Church & Culture Podcast

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the data coming from the CDC finding that the worldwide birth rate that had seen an uptick during the pandemic has slowed way, way down. In fact, between 2007 - 2022 the birth rate has fallen 22% with the average woman today having 1.6 children. This is something that we need to pay attention to because it matters a lot more than people may think. Episode Links An article in Vox written by Anna North titled “You can't even pay people to have more kids” explores what countries are trying to do to counter this decline (and sadly not having very much luck). Dr. White noted that part of the reason for this decline can be attributed to people getting married later in life or not at all. The C&C Podcast took a deeper dive into this topic during CCP76: On the Never Marrieds. And the conversation today also touched on the topic of IVF, which was discussed in detail in CCP97: On IVF. Coincidentally, the topic of IVF also came up as part of a recent message series given by Dr. White at Mecklenburg Community Church. For this series, Meck's social media team took a poll to find out what topics people were most interested in finding out what the Bible had to say about. Coming in at #2 on that poll were the topics of IVF and abortion. You can find that entire series titled “What the Bible Really Says About…” 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.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a string of recent articles exploring the growing trend among Generation Z students who are deciding to forego college and instead head to vocational schools. There are a number of reasons for this to be sure - everything from the rising tuition costs of a four-year college education to feelings that the trades lead to a greater chance for job security. What is the impact that this will have on our culture? Episode Links Dr. White wrote a book specifically about this generation that is so helpful for having a better understanding of just what makes them tick. You can find Meet Generation Z: Understanding and Reaching the New Post-Christian World HERE. And then there were three articles that provided the fodder for today's conversation if you're interested in reading them: “How Gen Z Is Becoming the Toolbelt Generation,” The Wall Street Journal, April 1, 2024. Joshua Bay, “Survey finds many Gen Zers say school lacks a ‘sense of purpose' and isn't ‘motivating,'” Arkansas Advocate, April 30, 2024. “Sense of Purpose in School and Work Drives Gen Z Happiness, New Gallup Survey Finds,” Walton Family Foundation, April 10, 2024. One thing is clear: colleges need to change their existing models now before they find themselves without students to teach. Similarly, seminaries across the country are also facing this same challenge. Too many people are leaving seminaries with a lot of head knowledge, but very little practical knowledge when it comes to the day in, day out ministry of leading a church. Dr. White wrote a book titled, What They Didn't Teach You in Seminary that tries to help fill in the gaps. You can find that book HERE. Finally, the conversation led to a discussion of the Meck Institute's Leadership Development Program - a program developed by Dr. White at Mecklenburg Community Church to help train up future leaders within the church. If you are interested in implementing a similar program at your church, you can find that program 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.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the widespread campus protests that have been dominating the headlines of late. More than 2800 students have been arrested across 50 campuses across the U.S. Many Americans are unsure about what to think about all of these protests, and have mixed feelings about the response from college administrators to the protests. So how should we think Christianly about what's happening across the country? Episode Links The best place to begin is by trying to have a deeper understanding of the conflict itself. While today's conversation does explore that, we'd suggest you go back and listen to CCP80: On the War in Israel. Dr. White and Alexis also mentioned the number of news stories of late tied to these protests happening across the U.S. Here are the ones specifically tied to today's conversation - we hope you'll take the time to read them: Jerusalem Demsas, “The Problem With America's Protest Feedback Loop,” The Atlantic, May 10, 2024. Amaris Encinas, “Rabbi decries act of ‘senseless hatred' after dozens of headstones damaged at Jewish cemetery in NY,” USA Today, May 7, 2024. Livia Albck-Ripka, “Hillary Clinton Accuses Protesters of Ignorance of Mideast History,” The New York Times, May 9, 2024. “A Few Graduations Are Disrupted by Protest, but Many Are Held as Planned,” The New York Times, updated May 13, 2024. Elizabeth E. Evans, “Amid surge of campus protests, chaplains find reason for hope in their students,” Religion News Service, May 10, 2024. Kirsten Grieshaber, “At time of rising antisemitism, Holocaust survivors take on denial and hate in new digital campaign, “ Associated Press, May 2, 2024. Barbara Sprunt, “House passes bill aimed to combat antisemitism amid college unrest,” NPR, May 2, 2024. David French, “Colleges Have Gone off the Deep End. There Is a Way Out.” The New York Times, April 28, 2024. 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.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss what may seem like a surprising topic - hell. An AP/NORC study last year found that belief in heaven and angels is more common than belief in the devil or hell. For many, this may be because culture often portrays hell in a comedic or cartoonish way through various media platforms. Even some Christians struggle with the idea of hell and want to know why a loving God would create it. Episode Links It is important for those who consider themselves Christ followers to be grounded in the fundamentals of the Christian faith - to have a solid understanding of biblical theology. Dr. White has a course available through Church & Culture called “Theology on Tap.” Heaven, hell and what will happen at the end of time are components of this study, which you can find HERE. You may also be interested in checking out a series given by Dr. White at Mecklenburg Community Church called “The Apocalypse: The Message of Revelation for Today” which you can find HERE. Dr. White also explained the importance of reaching those who do not have a relationship with Jesus with urgency. He shared a story of Penn Jillette receiving the gift of a Bible following one of his shows, and the impact that this made on him even though he is an atheist. You can watch Penn's vlog post 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.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a recent study from the PRRI titled “Religious Change In America.” One of the biggest headlines from the study is that more and more, Americans are saying “no” to organized religion, and the number of those identifying as atheist and agnostic are on the rise. In fact, since Dr. White wrote his book The Rise of the Nones in 2014, the number of atheists has doubled. But what differentiates an “atheist” from an “agnostic” from a “none?” Episode Links Dr. White recently wrote a blog titled “Surprising Mourners for the Decline in Christianity.” It's interesting to find that many who choose to walk away from religion, or who never had a religion they affiliated themselves with, often find that something seems to be missing in their lives. In a recent article in The Atlantic titled “The True Cost of the Churchgoing Bust,” Derek Thompson (who is an agnostic) lamented over what has been lost by our culture abandoning the Christian faith. And self-proclaimed atheist Richard Dawkins recently explained how he considers himself a cultural Christian and is saddened by the thought that we may one day soon lose our cathedrals and parish churches. Dr. White also wrote a book that's an extremely helpful resource for those who would put themselves into either the atheist or agnostic camps. It's called Christianity for People Who Aren't Christians and 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.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the fact that as culture becomes less and less rooted in Christianity, and people (sadly) have more and more encounters with Christians who are not very Christlike, misconceptions and caricatures of the Christian faith seem to be growing. Today's discussion, which was a listener-submitted topic, will walk through four of the most common caricatures in today's culture. Episode Links Here are some series given by Dr. White at Mecklenburg Community Church related to the caricatures covered in today's discussion that you may be interested in taking a look at: “The Science of God” “Astrophysics… for People Who Are Open to God” “Don't Check Your Brains at the Door” “When God Makes Us Laugh” “Why?” And then here are a few past podcast episodes that you can go back and listen to in case you missed them that may add to today's discussion: CCP103: On the Sudden Rise of LGBTQ CCP92: On Challenges to Believing the Bible CCP63: On Why Christians Are So Mean CCP49: On Faith vs. Science Finally, here are two books that were mentioned in the conversation for you: A Mind for God by James Emery White The Gift of Pain: Why We Hurt and What We Can Do About It by Philip Yancey and Paul Brand 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.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they reflect on the four years that have passed since the U.S. declared a national emergency in response to COVID. The pandemic upended our lives and our world, and four years later its effects are still being felt. Episode Links Julie Bosman wrote an article in the New York Times titled, “Four Years On, Covid Has Reshaped Life for Many Americans.” While some found joy in things like home schooling, working from home and the slower pace of life we were all forced into, others are still mourning the loss of loved ones or still harboring feelings of anger toward the divisiveness the pandemic left in its wake. The pandemic had a profound effect on the church as well. Two years into the pandemic Dr. White wrote a blog titled “Add Pastors to the Great Resignation,” following the departure of many pastors who felt they could not win no matter what decision they made for their church: masks or no masks, pro-vaccines or anti-vaccines, open or closed to in-person services, etc. He wrote another blog titled, “Five Ways the Pandemic Is Saving the Church,” noting how beneficial it has been for the church to be forced to go outside of its four walls and move online - a place where younger generations are easier to reach. In Dr. White's book Meet Generation Z, he wrote about how this generation is the first to grow up in a truly post-Christian world. A Gallup poll found that 56% of Americans “seldom” or “never” attend a religious service. And an article in the Wall Street Journal noted how Gen Z became increasingly disillusioned as a result of the pandemic. Therefore, the church must respond by reaching these digital natives where they are - online. This was the heart of Dr. White's book Hybrid Church, which you can find 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.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a recent Gallup poll that found that 7.6% of Americans now identify as LGBTQ+ - a figure that has more than doubled over the last 12 years. When you dive into the generational data from this poll, it revealed that for Generation Z, 22.3% now identify as LGBTQ+, which is a percentage far beyond Millennials or any other generation. The most pressing question is: What is accounting for this very sudden rise? Episode Links In Dr. White's book Meet Generation Z: Understanding and Reaching the New Post-Christian World, he noted five primary marks of this generation. One of those marks is that Gen Z are sexually fluid. This means that the rise in identifying as LGBTQ+ is not so much about a true shift in orientation, but rather an openness to all things sexual. And much of that openness is a direct result of cultural pressure that would say you must be open minded enough to explore other genders and sexual orientations. For more on understanding the cultural pressures, Dr. White suggested reading the book Embodied: Transgender Identities, the Church, and What the Bible Has to Say by Preston Sprinkle. Cultural acceptance, however, does seem to be shifting - at least among religious groups. The PRRI recently released their “Religious Change in America” study, which found that support does tend to be waning. This is likely a result of the cultural overreach that has taken place. And the church does need to speak out on this. Dr. White has delivered two series at Mecklenburg Community Church that we'd suggest you check out: Holy Matrimony and Gender. And this is not the first time we've touched on this topic on the C&C Podcast. Be sure to listen to these past episodes: CCP38: On Attending Diwali Celebrations and Gay Weddings and CCP21: On Gender. 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.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a recent article in The Atlantic titled “The ‘Secret” Gospel and a Scandalous New Episode in the Life of Jesus.” The article talked about a 1958 historian who claimed he had found a lost gospel of Jesus' life that was later deemed a forgery. This was not the first nor the last time someone would make this claim. In fact, this was the basis for one of the biggest “lost gospel” fabrications, The DaVinci Code, written by Dan Brown and later turned into a film starring Tom Hanks. So what are Christians to think when discoveries like these are put forth, and could there truly be “lost gospels” out there that are yet to be discovered? Episode Links We recently touched very briefly on this topic in CCP92: On Challenges to Believing the Bible which you can go back and listen to. And if you're looking for a solid foundation for understanding the Bible and how it was compiled, we encourage you to check out a series that Dr. White gave at Mecklenburg Community Church called “How to Bible.” The installments of this series walk you through five key Bible “how tos”: get oriented, read and interpret it, apply it and believe it (two parts). You can find that series HERE. We would also recommend that you check out Dr. White's book Christianity for People Who Aren't Christians. This is a great resource whether you're exploring the Christian faith or want to be able to provide an apologetic for why you believe what you believe. There's a chapter on the Bible that is particularly helpful. 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.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how traditional roles in parenthood are being rethought and are shifting. This has left many men with confusion about what a modern father should look like. In a day when dads are often portrayed negatively in the media, presented as clueless, incompetent slobs, an animated series called “Bluey” has surprisingly jumped onto the scene to help inspire modern dads. Episode Links A Washington Post article written by Christine Emba and titled, “Men are lost. Here's a map out of the wilderness,” highlights how men have seemed to lose sight of what it means to be a man. A large contributing factor is that many men did not have good fathers to look up to. Dr. White has done several message series at Mecklenburg Community Church on the role of fathers, of men, and the dynamics of family. If you're interested, we suggest you look at “Father Figure,” “The Sins of the Fathers,” and “Man Up.” There are several articles that Dr. White mentioned in today's episode. A 2023 Brookings Institution study that would be helpful to explore is titled, “Boys and men,” and you can find that study HERE. We'd also suggest you read an article from The Atlantic titled, “Dad Culture Has Nothing to Do With Parenting.” You can read the “For Mamma” article from Demaryius Thomas in The Players' Tribune HERE. And finally, you can find the HuffPost article “Michael Lohan: I'm Happy With Lindsay's Playboy Photos” HERE. We've had other podcasts that we'd encourage you to go back and listen to related to the roles of men and women in our culture and within the life of the church. These include: CCP78: On Trad Wives, CCP72: On Toxic Masculinity, CCP60: On Gentle Parenting, and CCP7: On Women in Ministry. 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.