Real Talk

Joining Lucas on today's episode is Ray Pennings the Executive Vice President at Cardus - a Canadian non-partisan think tank that seeks a healthy society through independent research, policy analysis, and advocacy. We chat about the history of Cardus, what they actually do and the impact they have. We also cover topics such why think tanks matter, MAID (medical assistance in dying) and of course w...

Today, we have a really exciting topic at hand, Joining Lucas in this episode is Dr. Calvin Beisner, the founder and national spokesman of the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation. Dr. Beisner and Lucas discuss what the Cornwall Alliance is, the history and worldviews surrounding climate change and how we as Christians should think about this topic.  Be sure to check out the Cornwall...

Happy Monday, friends! Today, we're testing out a new type of feedback episode, calling it the Real Talk Round Up. Joining us for this is Reformed Perspective's Executive Director, Mark Penninga and editor, Jon Dysktra. We're grateful for their thoughtful perspectives on these last number of episodes. Also included in this new format is the brief coverage of a certain topic (this weeks being teach...

Happy Thanksgiving to all our Canadian listeners. Today, we have a really exciting episode that has been a long time coming. For this conversation we're joined by Pastors, Steve Swets and Dick Wynia who are well versed in this topic as they both have been heavily involved in unity discussions. We cover the history of these denominations, especially how it relates the CRC churches. We also discuss...

We got a great episode for you. All the way from California, we chatted with Rev. Christopher Gordon, pastor of Escondido United Reformed Church and author of the New Reformation Catechism on Human Sexuality. This piece was featured in the latest issue of Reformed Perspective. We cover why Gordon wrote this new catechism, how it differs from others and also the importance of sharing the positive m...

WE'RE BACK! After a lengthy summer break we're back with all new episode. Pastor Bill DeJong joins us to talk about the exciting topic of youth culture. We cover the sociological trends that are current in the younger generations and how things like social media and 'authenticity' play into that. We also discuss how the church should respond to these issues and treat the youth. Be sure to check ou...

Time for a feedback episode! Joining us on this one is our editor, Mariah Tamminga. We thought it would be fun to have her on this episode as we cover the last number of episodes, give some personal updates and share about the future of Real Talk. With Tyler's big move to Alberta on the horizon, we need to pivot the format of the podcast. Listen in as we share some ideas of what could look like an...

We got a special episode for you today! We sat down with Hildy Sloots, the director of Hamilton/Halton Safe Families. This amazing organizations exists  to build a network of support for families in need in a variety of ways. We're so grateful Hildy was willing to come on to share about the important work Safe Families does and how we can and why each of us should consider getting involved! We hop...

We sat down with Chris deBoer, an elder from the Canadian Reformed Church (CanRef) of Carman East. He recently attended the CanRef General Synod as a delegate, so we thought it would be good to get a summary of the hot-button topics that were discussed. He also gives a bit of background on the workings of Synod and how it is made up. We know this might be more of 'niche' episode of but even if you...

We've made it to episode 50 and this may just be our most important episode yet. Two documentary filmmakers, Jake Valk and John-Michael Bout were kind enough to come on the podcast to share their stories and about the amazing teaching documentary they're working on. Into The Light is a teaching documentary that walks through the fundamentals of change from bondage to sexual sin to freedom in Chris...

We have an interesting episode for you today! We are so grateful to have sat down of sitting down with Paul Vanden Brink, the pastor of Grace Valley Church in Dundas. Pastor Paul has his own podcast called Clearer Thinking. He recently did a series on Deconstruction and we wanted to get him to share with us about this complex topic. This idea might be new for some of you, so we hope it gives you a...

One more politics episode for you and then we're done on this topic for a while!  With the election around the corner, the Ontario Party reached out to us to sit down and have a conversation regarding the state of the province, where there needs to be change and how they hope to facilitate this change. We discuss all the hot button issues Ontario is facing, such as housing, immigration, inflation,...

We had the privilege of sitting down with Dr. David Zietsma, the President of Redeemer University, located in Hamilton, ON. We found this to be an encouraging discussion on the topic of Reformed Education at all levels and how that plays out in the lives of believers. We chat about the history of Redeemer, the idea of missional drift, how Redeemer is fighting that and how they are dealing with sec...

In response to our previous episode, we brought on Professor Ed Bosveld to bring some context to this feedback episode. Over the past two years, Ed has researched and analysed pandemic-related public policy as well as data and statistics relating to pandemic policy-making. We cover modelling, public trust, vaccines, statistics and the Texas/Florida debate taking listener feedback into account as w...

This is a big one that you don't want to miss. Ontario MPPs (Members of Provincial Parliament), Will Bouma and Sam Oosterhoff sat down with us to discuss what has been on everyone's mind these last two years - Covid, government, the church and freedom. Both Will and Sam share their perspectives oN what has transpired while we  add in some thoughts and questions that many have. There are other bill...

Inflation? Soaring gas prices? Seemingly impossible to invest? What can  seem like a complex topic or one that Christian shouldn't necessarily talk about, money affects us all. We sat down with Brent Vanderwoude, the founder of Good Stewards, a real estate investment company, to talk about all things money related. Getting down to what money really is, it's history, Bitcoin and how we as Christian...

We're back with an all new exciting episode! We had the privilege of sitting down with avid blogger Samuel Sey. We discussed some controversial issues of our day, including the Canadian political scene, Critical Race Theory and the Pro-Life movement. We hope Sam's wisdom helps you think through these important topics. Be sure to check out and follow Sam's work at and on Instagram and Twitter @slow...

We thought it was a time for a feedback episode! Lucas and Tyler sit down to chat about the last number of episodes by reviewing the highlights, sharing their thoughts and as well as some upcoming future episodes. Be sure to let us know if there is anyone you'd like to hear on the podcast! 00:00 - Introduction 01:00 - The Clarion 02:00 - Church vs. State 03:00 - Trucker Convoy 06:00 - Male Leaders...

A long episode packed with a lot of insight! We had the privilege of sitting down with Rev. Jim Witteveen, a missionary currently located in Abbotsford, BC. Jim has his own podcast called Dan 11:32. We chat about many topics including the history and prominence of propaganda, consuming media and news, and we touch on how this relates to the covid issue. We also cover Jim's thoughts on masks and ho...

We're back from our winter break with an all new episode! We had the privilege of sitting down with Rev. Winston Bosch to discuss a sermon series he preached a couple of years ago. The series is based on the 30th article of the Belgic Confession which covers the reasons for male-only leadership in our churches. We chat about the history and the Biblical view of stereotypes, leadership in the early...

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Joseph Boot, the founder and president of the Ezra Institute located in Grimsby, ON. Dr. Boot has been very vocal in the Reformed world, on the topic government and their jurisdiction when it comes to church, health and the family.  We speak about the controversial vaccine mandates, the church's response (or lack of response) to all these issues and briefly to...

In this episode, we have the pleasure of sitting down with the soon to be editor in chief and publisher of the Clarion, the unofficial magazine of the Canadian Reformed federation. Pastor Holtvlüwer and Will share about the exciting new updates happening at Clarion, while also revealing some interesting history regarding this publication. As you'll hear near the end of this episode, our friends at...

We thought it was a time for a feedback episode! Lucas and Tyler sit down to chat about the last number of episodes by reviewing the highlights, sharing their thoughts as well as some upcoming plans. Be sure to let us know if there is anyone you'd like to hear on the podcast! To keep up with the podcast, check out our website: https://www.realtalkpodcast.ca/ Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for...

In this episode, I (Lucas) sit down with Mark Penninga who serves as the Executive Director of ARPA (Association for Reformed Political Action) Canada . We chat about Mark's role and his recently released book, "Our God moves Mountains" which showcases the story and history of ARPA. Mark also shares of ARPA's plans for the future. We hope this episode inspires you to keep making small acts of fait...

This is a big one, folks! Ty, co-hosted by his Keleigh, sat down with Sarah Hutten who shared about her new book 'Unmet Expectations - Facing unmet expectations in the pursuit of children, and learning how to better prepare those ready to walk this journey." Sarah was so gracious in telling her story and experiences while sharing advice to couples who are or in the future may be facing all the cha...