Theology in the Raw

Dr. Kara E. Powell is Chief of Leadership Formation, Executive Director of the Fuller Youth Institute, and Professor of Youth and Family Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary. She has a B.A. from Stanford, an MDiv from Bethel Theological Seminary, and a Ph. D. from Fuller Theological Seminary. Named by Christianity Today as one of “50 Women to Watch,” Kara is the author or coauthor of Faith in a...

Aaron Keyes is a singer/songwriter, pastor, speaker, and has not only been a worship leader for over 20 years, but has discipled and trained hundreds (if not thousands) of other Christian worship leaders. What I love most about Aaron is that he’s incredibly thoughtful and meaningful, and has been trying to restore a more pure, rooted, and theologically rich form of worship in the contemporary chur...

What does it mean to have the gift of celibacy (or singleness)? Does it mean that you don’t desire sex or marriage? Or that you’ve been given an extra booster shot of the Holy Spirit that gives you radical immunity to sexual temptation (or at least prevents you from serious spiriutal hospitalization)? What actually was Paul talking about when he said that “it’s better to marry than to burn?” (1 Co...

My patreon supporters sent in tons of questions, some which I address on this podcast. Some questions include: What would a perfect church look like in my opinion? Did Judas go to hell. Is Chrisitan rock music sinful? When do I feel most intimate with God? Should Pastors copy other people’s sermons? Would the Canon of Scripture look different if women were involved in the putting it together? What...

Gerry holds to a view of women in leaders that’s sometimes considered “soft complementarian.” He believes women can serve in any position of leadership and teaching in the church, except for elders, since one of the criteria for being an elder (or overseer) is “a husband of one wife.” Gerry explains his view in this podcast episode.  Gerry has an MDiv from Denver Seminary and a Ph. D. in Systemati...

Writing a book on transgender idendities as a non-trans person is a bit bold, some might say audacious. This is why I decided to open myself up to my friend Seda, who is a transwoman. Seda read my book Embodied and appreciated a lot of things in it, but she does have some disagreements, which we discuss in this podcast. Seda has become a friend over the last year and has been an incredible dialogu...

Dr. Joseph (Joey) Dodson is the Craig L. Blomberg Endowed Chair of New Testament at Denver Seminary. He completed his Ph. D. at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland and continued his studies at the University of Tübingen in Germany. He has written a number of articles for peer review journals such as Harvard Theological Review, Novum Testamentum, the Journal for Jewish Studies, and Catholic Bibl...

Is ethnic reconciliation an essential part of the gospel, or is it an optional add on? In this solo episode, I argue for the former, that part of the reason why Christ came, died, and was raised from the dead was to create “in one new humanity” (Eph. 2) a multiethnic kingdom and church. After giving a long personal narrative about why this topic is important to me, I work through several key passa...

Eric Targe gives leadership and oversight to the College (Crossroads) and Disability (139) Ministries at Moody Church in Chicago. He is also an adjunct faculty member of Moody Bible Institute. Originally from New York, Eric has lived in Chicago since 2009. He was born into a Puerto Rican-Jewish family and came to faith during his teen years. Eric is passionate about seeing people come to faith in...

Evan Wickham is the co-founder and lead pastor of Park Hill Church in San Diego. Scott Curran is an administrative assistant and teacher at the church. Over a year ago, Scott confessed to Evan that he had committed sexual immorality as he was a leader/teacher at the church, and Evan and the leaders beautifully navigated what it looks like to address this situation with grace, truth, and authentici...

Are orphanages helping orphans? Most Christians would say: obviously yes. But Brandon, who’s been working in orphan care for over a decade, says that they are actually perpetuating a system of care that is ultimately not helpful for orphans. Kids belong in families, and there are many other more healthy ways to help kids be raised in a family.  Brandon is the senior director of global programs and...

It’s that time again, folks! My Patreon supporters sent in a plethora of scintillating questions this month. I addressed many of them in my Patreon-only Q & A podcast, but there were still a few questions I wanted to address on the podcast podcast, which I do so here. –––––– PROMOS Save 10% on courses with Kairos Classroom using code TITR at kairosclassroom.com ! –––––– Sign up with Faithful C...

Justin joins me on this 4th of July to talk about how Christians should think about the holiday. In particular, how should Christians, whose allegiance should be unwavering toward “no king but Jesus,” celebrate the 4th? Or–should we celebrate? What do we do with the dark history that is part of the American story? What about all the good that America has done? What is that good? How do African Ame...

Dr. Scott Rae (Ph. D. USC) is Dean of the Faculty and Professor of Philosophy and Christian Ethics at Talbot School of Theology. He’s also a consultant for ethics for four Southern California hospitals and is a fellow of the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity and a fellow of the Wilberforce Forum. Scott has authored 10 books in ethics including The Ethics of Commercial Surrogate Motherhood ; M...

Matt Walsh from The Daily Wire released a provocative new documentary called “What Is a Woman?” In it, he interviews several scholars, medical professionals, and common people to hear their answer to the question. It’s created quite a buzz, so I watched it twice and took lots of notes. In this podcast, I talk about my pros and cons of the documentary.  Watch the documentary HERE . (It’s behind a p...

Peter Kyalo serves as the Chief Program Officer of CURE International, a Christian non-profit organization that operates a global network of eight children’s hospitals providing world class surgical care and intentional spiritual care to children living with treatable disabilities. CURE has hospitals in Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Niger, Ethiopia, Zambia, and the Philippines. Peter holds an MA in globa...

Scott is the Senior Pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee. He is married to Patti and has two daughters, Abby and Ellie. Previously, Scott was a lead and preaching pastor for Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, where he worked alongside Dr. Timothy Keller. Scott has authored six books: Jesus Outside the Lines , Befriend ,   From Weakness to Strength , Irresistible...

Christian serves as the Young Adult Ministries Coordinator for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. A graduate of Wheaton College, Azusa Pacific University, & Luther Seminary, Christian is a Licensed Associate Marriage & Family Therapist in Arizona committed to the upbuilding of the Church as a family that facilitates the formation of youth & young adults into the image of Chris....

Intersex is a term used to describre a range of what medical professionals call “disorders (or differences) in sex development” (or DSD’s), where people have some atypicality in their sex chromosomes and/or phenotypical sex development. Sam just completed his Ph. D. dissertation from Wheaton College on the topic of intersex, and Julie has an intersex condition called Swyer Syndrome. In this episod...

Tiffany is a survivor and an advocate for other survivors of sexual abuse. She’s been an outspoken and courageous voice in pushing for change in how the Southern Baptist Convention has handled sexual abuse allegations. –––––– PROMOS Save 10% on courses with Kairos Classroom using code TITR at kairosclassroom.com ! –––––– Sign up with Faithful Counseling today to save 10% off of your first month at...

J.D. and Preston talk about the recent SBC report on sexual abuse and abuse cover ups in the church. This is part 1 of a two part series on this issue. J.D. Greear is the pastor of The Summit Church, in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina and has served as the president of the SBC from 2018-2021. J.D. completed his Ph. D. in Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of sev...

Drum-roll please!! This is the very first podcast hosted by my wife Chris Sprinkle. It just seemed better to have Chris talk to Kari; you’ll see why. Kari Kampakis is an author, speaker, podcaster, and newspaper columnist from Birmingham, Alabama. Her two books for teen girls, 10 Ultimate Truths Girls Should Know and Liked: Whose Approval Are You Living For, and her bestselling book for moms, Love...

I’ve got a fist-full of questions sent in from my Patreon supporters, some of which I answer here. Questions addressed in this public podcast: Can I make a scriptural case for Christian Universalism? What do I think about asexuality, demisexuality, graysexuality? Is the debate about same-sex marriage kind of like the debate about women in church leadership? It seems like there’s a 50/50 chance tha...

Elizabeth Black has served as an evangelist and minister in New York City for almost 10 years. Most recently, Elizabeth serves as the co-founder of Kaleidoscope –a ministry that provides LGBTQ+ people opportunities to engage with tangible expressions of Christ. Originally from Baltimore, Elizabeth attended Washington Bible College for undergraduate studies. She has a heart for New York City, and s...

I had no agenda going into this conversation, but it quickly delved into talking about psychedelics, marijauna, and how God uses some trippy things to draw people to himself. We then talk about a missional ecclesiology with the table at the center. Deb Hirsch is a speaker, church leader, and writer who has led churches in both Australia and Los Angeles. She is one of the founders of Forge Mission...