Gospelbound

Latest Episodes:

Before You Lose Your Faith Apr 20, 2021

Show notes

Has anyone ever confided in you, “I’m deconstructing”? Maybe you don’t know the phrase, but you know the phenomenon. Yet another social-media post announces departure from the Christian faith. The cause could be sex, race, politics, social justice, science, hell, or all of the above. For many, Christianity is becoming implausible, even impossible to believe.

It might be tempting to leave the church in order to find answers, but the new book Before You Lose Your Faith: Deconstructing Doubt in the Church (The Gospel Coalition) argues that church should be the best place to deal with doubts. Deconstructing need not end in unbelief. In fact, deconstructing can be the road toward reconstructing—building up a more mature, robust faith that grapples honestly with the deepest questions of life.

Karen Swallow Prior, Jay Y. Kim, and Derek Rishmawy joined me on Gospelbound to discuss deconstruction and the hope that lies in the person and work of Jesus.

Gospelbound Book Giveaway Entry Steps:

Write a review about the Gospelbound podcast on Apple Podcasts (reviews can take up to 48 hours to appear in the ratings and review section, so be sure to check back after that time period to see your review)
Take a screenshot of your review
Email us your screenshot to podcasts@thegospelcoalition.org by Friday, April 23
We'll pick the first 10 entries on April 23 to receive a free copy of Gospelbound, the book.

This episode of Gospelbound is sponsored by The Good Book Company, publisher of Brave by Faith by Alistair Begg. More information at thegoodbook.com.

Use code “GOSPELBOUND” for 25% off tuition.

Learn more at downlinememphis.com/virtual-institute or email info@downlineministries.com for group pricing and discounts.

Check out The Pour Over Podcast — politically neutral news for people who want the facts without the spin, and with a brief biblical perspective

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How the New Fundamentalisms Divide Us Apr 13, 2021

Show notes

In this episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen is joined by Morton Schapiro and Gary Saul Morson, authors of Minds Wide Shut: How the New Fundamentalisms Divide Us (Princeton University Press). Schapiro and Morson describe fundamentalism as “radical simplification of complex questions and the inability to learn either from experience or from opposing views.”

Among their proposed solutions is a recovery of casuistry, or employing case studies especially from great literature for experience-based learning.

Gospelbound Book Giveaway Entry Steps:

Write a review about the Gospelbound podcast on Apple Podcasts (reviews can take up to 48 hours to appear in the ratings and review section, so be sure to check back after that time period to see your review)
Take a screenshot of your review
Email us your screenshot to podcasts@thegospelcoalition.org by Friday, April 23
We'll pick the first 10 entries on April 23 to receive a free copy of Gospelbound, the book.

This episode of Gospelbound is sponsored by The Good Book Company, publisher of The End of Me by Liz Wann. More information at thegoodbook.com.

Use code “GOSPELBOUND” for 25% off tuition.

Learn more at downlinememphis.com/virtual-institute or email info@downlineministries.com for group pricing and discounts.

Check out The Pour Over Podcast — politically neutral news for people who want the facts without the spin, and with a brief biblical perspective

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Where to Find Hope in Our Anxious Age Apr 06, 2021

Show notes

Politicians, advertisers, talk radio hosts, social media engineers—you name it, they want your attention. They want you to be angry and afraid. But as Christians, we’re called to faith and love—even when we’re scared, even with people who don’t like us.

We need to get back to the gospel so we can move forward—together.

That’s why we wrote the new book Gospelbound (Multnomah), to help Christians live with resolute hope in an anxious age. My co-author and guest on this episode is Sarah Zylstra, one of my dear friends and a longtime colleague first at Christianity Today and now with The Gospel Coalition, where she is our senior writer.

We wrote this book to boost your morale with stories of Christians around the world living for God and loving their neighbors. They’re caring for the weak, loving their enemies, and giving away their freedom for others. They are gospel-bound Christians because they’re bound to the unchanging gospel of Jesus Christ—they cannot be shaken by this turbulent world. And they’re bound for glory someday, which is how they can live with such hope in the here and now.

Not only will they boost your morale, but these gospel-bound Christians will also give you a model for how live in the chaos. So for more on these stories, I turned to Sarah in this episode of Gospelbound.

Gospelbound Book Giveaway Entry Steps:

Write a review about the Gospelbound podcast on Apple Podcasts (reviews can take up to 48 hours to appear in the ratings and review section, so be sure to check back after that time period to see your review)
Take a screenshot of your review
Email us your screenshot to podcasts@thegospelcoalition.org by Friday, April 23
We'll pick the first 10 entries on April 23 to receive a free copy of Gospelbound, the book.

This episode of Gospelbound is sponsored by The Good Book Company, publisher of The End of Me by Liz Wann. More information at thegoodbook.com.

Use code “GOSPELBOUND” for 25% off tuition.

Learn more at downlinememphis.com/virtual-institute or email info@downlineministries.com for group pricing and discounts.

Check out The Pour Over Podcast — politically neutral news for people who want the facts without the spin, and with a brief biblical perspective

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Multi-Directional Leader Mar 30, 2021

Show notes

When church leaders assume that they can only scan for attacks in one direction, they leave Christians vulnerable to different dangers. What the church needs, then, is what Trevin Wax calls multi-directional leadership—leaders who combine dexterity and discipline. Leaders today must demonstrate faithful versatility. And that’s what Trevin Wax commends in his new book, The Multi-Directional Leader: Responding Wisely to Challenges from Every Side, published by The Gospel Coalition.

Wax applies multi-directional leadership to the most contentious issues facing churches right now, including race and politics and gender. Unity and truth can still triumph in a divided age, and that’s what I wanted to talk with Trevin about in this episode of Gospelbound.

Gospelbound Book Giveaway Entry Steps:

Write a review about the Gospelbound podcast on Apple Podcasts (reviews can take up to 48 hours to appear in the ratings and review section, so be sure to check back after that time period to see your review)
Take a screenshot of your review
Email us your screenshot to podcasts@thegospelcoalition.org by Friday, April 23
We'll pick the first 10 entries on April 23 to receive a free copy of Gospelbound, the book.

This episode of Gospelbound is sponsored by The Good Book Company, publisher of Faithful Leaders and the Things That Matter Most by Rico Tice. There are many books on leadership strategies and church structures, but this one looks at what matters most: the character and attitude of church leaders. More information at thegoodbook.com.

Use code “GOSPELBOUND” for 25% off tuition.

Learn more at downlinememphis.com/virtual-institute or email info@downlineministries.com for group pricing and discounts.

Check out The Pour Over Podcast — politically neutral news for people who want the facts without the spin, and with a brief biblical perspective

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Secular Creed Mar 23, 2021

Show notes

Maybe you’ve seen a sign in your neighbor’s yard that reads something like this:

"In this house we believe that:

Black Lives Matter

Love Is Love

Gay Rights Are Civil Rights

Women’s Rights Are Human Rights

Transgender Women Are Women"

If the “we believe” format and propositions sound familiar, that’s because they are. It’s a creed, albeit a secular one, without reference to transcendent moral authority, whether divine or historical.

Rebecca McLaughlin’s provocative new book, The Secular Creed: Engaging Five Contemporary Claims, published by The Gospel Coalition, helps us disentangle the beliefs Christians gladly affirm from those they cannot embrace. And she invites us to talk with our neighbors about the things that matter most—what we’re willing to fight for, our vision of the good life for ourselves and others.

Many non-Christians believe these statements will make unity and peace possible. But McLaughlin shows why Christianity is the original source and firmest foundation for true diversity, equality, and life-transforming love.

Books referenced in this episode:

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
Ten Questions Every Teen Should Ask (and Answer) about Christianity by Rebecca McLaughlin

Use code “GOSPELBOUND” for 25% off tuition.

Learn more at downlinememphis.com/virtual-institute or email info@downlineministries.com for group pricing and discounts.

Check out The Pour Over Podcast — politically neutral news for people who want the facts without the spin, and with a brief biblical perspective

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Why You’re WEIRD Mar 16, 2021

Show notes

Joseph Henrich is chair of the department of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University and author of many important works. His latest is The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous. In it, you’ll get pretty everything you want: theology, history, neuroscience, biology, social science, economics, and more. Henrich weaves everything together to explain what separated the West from world history. But his story is neither inevitable nor triumphalist. He argues that if you looked at the world in the year 1000, you’d never imagine that Europe would eventually surpass China or the Islamic world in power and wealth.

Joseph Henrich joined Collin Hansen on Gospelbound to discuss his new book and what it means to be “WEIRD,” an acronym that describes tenants of Western culture.

This episode of Gospelbound is sponsored by The Good Book Company, publisher of The Garden, the Curtain and The Cross by Carl Laferton. This storybook takes children aged 3 to 6 on a journey from the Garden of Eden to God’s perfect new creation, teaching why Jesus died and rose again and why that’s the best news ever. More information at thegoodbook.com.

Use code “GOSPELBOUND” for 25% off tuition.

Learn more at downlinememphis.com/virtual-institute or email info@downlineministries.com for group pricing and discounts.

Check out The Pour Over Podcast — politically neutral news for people who want the facts without the spin, and with a brief biblical perspective

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What’s Next for Our Culture with COVID Mar 09, 2021

Show notes

Andy Crouch and his colleagues at The Praxis Journal wrote an article titled, “Leading Beyond the Blizzard” on March 20, 2020, just one week after the national COVID-19 shutdown began in the United States. Crouch and his team warned us that this crisis would not be a blizzard that rages for a few weeks or a winter that lasted a few months, but an “ice age” of 12 to 18 months that would change our way of life for good, and they were right.

Crouch joined Collin Hansen on Gospelbound to lament the losses brought on by COVID-19, assess our levels of social trust inside and outside the church, and look forward to God’s purposes in the next year and beyond.

This episode of Gospelbound is sponsored by The Good Book Company, publisher of The Garden, the Curtain and The Cross by Carl Laferton. This storybook takes children aged 3-6 on a journey from the Garden of Eden to God’s perfect new creation to teach children why Jesus died and rose again and why that’s the best news ever. More information at thegoodbook.com.

Use code “GOSPELBOUND” for 25% off tuition.

Learn more at downlinememphis.com/virtual-institute or email info@downlineministries.com for group pricing and discounts.

Check out The Pour Over Podcast — politically neutral news for people who want the facts without the spin, and with a brief biblical perspective

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

See the Sacred in Everyday Life Mar 02, 2021

Show notes

You know an author is worth reading if he can make stones interesting. But after reading Andrew Wilson’s God of All Things: Rediscovering the Sacred in an Everyday World (Zondervan), you’ll be seeing stones everywhere in the Bible, and you’ll understand their significance in ways you never imagined before.

Andrew Wilson is teaching pastor at King’s Church London and has theology degrees from Cambridge, London School of Theology, and King’s College London. He is a columnist for Christianity Today and has written several books, including Echoes of Exodus and Spirit and Sacrament. His newest book, God of All Things, teaches about God through the ordinary, physical things we see every day.

If you don’t normally enjoy reading theology, I recommend this book. You’ll learn a lot about God, you’ll develop a strong biblical theology from Genesis to Revelation, and you’ll see your ordinary world with new eyes in the process.

Andrew joined me on Gospelbound to discuss viruses, pigs, sex, children, trees, and more.

This episode of Gospelbound is sponsored by The Good Book Company, publisher of Being the Bad Guy by Stephen McAlpine. The church used to be recognized as a force for good, but this is changing rapidly. Author Stephen McAlpine offers an analysis of how our culture ended up this way and encourages Christians not to be ashamed of the gospel as it is more liberating, fulfilling and joyful than anything the world has to offer. More information at thegoodbook.com.

Use code “GOSPELBOUND” for 25% off tuition.

Learn more at downlinememphis.com/virtual-institute or email info@downlineministries.com for group pricing and discounts.

Check out The Pour Over Podcast — politically neutral news for people who want the facts without the spin, and with a brief biblical perspective

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How You Can Walk Through Fire Feb 23, 2021

Show notes

Veneetha Rendall Risner has dealt with more than her share of trials, which she recounts in her new book, "Walking Through Fire: A Memoir of Loss and Redemption", published by Nelson Books. She opens up her thought process for a raw look at the emotional and spiritual wrestling of suffering, anger toward God, and the reason for suffering.

Use code “GOSPELBOUND” for 25% off tuition.

Learn more at downlinememphis.com/virtual-institute or email info@downlineministries.com for group pricing and discounts.

Check out The Pour Over Podcast — politically neutral news for people who want the facts without the spin, and with a brief biblical perspective

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When You Became the Bad Guy Feb 16, 2021

Show notes

At some point, Christians were viewed by many in the West as annoying, perhaps prudish, even self-righteous. Sometimes Christians set themselves as an example of holiness that the world could not or did not want to attain. To be called “holier than thou” was common.

But those days are long gone, says Stephen McAlpine, author of the new book Being the Bad Guys: How to Live for Jesus in a World That Says You Shouldn’t, published by The Good Book Company. McAlpine is a pastor, blogger, and ex-journalist who lives in Perth, Australia. He’s written some of the most provocative and creative commentary on this cultural moment that I’ve seen. And that’s why I was eager to read this book and talk with him for Gospelbound.

This episode of Gospelbound is sponsored by The Good Book Company, publisher of The God Contest by Carl Laferton. This storybook will help children see how the God of the Bible proved himself to be the one true God. More information at thegoodbook.com.

Use code “GOSPELBOUND” for 25% off tuition.

Learn more at downlinememphis.com/virtual-institute or email info@downlineministries.com for group pricing and discounts.

Check out The Pour Over Podcast — politically neutral news for people who want the facts without the spin, and with a brief biblical perspective

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.