Theology in the Raw

Few people understand the intersection between faith and culture better than Gabe Lyons. In this conversation, we avoid all the easy topics and only discuss the highly controversial ones: Qideas (not Qanon), COVID vaccines, can we trust the government, how should we think through the “facts” about the pandemic, is censorship really happening, how to think through sexuality and gender questions, an...

Rich Villodas is the Brooklyn-born lead pastor of New Life Fellowship, a large multiracial church with more than seventy-five countries represented in Elmhurst, Queens. Rich holds a Master of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary. He enjoys reading widely, preaching and writing on contemplative spirituality, justice-related matters, and the art of preaching. He's been married to Rosie since...

In this conversation, we talk about his remarkable encounter with Benny Hinn, his recent thoughts on church unity, how he’s revisited his beliefs about the Eucharist, and we reflect on the pros and cons of being educated at The Master’s College (now University) and Seminary.  Francis Chan is a pastor, writer, speaker, missionary, and evangelist. Most of all--he’s a Christian who loves to spend tim...

Grant Skeldon is a leading expert in understanding GenZ and has spent the last several years of his life raising up and discipling GenZ leaders. In this podcast episode, Grant walks us through an indepth look at GenZ and corrects some wrong assumptions older people have about this vibrant generation.  Grant started Initiative Network when he was 23 with the goal to develop young leaders into Chris...

In this podcat episode, Preston and Lindsey talk about the beautiful complexity of female sexualtiiy and why so many teen girls today identify as bisexual (as opposed to lesbian or striaght). Lindsey is a a gay Christian woman committed to the historical biblical sexual ethic and is passionate about teaching the Church how to love and disciple LGBT+ people well. She is thrilled to get the opportun...

A. J. Swoboda (PhD, University of Birmingham) is assistant professor of Bible, theology, and world Christianity at Bushnell University. He also leads a Doctor of Ministry program around the Holy Spirit and leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the author of a number of books, including the award-winning Subversive Sabbath . He is married to Quinn and is the proud father of Elliot. They...

Josh Butler is a good friend and one of the most gifted, enjoyable, and all around brilliant dudes I’ve ever met. He’s a pastor, teacher, scholar, writer, and scandalous witness to the gospel of Christ. I could do ministry with this dude any day of the week. He’s written two incredible books: The Skeletons in God’s Closet and The Pursuing God --both are absolute gems. Josh also serves as a lead pa...

Humans can live without sex, but we can’t live without love, intimacy, and community. So where does this leave Christian who are gay, who are also pursuing celibacy as a vocation? Pieter Valk helps us think through this question on a rich, theological, and practical level.  Pieter graduated from Vanderbilt University with Highest Honors in Chemistry in 2013. After graduating, Pieter studied at Gor...

It makes sense. Illegal drugs should be criminalized. Period. The harsher a society is on drug use and drug dealing, the fewer problems it will have. Right? Not necessarily. As long as there are buyers, there will be producers. And as long as people experience pain and trauma, they will seek ways to numb it.  Christina Dent is a politically conservative Christian who supported criminalizing drugs...

Oftentimes, we don’t know what to do with the ascension. I mean, we believe in it, but we don’t often appreciate the theological necessity of it. Get your Bible’s out for this episode, because Patrick and I dance through various passages of Scripture to reconstruct the lost doctrine of the ascension of Christ.  Patrick Schreiner is Associate Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Midw...

Is it possible for Christians to maintain unity when they are so divided over hot-button issues like politics, race, and points of doctrine? Do you have to sacrifice conviction for the sake of unity? Is it possible for a zealous Trump-supporter and an ardent Biden-supporter to worship together in the same church without thinking the other person is evil? There is no better person to help us naviga...

Dr. Sandy Richter is one of my favorite--and one of the most provocative--biblical scholars, and she comes back on Theology in the Raw for the second time in 10 months to help us think through this important question: should Christian care for the environment? The answer, of course--if you read the Bible--is yes. But why are so many Christians resistant to this question? (Pssst...it’s because we’r...

Kurt is the author of the brand new book: Echoing Hope: How the Humanity of Jesus Redeems Our Pain ( https://www.amazon.com/Echoing-Hope-Humanity-Jesus-Redeems/dp/0593193504/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=kurt+willems&qid=1613502655&sr=8-1 ) And his forms the bulk of our discussion. Do we believe Jesus was really human? Do we overemphasize his deity and therefore lose out on embracing th...

Clare De Graaf is a cancer survivor, sort of “retired” businessman, a friend, a mentor, the chairman of the board for The Center for Faith, Sexuality & Gender , founder of many Christian non-profit ministries, and one of the most zealous, faithful, wise Christian leaders I’ve ever met. In this conversation, Clare talks about his journey in the faith--which involves many twists and turns, ups a...

As the title suggests, this episode is all about the question of multi-ethnicity in the body of Christ. And Dr. Gray is the right person to challenge us in this conversation. Dr. Derwin L. Gray is the founding and lead pastor of Transformation Church, one of the largest multiethnic, multigenerational, mission-shaped communities in the U.S., located in Indian Land, South Carolina, just south of Cha...

Ed Shaw is Associate Pastor at Emmanuel Bristol and part of the editorial team at Living Out . He loves his family and friends, church and city, gin and tonic, and music and books. He is the author of Same-Sex Attraction and the Church: The Surprising Plausibility of the Celibate Life (IVP) and the recently released Purposeful Sexuality: A Short Introduction (IVP).  Ed is attracted to the same-sex...

We discuss three issues in this podcast: (1) Imperial critical readings of the New Testament (i.e. how the NT critiques the Roman empire in its language), (2) the benefit of studying first-century philosophy for understanding the New Testament, and (3) why Romans 7:9-25 is not talking about a Christian or Christians. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy...

Don Pape is the master Yoda of Christian publishing. He has over 35 years of experience working for some of the biggest Christian publishers and has also been a literary agent. Don is responsible for finding a relatively unknown pastor from Simi Valley named Francis Chan and signing him to a book deal. In this conversation, Don and I talk about what it takes to be a successful writer, the pros and...

The last couple of years has kicked up a lot of dust regarding race relations in America and in the church, but why did it take so long? Thabiti, or “Pastor T,” helps us understand some of the concerns and frustrations that black people have had about how white people (progressives and conservatives) have gone about the race conversation. Pastor T helps us understand what Critical Race Theory is,...

Justin Bronson Barringer is a pastor, consultant, writer, editor, and a PhD candidate in religious ethics at Southern Methodist University . He’s also a star in the hit reality show Duck Dynasty. (Just kidding.) I met Justin many years ago when he agreed to read (and critique!) early drafts of my book Fight , now called Nonviolence: The Revolutionary Way of Jesus . He was very influential in helpi...

While many Christians read the book of Revelation as mostly about future events, it’s best understood as a piece of political protest. John is writing to confront Chrisitan Nationalism--in a first-century sort of way. There’s no better person to help us read Revelation in this way than Dr. Dan Morrison . Dan is assistant professor of New Testament at George Fox University and he wrote his doctoral...

Jon Tyson is a brother from another Australian mother (or mum). Jon’s one of the wisest, most intelligent, astute, prophetic, and spiritually authentic Chrisitans leaders in the church today. This dude walks with Jesus in both heart and mind. In this episode, I wanted Jon to give a prophetic perspective on 2020. How should we think about this crazy year? What should we learn from it? How should we...

Dr. Hruz (pronounced “rooz”) is an associate Professor of Pediatrics, Cell Biology & Physiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He has a Ph. D. and an M.D. and specializes in pediatric endocrinology. Dr. Hruz has clinical interest in a wide range of endocrine disorders, with a special interest in diabetes mellitus. Dr. Hruz's research interests include intermediary ca...

Addie was raised in a conservative Christian home and has always had a strong faith in Jesus. Addie also has experienced severe gender dysphoria from a young age, and after much prayer, study, and seeking counsel, she decided to transition from male to female toward the end of college.  Add is very happy with her decision, believes it was the right thing for her to do, and still has a robust faith...

Helena is one of many females who have experienced “Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria,” where gender dysphoria seems to come out of nowhere and is allegedly brought on, in part, through social contagion. Helena talks honestly and opening about her journey where, as a teenager, she used to identify as trans* but later renounced that identity and detransitioned back to her biological sex as female. Helen...