So We Speak

Is your phone hurting your discipleship? It almost certainly is. How can we continue to grow in this culture of distraction? Cole and Terry discuss some trends in our technology and media as well as some thoughts on how to continue to grow and thrive as Christians in any environment. Resources: “State of the Culture 2024” - Ted Gioia, The Honest Broker “How to Break Free from Dopamine Culture” - Ted Gioia, The Honest Broker “Desire, Dopamine, and the Internet” - L. M. Sacasas, The Convivial Society “Get Phones Out of Schools Now” - Jonathan Haidt, The Atlantic “Bixby Public Schools Prohibiting Cell Phone Use” - Kristen Weaver, News on 6 “Why Your Smart Phone Might Be Stopping You from Following Jesus” - Martin Saunders, Premier Christian Dopamine Nation - Anna Lembke The Burnout Society - Byung-Chul Han

Deconstruction remains an important topic, but it's changing. At the end of 2021, we recorded two episodes on deconstruction (Part 1 & Part 2), discussing its nature and phenomenon. Now, we're looking at how faith, loss of faith, and strengthened faith are changing. What does discipleship have to do with deconstruction? Are people really leaving the Christian faith? Cole and Terry discuss these questions and the following articles in this episode: “Observations on Exvangelicals and Deconstructing” - Jake Meador, Mere Orthodoxy “Reading the Exvangelicals” - Miles Smith, Mere Orthodoxy “Editor’s Note: Sound Doctrine” - Jonathan Leeman, 9Marks

The American education system has not been the same since Covid. What's changed? In this episode, Cole and Terry revisit an essay written in 2020 by Harvard historian James Hankins titled, "American Meritocracy: A Tipping Point?" They discuss the state of education, opportunities for Christian schools, and the roles merit and equality play.

Summer is here and it's time for some book recommendations. This week, Terry recommends some books from the stack. Books mentioned in this episode: Our Ancient Faith - Allen Guelzo Patton's Prayer - Alex Kershaw Is Atheism Dead? - Eric Metaxas Rubicon - Tom Holland Haiku - Everyman's Library Biblical Typology - Vern Poythress Eusebius: The Church History - Edited by Paul Maier

Summer is here and it’s time for some book recommendations! In this episode, Cole talks about the books he’s reading and recommending. From devotional books to enjoyable summer reads, there’s something here for everyone to enjoy. Next week, don’t miss Terry’s favorites for the summer. Books in this episode: The Pastor in Prayer - Charles Spurgeon (Banner of Truth) Prayers on the Psalms - Introduced by David Calhoun (Part of Banner of Truth’s Pocket Puritans Series) Reformed Systematic Theology - Joel Beeke and Paul Smalley The Great Gain of Godliness - Thomas Watson Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ - John Bunyan The Mortification of Sin - John Owen The Other Half of Church - Jim Wilder and Michel Hendricks Fighting Shadows - Jon Tyson and Jefferson Bethke You’re Not Crazy - Sam Allberry and Ray Ortlund The Six Wives of Henry VIII - Dominic Sandbrook Mirrors of Greatness - David Reynolds Churchill’s D-Day - General Sir Richard Dannatt and Allen Packwood Jonathan Edwards: A Life - George Marsden Revival - Martyn Lloyd-Jones After Disbelief - Anthony Kronman Unbelievers - Alec Ryrie

In recent years, terms like "trauma," "narcissism," "toxic," and others have skyrocketed. Why is that, and should we be concerned? In this episode, Cole and Terry discuss an article in Christianity Today, "Be Quick to Listen, Slow to ‘Therapy Speak’" by Mia Staub. How can Christians think wisely about the therapeutic worldview, counseling, and therapy speak?

In this interview recorded at Carlton Landing Community Church, Justin discusses marriage, habits, technology, and relationships in an increasingly isolated age. Look for book giveaways on our Instagram page this week!

How do our habits form us? Technology, social media, and smartphones have a huge impact on shaping us - even spiritually. Justin Whitmel Earley is the author of Habits of the Household, Made for People, and The Common Rule. In this episode, he discusses how Christians can approach technology, reconnect relationally, and flourish in a digital age.

After 7 weeks of C. S. Lewis, what's next? Cole and Terry discuss the series, new books, new teaching series, and think about the upcoming presidential election.

Over time, C.S. Lewis has only gotten more popular. Now his appeal is worldwide, across denominations, and especially large among American evangelicals. But at the time of his death, Lewis thought his work would be quickly forgotten. What happened to make Lewis a household name? What is his legacy? Will his impact continue to grow in the future?

In the background of his rise to fame, Lewis continued as a tutor at Oxford, teaching students and giving lectures. Before he was a famous Christian, he was a well-known academic, and this goes a great way to explaining why and how he wrote and who he was. In this episode, Cole, Ben, and Terry discuss Lewis's academic work and the world of Oxford and Cambridge in the mid-19th Century.

What is the best C.S. Lewis book? What order should the Narnia books be read in? Cole, Ben, and Terry discuss the best way to start reading Lewis in this Friday bonus episode.

For most people, Lewis is known first and foremost as a fiction writer. Many families have entered the wardrobe together and experienced Lewis in Narnia. Though these were not his only works of fiction, they give an insight into why he wrote fiction and what he was trying to accomplish by creating and exploring other worlds.

Lewis is best known today as an apologist. Through Mere Christianity and other works like Miracles and The Problem of Pain, Lewis stands as one of the great defenders of the faith in the 20th century. What was it that made him so uniquely gifted at explaining and contending for the faith? In this episode, Cole, Terry, and Ben explore C.S. Lewis's apologetic works, his method, and his legacy.

After his reluctant conversion, C.S. Lewis's life began to change. In his friendships and work at Oxford, his faith started to make a difference. But a phone call changed everything. When Lewis was invited to address the nation on the BBC about spiritual hope during WWII, he started to become the C.S. Lewis we know today. From then on, he would write book after book, letter after letter, and become the world spokesman for "mere Christianity."

“In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed, perhaps that night the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.” This is no normal conversion story, but so C. S. Lewis narrates his journey of faith in Surprised by Joy. Like so many parts of Lewis’s life, his conversion is full of surprises, twists and turns, and the evidence of God’s work. Throughout his life, Lewis was blessed with rich friendships, and in this episode, his friends, his past, and the God he had been “trying not to meet” come together in a remarkable and reluctant conversion.

Before he was known to the world as C. S. Lewis, “Jacks” as his friends and family called him, struggled through his early years. After his mother’s passing and the trenches of the Great War, Lewis was a fledgling scholar trying to make his way in the world. But he was also searching for Joy. This opening episode traces Lewis’s life from the paradise of Little Lea to the trenches on the Western Front and back to Oxford again.

On Thursday of Holy Week, Jesus ate the Passover meal with his disciples in what we now call the "Last Supper." Then he washed the disciples' feet, and they went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. But Maundy Thursday gets its name from something else that happened that Thursday. Jesus gave his disciples a "new commandment," or in Latin, a "new mandate" to love one another. This command of love has been celebrated in the church for centuries. In this message, Terry Feix gives a message on Maundy Thursday and explains the way the whole Bible comes together in Jesus's final meal. Watch Terry teach live today at Crossings Community Church.

One of the great conversations in the Bible is between Jesus and Pontius Pilate in John 18-19. Pilate is shrouded in mystery, and we know very little of his life outside of the Bible. Cole and Terry discuss Pilate's life, the role he plays in Jesus's death, and what we can learn as we anticipate Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

The Easter season is full of great music, and one way to focus on Christ's death and resurrection during Holy Week is to read, sing, and meditate on great hymns from Christian history. Dr. Kim Arnold has picked out 5 hymns for Holy Week this year that guide our hearts to the cross and the empty tomb. To read about these hymns, see her article, "Hymns for Lent." "O Sacred Head Now Wounded" - Paul Gerhardt "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" - Isaac Watts "O Love Divine, What Hast Thou Done?" - Charles Wesley "In Christ Alone" - Keith Getty and Stuart Townsend "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today" - Charles Wesley

It is impossible to understand the world of the New Testament without Greek culture, philosophy, and history. But the Greeks play a role in the Old Testament, too, and between the Testaments. In this episode, Cole and Terry look at the Greeks and the ways God used this region and these people to work his plan in the world.

Cyrus the Great may own the title for the greatest conqueror before Alexander. He and his famous successors Darius and Xerxes conquered the known world and extended their empire all the way to Greece. The Persian Empire did not treat the Israelites like the Assyrians and Babylonians; they returned them to the promised land, let them rule themselves, and allowed them to rebuild the temple. In this episode, discover the roles the Persians played in biblical history and learn from their legacy as the last empire of the East before the rise of Rome.

One empire stands above them all in the Bible: Babylon. From the opening pages of Genesis to the end of Revelation, Babylon stands in for every city and kingdom that would raise itself against God. But how did it become that symbol? Cole and Terry discuss the origins of Babylon, the high point under Nebuchadnezzar, the final destruction of the city, and the reputation that lives on to this day.

The Assyrian Empire was the first world empire. Founded in the small town of Ashur on the Tigris, the Assyrian kingdom would eventually engulf much of the known world until it vanished nearly overnight. The kings of Assyria play leading roles in the Bible and the northern kingdom of Israel falls to Sennacherib in 722 BC. In this episode, Terry and Cole discuss the empire and what the Bible has to say about the Assyrians.

What opportunities does the post-Christian world hold for Christians? Glen Scrivener's book The Air We Breathe sorts through the Christian values that pervade our post-Christian world and discusses opportunities for Christians to reconnect people to the person of Jesus Christ.

Tom Holland's book Dominion has sparked a wave of books, articles, and interviews about the Christian foundations of the West. Though fewer people might call themselves Christians, their worldviews are still saturated with Christianity. In this episode, Cole and Terry discuss the Christian foundations of the West and the glimpses of that worldview still shining through today.

1776 was a formative year for the West, in fact, Andrew Wilson argues in his new book Remaking the World that it is an origin point for so much of the world as we experience it today. In this episode, Cole and Terry discuss the book and the making of the post-Christian world we live in in the West.

How can a good God allow evil? Or, since God created everything, is he responsible for evil? In this final episode on common objections to Christianity, Cole and Terry discuss responses to the problem of evil.

Here are our best books for 2023: Terry's Top 5 Dynasty - Tom Holland Finding Calcutta - Mary Poplin Scalia - James Rosen The Matter with Things - Iain McGilchrist Leadership Not by the Book - David Green and Bill High Cole's Top 5 Timothy Keller - Collin Hansen Remaking the World - Andrew Wilson Dominion - Tom Holland The Pastor of Kilsyth - Islay Burns The Fellowship - Philip and Carol Zeleski

Christmas is unique among the holidays for so many reasons, above all the music. Christmas music fills the season and our hearts as we prepare to celebrate the Savior. In this episode, Dr. Kim Arnold talks about hymns, Christmas music, and compiling the songs for the new So We Speak advent booklet. Get the new Advent booklet here.

One of the most common objections to Christianity is called the problem of evil. Why does God allow evil? Why do bad things happen to good people? How can we explain the existence of a good and all-powerful God with evil in the world? In this episode and the next, Cole and Terry discuss the problem of evil and ways Christians have responded to this difficult objection.

How can we trust the Bible with all the contradictions? So the objection goes. In this episode, Cole and Terry break this objection down into three pieces; textual errors, factual contradictions, and factual errors. They discuss different approaches to reading the Bible and work through some specific objections.

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Are faith and science compatible? One objection many people have to Christianity is that they feel torn between faith and science. In this episode, Cole and Terry discuss this objection and ways science relies on a Christian worldview and reasons Christians should be optimistic about science.

How can there be only one truth? In this new series, Cole and Terry discuss the claims of Christianity against some of the most common objections to Christianity. Starting with the question of exclusivity, they look at the nature of truth, different religions, and how it's possible to claim that Christianity it true amid all the other options.

Identity politics, critical theory, and deconstruction dominate our world right now. How can Christians sort out what is good and true? In this discussion, Cole and Terry give an overview of Voddie Baucham's book Faultlines.

As Israel responds to the brutal attacks of October 7, questions are arising about the future, the relationship between the U.S. and Israel, and support for the Palestinians. In this episode, Cole and Terry answer five common questions about Israel: What is the distinction between geographic Israel and historic Israel? Why does the US have such a strong interest in or allegiance to Israel? Why are people supporting Palestinians? Should the US / Christians provide aid to Gaza? Should the US and Israel bypass the proxies and start dealing with Iran?

Over the weekend, Israel came under attack by Palestinian terrorists. What's happening now? Who are the major players? What's going to happen in the future? Cole and Terry discuss the central issues in the attacks on Israel, the path forward, and how to pray for Israel. For more history and background, check out Terry's series, "The Making of Modern Israel."

Jesus was fully God and fully man, a great moral teacher, and rose from the dead. But was he a genius? In Peter Williams' new book The Surprising Genius of Jesus, he argues that Jesus's cleverness, insight, and depth are unrivaled in the history of the world. Focused on the parable of the two sons in Luke 15, Williams teases out the deep connections to the Old Testament and concludes that only Jesus could have told such a brilliant story.

If there's one book that influenced the men of the great awakening, it was Henry Scougal's The Life of God in the Soul of Man. This short book made a major impact in the years following. What does it truly mean to be a Christian and what are the signs of life with God? Cole and Terry discuss the book and what we can learn from it today in this episode.

Is there more to sin than bad behavior? If we follow our behavior down into our emotions, drives, and desires, we discover that sin is far deeper than the external manifestations. The root issue is idolatry in our hearts. In this episode, Cole and Terry discuss David Powlison's article, "Idols of the Heart and Vanity Fair," and the implications for dealing with sin in our lives and giving spiritual direction to others.

What is preaching? What makes a great sermon? In this last episode on influential books, Cole and Terry discuss John Piper's Expository Exultation, Tim Keller's Preaching, and Abraham Kuruvilla's A Manual for Preaching to model going from the text to the sermon and how to make the sermon stick.

Jonathan Edwards is famous for his sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," but there is so much more to this great American preacher and theologian. Many argue that Edwards is the greatest mind America has ever produced, others view him primarily as a defender of the Great Awakening. In this episode, Cole, Terry, and Cliff wrap up the Awakening series with a discussion of Edwards's ministry and legacy.

Edwin Friedman's book Failure of Nerve is a hidden gem for personal and organizational leadership. In this episode, Cole and Terry discuss the key ideas and the ways Friedman's work compares and contrasts with Christian wisdom for leaders.

Maybe one person bears the responsibility more than any other for the preaching of the Great Awakening: George Whitefield. In England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and America, Whitefield tirelessly preached the Gospel with incredible spiritual power. As Cole, Terry and Cliff discuss his life and legacy, you'll see the powerful implications for the church today.

Charles Taylor's massive book A Secular Age has been highly influential in understanding the cultural world we live in today. You may not wade through the whole thing, but you'll want to grasp a few key terms and ideas he presents. In this episode, Cole and Terry discuss secularism, the porous and buffered self, and the immanent frame. Also mentioned in this episode: "Cracks in the Secular" - James K. A. Smith, Comment

In the middle of the 18th Century, America went through a time of spiritual revival known as the Great Awakening. This movement of God has affected the country ever since. What was so special about that time? What really happened? In this episode, Cole and Terry are joined by Dr. Cliff Sanders, the founder and president of the School of Wesleyan Studies to talk about John Wesley's role in the Great Awakening.

In this episode on influential books, Cole and Terry discuss biblical theology through the lens of G. K. Beale's The Temple and the Church's Mission and Michael Morales's Exodus: Old and New.

If you were going to write a letter to the American church, what would you say? Eric Metaxas did just that. Cole and Terry discuss his new book, the interesting questions it raises, and what they might include in a letter of their own.

We get asked a lot - how do you read and remember all these books? In a short Friday episode, Cole and Terry talk about reading, highlighting, and remembering great books. Everyone has to develop a system of their own, but these are some tried and tested methods for getting more out of your reading.