Phil Vischer's Blog, page 10

Episode 220: Making Disciples or Making Church – With Preston Sprinkle

Does the way we do church effectively make disciples? New research says “not so much.” So what do we do? Speaker, author, and theologian Preston Sprinkle is back on the show to talk about new models for church and why we need them. What could church be? What SHOULD church be? This week on the […]

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Episode 219: Bible Translations, Christian Radio & Praying for Atheists

A Bible translation is frozen in time. Modern technology unlocks a scroll. Christian media is more popular than you might think. And a new survey shows Christians are bad at guessing which behaviors make our neighbors uncomfortable. This week on the podcast! Listen to the episode | Download the episode | Find this episode on […]

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Episode 218: U2 Turns 40 and Atheist “Faith Healing” with Justin Brierley

Everyone’s favorite band-made-up-of-Christians-that-isn’t-a-Christian-band U2 turns the big 4-0; an atheist mentalist successfully replicates “faith healing” in a London stage show; British radio host Justin Brierley returns to the podcast to talk news from across the pond. This week on the podcast! Listen to the episode | Download the episode | Find this episode on iTunes

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Episode 217: Dreams, Lions & Shallow American Theology

Phil has a bone to pick! A hot new book encouraging Christians to “chase their dreams” drives Phil crazy and he just can’t stop talking about it. It’s a full-on rant! And all because Benaiah killed a lion (it will make sense after you listen). This week on the podcast! Listen to the episode | […]

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217: Dreams, Lions & Shallow American Theology

Phil has a bone to pick! A hot new book encouraging Christians to “chase their dreams” drives Phil crazy and he just can’t stop talking about it. It’s a full-on rant! And all because Benaiah killed a lion (it will make sense after you listen). This week on the podcast! Listen to the episode | […]

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Episode 216: Meditating on Scripture with Jan Johnson

It’s time to slow things down a bit as we’re joined by Christian writer, speaker and spiritual director Jan Johnson for a discussion of right brain Christianity, meditation and her new book, Meeting God in Scripture – A Hands-on Guide to Lectio Divina. Listen to the episode | Download the episode | Find this episode on […]

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Episode 215: Back to Church, Out of Prison, Off to Mars

What events would bring the most people back to church? Which celebrity has Rick Warren’s book helped now? Are American Christians “persecuted” in their own special way? Are astronauts too boring for reality TV? And what failure of the church might be driving people to Donald Trump? Christianity Today editor Katelyn Beaty joins Skye and Phil […]

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What to Say to Kids When the World Doesn’t Make Sense

Parenting isn’t easy. Let’s just put that out on the table and accept it. In fact, I’ll go even further. Parenting is hard. We’re handed these miniature humans – tiny little things in booties and color-coded hats – and somehow we’re expected to cultivate them into happy, gloriously well-adjusted adults, capable of holding down jobs […]

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Episode 214: American Politics and Christian Faith with Amy Black

What can we learn from this crazy year in American politics? Is it ever appropriate for Christians to vote “none of the above?” How do our various Christian traditions shape our views of church and state? Author and political science professor Amy Black joins the gang for a rousing discussion – this week on the […]

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Is God a Genocidal Bully? (Tricky Question #5)

“The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all of fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.” – Richard Dawkins  (The God Delusion)   Gee, Richard, tell us […]

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