, a total eclipse graced a portion of the North American skies, completely blocking out the sun for 4 minutes and 28 seconds. Many gazed up at the sun (with their solar eclipse approved sunglasses of course) with awe and wonder, but a surprising number of people were fearful, believing this scientific phenomenon to be a sign of the end of the world. Host Joseph Backholm is joined...

Move over, CIA, FBI, and IRS. There's a new sheriff in town: DEI. Those three letters, representing diversity, equity, and inclusion, have become the three most important letters in many of our institutions. Higher learning is an especially affected causality in this quest to make everything equal, diverse, and included.  Mark Bauerlein, a professor emeritus of English at Emory University, joi...

Today, it seems that even the most mundane tasks require some sort of technology. Host Joseph Backholm is joined by Brad Littlejohn, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, for a discussion on the growing use of smartphones in today’s society. From turning in homework to gaining access to your gym, our cellular devices have quickly become a “social passport” to a lot of our day-to-day act...

A staggering percentage of Americans do not trust our electoral system. A system meant to be a voice for the people and of the people, has left many skeptical of its trustworthiness. Former Congressman and FRC Action's vice president Jody Hice, joins host Joseph Backholm for a discussion on election integrity. Jody shares his story going from hometown pastor to the center of the political aren...

There is turmoil brewing on a small island in the Caribbean. Host Joseph Backholm is joined by Darrin Badon, president and co-founder of Louisiana Reach Haiti, and Dawest Louis, pastor of Connect International Church to discuss the current events happening in Haiti. Born in Haiti, Pastor Dawest gives his perspective on the historical and political history of his birth country. They compare and con...

Words are a powerful tool that can inspire, but they can also be twisted and taken out of context. In a recent speech, former president Donald Trump stated that if he did not win the 2024 presidential election, there would be a “bloodbath”. He did not mean a physical bloodbath, but an economic one. This did not stop every large news outlet in the country from headlining his supposed endorsement of...

The Gold Coast is slowly losing its shine. It is being dulled by anti-family policies, sky-high living prices, and progressive agendas. How long until it completely tarnishes? Host Joseph Backholm is joined by the president of California Family Council, Jonathan Keller, for a discussion on the current and future state of California. A long-time resident of California, Jonathan offers a unique pers...

Dr. Eithan Haim was in his residency at Texas Children’s Hospital when he discovered a lie that the hospital was covering up from the public. In March of 2022, Texas Children’s Hospital released a statement stating that due to many factors, they were terminating their gender transition department. While from the outside everything looked normal, Dr. Haim discovered a different reality happening wi...

Border security is national security. Host Joseph Backholm is joined by FRC's David Closson and The Washington Stand's Joshua Arnold for a discussion on how to think biblically about the current border and immigration crisis. They compare and contrast the different approaches seen in the last administration and the current one. David and Joshua both emphasize the need for a balanced approa...

Through their transgender policies, the NCAA is knowingly harming female athletes. Host Joseph Backholm is joined by sports attorney Bill Bock, who within the last month, resigned from his position with the NCAA due to their handling and procedures regarding transgender athletes. With over 20 years of experience, Bill has handled many cases of rule violations in sports. He was the lead prosecutor...

Family Research Council's recently released report "Hostility Against Churches Is on the Rise in the United States: Analyzing Incidents from 2018-2023", they identified 915 acts of hostility against churches in the United States between 2018-2023. Host Joseph Backholm is joined by the author of the report FRC's Arielle Del Turco and The Washington Stand's Ben Johnson to discu...

For 14 years, Janet Boynes lived as a lesbian. She joins host Joseph Backholm to tell her story of how she went from living as a lesbian to a life passionately devoted to Jesus and helping others who struggle with same sex attraction. She walks through the events of her early childhood and how they affected her actions and decisions, how the church should respond to the effects of the sexual revol...

Recently, the Alabama Supreme Court took a case regarding the accidental death of frozen embryos in an IVF (in vitro fertilization) clinic. The question leading the trial was: Can parents sue for wrongful death because the embryos were accidentally destroyed, and it was an accident inside the laboratory? Host Joseph Backholm is joined by Family Research Council's Mary Szoch, for a discussion a...

There is some truth behind the saying "You are the product of your environment." Host Joseph Backholm is joined by Josh Abbotoy for a conversation exploring Christians' need to establish communities and institutions amidst the cultural shifts of society. Emphasizing the importance of Christians engaging in civic leadership and building legacies, Josh explains his vision of creating a...

Did you know that about 15% of all Americans have dechurched? Dechurching can be defined by individuals who used to attend church once a month, but now attend only once a year. Host Joseph Backholm is joined by Michael Graham, co-author of “The Great Dechurching: Who's Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back? to discuss this phenomenon that currently 40 million Am...

There is a growing population of people who have decided to reverse their gender treatments and detransition. Jennifer Lahl, co-author of “The Detransition Diaries” joins host Joseph Backholm for a discussion about detransitioning and the influences behind this upward trending movement. For many years, Jennifer was a pediatric critical care nurse and is well-versed in the medical practices surroun...

There's never ever ever ever ever been a show like...this episode of Outstanding.  On this podcast, most of our conversations and guests fall squarely on the conservative end of the Christian spectrum.  But sometimes it's good to talk to tomatoes.  While he's not quite a tomato himself, Phil Vischer has played one on TV.  The wildly creative Vischer joins host Joseph Backholm as they e...

The topic of discussion for this episode can be summed up by the iconic quote from the movie The Princess Bride, "Mawwige is what bwings us together today." On this Valentine's Day special, host Joseph Backholm is joined by Jamie Dunlop, a local pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church. Jaime frequently guides newly engaged couples through pre-marital counseling and has himself been mar...