NEW SERIES: The Church in the Public Square
In the first episode of Season 4, Michael talks with Pastor David Bailey of Arrabon about the role that the church could and should play in forming disciples that not only welcome diversity but also seek reconciliation. They also discuss their love of bow ties, and offer some insights on how pastors can navigate the current political climate.
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RESOURCES
For more on David Bailey and Arrabon: arrabon.com

Works cited:
Shirley Mullen, Claiming the Courageous Middle (2024)
Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory (2023)
Megan Basham, Shepherds for Sale (2024)
An excellent and balanced piece by Dr. Sean Lucas: The Doctrine of the Spirituality of the Church

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CREDITS
Natalie Burchfiel, Chief of Staff
Clayton Dryden, Content Production

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Bumper music: The Diplomats of Solid Sound

Faithful Presence is dedicated to Whole Life Discipleship, in the Whole of Life, for the Whole of the Public Square. Connect with us at faithful-presence.org.

Michael and Dr. Mullen discuss connecting the social implications of the gospel to the salvific, the messiness of pastors trying to navigate social media's impact on ideological development, the impact of the "Big Sort" on mission, and whether people "have" opinions or "are" their opinions, the false humility of individualized truth claims, "changing the world," the importance of curiosity, interrogating our own beliefs first, and other great nuggets.

Work Cited
"The Big Sort," Bill Bishop
"Pensées," Blaise Pascal
The Federalist Papers

Thanks to David for another great podcast edit!

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Bumper music: The Diplomats of Solid Sound

Faithful Presence is dedicated to Whole Life Discipleship, in the Whole of Life, for the Whole of the Public Square. Connect with us at faithful-presence.org.

Michael and Dr. Bobo plumb the depths of seminary education, working in both the public and theological worlds, navigating culture, a redemptive view of vocation, and how a divinity degree helps with bioethics conversations.

Works Cited
The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life, Os Guinness (2003)

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Bumper music: The Diplomats of Solid Sound

Faithful Presence is dedicated to Whole Life Discipleship, in the Whole of Life, for the Whole of the Public Square. Connect with us at faithful-presence.org.

Michael talks with scholar, author, and Faithful Presence board member, Dr. Randy Newman, about his most recent book, "Questioning Faith." Together they explore getting to know people, suffering, alcoholism, Christopher Hitchens, the importance of switchbacks, and how many books Dr. Newman has actually written.

For NPR's interview with Christopher Hitchens referenced by Dr. Newman, go to: https://www.npr.org/2010/06/05/127495653/christopher-hitchens-unusual-and-radical-life.

Dr. Randy Newman's SEVEN books can be located here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001KI1W0S

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Bumper music: The Diplomats of Solid Sound

Faithful Presence is dedicated to Whole Life Discipleship, in the Whole of Life, for the Whole of the Public Square. Connect with us at faithful-presence.org.

Michael interviews Dr. Justin Bailey on his recent book and the importance of wedding ideological and cultural formation to emotional formation. Together they discuss aspects of Dutch-culture in NW Iowa and Chicago, the relationship of mental health to ideological discernment, the development of partisan polarization, power plays and changing the world, and how the five lenses paradigm can equip us for participating well in Christ's mission of making all things new.

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Bumper music: The Diplomats of Solid Sound

Faithful Presence is dedicated to Whole Life Discipleship, in the Whole of Life, for the Whole of the Public Square. Connect with us at faithful-presence.org.

In this episode, Michael hosts "D.B." and "Supe," two Chicago area pastors from vastly different demographic contexts living in the same Congressional District. Together, they explain how their love of the gospel and excellent preaching formed a friendship that pulled both into the work of racial reconciliation in their individual congregations. Finally, they explore the cultural objections to such services, the obstacles to pursuing reconciliation, and why these services matter to the public square.

Here is the link to the 1st Congressional District that the entire panel lived in prior to the most recent redistricting.

https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/cong_dist/cd113/cd_based/ST17/CD113_IL01.pdf

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Bumper music: The Diplomats of Solid Sound

Faithful Presence is dedicated to Whole Life Discipleship, in the Whole of Life, for the Whole of the Public Square. Connect with us at faithful-presence.org.

In this episode of the podcast, we dig back into the vault (aka Michael's computer) for another gem for the much-heralded "Tommy Tapes" delivered in 1995 during a church planting conference.

In the public square, networking is an essential skill for flourishing. It is how relationships are made, opportunities opened, and agendas advanced. And, while we should never see people as projects, we are called to "proclaim the excellencies of the one who called us out of darkness and into his marvelous light."

Many Christians struggle with moving a networking conversation from initial contact, to a relationship to, hopefully, a conversation about the gospel. In this recording, Dr. Keller discusses the role intentionality can bring the relationship to the gospel. Dr, Keller, even references Christian Embassy (a Washington-based ministry to diplomats) as an example of the role networking plays in evangelism.

How do we use inquiry, questions, a desire for belonging, and defeaters to engage people with the gospel? In other words, allowing them to lead themselves to the conversation.

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Bumper music: The Diplomats of Solid Sound

Faithful Presence is dedicated to Whole Life Discipleship, in the Whole of Life, for the Whole of the Public Square. Connect with us at faithful-presence.org.

Michael and Jeremy discuss three recent articles from David Brooks, Peter Leithart, and Anne Snyder which all explore the ramifications of locating our identity in the therapeutic-driven constructions of culture:

David Brooks, "Hey America, Grow Up" from the New York Times
Peter Leithart, "Man Up!" from First Things
Ann Snyder, "Words Against Flesh" from Comment Magazine

Other works referenced:
Flannery O'Connor, address at Georgetown University
William Butler Yeats, “The Second Coming”
Rod Dreher, "The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation"
Gene Edward Veith, "Post-Christian: A Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture"
Rebecca McLaughlin, The Secular Creed: Engaging Five Contemporary Claims

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Bumper music: The Diplomats of Solid Sound

Faithful Presence is dedicated to Whole Life Discipleship, in the Whole of Life, for the Whole of the Public Square. Connect with us at faithful-presence.org.