Folgen
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In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the rise of the “romantasy” genre of literature, as well as the definition and implications of pornography. Is porn only that which you watch visually? What's the difference between reading a sex scene and seeing one? The discussion also explores the increasing consumption of pornography among women, the intersection of literature and pornography, and the reasons behind the popularity of romance novels. Finally, it offers a Christian perspective on navigating romance literature and its potential impact on personal relationships.
Episode LinksToday's conversation was sparked by a recent podcast conversation on Christianity Today titled “The Rise of Women's Porn with Phylicia Masonheimer.” The truth is, porn is a topic that the Church must be more open about discussing as it's so harmful to those who consume it - maybe without them even realizing it. While romantasy books are growing in popularity, this is not the first time that books have been written that could be labeled as “mommy porn.” There is a series that Dr. White delivered at Mecklenburg Community Church that we'd encourage you to check out. Titled “Fifty Shades,” it takes a very candid look at the book Fifty Shades of Grey and the implications for those who read it.
For the statistics on porn addiction, we'd suggest you visit the addictionhelp.com page specifically devoted to porn stats HERE. And then regarding some of the other articles and data mentioned in today's episode, here are some links that you may be interested in checking out:
Keiran Southern, “Watching Pornography Destroyed My Brain, Says Pop Star Billie Eilish,” The Times UK.
Nicola Woolcock, “Young Girls Are ‘Bombarded' With Sexual Images Online,” The Times UK.
India Knight, “Porn Survey 2019: How Internet Pornography Is Changing the Way We Have Sex,” The Times UK.
Josh Pieters, “I Slept With 100 Men in One Day | Documentary,” YouTube.
Charles Trepany, “An OnlyFans Model's Viral Documentary and Why It Sparked a Major Conversation About Sex,” USA Today.
Helen Lewis, “The Outrage Over 100 Men Only Goes So Far,” The Atlantic.
For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.
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In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a new Pew Research study that was conducted with participants from three dozen countries, reflecting a wide range of religious traditions. The findings showed that not only is belief in life after death widespread, but so is a belief in spirits. The majority of adults in most countries believe that animals and parts of nature can have spirits or spiritual energies - think mountains or rivers or trees. This begs the question: what is a spirit, at least as defined by those who believe in them? Is this the same thing as a soul? And what about ghosts?
Episode LinksThe podcast recently looked at a topic related to life after death, specifically the occurrence of near-death experiences. You can find that episode HERE. And as Alexis mentioned, this is not the first time that the podcast has delved into the spiritual realm. We'd encourage you to go back and listen to these past episodes if you missed them: CCP11: On Wicca, CCP58: On Your Horoscope and Starbucks, and CCP77: On Angels.
Dr. White discussed the importance of having a sound understanding of Christian theology when it comes to things related to the spirit and the soul, particularly the knowledge of what it means to be made in the image of God. There is a fantastic course offered through Church & Culture called “Theology on Tap,” exploring answers Christians give to questions people have about God and all things related to God. You can find out more about that course HERE.
Finally, there are two series we suggest you check out that were delivered by James Emery White at Mecklenburg Community Church. The first is called “Paranormal” looking at the world of the occult and the map of our spiritual world. The second is called “So What's the Difference?,” which took a look at the key differences between Christianity and the religions of the world. As Dr. White said, in today's culture the younger generations seem to think that they are following the beliefs of the Christian faith while in reality, they are simply picking and choosing the parts of all the world's religions they like the best.
For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.
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Fehlende Folgen?
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In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they take time to discuss all things related to the pope in light of the recent death of Pope Francis at the age of 88. He served as the head of the Catholic Church for 12 years, and his death certainly sparked a media storm. So this episode takes time to explore the history of the office of the pope, how future popes are elected through the process of the conclave, and more.
Episode LinksDr. White mentioned the attention that the 2024 movie Conclave, has been getting, particularly since Pope Francis passed away. Holly Meyer wrote an article recently for Associated Press News titled, “So you saw ‘Conclave' the movie. Here's what it got right – and wrong – about real-life conclaves.” You can read that article HERE.
And then, if this episode sparked an interest in learning more about the papacy, here are a number of articles we'd suggest you check out:
“What are the Catholic Church's rites after the death of a pope and the election of a new one?” Los Angeles Times.
Russell Moore, “A US Evangelical Considers Pope Francis,” Christianity Today.
Olivia B. Waxman, “Pope Francis, the ‘World's Parish Priest' Who Led in an Era of Crisis, Dies at 88,” Time.
Joel Hodge and Antonia Pizzey, “Pope Francis has died, aged 88. These were his greatest reforms – and controversies,” The Conversation.
Thomas Reese, “Why the synod on synodality is confusing to American Catholics,” National Catholic Reporter.
“Sede vacante: What happens now, and who is in charge?” The Pillar.
Greta Cross, “Conclave smoke: What black and white smoke signal during election of a new pope,” USA Today.
Colleen Barry, “Tens of thousands file into St. Peter's Basilica to pay final respects to Pope Francis,” AP News.
Ross Douthat, “Can the Catholic Church Quit the Culture Wars?” The New York Times.
Marc Ramirez, “Pope Francis was the first Jesuit pope of the Catholic Church. What is a Jesuit?” USA Today.
Matthew Walther, “The Real Legacy of Pope Francis,” The Atlantic.
Brian McGill & Marcus Walker, “Picking a Pope: Inside the World's Most Secretive Election,” The Wall Street Journal.
For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.
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In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how just a few weeks ago YouTube celebrated its 20th anniversary. Few could have imagined that a 19-second video of a man looking at elephants at the San Diego Zoo could have led to the creation of a global media powerhouse. With 20 billion videos having been uploaded to date, we thought it was fitting to discuss the countless ways that YouTube has revolutionized media and our culture.
Episode LinksIn today's episode, Dr. White shared a ton of facts and figures on YouTube related to its history, its growth and where it's headed in the future. Here are a collection of articles and blogs that we'd encourage you to take a look at if you're interested in learning more or finding any stats that were shared today:
Wendy Lee, “YouTube turns 20 years old. How it changed TV as we know it,” Los Angeles Times.
Todd Spangler, “YouTube Says It Now Hosts More Than 20 Billion Videos, Unveils New Features and Easter Eggs in 20th Birthday Celebration,” Variety.
Dade Hayes, “YouTube's Revenue Will Top Disney's This Year As It Becomes “The Home For All Things Video”, Analyst Says,” Deadline.
James Hardy, “Who Invented YouTube: The Visionaries Behind the Digital Revolution,” History Cooperative.
Viraj Mahesh, “20 ways we're celebrating two decades of YouTube,” YouTube Official Blog.
“YouTube” 1440.
If you're interested in checking out YouTube's first video ever posted, you can click HERE to watch “Me at the Zoo.” And you can click HERE to check out the most-viewed videos of all time on YouTube. And then Dr. White mentioned a recent news article discussing just how much people increasingly trust their peers and the type of content that they release on social media today. You can read “Gen Z increasingly listens to peers over doctors for health advice” found in Axios HERE.
Finally, Dr. White turned the conversation to the takeaways for the church, and how we need to meet people where they are at in order to share the message of Jesus with them. He wrote about this in depth in his book, Hybrid Church, which you can order from Amazon HERE. The primary way to meet people where they are in today's culture is through YouTube. If you are interested, here are some of the channels tied to Mecklenburg Community Church that he mentioned in the conversation today, including the link to the Church & Culture Podcast on YouTube if you're interested in checking us out there:
Mecklenburg Community Church | @MeckChurch
MecKidz Children's Ministry | @MecKidzChurch
REALIFE High School Ministry | @REALIFEHSM
MAXlife Middle School Ministry | @maxlifemsm7079
Meck Creative | @MeckCreative
Church & Culture | @churchandculture
For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.
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In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a recent Lifeway Research study which found that despite some disturbing trends in the number of church closures across the United States, 94% of pastors believe their church will still be open in 10 years. Whereas in the 1940s nearly 85% of Americans claimed they belonged to a church, now that number is less than 50%. So what happens to these churches when they close? And what is the outcome for pastors as well as those who considered it their church home?
Episode LinksAs Alexis mentioned at the top of the podcast, the decline in Christianity in America has been touched on in more than a handful of past episodes. If you've missed these conversations and would like to go back and listen to them, they include: CCP135: On Women Leaving the Church, CCP105: On Cultural Caricatures of the Christian Faith, CCP100: On Unchristian Christians, CCP94: On the Growing Lack of Confidence in Clergy, CCP32: On a Non-Christian America, and CCP15: On Denominational Decline.
If you are interested in looking at more of the data related to the number of church closings forecasted in the U.S. mentioned in today's conversation, as well as what's being done with houses of worship that have already closed, we'd encourage you to check out these two articles:
Yonat Shimron, “Study: More churches closing than opening,” Religion News Service
Mark Dent, “Can God fix America's housing crisis?" The Hustle
They also discussed how when churches close, it can leave a huge void in the wider community being served by the church. Dr. White mentioned a current case gaining attention where Christian pop artist Amy Grant is fighting to save a church that was founded by her grandfather from a local businessman. You can read more about that in the article by Cameron McWhirter in The Wall Street Journal HERE.
Finally, Dr. White very poignantly ended today's episode by reading a blog that is published annually at Church & Culture. It's titled “The Monday After Easter,” and is a blog written specifically to pastors who may be struggling with an underwhelming turnout on Easter Sunday despite all of their prayer, faith and efforts. If you'd like to read that blog, you can find it HERE.
For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.
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In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how for many Americans, Easter is one of the few times in the year they show a willingness to attend a church service. If they do, they'll likely hear about an empty tomb and the significance of the resurrection of Jesus thousands of years later. For many, the hope of new life in Jesus is enough to propel them to faith or to a deeper commitments to Jesus; but for others, they may be left with lingering questions that will serve as stumbling blocks to faith. Questions like: So what? How is this relevant for my life? And can I even believe this happened? So the question for the church is how are we going to answer those questions - what evidence can we offer for the resurrection of Jesus?
Episode LinksThere are several series that Dr. White has given at Mecklenburg Community Church if you want to take a deeper dive into the events leading up to Jesus' crucifixion and His resurrection. These include: “The Passion,” “Risen,” “Seven Last Words of Jesus,” and “Why Believe.” And in case you did not know, past messages given by Dr. White are arranged by category at Church & Culture HERE. You'll find series on specific books of the Bible, on evangelism and apologetics, cultural topics and more.
When discussing Jesus' death on the cross in today's episode, Dr. White mentioned an article from the Journal of the American Medical Association written by Dr. William D. Edwards and titled “On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ.” For those interested in reading this article, you can find it HERE. “The Resurrection of the Son of God” by N.T. Wright was another resource that Dr. White discussed, and you can find his book HERE. And one more book that we'd strongly recommend is written by Dr. White himself: Christianity for People Who Aren't Christians. It offers incredibly helpful explanations of the most common questions that people have when it comes to the Christian faith. You can find it on Amazon HERE.
For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.
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In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the interesting cultural connection between the demise of Hooters (which has now filed for bankruptcy) and the rise in popularity of OnlyFans. For those not familiar with this website, it's a platform where people offer online content that they've created, which is usually pornographic in nature, to paid subscribers. People are spending thousands of dollars to both see content created by their favorite creators and to interact with them through texting and personalized content - essentially creating a fantasy relationship. To be frank, an establishment like Hooters is absolutely tame when compared to the ubiquitous nature of porn.
Episode LinksWhereas years ago men might have been drawn to a place like Hooters, younger generations are so much more private, and access to websites like OnlyFans affords that privacy. There are several articles that would be worth your time to read, particularly those about OnlyFans, as people need to be aware of how addicting the platform has become for so many people:
Elaine Kurtenbach & Dee-Ann Durbin, “Restaurant chain Hooters goes bust and files for bankruptcy protection,” AP News, April 1, 2025.
Russell Moore, “Hooters and the Future of the Church,” Christianity Today, April 2, 2025.
Carly Lewis, “Addicted to OnlyFans Men are spending tens of thousands of dollars to text with their favorite creators.” New Yorker Magazine - The Cut, April 1, 2025.
Magdalene Taylor, “When Is OnlyFans Cheating, and When Is It Just Porn?” New Yorker Magazine - The Cut, December 14, 2024.
Ezra Marcus, “The ‘E-Pimps' of OnlyFans,” The New York Times, June 15, 2023.
For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.
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In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss Barna Group teaming up with the Aspen Group design firm to explore possible connections between spiritual formation and the physical spaces that we inhabit. Questions such as: What does it mean to be formed as a follower of Jesus? And can the spaces that we meet in help motivate this growth? Also, how might our physical experiences of a church relate to our worship and understanding of God? In simple terms, they were trying to determine whether it's best for churches to look “churchy.”
Episode LinksDaniel Silliman wrote an article in Christianity Today which sparked today's conversation. It's titled “Americans Think Church Should Look Churchy,” and Silliman said that the survey found that most people “don't like trendy, modern buildings.” Dr. White would argue that while people do indeed want to attend church in a space that is sacred, spiritual and safe, that doesn't necessarily mean they want it to look overly churchy like some of the medieval churches in Europe. He wrote a blog recently about this topic titled “Churches Looking Churchy” which you can read HERE.
There's another recent blog that was written by Dr. White that was referenced in this episode. It's called “This Is Church,” where Dr. White addresses how many businesses and parachurch organizations can try to step in and supplant themselves as the church when they most definitely are not. And if the discussion of the cathedral found in Chartres, France was of interest to you, we'd encourage you to read the Church & Culture blog titled, “Chartres.”
For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.
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In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the Apple TV series “Severance,” which has become something of a modern cultural phenomenon. With only two seasons under its belt, it's already become Apple TV's most-watched series in its history, recently surpassing the wildly popular show “Ted Lasso.” So what is behind the popularity? And why are people using the terms “innie” and “outie,” but not in reference to their belly buttons? This conversation explores how “Severance” brings up questions regarding work/life balance, human identity, the need for human connection, escapism, and more.
Episode LinksBecause “Severance” is such a popular series, it has been making waves within mainstream media. While this discussion tackles some of the profound ways the show is generating conversation, there's more to explore. To go deeper, we suggest you check out some of the following news articles:
Maya Salam, “On ‘Severance,' a Brutal Tale of Female Self-Loathing,” The New York Times, March 21, 2025, read online.
Morgan Lee, “‘Severance' Makes a Case for Suffering,” Christianity Today, March 18, 2025, read online.
Sadiba Hasan, “Your ‘Innie' Will Want to Read This,” The New York Times, March 20, 2025, read online.
Annie Aguiar, “How ‘Severance' Uses Old Tricks to Make Its Office Hell,” The New York Times, March 24, 2025, read online.
Emma Stefansky, “Severance Cannot Save You,” The Atlantic, March 6, 2025, read online.
Dr. White did his best to avoid spoilers for “Severance,” but if you have the chance to watch it, you may want to check out this collection of articles that explain and dissect the Season 2 finale:
Yvonne Villarreal, “‘Severance' Stars Explain Season 2's Harrowing Finale and the ‘Love Hexagon,'” LA Times, March 21, 2025, read online.
Eric Deggans, “The ‘Severance' Finale Asks: How Far Would Your Innie Go for Your Outie?” NPR, March 21, 2025, read online.
Thomas Floyd, “The Creator of ‘Severance' Breaks Down that Revelatory Season 2 Finale,” The Washington Post, March 21, 2025, read online.
Sophie Gilbert, “The Severance Twist I Can't Forgive,” The Atlantic, March 21, 2025, read online.
Keith Watson, “Severance Season 2 Finale Review: Thrills and Chills Without Resorting to Lowest Common Denominators,” The Telegraph, March 21, 2025, read online.
Adam Sternbergh, “‘Severance' Asks, What if We're Not Paranoid Enough?” NY Times, March 21, 2025, read online.
Ben Dowell, “The Man Behind Severance: ‘I'm an Accidental Cult Leader,'” The Times, March 20, 2025, read online.
Gary Levin, “Adam Scott and Ben Stiller Unpack the Twisty ‘Severance' Season 2 Finale (Spoilers),” USA Today, March 21, 2025, read online.
For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.
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In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they pick up where they left off last week in a discussion prompted by the recent launch of NASA's SPHEREx Telescope, which is hoping to find answers to how the world began. As Christians, we have a firm belief that God created all that there is. However, Genesis says quite a few things with regard to the history of the world that seem - at first glance - to either contradict science or that have not been corroborated by science.
Episode LinksIf you missed last week's podcast episode, we'd encourage you to pause and listen to that conversation first. You can find “CCP142: On Genesis, Part One” on your favorite podcasting platform, on YouTube, or HERE on the Church & Culture website. For a deeper dive into the book of Genesis, we'd suggest you check out a series given by James Emery White at Mecklenburg Community Church called “Primordial: Genesis and the World's Primeval History.” This was not the first time that Dr. White tackled the faith-science dynamic in his messages. Here are a few other series that we'd encourage you to take a look at: “The Science of God,” “Astrophysics… for People Who Are Open to God," and “Don't Check Your Brains at the Door.”
Dr. White also made reference to Meck's current series, a study of Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth titled, “Messy.” And as today's conversation delved into Noah and the ark, we thought you'd be interested in checking out this series from James Emery White, “Noah.”
And if you're on the hunt for more info about the SPHEREx Telescope or today's conversation, be sure to read some of these helpful resources:
Marcelo Gleiser, “The 10 Most Important Questions In Science,” NPR, September 11, 2013, read online.
James Emery White, Christianity for People Who Aren't Christians, order from Amazon.
Manuela López Restrepo, “NASA's Upcoming Telescope Launch Aims to Address Some Existential Questions,” NPR, March 3, 2025, read online.
Josh Dinner, “NASA Delays Launch of SPHEREx and PUNCH Missions to March 8,” Space.com, March 5, 2025, read online.
Ari Daniel, “Searching the Entire Sky for the Secrets to Our Universe,” NPR, February 9, 2025, read online.
Fred Heeren, Show Me God: What the Message from Space Is Telling Us About God.
For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.
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In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how NASA has made a huge step forward in wanting to bring science into the realm of the existential as this week, they launched into space what's known as the SPHEREx Telescope. It has the goal of answering some pivotal questions like: How did the universe begin? How did galaxies start to develop? How did human beings get here? Christians feel that the Bible gives the answers to these questions, which some feel flies in the face of what science offers. It's important, then, to have a clear understanding of exactly what the Bible says in the book of Genesis.
Episode LinksIf today's conversation prompts you to want to take a deeper dive into the book of Genesis, we'd suggest you check out a series given by James Emery White at Mecklenburg Community Church called “Primordial: Genesis and the World's Primeval History.” And this was not the first time that Dr. White tackled the faith-science dynamic in his messages. Here are a few other series that we'd encourage you to take a look at: “The Science of God,” “Astrophysics… for People Who Are Open to God," and “Don't Check Your Brains at the Door.”
And if you're on the hunt for more info about the SPHEREx Telescope or today's conversation, be sure to read some of these helpful resources:
James Emery White, Christianity for People Who Aren't Christians, order from Amazon.
Manuela López Restrepo, “NASA's Upcoming Telescope Launch Aims to Address Some Existential Questions,” NPR, March 3, 2025, read online.
Josh Dinner, “NASA Delays Launch of SPHEREx and PUNCH Missions to March 8,” Space.com, March 5, 2025, read online.
Ari Daniel, “Searching the Entire Sky for the Secrets to Our Universe,” NPR, February 9, 2025, read online.
Fred Heeren, Show Me God: What the Message from Space Is Telling Us About God.
For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.
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In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the recent release of Pew Research Center's Religious Landscape Study. Last conducted in 2014, the 2023-24 study surveyed more than 35,000 Americans concerning their religious affiliations, their beliefs, and their practices. It is simply the largest and most significant study of its kind in terms of getting a snapshot of where our country is on all things spirituality and religion, and the current health of the American Church. The findings go far beyond what some of the headlines from this study would suggest.
Episode LinksDr. White released a recent blog on this topic titled “The Stall of the Nones” - the “nones” being the group who identifies as having no religious affiliation. Their numbers have been rising for decades, yet seem to have reached a leveling-off point. (We'd encourage you to check out his book on this subject that was discussed in today's episode titled The Rise of the Nones.) Dr. White mentioned a recent New York Times article titled “Christianity's Decline in U.S. Appears to Have Halted, Major Study Shows” which latches onto that finding from the study. The more notable takeaway from the study that seems to have been overlooked is the fact that the number of people who would identify as Christian continues to decline - from 78% in 2007 to 62% in 2024. That decline is stunning.
As Dr. White noted from the Christianity Today article titled “Pew: America Is Spiritual but Not Religious,” six people have left Christianity for every one who has joined. That is certainly not sustainable. Dr. White stressed the importance of reaching the younger generations for Jesus, and the fact that a solid children's ministry is a vitally important component. He wrote a blog on this topic titled “The Most Important Sub-Ministry In Your Church” that would be worth reading if you missed it.
For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.
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In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a recent TikTok trend that involves the promotion of intergenerational estrangement. The buzz language tied to this trend is “going no contact” - when young adult children (specifically Millennials and Gen Z) attempt to solve family issues by essentially ending the relationship and cutting ties with their parents. What many don't think about is how this is in direct violation of one of God's Ten Commandments.
Episode LinksDr. White is in the midst of a series on the Ten Commandments at Mecklenburg Community Church (Meck) called “Ten,” and the installment on the fifth commandment is particularly relevant to today's conversation - the command to honor your parents. There are sadly so many who struggle following through with this commandment, feeling that their parents are deserving of anything but honor. But so often it's because people misunderstand the deeper significance of what it means to follow through with this command. You can find all the installments of this series at Church & Culture HERE.
There are two other series that Dr. White delivered at Meck that are also very helpful if this is something that you are struggling with. The first is called “Father Figure” and explores the importance of fathers in our lives and in our world, how to fill father-shaped holes in your life, how to find healing from a dysfunctional father, and the real nature and dynamic of God as Father. The second is called “The Sins of the Fathers: Breaking Generational Patterns of Dysfunction,” with installments designed to help you process this pivotal dynamic that is so decisive to a healthy, whole life.
What sparked this episode is an article written by Theara Coleman in The Week titled “'No contact': Family estrangement is on the rise for young people choosing peace.” She writes how people who would advocate for family estrangement are attempting to normalize this behavior in today's culture, hoping that "eliminating the stigma would allow ‘more people to get out of unhealthy family relationships without shame.'" In reality, this is merely an excuse to avoid the hard work of fighting to protect familial bonds. Clinical psychologist Joshua Coleman conducted a study on this in his book Rules of Estrangement: Why Adult Children Cut Ties and How to Heal the Conflict. He believes that a lot of the issues stem from changed notions about what constitutes traumatic experiences. And David Brooks wrote an article in The New York Times titled “What's Ripping American Families Apart?” that is worth the time to read. His research shows how this trend of estrangement is much more pervasive in the United States than other countries around the world.
For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.
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In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the human desire to live forever. Earlier this year, Netflix released a documentary called “Don't Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever” about a 47-year-old man named Bryan Johnson, who is on a mission to extend his life beyond all known limits in order to have more time with his son. He is so passionate about this, he invests more than $2 million annually to continue to drop his biological age. He's not alone in this endeavor.
Episode LinksAs Dr. White mentioned, for people who have a naturalistic worldview, this life is everything. It's the only life. For the Christian, we know that there is so much more to this life. Kara Bettis Carvalho wrote an article in Christianity Today titled “Bryan Johnson Is Going to Die,” which prompted today's conversation. You can read her article HERE. While focusing on health and wellness is important, people often take it to extremes like Johnson. What's most important is that we treat our body well as it was entrusted to us by God. Therefore, we must not fall into the traps of fixating on our bodies nor desecrating them; rather, we are called to consecrate them.
Christianity is more than a worldview or a philosophy. It promises an actual relationship with the living God, allowing the power and presence of God to course through our veins - bringing us back from the living dead. The truth is that the same power that raised Jesus can raise us now. This is something that Dr. White explored in a series given at Mecklenburg Community Church called “The Waking Dead.” You can find that at Church & Culture HERE.
For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.
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In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a recent decision from the Starbucks CEO to recapture the coffee company's identity as a “third place” - a place where “community is formed and civility is fostered.” Today's conversation was prompted by an article in The Atlantic that you can read HERE. For many years in the U.S., the church was a key “third place” in people's lives. This is something we've lost, and need to find a way - like Starbucks - to recapture.
Episode LinksThe idea of the “third place” was made popular by Ray Oldenberg in his book The Great Good Place. While the home is the “first place,” and work/school is the “second place,” people longed for a “third place” where they could find community, creative interactions, and simply enjoy the pleasure of good company and conversation. As Dr. White noted in his book Meet Generation Z, for the younger generations the “third place” shifted from the coffee shop to the digital world - even to the point that they began to have online house parties and gatherings where they weren't physically together.
Increasingly, though, people are looking for a blend of both - embodied experiences where they can gather together as well as community that they can forge online. This hybrid way of doing life is something that Dr. White explored extensively in his book Hybrid Church: Rethinking the Church for the Post-Christian, Digital Age. The command that Jesus gave to the Church in the Great Commission makes it clear that we need to be a church that is both reaching people for Jesus and helping them to grow in their faith. Evangelism and discipleship cannot be bracketed off from each other. Dr. White explained this so well in his description of the flywheel that represents the mission that all churches today must be on. If you'd like a really helpful overview of this, we'd encourage you to reach the Church & Culture blog titled “Turning Your Flywheel.”
Finally, for those listeners who live in the Charlotte area, you heard Dr. White mention the Grounds Bookstore and Café at Mecklenburg Community Church. This has increasingly grown as a “third place,” bringing in not only people who attend the church, but also many who are just looking for a really good coffee shop. You can find out more about The Grounds HERE.
For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.
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In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the decline in the sanctity of weddings that seems to be happening in today's culture. Couples today aren't simply adding unique touches to their weddings, but instead are reinventing them with little to no concern for preserving any type of tradition, much less the Christian tradition. The trouble with this is that marriage was God's idea, beautifully described in the book of Genesis in the Bible. So how have we gotten so far off course?
Episode LinksToday's conversation was sparked by an article in the New York Times written by Tammy LaGorce titled “Weddings That Are Out of This World (or at Least Way Out of the Chapel).” She notes that today, “Some couples bring in numerologists or lip print readers, while others choose to be married by a spirit guide or practicing witch.”
This is not the first time that the sanctity of marriage has been discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast. We'd encourage you to check out the following past episodes: CCP38: On Attending Diwali Celebrations and Gay Weddings, CCP76: On the Never Marrieds, and CCP122: On Why People Divorce.
Finally, Dr. White has delivered many message series at Mecklenburg Community Church about marriage and the sanctity of marriage with the goal of helping people to truly understand the significance and importance of holy matrimony. If you're interested, we'd encourage you to check out the following series found at Church & Culture:
Marriage Hacks
Don't Do Stupid: Marriage Edition
The Lies We Believe About Marriage
Holy Matrimony
Marriage Mentoring
And the Two Shall Be DoneFor those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.
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In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how when natural disasters strike (like the wildfires currently happening in California), it is fascinating to witness the spectrum of ways in which people claim God's involvement. There are some who express anger toward God, wondering how He could allow such things to happen. Some argue that God must have caused the natural disaster as an act of His judgment. Others praise God for helping them to cope with the losses and the rebuilding of their lives. So which is it? What role does God play, if any? Is He a destroyer? Is He a Savior? Or, put another way, where is God in the midst of pain and suffering?
Episode LinksThe need to explain the fallout of natural disasters or other forms of pain and suffering that we all face, is something that every religion or philosophy needs to answer for - not just the Christian faith. Dr. White pulled from several sources that you may be interested in reading that will help you understand who God is in the midst of our pain and suffering, and inspirational stories to help you stay strong in your faith. These include:
Philip Yancey, Where is God When It Hurts?
Philip Yancey, Reaching for the Invisible God
C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain
Corrie Ten Boom, The Hiding Place
Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking
Dr. White also delivered a series at Mecklenburg Community Church that you might be interested in, to take a deeper dive on this topic. The series is simply called “Why?” with installments that explore: Why Is There Evil and Suffering? Why Me, Why This, Why Now? Why Isn't God Answering My Prayers? and Why Would God Send Good People to Hell? You can find this series at Church & Culture HERE.
For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.
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In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a surprising (or not surprising?) shift in the Church in the U.S. At the inception of the early Church, Christianity's promotion of the value of women is what resulted in flocks of women joining the Church. In fact, throughout history, women have predominated the church in number. That appears to be changing. A recent survey conducted by the Survey Center on American Life found that women are leaving the church in unprecedented numbers.
Episode LinksThe reasons that this shift should not surprise us, particularly when you do a careful study of both the rise of the “nones” - those who have no religious affiliation - and Generation Z. Dr. White has written books about both of these groups: The Rise of the Nones: Understanding and Reaching the Religiously Unaffiliated and Meet Generation Z. The vast majority of Gen Z women identify as feminists (whether liberal or conservative) and find the tendencies of some denominations within the Christian faith to be misogynistic. This has been a huge point of contention within the Southern Baptist Convention, who've made the decision to expel churches for allowing women to serve as pastors within the church. Dr. White referenced an article written by Jessica Grose for the New York Times titled “Young Women Are Fleeing Organized Religion. This Was Predictable.” We'd recommend taking the time to read it in full, as it provides a really helpful understanding of the causes for the recent decline. There was also a past podcast episode on the topic of women serving in leadership roles within the life of the church, including serving as pastors. We'd encourage you to listen to CCP7: On Women in Ministry if you haven't already.
The survey mentioned earlier also found that sadly, many of these young women are gone for good. As the article says, “Studies consistently show that people who leave religion rarely come back, even if they hold on to some of their formative beliefs and practices.” Churches must respond by shifting their focus, or else they risk losing both the strongest core of volunteers (traditionally always women) and the most consistent financial donors. Women need to see other women serving in leadership and teaching roles. Dr. White wrote a blog on this topic titled “Women as Pastors,” which you can find HERE.
Finally, they also discuss how the opposite shift is happening for men - they seem to be increasingly drawn to the church; and surprisingly, to the Orthodox Church. Dr. White mentioned the article titled “Young, single men are leaving traditional churches. They found a more ‘masculine' alternative” that you can read HERE. Men also tend to gravitate toward churches that teach men what it means to be a man in today's culture. Dr. White has delivered several series at Mecklenburg Community Church that you may be interested in checking out. These are Defining Manhood and Man Up
For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.
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In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how this time of year always leads to both reflection on the year that has passed, as well as thoughts of what the year ahead will hold. For those listeners who subscribe to the Church & Culture blog, you'll have read Dr. White's recent blog titled “Twelve Predictions for 2025.” As Alexis noted, while the blog may not have contained worst-case scenario predictions, the list certainly wasn't optimistic. We didn't have time to walk through all twelve in this episode, but you'll be interested to hear more about what to anticipate for the year ahead.
Episode LinksThe conversation started off with the massive shift that has taken place in our culture today - that churches seem far more invested in ideology than theology. This is not the first time this issue has been raised on the podcast. We'd encourage you to go back and listen to some past episodes if you missed them: CCP112: On January 6 and the Fastest Growing Christian Movement in America, CCP46: On the Clash over Religious Freedom and CCP37: On Christian Nationalism.
Another concern that Dr. White shared has to do with the church taking the non-essentials of Christian orthodoxy and elevating them unnecessarily. This has been prevalent in the Church with the rise over the debate about women serving in ministry and the increasing embrace of Calvinism. Both of these topics have been discussed at length on the podcast, so we'd encourage you to go back and listen to these two episodes: CCP7: On Women in Ministry and CCP59: On Calvinism.
The conversation then turned to parenting, and Dr. White noted an Aspen Institute study from 2022 that found children involved with travel sports teams spend 16.6 hours per week on average with those teams - including Sundays. What's sad is that the spiritual formation of these children is significantly impacted. You can read more about that study HERE. There are two past podcast episodes related to parenting that we've aired if you're interested in listening to those: CCP60: On Gentle Parenting and CCP101: On “Bluey” and Modern Fatherhood.
Pivoting back to the Church, they discussed the need for the Church at large to truly become hybrid - offering a blend of online and in-person experiences. We'd encourage you to read Dr. White's book Hybrid Church for an in-depth look at how to make this shift in your church. The shift to the hybrid is part of what led to Mecklenburg Community Church's decision to end our multi-site model. You can read more about that in the Church & Culture blog “Why We're Ending Our Multi-Site Approach.” You can also check out the podcast conversation that he had with Carey Nieuwhof about this subject HERE.
There are so many cultural changes taking place these days it's hard to keep up. And both Christians and non-Christians are often interested in knowing how the church would weigh in on these topics. Dr. White delivered a series at Mecklenburg Community Church called “What the Bible Really Says About…” after we polled Meck attenders via social media to find out their most pressing questions. The topics covered in this series include: A.I., Politics, Immigration, IVF and Abortion, and Angels.
Finally, the podcast concluded with a look at the decivilization that has been taking place in our culture today - as though we have lost the ability to see others the way that God sees them. Even those outside the church are taking note of this. Dr. White referenced several recent articles in The Atlantic which have focused on this:
Adrienne LaFrance, “Decivilization May Already Be Under Way,” The Atlantic, December 11, 2024, read online.
Peter Wehner, “An Astonishing Level of Dehumanization,” The Atlantic, December 31, 2024, read online.
For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.
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In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how to keep the focus of the Christmas season on Jesus, as the birthday celebration it should be. “Keeping Christ in Christmas” has become almost a mantra in response to the ever-increasing consumerization of Christmas and how far we've seemed to drift from the historical event of Jesus's birth. And this has implications beyond how to tangibly keep Christ in Christmas. We also have to find ways to keep Christ in our giving and in our gatherings at Christmastime - the relationships that can make the holidays challenging for so many people and can take away from the joy this season is meant to hold.
Episode LinksThere are a couple messages series that you may want to check out related to today's conversation. The first shares the title of today's episode, “Keeping Christ in Christmas.” It will help you take an even deeper dive into the various ways to keep Jesus as the focus of the Christmas season, with installments that look at: Keeping Christ in Your Celebrating, Keeping Christ in Your Relating and Keeping Christ in Your Giving. The installment on “relating” is particularly helpful if the holiday season brings more anxiety than joy. There was a book that he noted as well written by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend called Boundaries that would be a good one to read. Dr. White also touched on the significance of the season of Advent and all that can hold for our lives. For this, we'd encourage you to look at “The Advent Conspiracy.”
When talking about the idea of giving being a key way to keep Christ in Christmas - particularly by beginning our gift-giving with Jesus - Dr. White mentioned an annual effort that was launched by Mecklenburg Community Church in 1994. You can read more about the “Giving to Christ at Christmas” effort in a recent blog that Dr. White wrote HERE.
Finally, you heard Dr. White mention something called the Daily Headline News at Church & Culture - a collection of headlines from around the globe that are curated by Dr. White each weekday. The news stories shared here are to help give you a better picture of what's happening within our culture today, and how many of these cultural events impact the Church.
For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.
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