Theology in the Raw

Evan Wickham is a pastor, church planter, song writer, and worship leader. He's the pastor of Park Hill church in San Diego and has been wrestling with how to handle CA governor Gavin Newsom's order against indoor church gatherings. Should Christian churches obey or disobey this order? How essential are large indoor gatherings for "being" the church? Are Christians being persecuted? We also discuss the weirdly controversial topic of wearing masks. Should we do it? Protest it? What's the rationale for wearing or not wearing a mask?

My friend #SamAllberry joins me to talk about the perennial question: "Is God Anti-Gay?" Many people think he is, that the Christian God has it out for gay people. But, as someone who experiences #samesexattraction and who also loves the Christian God with all his heart, Sam begs to differ. In this conversation, we talk about some pushbacks to the traditional sexual ethic, what the church can do better, the meaning of the term #gay, and how teenage Christians who experience #SSA should think through identity.

Tyler Burns is the vice-president of The Witness, which is a black Christian collective that engages issues of religion, race, justice, and culture from a biblical perspective. Tyler is also the co-host of "Pass the Mic" podcast. In this extra raw conversation, Tyler helps us understand current race conversations from a black perspective and educates white evangelicals on our own blind spots and how we can embody Christ in our culture moment.

Lisa Fields is the founder and director of the #Jude3Project, which helps the Christian community know what they believe and why they believe it, with a strong emphasis in equipping those of African descent in the United States and abroad. In this conversation, Lisa unpacks the #blacklivesmatter concept and movement and how it relates to the #gospel. "Black lives matter to God," Lisa says is the most important thing for people to understand. Lisa clears up some misunderstandings surrounding #BLM as a movement and a phrase. Check out Lisa's ministry: https://jude3project.org Please consider supporting Lisa's invaluable ministry: https://jude3project.givingfuel.com/wwwjude3projectcomdonate

Madison Pierce is a New Testament scholar and professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. She did her Ph.D. on the book of Hebrews under Francis Watson at Durham University. In this conversation, we talk about various things related to her specialty in the book of Hebrews, specifically how the author (and we don't know who it is, by the way) weaves together Trinitarian thought throughout his quotations of Scripture. We also discuss what it's like being a female in Evangelical academia.

Lore (pronounced Lor-ee) Ferguson Wilbert just released her provocative book Handle With Care: How Jesus Redeems the Power of Touch in Life and Ministry. And it addresses lots of questions that are on peoples’ minds these days—especially men. Can I hug a woman? Side hug or full frontal? Is “the Billy Graham Rule” a good thing or an insulting thing—or a bit of both? How can Christian men avoid affairs and sexual temptations without giving the impression that every woman he’s alone with in the elevator is a stumbling block? Unfortunately, Preston’s internet literally shut down toward the end of this podcast (and, in case you care, it didn’t start working again for another 48 hours, which in these Covid-19 quarantine days is like spending two days in hell with everyone out to lunch). But the 40 minutes they did capture were too good to scrap, so we’ll have to live with the technological embarrassments.

Becket’s story is absolutely incredible. He has one of those stories you hear from a distance and think, “this can’t be true.” But it is. Jesus is real and he is that powerful. Becket has an amazing story and he also has an amazing passion for an amazing savior. Becket shares his story in this podcast; he and Preston also dig into what it means to “leave homosexuality,” the controversy over gay identity (Becket is adamantly opposed to it), and what it was like hanging out with Katy Perry, Prince, Paris Hilton, and other Hollywood stars.

Spencer is a longtime friend, former boss, and the president of Eternity Bible College. We first met way back in Seminary nearly 20 years ago and have been friends ever since. Spencer is known for his towering height, shiny head, inability to be outwitted, but most of all for his imaginative and integrative approach to Christian education. In this episode, we talk about some of the things that are broken in our current models of education and explore fresh avenues for education which will be especially pertinent in the wake of Covid-19.

I've tried taking several Enneagram tests but I can never finish them. I hate the binary answers they give: When you walk into a room, do you want to dominate everyone or hide in the corner?" Ugh! What if it's neither!? That's why I reached out to my buddy Jeff Cook to have him give me a personal and conversational evaluation of my Enneagram score. Wait, is it a "score?" Or a number? I'm not a number, I'm a person! Don't put me in a box!! Whatever the Enneagram is, Jeff Cook is an expert in it. Watch him as he uses the force to draw out the inner me with all its grit and grime. After we find out my number, we turn to the biblical writers to see what number they are and why it matters. Yup, we even dare to figure out what Jesus is on the Enneagram. We haven't been struck down by lightening—yet.

The death of George Floyd has sparked many questions related to race relations, systemic racism, the use and abuse of force and power among the police force, faith and politics, partisanship, and many other questions. To help us think through these questions, I recently interviewed Justin Giboney from the AndCampaign in a live YouTube conversation, and this podcast is the audio version of that conversation.

Chris Wienand is like the master Yoda of church planting. From planting churches in South Africa to Los Angeles, to mentoring dozens of leaders around the globe, Chris has gained much wisdom about church and the gospel over the years. In this episode, we talk about what it means to be the church and the role that meals and organic gatherings should have in the life of the community. Chris believes that the table should be the heartbeat of our churches.

Due to the incredible response I got from John’s first appearance on Theology in the Raw (Ep. 788), I had to have him back on! John is an infectious disease expert at the University of Chicago and he gives us an update on the virus. We talk about lockdown versus reopening, the probability of a second wave, the politicalization of the whole mess, what churches should do as they reopen, and much much more.

Sharon is a passionate follower of Christ who’s got a sharp mind and humble heart. Preston and Sharon talk about lots of things related to being a woman in pastoral and theological ministry.

Oh boy, are you in for a good one! Preston and Eugene talk about politics, so-called “Chinese viruses,” multiethnic churches, and much more in this controversy-laden podcast. We also talk about Eugene’s latest book Thou Shalt Not Be a Jerk, which helps Christians navigate the cesspool of partisan politics with truth and grace.

In this long overdue Q & A podcast, Preston works through a fistful of scintillating questions sent in from his followers: Why he's not a fan of the documentary hypothesis, is his podcast anti-Trump, how to dialogue with people you really, really disagree with, unbiased news outlets, why he doesn't like the phrase "white evangelicalism," should churches post LGBTQ statements on their websites, and much more.