“Young people are longing for transcendence.” Are they, though? And what exactly does transcendence mean? In this episode, Mark and Cameron take a shot at naming the longing that drives so many people to search for deeper, more historically grounded experiences of the Christian faith. A lot of us feel that something’s missing, and that we’re looking for it in the wrong places. This conversation directs that longing toward its proper end.
In this special episode, the first of Mark’s five VISION TALKS are collected in a single recording. These live recordings focus on the building blocks of Grace’s vision: the centrality of worship, church-planting, our unique DNA (longing for more grace, more depth, and more community), why our culture has to be as gracious as our theology, and why historic Christianity is our goal.
Inspired by Cameron’s re-reading of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s classic The Cost of Discipleship, this episode revisits the concept of “cheap grace.” If we’re saved by grace apart from works, it’s tempting to think that what we do is, at best, of secondary importance — and, at worst, of no importance at all. But the call to salvation is also a call to sacrifice, which means that while it may be free, grace is anything but cheap.
The crime of Christianity, in Nietzsche’s view, was its renunciation of life. He declared God dead and sought to sweep away the continuing influence of Christian morality. But as Cameron argues in a recent essay published on his site Conversant, the resurrection offers a powerful response to this criticism. As Easter approaches, Mark asks Cameron to share how the theological and philosophical implications of the resurrection come to our aid in answering Nietzsche, and what we still might have to learn from his critique.
If you’ve ever wondered how pastors get from a text in Scripture to a finished sermon, this one’s for you. Part spiritual discipline and part stewardship, the process of understanding and then proclaiming the message of Scripture is much more involved than an introductory class on homiletics might suggest. Special guest and “friend of the pod” Luke Le Duc joins Mark in the studio to explore the secrets of sermon prep.
They haven’t read much farther than the introduction, but that doesn’t stop Mark and Cameron from discussing the new book Biblical Critical Theory, by Christopher Watkin. In this episode, they walk through some of the introductory concepts that make this such a promising text, and discuss how it might redeem critical theory and refresh worldview studies all at once.
Cameron has read Eugene Vodolazkin’s novel Laurus twice already, while Mark hasn’t managed to get past the first fifty pages. In this episode, they compare notes on the book, sharing what resonated (and what didn’t). They also discuss the relationship of a writer’s theology to his fiction, and talk about how reading someone else’s attempt to theologize in prose can shape one’s own efforts.
History is all too often one of those subjects we either ignore, or twist to support our culture war objectives. In this episode, Mark and Cameron ask whether there is a third option. How can the study of history help in our formation as thinkers — and yes, as believers. Is the past a trap we can never escape, or does it point a way forward if only we pay better attention?
As “good things run wild” at Grace, we’re faced with some welcome challenges, including the need to be good stewards of growth. In this episode, Cameron quizzes Mark about the vision of Grace and its practical application when it comes to finding solutions to our need for more space to worship. While we cannot always realize our vision immediately, it helps to have the end in mind as we figure out strategies to get there.
Due to blizzard conditions, Grace has been forced to cancel our Ash Wednesday service. But we’ve learned that when life gives you lemons, you can squeeze out a podcast. In this episode, Mark is joined by Rev. Luke Le Duc for a discussion of Grace’s Ash Wednesday liturgy. They also talk about the different between Advent longing and the “bright sadness” of the season of Lent. We hope this conversation will make for a helpful start to the season.
While Cameron vacations on the beaches of Florida, Mark soldiers on! This time, he’s joined by Delta David Gier, music director of what Alex Ross in The New Yorker called “one of America’s boldest orchestras,” the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. Mark asks David about faith and music, and they talk about the work of Crescendo North America, a professional organization for Christian classical and jazz musicians.
Picking up from last week’s discussion of parables, this episode takes on the question of narrative, storytelling, and fiction. Does the fact that Jesus teaches in parables tell us anything about the value of literature? Should we avoid reading made-up stories in favor of factual books, or are there truths that can only be grasped by way of fiction? Mark and Cameron tackle these questions and more.
The parables of Jesus are often cited in contemporary discussions about storytelling, narrative theology, and even learning styles. But when the disciples ask Jesus in Matthew 13 why he teaches this way, his explanation takes us in a very different direction. In this episode, Mark and Cameron lay a foundation for interpreting the parables of Matthew 13 in light of the rationale Jesus gives.
Throughout the history of the Church, there has been a tension between the life of the mind and the life of action, between people focused on knowing the truth deeply and people focused on practicing it. In this episode, Cameron and Mark explore the limits of knowledge and ask whether knowing too much can become an obstacle to faith.
In this episode, Mark and Cameron take on a difficult topic: literal hell. The Bible says less about heaven and hell than you might expect — and a lot of what it teaches comes to us in the form of analogy, where things that are too wonderful (or too terrible) for the human mind are revealed through comparison to what we do understand. But if we’re going to pass down the faith once for all delivered to the saints, the Bible’s teaching about final judgment is something we need to address.
THE COMMENTARY is a weekly conversation about vision, worship, and life at Grace Presbyterian Church.
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Feel like you don’t have enough time for the things that really matter? You’re not alone. Most of us have a sense that time is passing too quickly, that we’re missing out — a feeling made worse by images all around us of other people having a meaningful time. In this episode, Cameron and Mark discuss the tension between two Greek concepts — kairos and chronos — to find out how we can recover some of our lost time.
Scripture compares believers in Christ to strangers and exiles, people whose home is not in this world or this time. What does it mean to be an exile, though? Apathy, alienation, and powerlessness are all associated with this idea … but what about hope? In this episode, Mark and Cameron think through the implications of the exile metaphor for Christian life.
Christmas Day falls on a Sunday this year, which has led to a debate on the Internet about canceling church services. At Grace, we’ll be meeting for worship this Sunday. In this episode, Mark and Cameron discuss why this is — and try to unpack the assumptions about holidays and worship that make the dispute so illuminating.
