Lighthouse Faith

Latest Episodes:

Fellowship of Christian Athletes Director in Tokyo Talks about Simone Biles and the Pressure on Elite Athletes Aug 01, 2021

Show notes

Will Thompson, director of Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Tokyo, doesn't personally know gymnast Simone Biles, but knows what a great problem for elite athletes like her can be, making your sport your identity. The pressure to succeed at all costs is one of the great dangers for anyone who sacrifices time, relationships, and money, in order to become the best of the best. Us normal folks only see their crowning glory, an Olympic gold medal, or multi-million-dollar endorsement contracts. But what we don't see is the toll it takes on their souls. The secular version is called 'mental health.' But for Thompson, he knows that behind the clinical term is a spiritual longing. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Thompson talks about how FCA's ministry's outreach to athletes of all ilk, is to lead them to Jesus Christ, as the only love that can truly satisfy. Because for elite athletes, or elite anything... musician, actor, architect, finance genius... their craft becomes their fundamental trust and their identity. Biles' pulling out of competition at the greatest athletic event in history, is an example of someone who was brave enough to say, 'there's something more important.' It's the cautionary tale so many athletes like Biles, Naomi Osaka and Michael Phelps are recognizing. For Thompson, it, "sheds light upon the need for spiritual fulfillment and also spiritual care for these athletes."

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Trail Life USA, Becoming Christian Alternative to the Troubled Boy Scouts of America Jul 25, 2021

Show notes

There are many people of faith that believe the Boy Scouts of America has lost its way. Where once the organization was almost a rite of passage for boys on the way to becoming men, today it is not just about boys or affirming their strengths. Girls are also invited to join, even though there's such an organization called, "Girl Scouts". And the BSA is not about character based on serving God and country, but about individual achievements. Then there's the tragedy of thousands of boys who now claim they were sexually abused by troop leaders or older boys in authority positions, leading to hundreds of millions of dollars paid out to settle those claims. Whatever you think of the BSA, there has arisen an alternative to the 110-year-old organization. It's called Trail Life USA. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Trail Life's CEO Mark Hancock talks about how his organization is growing by leaps and bounds, while BSA's membership is shrinking. Hancock has said that the Boy Scouts of America abandoned its 'laser focus on boys', it's faith-based mission, and it's moral compass. Trail Life has made all three parts of its core principles. It is unapologetically Christ centered in its mission to help boys cultivate their God-given strengths. And they're making it clear that the phrase, 'boys will be boys' means something positive.

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Dr. Michael Guillen Sees Science in the Words of Jesus Jul 18, 2021

Show notes

Dr. Michael Guillen - physicist, astronomer and mathematician - lays to waste the old debate about whether science and religion get along. Not only are they compatible, but it is because of science that he became a Christian. In fact, it was the paradoxical words of Jesus, "Love your enemies," "The meek shall inherit the world," "The first shall be last," that he saw the scientific concept of a Quantum Vacuum come to life. Guillen is the former science correspondent for ABC News and was a professor of physics at Harvard for eight years. Bottom line, he's no slouch when it comes to understanding science. He lives and breathes it daily. He was once an atheist but began exploring the various forms of spirituality. He tried Transcendental Meditation, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and then finally found Christianity. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Guillen talks about his new book, "Believing Is Seeing: A Physicist Explains How Science Shattered His Atheism and Revealed the Necessity of Faith." It is science that helped him find his faith, and it is his faith that lets him see science as God's creation.

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Former Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam on the Perils of Being a Person of Faith in the Public Square Jul 11, 2021

Show notes

The question for all politicians-- and the politically engaged-- who also claim to be people of faith, is: Does your faith inform your politics, or does your politics inform your faith? It doesn't matter from which side of the aisle you ponder your political positions; it is difficult to mix your faith with your political convictions. Our greatest example could probably be President Abraham Lincoln, who lived out the gospel of grace and forgiveness to its truest application in a sin-filled world, and it cost him his life. Bill Haslam, former two-term governor of Tennessee, is a strong advocate for staying true to your faith, though it may cause you to make unpopular decisions, even within your own party. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Governor Haslam talks about his new book, "Faithful Presence: The Promise and the Peril of Faith in the Public Square." He also weighs in on the tumult around Hobby Lobby's Independence Day newspaper ad that some critics claimed was a call for a Christian government, as well as on the IRS denying tax-exempt status to the Texas based, Christians Engaged, because their biblical values were a repeat of the Republican agenda. These two examples are how politics and faith are clashing in the civic arena. And it's why people of faith need to be more involved, not less. Governor Haslam says for right now, he has no political ambitions, but he still wants to be a public servant, taking his faith boldly into the public square, and encouraging others to do the same.

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Os Guinness: America's Identity of 1776 Rests on God's Law at Sinai, Woke Ideology on the Revolution of 1789 France Jul 04, 2021

Show notes

America is 245 years old! Happy Birthday! We've come a long way and become a great nation and a great power. But with great power comes great responsibility. And America could be at a defining moment in history. According to historian Os Guinness, all our struggles and founding documents have as their fuel the covenant the Israelites made with God at Mt. Sinai. Freedom comes from God. Not from man. The only true freedom in this world has as its author, The Almighty. The signers of the Declaration of Independence at the Second Continental Congress of July 4th, 1776 knew that. But today, many of our citizens of this Republic do not know that, or if they do, are trying to re-write history in their own image. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, historian and best-selling author Os Guinness talks about his new book, The Magna Carta of Humanity: Sinai's Revolutionary Faith and The Future of Freedom. He makes the claim that today's Woke ideology, various forms of Critical Theory, and the tearing down of historic statues is not part of our 1776 roots and the American war of Independence from Great Britian, but on the French Revolution, whose foundation is the Enlightenment and secularism. But Guinness goes a step further and says God's Law is the only source of true freedom. Because the paradox of freedom is that it must be ordered, otherwise freedom begets anarchy. If there are no rules to follow, laws to obey, then freedom itself becomes an oppressive cudgel, morphing into a 'will to power.' Are we there yet? Listen and find out.

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San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone on What U.S. Bishops Voted For and Didn't Vote For Jun 27, 2021

Show notes

The media have been in an uproar over the U.S. Bishops' vote to create a document on Eucharistic consistency. That phrase basically means the faithful should be consistent concerning what they believe and how they conduct their lives. Sounds simple, but the underlying intent, which most articles focus on, is whether it's a document that will give bishops nationwide the theological muscle to deny Catholic politicians like President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Holy Communion for supporting abortion rights. But there's a problem here. Most Catholics don't believe, or are ignorant, of what the Church teaches about the Eucharist. In 2019, a Pew study revealed that only a third of Catholics believe that the bread and wine are transformed during the Mass into the actual Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, as the Church teaches. So clearly two thirds, believe what the Protestants teach, which is the elements represent the Body and Blood. So Bishops have to do more than create a document. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, San Francisco's Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, explains what the bishops did, and what they did not do. He also answers critics in Congress - about 60 Catholic Democrats, who issued a Statement of Issues lambasting the Bishops over their decision. As the saying goes, Religion and Politics make odd bedfellows. And nowhere has that become more apparent than this current divisiveness within Catholicism.

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Grammy Award Winning Christian Artist Michael W. Smith, Honoring The Way of Fathers Jun 20, 2021

Show notes

Michael W. Smith's greatest cheerleader in life was his father, Paul Smith. He supported him in his passion for music, even though his own talents were in sports. What a unique relationship that is. A father who not only lets his son find his passion in life, even if its different from his own.. but encourages him to pursue it wholeheartedly. But that was Paul Smith, who passed away in 2015, leaving the Grammy Award winning Christian artist with a huge hole in his heart. However, Paul Smith gave his son a legacy that death could not take away; a faith in his Heavenly Father, that will last into eternity. Fathers have an incredibly powerful influence on their children. Even their absence is felt as a profound loss in a child's soul. And then there are fathers who are physically present but emotionally distant, unapproachable, or even abusive. They too have a profound influence on their children. Theological experts say, a child's view and relationship with their earthly father has a correlation to how the child sees God. Authoritative or permissive, judgmental, or loving... all these have influence. Michael W. Smith, says his father, although not perfect, was the quintessential father, who sacrificed so much of himself to serve not only him but his mother and grandmother. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Smith talks about his father and the book he just wrote that honors him called, 'The Way Of The Father: Lessons From My Dad, Truths About God". The truth is, we all need our fathers. They play a vital role in our lives, yet today's society would have us believe they are unnecessary. But every study shows that when fathers are present, supportive, and loving, to their children, children thrive. The tragedy of course is, not all children have earthly fathers they can rely on. And that, says Michael W. Smith is why a Heavenly Father is all the more important. To know the Father is to be known down to the depths of your being, and at the same time, loved unconditionally. That is the Way of Thee Father.

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Dr. Marshall Foster: America's Covenant with an Almighty God Jun 13, 2021

Show notes

Before our Constitution, or the Declaration of Independence... and before any Bill of Rights... there was the Mayflower Compact. It was a covenant between a group of religious castaways from Europe and an Almighty God, the God of the Judeo-Christian Bible. The group had no power or influence, and when they arrived on the shores of New England more than 400 years ago, before leaving the vessel they'd lived in for months, they wrote a pact, a covenant...with God. Historian Dr. Marshall Foster says, "the covenant is between themselves and God to obey His word...to obey God and to love one another and to build a constitutional republic. That's actually what they built." In today's society there's heated debate about America's roots, about whether it is a Christian nation or one that is primarily secular and pluralistic when it comes to religious beliefs. But, if covenants have power, like that of Noah's, Abraham's, Moses's and Jesus's.... we should think soberly about the real cause of this country's prosperity. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Dr. Foster talks about his book "The American Covenant: The Untold Story", that explores America's religious beginnings that students will not learn in today's public schools. It's a narrative that says our "Economic prosperity, and individual liberty can only be attributed to the hand of God and the covenant between our founders and their creator." And that every founding document had in its core the belief that God ultimately would be leading this nation. As Benjamin Franklin wrote to George Washington as the Constitutional Convention of 1787 hit snag after snag, "God governs the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings that 'except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.'... I firmly believe this." Dr. Foster writes, "The Convention went on to complete its task."

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Noelle Mering: Awake Not Woke! Critical Race Theory and the Woke Ideology Injecting "Poison" in Catholic Schools Jun 06, 2021

Show notes

As "woke ideology" makes its way through the secular culture, one author Noelle Mering says it's actually on a collision course with Christianity. In the fall of 2020, at Loyola Academy, a tony Catholic prep school outside of Chicago, parents began whispering to one another about the loud and swiftly escalating political ideology pressing into all corners of their kids’ education. High-paid diversity consultants were brought in for the sake of training faculty and students on Critical Race Theory and Woke ideology. But many of the parents, some very progressive, realized the consultants' message preached an agenda that is in direct conflict with that of the Gospel. Mering writes about the dilemma in an article in the National Catholic Register. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast Mering dissects the disease of Woke ideology and its infiltration into all communities, as an evangelization of a doctrine at odds with Christianity. She said after the article appeared she got calls from several parents around the country saying the same thing was happening in their Catholic schools. Mering, the author of the book "Awake Not Woke," outlines three ways the Woke ideology assaults Church teaching: it rejects the individual person, even putting its ideology over parents' authority; it rejects reason, by squashing honest dialogue in a quest for power; and it rejects reverence for the authority of God. Mering writes: "What is rejected—reason, the person, and authority—the three characteristics of the Logos, which is the mind of God, communicated in the person of Jesus Christ, who is the author of, and authority over, all. Whether explicitly or not, he is the ultimate target of the woke revolt."

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Historian William Federer Talks of Memorial Day and the Miracle Milestones of Science May 30, 2021

Show notes

It may seem like two totally different topics, Memorial Day and scientific discoveries. And for the most part they are. But for Memorial Day it's good to remember what this holiday really means. And also, when Historian William Federer writes a book about humanity's scientific discoveries and the faith of those who discovered them, it's good to talk about that too. So, on this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Federer gives us a two-fer: Memorial Day and the Miraculous Milestones of science. Federer is a walking, talking encyclopedia of history and faith. He knows about how faith has brought us this far and how faith continues to be the foundational stronghold of this country and the historical faith that compelled people to honor the men and women who lost their lives fighting for the freedoms we enjoy in this Republic called the United States of America. But the larger picture is that we live in world, a universe, a created order that is not of our making. And it's precisely that ordered nature that gives us a clue to who God is. The Psalmist writes, "The heavens declare the glory of God." What better motivation to explore how the heavens work? That is what brought Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler to their greatest discoveries. Listen and find out how faith played a part in man's greatest scientific achievements.

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