Episodes
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Introducing: The Way to Glory by Christianity Today
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The Calling host, Richard Clark is back with a brand new podcast to check out. Subscribe now!
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Missing episodes?
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When asked to describe his calling, Civil Rights leader John Perkins launches instead into a detailed explanation of his long and morphing relationship with the Bible. Perkinsâ story moves from confusion to clarity, and ultimately ends in resolve and redemption. Having grown up in poverty, Perkins found hope in the promises of God, and he took them to heart.But he didnât just take the good stuff to heart. He also took to heart the challenges and warnings scripture had for both him and his world. In his later years, Perkins demonstrates a distinct comfort with the kinds of tensions we find in scripture: between repentance and hope, justice and forgiveness.In 1960, Perkins and his wife Vira Mae moved from California, back to Mendenhall, Mississippi to put into practice his philosophy of what it means to minister to the poor. Though he spent much of his energy implementing a daycare center, a church, a youth program, and many other benevolent programs, in his community, Perkins also took a prominent role among ongoing Civil Rights activism. As a result, he built up his community while also running into a host of physical push-back, oftentimes being imprisoned and even beaten for his beliefs and actions.Along with his wife, he started a foundation dedicated to justice, reconciliation, and community development. Now 88 years old, heâs focused on clarifying and documenting the experience and wisdom heâs developed over the years.In the final episode of CTâs The Calling, host Richard Clark talks with Perkins about his experience growing up in the midst of unjust laws, the double-edged sword of forgiveness, and his fear of falling short of faithfulness in the end.
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Justin Giboney vividly remembers the moment he realized he needed to distinguish himself from the mainstream democratic party. As a delegate representing the 5th congressional district in Georgia, he took part in a voice-vote to remove the phrase âGod-givenâ from the phrase âGod-given rightsâ in the democratic party platform. âWe voted on it by voice vote,â said Giboney. âIt was so clear that the people who wanted it out were a lot more excited and a lot more energized than the people who wanted it in.â For Giboney, creating the And Campaign was a way to formalize the inevitable realization that the truth lies somewhere in between party lines. Itâs an attempt to fundamentally change the way Christians interact with politics, encouraging them to let biblical values, rather than party politics, lead their involvement in the national conversation. While his goals are ambitious, Giboney understands this will take time. Thatâs why heâs settling in, demonstrating patience in his rhetorical strategy, and investing his time and vision in institutions like the And Campaign. Ultimately, Giboney is leaning into hope. Heâs a happy advocate for politics done right.On this episode of The Calling, Justin Giboney talked to CTâs Richard Clark about why he felt called to politics, when to speak up on social media, and the encouragement that keeps him going.
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Keith Getty is best known for having authored âIn Christ Alone,â one of the most popular modern worship songs. Still, his calling ultimately crystalized around a particular realization about worship in the modern church: âThis is the first point in history that what is being sung by the church is not being decided on by the leadership of the church.â Once he recognized that, he began to seek out a way to turn the tide of how worship leaders choose their music, and what characterizes that music.Now an independant artist, Gettyâs hymns have a distinctly theological focus. By eschewing what he sees to be worldly trends and focusing on lyrical density, breadth, and depth, Getty has composed a series of hymns that churches around the world have embraced.But Getty is just as invested in how his songs are sung in church as whether they are. Heâs a proponent of congregational worship, an approach that makes the members of the church the focus of worship rather than the performers on stage.We talked to Keith Getty about how childrenâs choir changed his life, the problem he has with Wall Street, and the ways he leads his own family in worship in his day to day life.This episode of The Calling was brought to you by the Christian Standard Bible. To learn more about the Christian Standard Bible, visit CSBible.com/CT.
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When Gina Cho came to the US from South Korea at four years old, she had her own challenges. She struggled to fit in at school, and often felt lonely and left out. Those challenges led her to chase after personal success for security. And she achieved it, having become a CPA, a public auditor for Coopers and Lybrand, and a VP of a high-tech sports startup. At 29, she was named âentrepreneur of the yearâ by Ernst and Young.In the midst of all this success, and a family of eight, came a series of gut-punches. The 1998 stock market crash led to a domino effect that left their financial well-being in question and exposed her husband to legal risk. Ultimately, he was convicted of white collar crime and was sent to a federal prison where he has been for nine years.What Gina Cho faced next was a series of decisions and challenges she felt wholly ill-equipped to deal with at the time. How does she maintain a thriving relationship with her husband when heâs behind bars? How can she possibly raise six children by herself? And what is she going to tell her friends and church members?But just like when she was young, God used that challenge to grow her, this time teaching to rely not so much on earthly success, but on the grace and loving kindness of Jesus Christ. For Gina Cho, her times of weakness and brokenness have served the purpose of magnifying Godâs glory in her life.On todayâs episode of The Calling, Richard Clark talks to Gina Cho about her remarkably unique life, and how a life in pursuit of success transitioned into a life of clinging to Christ for help.
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Billy Graham is known as an evangelist, a preacher, a media personality, and even an advisor to presidents. But few are aware of just how influential he has been as an entrepreneur.Of course, Christianity Today is one of the most apparent examples of his work as an instigator and arranger of people and resources. Most of what CT would become flowed from his singular vision, and its evolution would be carefully and lightly stewarded by Graham himself.Grahamâs humility, coupled with a decisive vision for a magazine for evangelical Christians, made Christianity Today the publication it is today. It also helped to popularize a movement that would change the course of Christianity.As The Calling host Richard Clark learned talking to Harold Myra, CTâs former president and co-author of The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham, Graham embraced his role as a bridge: between academics and the popular audience, between denominations, even between vast resources and those who might best put them to use.And thatâs just one example of the many ways Grahamâs leadership demonstrated the humble decisiveness that made Graham such a remarkably influential figure.On this weekâs episode of The Calling, they discuss Myraâs relationship with Billy Graham, and in particular, what it was like to watch him work from within an institution Graham founded.
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As the lead pastor of Blueprint Church in Atlanta, Georgia, Dhati Lewis has spent a lot of time thinking about the nature of his pastorate. For Lewis, it ultimately comes down to discipleship. Heâs thought a bit about boundaries, but he doesnât plan to really rest until each and every follower of Christ who has joined his church is being discipled.And heâs got a plan-in fact, heâs got a whole system, complete with cards up on a board in his office. If youâre a member of his church, thereâs a good chance youâll see your name up there when you go in for a counseling session. For Lewis, itâs all part of the call to make disciples and to love his brothers and sisters in Christ.On todayâs episode of The Calling, Richard Clark talks to Dhaiti Lewis about how pastoring is like coaching, why he decided to plant a church in Atlanta, and what kind of boundaries make sense for a full-time minister.
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For Jenny Yang, the political debate over immigration and refugees isnât new. Sheâs been with World Relief, a humanitarian organization that focuses on these things, for more than twelve years. Over that time, her calling has evolved and been given a more and more urgent purpose, eventually leading her to the role of Vice President of Advocacy and Policy. Now, sheâs fighting against a current of renewed anti-immigrant sentiment that threatens the core of what World Relief is about.Still, in a time when political discussions about immigrants and refugees can come across as theoretical, Jenny Yang hopes to make the political, personal. In fact, her personal relationships have deepened her understanding of the issues at hand and given her a vision for political debate that centers human beings.This week on The Calling, she talks to me about how her relationships affected her politics, why her opinions on immigration are often written off, and what she would say to a young, eager college student whoâs anxious to save the world.
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When Michael Wear shook hands with Barack Obama and told him heâd like to work for him, he couldnât have predicted the swiftness with which he would be swept up into a historic presidential campaign. Nor could he have predicted the deeply uncomfortable tension heâd face as a life-long democrat who also happened to be a pro-life Christian.As the director of faith outreach for Obamaâs 2012 campaign, Wear had a front row seat to the divide between secular and sacred politicians and voters. It was a divide that would come to define politics in the next election. But as the title of his book, Reclaiming Hope: Lessons Learned in the Obama White House About the Future of Faith in America, makes clear, he still has some faith that these challenges can be overcome.On this weekâs episode of The Calling, Richard Clark sits down with Michael Wear to discuss the best and worst of his time in the white house, how the church can help redeem politics, and about that one time Obama killed a fly with his bare hands.
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Over the course of his decades-long career, singer-songwriter and author Andrew Peterson has acquired quite the following. His Twitter account has thousands of followers, there are plenty of people who buy and stream his albums, and last year he successfully Kickstarted the pilot for an animated adaptation of his fantasy novel series, The Wingfeather Saga.Peterson is also the founder of The Rabbit Room, âan experiment in creative communityâ that, according to its website, aims to foster âChrist-centered community and spiritual formationâ through its podcasts, online store, and news and updates, and by hosting gatherings of creatives such as the yearly Hutchmoot.Despite his success, though, Peterson is open about the fact that he still struggles with the fear that when people really get to know him, theyâll be underwhelmed at best. That balance between his desire to tell the truth beautifully and the risk of vulnerability permeates much of his work, investing it with a blend of hard-won joy and honest conviction.On this weekâs episode of The Calling, Peterson sits down with host Richard Clark, opening up about what led him to become a professional musician, the unexpected challenges of the creative life, and how his church, community, and faith help him to keep a firm grip on hope.
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On todayâs episode of The Calling, Brown joins host Richard Clark to discuss her adolescent aspirations toward rap stardom, why she has trouble with the idea of âsacredâ and âsecularâ art, and how the church can reimagine the role of art to better allow Godâs light to shine in and through it.
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How Alvin Plantinga Paved the Way for Christian Philosophy's Comeback by Christianity Today
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Early in his MLB career, Juan Pierre made his name as one of top batters and base stealers in the National League. During those same years, he also became a Christianâand when he later experienced intermittent slumps and long stretches sitting on the bench, it was his newfound faith that, according to him, gave him the motivation to don his cleats and keep performing.Now an on-air analyst for the MLB Network, Pierre is still proud of his accomplishments on the field. Meanwhile, his spiritual transformation has led to a quiet life of service out of the spotlightâone that he says is just as valuable a witness to his teammates past and present.On this weekâs episode of The Calling, Pierre joins CT editor Richard Clark to share how his love of baseball led to his conversion, how his faith inspired him to be a better player, and why he says serviceânot performanceâis the root of his contentment.
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Rodney S. Scott and Jamie Gates are unlikely friends: Scott serves as Chief Patrol Agent of the El Centro Sector Border Patrol on the California-Mexico Border, while Gates teaches sociology and directs the Center for Justice & Reconciliation at Point Loma Nazarene University. One feels called by God to protect and serve his country through enforcing immigration laws; the other feels called to pursue justice through immigration reformâwhich sometimes involves protesting those very same laws.For some, such disagreements might seem insurmountable. As Christians, however, Scott and Gates see their ideological differences as opportunities to seek reconciliation and display their unity as brothers in Christ.On this weekâs episode of The Calling, Scott and Gates sit down to chat about their disparate callings, their improbable friendship, and how choosing conversation over confrontation has enabled them to better serve both their communities and their God.
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Why the 'Beautiful Feet' author says it's time we saw disciple-making as a woman's calling, too.
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Whatâs it like to make a decision knowing that countless children may live or die based on what you decide? The question may sound impossibly weightyâbut as president of the humanitarian relief organization World Vision, Richard Stearns faces it almost every day.That wasnât always the case. Before serving at World Vision, Stearns held a series of high-powered executive positions at such companies as toy and game manufacturer Parker Brothers and luxury dinnerware company Lenox. When the position at World Vision opened, he was sure it wasnât for him. But thatâs when he says God started to âlay down tracksâ that would lead him toward his calling.On todayâs episode of The Calling, Stearns took time to sit down with host Richard Clark and discuss making the leap from business to non-profit work, how he deals with the weight of his responsibilities, and what joining World Vision taught him about the relationship between vocation and obedience.
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At a time when American public life feels increasingly fractured and divisive, Christians are uniquely positioned to step into the gaps. Take Latasha Morrison, for instance: A self-described bridge-builder and leadership developer, Morrison founded the non-profit Be the Bridge to help the Church cultivate a âdistinctive and transformative response to racial division.â Through actions such as prayer, social media groups, and in-home gatherings, members of the organization take on the hard work of reconciliation by building friendships across cultural divides.On this weekâs episode of The Calling, Morrison joins CT managing editor Richard Clark to talk about her calling as a bridge-builder and why she thinks relationship is the first step toward lasting unity.
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For Trevin Wax, The Writerly Life Is Its Own Reward by Christianity Today
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David Fitch Turned His Daily McDonald's Run into His Ministry by Christianity Today
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