The Common Good Podcast

Two major studies just dropped a finding that should reshape how churches think about discipleship: the number one reason Americans leave Christianity isn't church hurt, politics, or scandal — it's that they stopped believing. Brian From unpacks what that means and why it points to a discipleship crisis hiding in plain sight. Then: repentance. Not the vegetable-eating, obligatory kind, but t...

The tabernacle wasn't designed by committee — every measurement, every furnishing, every detail was a blueprint from heaven itself. Rabbi Kirt Schneider, host of Discovering the Jewish Jesus, joins Brian From to unpack his new book The Mystery of the Tabernacle: Ancient Secrets for Experiencing the Divine Presence , and the conversation is one you won't want to rush. The fence with one entra...

The Chosen has become one of the most remarkable storytelling phenomena in the history of Christian media — and the biggest moments are still ahead. Brian From sits down with Stacey Baxter, Senior Director of Marketing Growth and Engagement at Come and See, the organization behind The Chosen, to talk about what makes the show connect with believers and skeptics alike, how it's being translat...

Brian From is fresh off a monumental weekend — his oldest daughter Madeline's college graduation at Hope College in Holland, Michigan — and the joy of that milestone runs through this whole hour. But the reflections go deeper than cap and gown. The chaplain's baccalaureate message on 2 Corinthians 2 leaves Brian with a simple, searching question: when people are in your presence, do th...

Mother's Day Sunday is one of the most emotionally loaded mornings on the church calendar — joyful for some, quietly devastating for others. Brian From gets personal about his own family's experience with miscarriage and brings in Dr. Deana Thayer, marriage and parenting associate at Focus on the Family, for an honest conversation about the women who often get left out of the celebration: mo...

This week was Brian's birthday — and it turns out he shares it with Star Wars Day. That's all the excuse needed to bring Plugged In's Adam Holtz into the conversation for a deep dive on George Lucas's galaxy far, far away. How did a $10 million film with an uncertain release become a cultural watershed that changed cinema forever? What did Lucas actually borrow from — Joseph Campbell,...

What if your social media addiction is actually telling you something profound about eternity? Russell Moore makes a startling case in Christianity Today that the infinite scroll isn't just bad for your attention span — it's a counterfeit heaven, and in some ways, a picture of hell. Brian From unpacks that idea alongside a convicting piece from JD Greear on false positive Christianity: if th...

What's the sin hiding in plain sight — the one we've dressed up as confidence and call leadership? Brian From tackles pride head-on, drawing from Trevin Wax's convicting piece on why the Church has largely given arrogance a pass even as it ravages our culture and our leaders. Then: a look at altar calls — are they entry points or endpoints? Joseph Woraru's challenge from the Gospel Coa...

What does it actually mean for a church to be successful? Host Brian Fromm draws on years of pastoral experience to push back on the idea that attendance numbers are the ultimate measure of a church's health — and offers a more honest framework for what thriving congregations actually look like. Plus: three practical encouragements for Christians walking through a hard season, a look at how...

Author and former law enforcement officer Adam Davis joins Brian to talk about his new 90-day devotional, Bulletproof Family , co-written with Lt. Col. Dave Grossman. Adam shares why strong families don't happen by accident — they're built through spiritual discipline, intentional presence, and the willingness to own your mistakes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's Brian's birthday — 49 years old and staring 50 in the face — and that milestone has him in a reflective mood. On this episode of The Common Good, Brian weaves together a handful of compelling threads: the challenging call to forgive even when bitterness feels justified, a sobering statistic about one-third of Americans currently experiencing an existential crisis, the Kentucky Der...

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brian Fromm sits down with Adam Holtz from Plugged In — Focus on the Family's entertainment review ministry — to talk about Michael , the new Michael Jackson biopic covering his rise from Gary, Indiana to global superstardom. Is it a fair portrait, or does it sidestep the harder questions? Adam breaks down what the film gets right, why legal realities shaped what it couldn't show, and...

It's a big Friday in the From household — prom night for two kids at Wheaton Academy — and Brian opens the hour with something deeper than small talk: a reflection on what springtime is actually trying to tell us. From the birds waking up to the grass turning green again, Brian makes the case that God didn't design seasons by accident. The cycle of death and new life is a picture writt...

Artificial intelligence is everywhere — and so are the big questions surrounding it. Is AI going to save the world, or destroy it? And what does any of it mean for people of faith? In this episode, Brian From sits down with Emily Tsiao, a writer for Focus on the Family's Plugged In, to unpack the ethical and theological dimensions of AI. They dig into her recent article Reflecting on the AI...

So many parents are grieving quietly — watching adult children pull away, questioning where things went wrong, and wondering if the relationship can be restored. In this episode, Brian From sits down with Dr. Kathy Koch, founder of Celebrate Kids and author of Resolve Conflict and Find Peace and Hope with Adult Children , to unpack one of the most painful challenges facing families today. Dr...

Do you ever feel ordinary? Like you're just not the kind of person God uses for big things? In this episode, Brian From digs into one of the most overlooked verses in the New Testament — James's reminder that Elijah was "just a human being, like us" — and unpacks what it means that God chooses to do extraordinary things through completely ordinary people. From there, Brian turns to one...

Life is full of change — whether you're ready for it or not. Brian From reflects on the personal transitions hitting close to home as his kids approach major milestones, and asks the question we all wrestle with: how do you hold on to what matters when everything around you is shifting? Brian also unpacks a striking survey showing that only 3.4% of worship leaders describe their mental healt...

Brian From welcomes Pastor Bill Farina of Bethel Christian Church in Warren, Michigan. Pastor Bill shares the remarkable story of how he arrived in Michigan in 1987 at age 27 — originally intending only a short fill-in visit to a struggling congregation of eleven senior citizens — and how God redirected his path into what has now become 39 years of faithful ministry at the same church....

Brian From works through a stack of uncomfortable questions for the church. When Eric Metaxas calls for grace toward Trump over the Jesus meme, Brian asks the harder question — do we extend that same grace across the aisle? A new Barna survey finds only 22% of Americans see Christians as empathetic, and nearly half describe the faith as judgmental or hypocritical. Brian sits with what that m...

From the wreckage of the Titan submersible to the walls of ancient Rome, this episode traces a single thread: the difference between a culture that worships strength and a faith that finds power in weakness. Brian opens with two somber anniversaries — the Oklahoma City bombing and Columbine — before turning to the cautionary tale of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, whose hubris cost five l...