Gospelbound

Gospelbound

The Gospel Coalition, Collin Hansen

Gospelbound, hosted by Collin Hansen for The Gospel Coalition, is a podcast for those searching for firm faith in an anxious age. Each week, Collin talks with insightful guests about books, ideas, and how to navigate life by the gospel of Jesus Christ in a post-Christian culture.

Nicholas Carr: Why Social Media Has Made Us So Anti-Social

Nicholas Carr: Why Social Media Has Made Us So Anti-Social

Collin Hansen sits down with Nicholas Carr to discuss his book, Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart. They explore the rise of fake news, the unintended consequences of social media, and how new communication technologies have historically shaped major conflicts. Carr examines AI’s growing role in media and the challenges of critical thought in a fast-paced digital world. Despite these concerns, the conversation seeks hope for community and meaningful connection in an era of

Feb 18, • 38:59

Ross Douthat: Why Everyone Should Be Religious

Ross Douthat: Why Everyone Should Be Religious

Collin Hansen interviews Ross Douthat about his book, Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious, exploring the cultural shift toward religion and the importance of religious institutions. Douthat critiques the idea that intelligence leads to meaninglessness and discusses the dangers of a purely spiritual approach without structure. The conversation considers how suffering can strengthen faith and examines the modern spiritual crises of isolation and despair, highlighting the enduring relevance o

Feb 11, • 44:29

Spring 2025 Season Preview

Spring 2025 Season Preview

In this Gospelbound spring season preview, Collin Hansen and Kendra Dahl announce the spring season's upcoming guests, including Ross Douthat, Nicholas Carr, Kevin DeYoung, and others—covering topics from media criticism to theology and history.

Feb 4, • 16:28

Top Theology Stories of 2024

Top Theology Stories of 2024

Join Collin Hansen and Melissa Kruger for their annual discussion as they look back on the top theology stories of 2024. They also share their favorite books from 2024, updates on personal projects, and what they're each looking forward to in life and ministry in 2025. They discuss: The rise in Bible sales in 2024Declining fertility rates worldwideBig changes for the United Methodist Church and the role of the Global SouthThe advance of assisted suicide in the UKThe Cass Report and the truth abo

Dec 19, 2024 • 1:09:16

Window to the Soul: Fiction Books with Collin Hansen

Window to the Soul: Fiction Books with Collin Hansen

In this episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen takes the interviewee seat, diving into the abiding value of reading fiction. Guest host Kendra Dahl asks Collin about his favorite genres to read, from historical to Scandinavian, Russian, and Southern fiction, and how each offers unique perspectives on humanity and culture. Hansen shares personal connections to these genres, recommending books that have deeply affected him, from his personal faith to his evangelism.They also discuss how fiction can

Nov 26, 2024 • 1:17:47

Michael Horton Finds Ancient Origins for New Age Spirituality

Michael Horton Finds Ancient Origins for New Age Spirituality

In this episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen and Michael Horton discuss Horton's new book, Shaman and Sage, tracing the deep historical roots of "spiritual but not religious" movements from ancient civilizations through modern technological trends.They discuss:The evolution of spirituality and its ancient pedigreeThe concept of the divine self and its historical rootsThe Axial Age and its impact on philosophical religionsThe interaction between Christianity and philosophical religionsThe role o

Nov 19, 2024 • 39:59

Biblical Faith Seeks Scientific Understanding

Biblical Faith Seeks Scientific Understanding

In this episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen and Hans Madueme explore how Christian theology, particularly the belief in a good creation, underpins the rise of science, contrasting it with Gnostic and Manichaean views. Madueme also delves into his book Defending Sin, discussing the theological challenges posed by modern science to doctrines like original sin, the historical Adam, and the importance of maintaining a coherent approach to Scripture in both creation and eschatology.They discuss: Th

Nov 12, 2024 • 45:23

Why Parenting Has Become So Much Harder

Why Parenting Has Become So Much Harder

In this episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen and Timothy Carney explore how individualism, economic shifts, and cultural changes have weakened family structures, urging communities—especially churches—to restore support and promote both marriage and singleness as paths to societal health. They discuss:The collapse of civil society and its impact on familiesThe unintended consequences of modern parentingReligious subcultures and family normsEconomic and political factors in family dynamicsCultur

Nov 5, 2024 • 52:54

Values-Based Investing and the Post-Christian Marketplace

Values-Based Investing and the Post-Christian Marketplace

In this episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen and Bob Doll discuss generosity, stewardship, and faith-based investing. Bob shares insights from his Christian journey, emphasizing that all resources are God's and the importance of mentoring young Christians, balancing faith, family, and work, and aligning investments with values.They discuss:Bob's journey to faith and how that shaped his vocationValues-aligned investingNavigating workplace challengesAdvice for business leaders and pastorsGood ste

Oct 29, 2024 • 32:05

The Cure for Church Hypocrisy

The Cure for Church Hypocrisy

In this episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen and Michael Reeves discuss the need for gospel-centered unity in the church, emphasizing the dangers of allowing cultural or political differences to overshadow the core message of the gospel. Reeves explains the themes of his books, Gospel People and Evangelical Pharisees, which address confusion over the gospel and highlight the importance of defining evangelicalism through theological rather than cultural lenses. They discuss: Clarifying the gospe

Oct 22, 2024 • 29:56

Is Biblical Masculinity Toxic?

Is Biblical Masculinity Toxic?

In this episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen and Nancy Pearcey discuss her new book, The Toxic War on Masculinity: How Christianity Reconciles the Sexes. They explore the cultural challenges facing modern masculinity, including the impact of the Industrial Revolution and the rise of negative perceptions of men.They discuss the following: Nancy Pearcey's motivation for writing The Toxic War on MasculinityHistorical context and the Industrial Revolution's impactA sociological study on a "good man

Oct 15, 2024 • 1:03:18

How Heaven Changes Your Life on Earth

How Heaven Changes Your Life on Earth

In this episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen and Cameron Cole discuss Cole's book Heavenward: How Eternity Can Change Your Life on Earth and how hope for an eternal future with Christ shapes everyday Christian life. Cole shares how the loss of his son led him to a deeper understanding of heaven, emphasizing Paul's eschatology and its practical impact on sanctification, mission, and living with an eternal perspective.They discuss: Heavenward by Cameron ColeThe impact of personal loss on eternal

Oct 8, 2024 • 32:41

How to Find Unity Instead of Uniformity in Your Church

How to Find Unity Instead of Uniformity in Your Church

In this episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen and Jamie Dunlop discuss the challenges and beauty of diversity in churches, emphasizing unity in Christ. Drawing from his experience at Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Dunlop shares insights on managing disagreements within Christian community with patience, grace, and charity, as outlined in his book, Love the Ones Who Drive You Crazy.They discuss:Challenges and opportunities in church diversityWhy disagreements don't indicate something is wrongThe li

Oct 1, 2024 • 31:59

Overcoming Our Ahistoric Age

Overcoming Our Ahistoric Age

In this episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen interviews Dr. Sarah Irving-Stonebraker about her journey from atheism to Christianity and how it shapes her work as a historian.They discuss:Historical figures and intellectual challenges that influenced her conversionThe integration of faith into her academic workThe challenges of teaching history in a secular contextThe role of historical narratives in finding meaning and purposeInsights from her book, Priests of History: Stewarding the Past in an

Sep 24, 2024 • 46:09

God Is Working While You’re Waiting

God Is Working While You’re Waiting

In this episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen invites Mark Vroegop to discuss his book, Waiting Isn't a Waste: The Surprising Comfort of Trusting God in the Uncertainties of Life. They discuss:learning to wait welldeepening our trust in God's timing and strengthening our faithour culture's aversion to waitingthe importance of God's sovereignty in our "gap moments"

Sep 17, 2024 • 29:18

Gavin Ortlund Wants You to Become (or Remain) Protestant

Gavin Ortlund Wants You to Become (or Remain) Protestant

In this episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen talks with Gavin Ortlund about his new book, What It Means to Be Protestant, which addresses the struggles of Protestants experiencing "ecclesial angst" and encourages those interested in Protestantism.They discuss:The influence of social media and podcasts on religious trendsUnderstanding church history and its relation to current Protestant-Catholic dialoguesThe role of Scripture's authority in Protestant theologyThe challenges of fragmentation wit

Sep 10, 2024 • 37:56

Hoping Against Hope in American Democracy

Hoping Against Hope in American Democracy

In this episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen talks with James Davison Hunter about his book, Democracy and Solidarity: On the Cultural Roots of America's Political Crisis, where Hunter argues that America's political crisis is rooted in cultural divisions rather than just political differences. They discuss:how a loss of shared values has led to a lack of solidarity and the rise of identity politicsgrowing resentment on both sides, the left and rightthe need for Christians to adopt a "faithful

Sep 3, 2024 • 59:54

LIVE at TGCW24: Hope and Help for Doubters

LIVE at TGCW24: Hope and Help for Doubters

How can you be a Christian given the church’s record on race? How can you believe what the Bible says about sexuality when Christians have acted so hatefully? Questions like these have caused many to doubt and even deconstruct their faith. How can followers of Jesus help those who are deconstructing? How can we find help when we feel racked by doubt? In this breakout session from TGCW24, Collin Hansen and Rebecca McLaughlin explore these questions and offer hope and help.For more TGCW24 conferen

Aug 13, 2024 • 44:31

David Brooks Explores the Amazing Power of Truly Seeing Others

David Brooks Explores the Amazing Power of Truly Seeing Others

In this episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen interviews David Brooks about his new book, How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen. They explore what it means to be an "illuminator" who helps people feel seen and significant and the need to cultivate a societal value for kindness and respect. They also discuss how personal suffering can foster empathy and strengthen our human connections.

May 7, 2024 • 38:11

Abraham Lincoln and Today’s Trials for Democracy

Abraham Lincoln and Today’s Trials for Democracy

In this episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen and Dr. Allen Guelzo discuss Guelzo's book, Our Ancient Faith: Lincoln, Democracy, and the American Experiment. As they examine the historical parallels between the challenges facing democracy during Abraham Lincoln's presidency and today, they emphasize the importance of understanding historical contexts to better appreciate and uphold democratic values in modern times.

Apr 30, 2024 • 1:02:26

Goodwill's CEO on Christian Leadership and the Fight for Opportunity

Goodwill's CEO on Christian Leadership and the Fight for Opportunity

In this episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen talks to Steve Preston about how Preston's Christian faith has influenced his leadership and community service, particularly at Goodwill Industries where he serves as President and CEO. Preston is committed to addressing poverty and providing opportunities to strengthen communities through social enterprise, and his experience demonstrates how faith can impact significant, positive change and human flourishing.

Apr 23, 2024 • 57:12

Jonathan Edwards’s Vision for the 21st Century

Jonathan Edwards’s Vision for the 21st Century

In this episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen and George Marsden discuss Marsden's book, An Infinite Fountain of Light: Jonathan Edwards for the 21st Century. They highlight the relevance of Edwards's theology for modern times, exploring his view of the universe as an expression of God's love and the beauty of Christ's sacrificial love. They also discuss Edwards's greatest sermons, changes in his studies, and the contrast between Edwards's spiritual perspective and Benjamin Franklin's more mater

Apr 16, 2024 • 25:08

Lessons on Evangelism from an Unlikely Evangelist

Lessons on Evangelism from an Unlikely Evangelist

In this episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen and Claude Atcho discuss the relevance of the Samaritan woman's encounter with Jesus (John 4) for Christian witness in contemporary society. Atcho emphasizes the power of personal transformation through Jesus Christ as foundational to effective apologetics, advocating for sharing one's genuine experiences with Christ as a bridge to engaging a skeptical world. Hansen and Atcho discuss the need for Christians to maintain authenticity and relational int

Apr 9, 2024 • 31:40

Melissa Kruger on Hopeful Parenting in a Secular Age

Melissa Kruger on Hopeful Parenting in a Secular Age

In this episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen and Melissa Kruger offer hope and encouragement to parents as they discuss the challenges of Christian parenting in a secular age. They explore the importance of grounding parenting in the gospel, emphasizing the need for hope, trust in God's purposes, and the application of grace. The conversation also covers the role of community and the impact of digital technology on parenting. Melissa Kruger shares insights from her book, Parenting with Hope, hi

Apr 2, 2024 • 54:36

Hopeful Living in a Weary World

Hopeful Living in a Weary World

Collin Hansen and Irwyn Ince discuss Ince's book, Hope Ain't a Hustle, exploring how our hope in Christ impacts faithful living amid cultural and societal challenges, suffering, and injustice. They delve into the critical roles of Scripture, gathered worship, and community in sustaining our hope, and they highlight the importance of daily disciplines in cultivating our anticipation of God's victory over sin and injustice.

Mar 26, 2024 • 35:13

Live Wisely in a Digital Age

Live Wisely in a Digital Age

In this episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen and Samuel James examine the profound ways smartphones have reshaped our culture and devotional practices. They discuss James's new book, Digital Liturgies: Rediscovering Christian Wisdom in an Online Age, and the necessity of biblical wisdom in an era dominated by digital narratives. Hansen and James also explore the influence of technology on identity and societal norms, particularly concerning the transgender revolution. Their discussion helps unp

Mar 19, 2024 • 50:02

Jeremy Treat on the Transformative Power of the Atonement

Jeremy Treat on the Transformative Power of the Atonement

In this episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen and Jeremy Treat discuss Treat's new book, The Atonement: An Introduction, exploring how the cross of Christ defies worldly expectations and fulfills humanity's deepest desires. They discuss the inseparable link between the cross and the kingdom, the dynamics of the Trinity in the work of salvation, and how Christ's crucifixion addresses both our guilt and shame. They end their conversation on the transformative power of Christ's atonement and how it

Mar 12, 2024 • 36:45

Authority with Integrity: How Jesus Guides Our Leading

Authority with Integrity: How Jesus Guides Our Leading

Collin Hansen and Jonathan Leeman discuss the complex nature of authority within both the church and broader society, highlighting its significance for protection and flourishing, while also addressing the challenges it presents in today's world. They draw on Leeman's book, Authority: How Godly Rule Protects the Vulnerable, Strengthens Communities, and Promotes Human Flourishing, to discuss how godly leadership, exemplified by Jesus, can lead to strengthened communities and serve as a beacon of

Mar 5, 2024 • 47:13

How Identity Becomes a Trap

How Identity Becomes a Trap

Collin Hansen interviews Yasha Mounk about his book,The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time, discussing the challenges and risks associated with prioritizing identity groups over societal unity and common values. Mounk critiques the shift toward identity politics and its impact on free speech and institutional stability, advocating for a balance between recognizing diversity and maintaining solidarity.

Feb 27, 2024 • 41:32

Unexpected Pathways to Faith

Unexpected Pathways to Faith

You probably consider yourself a Christian, if you listen to this podcast. But I can bet that you have questions about Christianity. You might even doubt aspects of Christianity. If not, then you definitely know someone who does. And maybe you’ll want to share this podcast with them.Whether you’ve believed for as long as you can remember, or you’re doubting right now, it can be comforting to know that the faith journey rarely looks simple. The journey is full of twists and turns. Politics, sexua

Feb 20, 2024 • 35:31

Why Your Community Needs Healthy Marriages

Why Your Community Needs Healthy Marriages

In this episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen and Brad Wilcox discuss Wilcox's new book, Get Married: Why Americans Must Defy the Elites, Forge Strong Families, and Save Civilization. They delve into the topic of the role of churches in reinforcing the values and virtues of good families, the modern priority on money and free time, and the two-parent privilege, among other subjects.

Feb 13, 2024 • 52:49

Top Theology Stories of 2023

Top Theology Stories of 2023

Join Collin Hansen and Melissa Kruger for their annual discussion as they look back on the most impactful stories of 2023. They'll also share projects they're working on, books they're reading, and what they're each looking forward to in ministry and life in 2024.Episode time stamps:Tim Keller's legacy and impact on the church (0:00)Women in ministry in the Southern Baptist Convention (4:57)Dechurching, its reasons, and hope for the future (10:57)Disillusionment with secularism and its impact on

Dec 19, 2023 • 1:30:33

Advent Meditation: Justice Brings Peace

Advent Meditation: Justice Brings Peace

The birth of Christ from Mary's womb assured justice for the world. Collin Hansen reflects on the hope this gives us at Christmastime.Read the full meditation transcript, here.

Dec 12, 2023 • 5:32

Augustine's Apologetic Vision and How Doubt Can Lead to Faith

Augustine's Apologetic Vision and How Doubt Can Lead to Faith

What if the best way to defend our faith can be found by visiting premodern North Africa?That’s the premise of the latest book by the dynamic apologetics duo of Josh Chatraw and Mark Allen. It’s called The Augustine Way: Retrieving a Vision for the Church’s Apologetic Witness, published by Baker Academic.This is a special episode of Gospelbound. I normally record remotely from my office at Beeson Divinity School, where I co-chair the advisory board and serve as adjunct professor, but in this epi

Nov 21, 2023 • 55:32

How New Atheism Collapsed and Gave Way to New Faith

How New Atheism Collapsed and Gave Way to New Faith

If you know Justin Brierley, it’s probably for the debates and interviews he hosted for many years with the Unbelievable? radio show and podcast. He interviewed some of the most outspoken atheist critics of Christianity and convened some of the most intense debates of recent memory.During that time, however, Justin noticed a shift. The conversations changed in tone and substance—dramatically so. The bombast began to disappear. Secular guests opened to Christianity, at least its cultural and soci

Nov 14, 2023 • 47:19

True Blessing Comes from Countercultural Living

True Blessing Comes from Countercultural Living

“Jesus hears and cares about the things that make your heart heavy and your cheeks wet.”That was perhaps the most moving line in Alistair Begg’s new book, The Christian Manifesto: Jesus’ Life-Changing Words from the Sermon on the Plain, published by The Good Book Company.It’s a challenging book. It’s a sensible book. It’s a book about how we approach the world, how we engage the culture in truth and love. Above all it’s a biblical book all about Jesus.Core to Begg’s manifesto is a contrast betwe

Nov 7, 2023 • 32:35

Andrew Wilson on How the Year 1776 Shaped the Post-Christian West

Andrew Wilson on How the Year 1776 Shaped the Post-Christian West

There’s one big idea at the heart of Andrew Wilson’s remarkable new book, Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West, published by Crossway. He argues that more than any other year in the last millennium—the last 1,000 years—1776 made us who we are today in the West.I suppose many American listeners now are thinking, Of course! The Declaration of Independence! Ron Swanson says history began on July 4, 1776. But wait: didn’t Andrew just say the post-Christian West? What does he

Oct 31, 2023 • 54:47

Jen Wilkin and J. T English on Why We’re All Theologians

Jen Wilkin and J. T English on Why We’re All Theologians

Jen Wilkin and J. T. English have given you an invitation—they want you to know and love God well. Sounds good, right? It’s hard to imagine any of us turning down that offer. There’s just one catch. You need to become a theologian.But you can do it. You were built for it! That’s their theme in a new book, You Are a Theologian, published by B&H. They’re bringing theology to the masses, something they’ve been doing together for many years. You know Jen Wilkin as a Bible teacher from Dallas, Texas,

Oct 24, 2023 • 41:29

Seeing the Genius of Jesus in the Parable of Two Sons

Seeing the Genius of Jesus in the Parable of Two Sons

Jesus was and is a genius. Have you ever thought of him that way? We know him as a friend, Lord, healer, and teacher. Of course, Son of God, true God from True God. But genius? Einstein was a genius. Hawking was a genius. Men of science. Men of modernity. Men who created our world.Jesus? He’s a religious figure. And we don’t associate religion with genius. Even when we confess with Hebrews 1:3 that Jesus “upholds the universe by the word of his power.’Peter Williams, however, wants you to consid

Oct 17, 2023 • 35:22

Ben Watson on the Sanctity of Life and True Justice

Ben Watson on the Sanctity of Life and True Justice

He calls abortion the “spiritual battle of our lives.” And he firmly believes that abortion will end when men make it so. Roe v. Wade has been overturned, but this former football star says the fight for life has only reached halftime.He is Benjamin Watson, author of The New Fight for Life: Roe, Race, and a Pro-Life Commitment to Justice, published by Tyndale Momentum. You may already know quite a bit about abortion. But you may have never seen the subject explored from this angle.Watson argues,

Oct 10, 2023 • 42:32

Does God Care About Gender Identity?

Does God Care About Gender Identity?

It’s been dubbed the Gender Revolution. And if you’re listening from anywhere in the West, you see it everywhere. Gender identity has been disconnected from biology. What you feel about your body matters more than what you can see and touch. Even children, encouraged to believe they were born into the wrong-gendered body, now expect and even demand support from parents and other authorities as they seek life-altering drugs and surgeries to “confirm” the gender with which they identify.For almost

Oct 3, 2023 • 51:36

J. D. Greear on What Makes the Book of Romans Feel So Fresh Today

J. D. Greear on What Makes the Book of Romans Feel So Fresh Today

“The gospel is not just the diving board off which we jump into Christianity—it’s the swimming pool in which we swim.”That’s a line from J. D. Greear’s new book, Essential Christianity: The Heart of the Gospel in Ten Words, published by The Good Book Company. Greear is pastor at The Summit Church in North Carolina and the author of many books. He served as the 62nd president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant church network in the United States.His book Essential Christia

Sep 26, 2023 • 37:10

Where the Widening Generation Gaps May Take Us

Where the Widening Generation Gaps May Take Us

Sometimes advice isn’t just bad. It’s delusional.That’s what Jean Twenge writes in her new book, Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents—and What They Mean for America’s Future. She makes this comment about “the most optimistic and self-confident generation in history.” My generation. The Millennials.Here’s the advice we heard over and over growing up: “just be yourself,” “believe in yourself and anything is possible,” “express yourself,” and “yo

Sep 19, 2023 • 40:37

Collin Hansen Remembers Tim Keller

Collin Hansen Remembers Tim Keller

“For as much as I'll miss, [Tim Keller] gave so much more—by God's grace—that no one or nothing can ever take away from us.” – Collin HansenMelissa Kruger hosts a special edition of Gospelbound where Collin Hansen reflects on the life and ministry of Tim Keller. Hansen talks about the first time he met Keller, his experience writing a book on Keller's spiritual formation, discovering how important prayer was in the latter part of Keller's spiritual journey, and more. Through Hansen's reflections

May 25, 2023 • 49:35

What Happened to Historian Molly Worthen?

What Happened to Historian Molly Worthen?

For 20 years, I’ve felt like Molly Worthen and I have lived parallel lives. We graduated college the same year. We wrote for some of the same publications, on some of the same subjects. But I chose to head into church ministry, while she settled into the academy and earned her PhD from Yale.Molly is associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You may have read her work in The New York Times, Slate, or Christianity Today.She is perhaps best known for her awa

May 9, 2023 • 1:30:59

Keller’s Formation: Richard Lints on Theological Vision

Keller’s Formation: Richard Lints on Theological Vision

The Gospel Coalition’s Foundation Documents include a “theological vision for ministry,” originally drafted by Tim Keller. I had never heard of theological vision before I read this statement in 2007. Soon I learned that the concept originated by Richard Lints in his book The Fabric of Theology. Theological vision is the space between your doctrinal beliefs and your ministry programs. Theological vision helps you adapt your ministry to changing conditions while keeping centered on the unchanging

Mar 21, 2023 • 34:18

Keller’s Formation: Bill Edgar on Francis Schaeffer and L’Abri

Keller’s Formation: Bill Edgar on Francis Schaeffer and L’Abri

Bill Edgar began his career as professor of apologetics at Westminster Theological Seminary in 1989 and retired last year in 2022. But his Westminster roots run even deeper than his 33-year tenure. Edgar’s great-great-grandfather, an elder at First Presbyterian Church in New York City, helped endow Princeton Seminary in 1811. In 1929, Westminster was founded in response to Princeton’s liberal drift. By 2017, Princeton Seminary had drifted so far that the school revoked Tim Keller’s Kuyper Prize

Mar 7, 2023 • 46:12

Keller’s Formation: James Eglinton on Herman Bavinck

Keller’s Formation: James Eglinton on Herman Bavinck

“When it comes to theologians that contemporary church leaders should be reading, I don’t know of a more important one than Herman Bavinck.” So says Timothy Keller in his endorsement of James Eglinton’s 2020 book Bavinck: A Critical Biography. Keller first read Bavinck some 50 years ago in class with Roger Nicole at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. But not much of Bavinck’s voluminous work has been translated until recent years. So, we live in a renaissance of appreciation for this Dutch the

Feb 21, 2023 • 43:45

Keller’s Formation: Christopher Watkin on Charles Taylor and Social Criticism

Keller’s Formation: Christopher Watkin on Charles Taylor and Social Criticism

In their booklet “Gospel-Centered Ministry,” TGC cofounders Don Carson and Tim Keller describe how the redemptive story of Scripture, or biblical theology, culminates in Jesus Christ and his gospel. And from Christ, that gospel then guides us in how we live every aspect of our lives.I’ve never seen a book do this work more effectively than Christopher Watkin’s Biblical Critical Theory: How the Bible’s Unfolding Story Makes Sense of Modern Life. It’s simply one of the best books I’ve ever read. N

Feb 7, 2023 • 50:03

Keller’s Formation: John Piper on C. S. Lewis and Jonathan Edwards

Keller’s Formation: John Piper on C. S. Lewis and Jonathan Edwards

In his forthcoming book, Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation,  Collin Hansen aims to add to our understanding of evangelical history in the second half of the 20th century into the early 21st century. Keller’s life spans and intersects with many of the most significant people, events, and trends within Christianity during the last 75 years.The same can be said of John Piper, who along with Keller is a founding Council member of The Gospel Coalition. Piper is nearly five year

Jan 24, 2023 • 42:35

Keller’s Formation: Behind the Book

Keller’s Formation: Behind the Book

In this unique episode of Gospelbound, pastor Jim Davis from Orlando Grace Church invites Collin Hansen into the interview spotlight to go behind the scenes of writing Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation.Jim Davis says, "Five hundred years from now, maybe two pastors or theologians will be remembered. I believe that Tim Keller will be one of them."Keller's influence comes from his sermons, books, and teaching as well as founding Redeemer Presbyterian Church, The Gospel Coali

Jan 10, 2023 • 40:10

Top Theology Stories of 2022

Top Theology Stories of 2022

In this special edition episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen is joined by Melissa Kruger as they look back on the big stories and trends of 2022, discuss how God has moved in and through their ministries, and share books that have stuck with them. They also take some time to thank you, their listeners, for encouraging them in the work of Gospelbound and Let's Talk.We discuss:Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation by Collin Hansen, and the idea of self-forgetfulness (5:36)His G

Dec 20, 2022 • 1:36:46

Time Well Spent

Time Well Spent

Jen Pollock Michel offers eight habits for reimagining productivity, resisting hurry, and practicing peace in her latest book, In Good Time. She invites us to seek wisdom that is more concerned with ethical practice than Type-A respectability. She helps us recognize that we detest waiting because we have to believe that God is acting when we are not.On this 100th episode of the Gospelbound podcast, Collin Hansen and Jen Pollock Michel discuss why we should redefine busyness and how to say yes to

Dec 6, 2022 • 32:57

Confronting Spiritual Abuse

Confronting Spiritual Abuse

“We would rather have a leader who will beat up our enemies than one who will tenderly care for the sheep,” Michael Kruger writes in his new book, Bully Pulpit: Confronting the Problem of Spiritual Abuse in the Church, published by Zondervan. Spiritual abuse is a relatively new and amorphous concept. Kruger defines it this way:Spiritual abuse is when a spiritual leader—such as a pastor, elder, or head of a Christian organization—wields his position of spiritual authority in such a way that he ma

Nov 29, 2022 • 50:32

How to Rediscover Orthodoxy as the Ultimate Adventure

How to Rediscover Orthodoxy as the Ultimate Adventure

In his new book, The Thrill of Orthodoxy: Rediscovering the Adventure of Christian Faith, Trevin Wax writes, “The thrill of orthodoxy lies in its challenge. We are called to become not merely nice neighbors who are kind and polite, but holy people who look more and more like Jesus.”Trevin Wax joined Collin Hansen on this episode of Gospelbound to discuss why heresy hunters turn out to be heretics, how we can know if something is orthodox, and why he’s confident the future belongs to the orthodox

Nov 15, 2022 • 39:59

Thomas Jefferson: Hero or Villain?

Thomas Jefferson: Hero or Villain?

Thomas Jefferson, whose lofty writings on freedom when compared to his practice of slaveholding are part of the real “wall of separation” in American politics and religion. These contradictions make him the subject of many biographies, including the most recent from Thomas Kidd: Thomas Jefferson: A Biography of Spirit and Flesh. Dr. Kidd is research professor of church history at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City and the author of many outstanding works.Thomas Kidd joins Col

Nov 8, 2022 • 38:05

Digital Life in the Slow Lane

Digital Life in the Slow Lane

In the digital age, it feels like life moves too far, too fast.That’s why we need wise guides such as Jay K. Kim, author of Analog Christian: Cultivating Contentment, Resilience, and Wisdom in the Digital Age. Jay writes, “This is where we are in the digital age, existing in an untenable state of unceasing connection to the curated lives of others—all of their highlights, none of their low-lights.”Perhaps the simple solution would be to spend more time offline. But our colorful smartphones make

Nov 1, 2022 • 39:40

Philip Yancey on Family Wounds and God’s Grace

Philip Yancey on Family Wounds and God’s Grace

His latest book, Where the Light Fell: A Memoir, is the culmination of more than 50 years for Philip Yancey as a Christian writer. In it, you’ll see a clear display of his two life themes—suffering and grace—which characterize all his books.Where the Light Fell is remarkably honest as Yancey draws inspiration from God’s Word. He writes, “I know of no more real or honest book than the Bible, which hides none of its characters’ flaws.”Yancey joined Collin Hansen on Gospelbound to discuss the hinge

Oct 25, 2022 • 38:12

Hope from the Chinese Wilderness

Hope from the Chinese Wilderness

In the new book, Faith in the Wilderness: Words of Exhortation from the Chinese Church, Hannah Nation and co-editor, Simon Liu, offer a perspective of what we can learn from Chinese pastors who are facing persecution.Nation says, “We descendants of Christendom fear cultural marginalization, but let us remember that those on the margins often preach the gospel more boldly, fearlessly, and humbly than those at the center, for they have nothing to lose and no stakeholders to upset.”Hannah Nation jo

Oct 18, 2022 • 30:47

Why You Must Forgive

Why You Must Forgive

There is almost nothing so beautiful as forgiveness—but, must we choose between forgiveness and justice? Does forgiveness merely empower abusers?Enter Tim Keller in his latest book, Forgive: Why Should I and How Can I? The bestselling author and co-founder of The Gospel Coalition doesn’t neglect the cost of forgiveness. He writes, “Forgiveness is always a form of voluntary suffering that brings about a greater good.” Sometimes that greater good accrues to the one who forgives. It may feel like a

Oct 11, 2022 • 38:14

The Jesus Revolution for Women

The Jesus Revolution for Women

In Jesus through the Eyes of Women: How the First Female Disciples Help Us Know and Love the Lord, published by The Gospel Coalition, Rebecca McLaughlin explores the life-changing accounts of women who met the Lord. By entering the stories of the named and unnamed women in the Gospels, this book gives readers a unique lens to see Jesus as these women did and marvel at how he loved them in return.Rebecca McLaughlin joins Collin Hansen on this episode of Gospelbound to discuss the Gnostic Gospels,

Oct 4, 2022 • 42:11

The Disaster and Delight of Social Media

The Disaster and Delight of Social Media

In 2009, around 25 percent of American high school students said they had “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.” By 2021, it was up to 44 percent, the highest level of teenage sadness ever recorded. For girls, the number was even higher: 57 percent.What could account for such a dramatic change between 2009 and today?If you looked at a group of teenagers then and now, the main difference you’d see is the modern teens hunched over their smartphones.These stats come from an episode of TG

Sep 27, 2022 • 28:16

Beautiful People Don’t Just Happen

Beautiful People Don’t Just Happen

You are not in control. You never have been. You never will be.That fact of life is tough for many of us to swallow. “The cultural air I breathe has trained me to think that life should be more carefree, predictable, and in control than it is,” Scott Sauls writes in his new book, Beautiful People Don’t Just Happen: How God Redeems Regret, Hurt, and Fear in the Making of Better Humans, (Zondervan). Scott Sauls is senior pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, and author of s

Sep 20, 2022 • 29:48

Defiant Faith in the Face of Suffering

Defiant Faith in the Face of Suffering

“We are all like Job,” write Bill Kynes and Will Kynes in their new book, Wrestling with Job: Defiant Faith in the Face of Suffering (IVP Academic). We are “engaged in a mysterious cosmic battle, as every day our faith is put to the test, and God himself is honored when we trust, obey, and worship him as the great and glorious God that he is.”In this book, Bill and Will Kynes find in Job real faith that holds us together when it feels like our world is falling apart. Defiant faith in the face of

Sep 13, 2022 • 37:48

Everything Sad Is Untrue

Everything Sad Is Untrue

In his book, Everything Sad Is Untrue, Daniel Nayeri offers readers a refugee’s inside look at religion and geo-politics through his personal tale of a boy separated from his father and the only world he knew and loved. A world that he’s not even sure he can remember.But it’s Daniel’s mother who is the hero of this book, which released in 2020 and was named a book of the year by The New York Times, NPR, and The Wall Street Journal. Her conversion was a death sentence in Iran, so the family fled—

Sep 6, 2022 • 37:22

Passion for the Persecuted

Passion for the Persecuted

As Christ's church continues to expand across the world, so does persecution.In this episode of Gospelbound from TGCW22, Collin Hansen talks with Karen Ellis and Kori Porter about how God's people fight for faith when it can cost their lives. Through this discussion, we'll learn how other Christians can support the persecuted church in prayer and advocacy.

Jul 26, 2022 • 47:03

Bonus: Escape from Kabul

Bonus: Escape from Kabul

On today’s bonus episode of Gospelbound, we’re featuring a selection from TGC’s narrative podcast, Recorded. In "Escape from Kabul", TGC senior writer Sarah Zylstra tells the story of God's dramatic work through the underground church in Afghanistan. To hear the full episode, subscribe to Recorded on Apple Podcasts.

May 31, 2022 • 21:54

Building Deep Community in a Lonely World

Building Deep Community in a Lonely World

In her book, Find Your People: Building Deep Community in a Lonely World, bestselling author Jennie Allen describes our problem today like this:“We fill a small, little crevice called home with everything we could possibly need, we keep our doors locked tight, and we feel all safe and sound. But we’ve completely cut ourselves off from people outside our little self-protective world.”Jennie Allen joins Collin Hansen on Gospelbound to discuss the difference between complaining and vulnerability, t

May 24, 2022 • 34:16

Learning to Love Art through the Eyes of Faith

Learning to Love Art through the Eyes of Faith

In his book, Rembrandt Is in the Wind: Learning to Love Art through the Eyes of Faith, Russ Ramsey  helps his readers learn how to appreciate art without needing to be an expert.  “If you have not yet learned to love beauty,” he writes, “learn to love it late.” We’re made to achieve perfection, at least on the other side of glory, he says. Beauty is glimpsing a preview of that perfection in what we make here and now of goodness and truth. God didn’t need to make this world beautiful. He didn’t n

May 17, 2022 • 39:56

The Air We Breathe

The Air We Breathe

If you live in the West, in much of Europe or North America or Australia, you don’t know the world apart from Christianity. It’s the water you swim in, the air you breathe.That’s the main point of Glen Scrivener’s new book, The Air We Breathe: How We All Came to Believe in Freedom, Kindness, Progress, and Equality, published by The Good Book Company. Glen is an ordained Church of England minister and evangelist who preaches Christ through writing, speaking, and online media.Glen Scrivener joins

May 10, 2022 • 48:20

Why We Need to Debate in Good Faith

Why We Need to Debate in Good Faith

Starting May 4, The Gospel Coalition is releasing a five-part video debate series called the "Good Faith Debates", featuring prominent Christian thinkers discussing some of the most divisive issues facing the church today—ranging from gun control to woke churches to abortion to racial injustice to evangelical self-identity.When we keep the gospel central, we can disagree on lesser but still important matters in good faith. In the Good Faith Debates, we hope to model this—showing that it’s possib

May 3, 2022 • 44:01

Does My Son Know You?

Does My Son Know You?

What happens when you get diagnosed in April 2021 at age 33 with a rare form of cancer—so rare, in fact, that the odds of contracting it are 25 million to 1? What happens when the doctors can’t tell you if you have five months or five years to live? And what happens with your son, born at the end of March 2020 at the outset of a global pandemic?That’s the story of Jonathan Tjarks, who has covered basketball for The Ringer since 2016 and is a host on The Ringer NBA Show. He loves Jesus and Dallas

Apr 26, 2022 • 43:26

The Illuminating Power of Scripture and Song

The Illuminating Power of Scripture and Song

In singer-songwriter Sandra McCracken’s new book, “Send Out Your Light: The Illuminating Power of Scripture and Song”, you’ll find the same depth of spiritual insight and emotion that characterize her songs. She writes, “If we sing songs with thin ideas, superficial hopes, and more hype than authenticity, we will find ourselves depleted in the times when we need some truth to fall back on. We need songs sturdy enough to sing at the bedside of a dying friend.”Sandra joins Collin Hansen on this ep

Apr 19, 2022 • 27:26

Recovering Our Sanity Through the Fear of God

Recovering Our Sanity Through the Fear of God

In his latest book, Recovering Our Sanity: How the Fear of God Conquers the Fears that Divide Us, Michael Horton argues that we can only conquer the wrong kinds of fear by embracing the right kind of fear, and that’s what he means by sanity.For Horton, revival breaks out when Christians show up to church and hear from God and his Word. It’s so simple, and that’s his point. We don’t need spectacular miracles—we need basic obedience.Michael Horton joins Collin Hansen on Gospelbound to discuss prea

Apr 12, 2022 • 40:47

Life Together at the End of the World

Life Together at the End of the World

Did education give you a love of learning and a desire to cultivate your mind over a lifetime? Or did you learn how to pass tests to graduate and get a job?These goals don’t need to be mutually exclusive, but they are for many of us. Any serious attempt at reforming Christian political witness must include a vision for education. Jake Meador offers such a classical vision for education but also ventures into sex, race, technology, family, the environment, and more in his new book, What Are Chris

Apr 5, 2022 • 41:55

Redeeming Your Time

Redeeming Your Time

Jordan Raynor offers seven biblical principles for being purposeful, present, and wildly productive in his new book, Redeeming Your Time (WaterBrook). These principles include starting with the Word, eliminating all hurry, and prioritizing your “yes.” You’ll also learn in this book how to say no more often. The book mixes time-tested productivity tips with timeless biblical wisdom.Raynor joins Collin Hansen on this episode of Gospelbound to discuss selective ignorance, inbox zero, and how to be

Mar 29, 2022 • 25:30

The Church Needs Non-Anxious Leaders

The Church Needs Non-Anxious Leaders

Mark Sayers doesn’t mince words about the challenges our world is currently facing. In his new book, A Non-Anxious Presence: How a Changing and Complex World Will Create a Remnant of Renewed Christian Leaders, he sees these challenges as a potential prelude to revival. He writes, “We feel the gap between the vision of the church we encounter in Scripture and the reality on the ground. This gives rise to a deep desire for God’s church to be refreshed, empowered, and renewed.”Sayers serves as seni

Mar 22, 2022 • 52:45

How Mutual Accountability Can Break the Cycle of Fear

How Mutual Accountability Can Break the Cycle of Fear

George Yancey describes colorblindness as a path that goes nowhere and anti-racism as a path full of dangerous animals. As an alternative, he proposes mutual accountability. He believes this approach will produce a group that wants to address and not ignore unfair racial outcomes. That’s why he wrote Beyond Racial Division: A Unifying Alternative to Colorblindness and Antiracism.Yancey is a professor at the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University, specializing in race/ethnicity an

Mar 15, 2022 • 30:01

The Good News of Your Limits

The Good News of Your Limits

In his new book, You’re Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God’s Design and Why That’s Good News ,Kelly Kapic aims to lift from our shoulders the sense that we carry the weight of the world.Kapic, a professor of theological studies at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, situates theological truth in contrast with cultural expectations. He writes, “What an irony that our modern age, on the one hand, exhausts us by its calls for complete self-expression and, on the other hand, suffocat

Mar 8, 2022 • 36:52

Why God Makes Sense in a World that Doesn't

Why God Makes Sense in a World that Doesn't

In his latest book, Why God Makes Sense in a World that Doesn’t: The Beauty of Christian Theism (Baker Academic), Gavin Ortlund discusses the problem of evil and deconstructs arguments against Christianity, while also displaying the beauty of God.Gavin Ortlund joins Collin Hansen on Gospelbound to discuss our deepest intuitions, beauty, creation, love, and all kinds of other good stuff.

Mar 1, 2022 • 36:33

How to Raise Sons of Courage and Character

How to Raise Sons of Courage and Character

Proverbs 31 commends men who do justice—men of wisdom, self-control, and courage. In his new book, The Intentional Father: A Practical Guide to Raise Sons of Courage and Character (Baker), Jon Tyson writes, “Men who use their energy like this, courageous men, wise men, self-controlled men, just men—these kinds of men are the need of the hour." Tyson’s book equips intentional fathers to help their sons reach their redemptive potential.In this episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen and Jon Tyson di

Feb 22, 2022 • 35:14

The Plurality Principle

The Plurality Principle

This week on Gospelbound, Collin Hansen is joined by Dave Harvey, president of Great Commission Collective, a church-planting ministry and author of the new book, The Plurality Principle: How to Build and Maintain a Thriving Church Leadership Team (Crossway, TGC). Dave brings more than 30 years of pastoral ministry to this conversation and gives wise counsel for pastors and other church leaders hoping to build thriving leadership teams. Dave argues that “the quality of your elder plurality deter

Feb 15, 2022 • 39:01

Talking About Race

Talking About Race

In his new book, Talking about Race: Gospel Hope for Hard Conversations (Zondervan Reflective), Isaac Adams argues that if we could just hold our beliefs—and also our tongues—loving across racial lines in the American church “could become one of the most powerful testimonies to a divided and dividing world.” Isaac joins Collin Hansen on Gospelbound to explain blocking, race as a “Velcro issue,” abortion, cultural preferences, and the mission of the church, among other topics.

Feb 8, 2022 • 47:46

The Lost Art of Shepherd Leadership

The Lost Art of Shepherd Leadership

In his new book, The Flourishing Pastor: Recovering the Lost Art of Shepherd Leadership (IVP), Tom Nelson observes a dripping irony. Though surrounded by many people, pastors are often intensely lonely and socially isolated. They work with the things of God but are tempted by the seduction of accomplishment at the expense of intimacy with God.Shepherd leaders, according to Nelson, are forged on the anvil of obscurity and refined in the crucible of visibility. They get into trouble when they atte

Feb 1, 2022 • 32:42

Top Theology Stories of 2021

Top Theology Stories of 2021

Welcome to a special edition of Gospelbound and Let’s Talk! Join hosts Collin Hansen and Melissa Kruger as they discuss their favorite recent reads and the top 10 theology stories of 2021. They also preview the year ahead in 2022—and reveal a surprise for 2023. Thank you for listening and encouraging us in this work!09:20 Deconstruction14:52 Cultural and historical shape of evangelicalism scrutinized15:58 The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill25:31 Vaccines and Covid mandates31:32 Christian Nationalism

Dec 21, 2021 • 1:10:50

How to Deepen Discipleship in Your Church

How to Deepen Discipleship in Your Church

What ails your church? Hopefully the answer doesn’t come too quickly! Hopefully your church is the picture of health, where everyone’s growing in love of God and love of neighbor. Or maybe your church has a discipleship disease. If so, then JT English can help with his new book, Deep Discipleship: How the Church Can Make Whole Disciples of Jesus, published by B&H. English serves as the lead pastor of Storyline Fellowship in Arvada, Colorado. Previously, JT served as a pastor at The Village Churc

Dec 14, 2021 • 33:43

Why Americans Quit Church

Why Americans Quit Church

During the last decade, one in 20 Americans has shifted from identifying with a religion to claiming “nothing in particular.” And this group is also the least likely of any position on religion to hold at least a bachelor’s degree.Those are just two of the many findings that jump from the page in Ryan Burge’s new book, The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going, published by Fortress Press. Together with atheists and agnostics, sociologists categorize the “nothing in

Dec 7, 2021 • 1:00:46

Baptized in Fire and Blood

Baptized in Fire and Blood

“Our cause is sacred. How can we doubt it, when we know it has been consecrated by a holy baptism of fire and blood?”So said a North Carolina minister about the Confederacy in the aftermath of the South’s defeat at the Battle of Shiloh in 1862. This arresting quote contributes to the title of James P. Byrd’s new book, A Holy Baptism of Fire and Blood: The Bible and the American Civil War, published by Oxford. He writes, “This is a book about how Americans enlisted the Bible in the nation’s most

Nov 30, 2021 • 42:40

Get Over Yourself

Get Over Yourself

“Do I exist for God or does God exist for me?” That’s the question that I think animates Dean Inserra’s new book, Getting Over Yourself: Trading Believe-in-Yourself Religion for Christ-Centered Christianity, published by Moody. Or, maybe it’s this line: “We can’t make Christianity cooler.”He explains his argument this way: “The entire premise of this book is that spiritual victory and earthly victory are not synonymous.” He identifies a new kind of prosperity gospel that promises earthly success

Nov 23, 2021 • 39:15

Belonging to God in an Inhuman World

Belonging to God in an Inhuman World

It’s the fundamental lie of modern life, says Alan Noble: that we are our own. Compared to our ancestors, we’re less worried about war. We’re less worried about starvation and famine. But by believing that we are our own, we tend to struggle with new problems: the loss of meaning, identity, and purpose.Noble says this in his new book, You Are Not Your Own: Belonging to God in an Inhuman World, published by InterVarsity:Everyone is on their own private journey of self-discovery and self-expressio

Nov 16, 2021 • 44:02

Why the Gospel of Self-Improvement Isn't Good News

Why the Gospel of Self-Improvement Isn't Good News

If you want to sell millions of books, tell readers they can be their own hero. Tell them if they don’t have what they want, they need to demand it. Tell them that they can have everything if they work hard enough: the beautiful family, the booming business, the world-changing nonprofit venture.For Ruth Chou Simons, being her own hero doesn’t seem all that freeing. It looks exhausting.She has one overarching message in her new book, When Strivings Cease: Replacing the Gospel of Self-Improvement

Nov 9, 2021 • 32:35

Faith Is a Habit

Faith Is a Habit

What is faith? Is it a feeling? Is it hope against hope? Belief without evidence?Jen Michel says faith is a habit. It’s not against evidence but careful consideration of evidence. It’s trust in the story that makes sense of the world. It’s curiosity. It’s where the habits of humility take us.“Try practicing your way into faith,” Michel writes in her new book, A Habit Called Faith: 40 Days in the Bible to Find and Follow Jesus, published by Baker. “Go to church, follow the liturgy, act the part.

Nov 2, 2021 • 34:49

Does the News Help You Love Your Neighbor?

Does the News Help You Love Your Neighbor?

Breaking news! (Insert dramatic gong sound here.) Find out if you’re on the right side of history. Learn about the latest celebrity you should cancel for the wrong view on oat milk. After this commercial break.  Not so fast says Jeffrey Bilbro, editor in chief of Front Porch Republic and the author of the new book Reading the Times: A Literary and Theological Inquiry into the News, published by IVP Academic. Bilbro warns that “objects on screen are more distant than they appear,” and that “the p

Oct 26, 2021 • 44:53

5 Hidden Themes Our Culture Can't Stop Talking About

5 Hidden Themes Our Culture Can't Stop Talking About

In his day job for the last 15 years, Daniel Strange has taught church leaders about culture, worldview, and apologetics. He’s studied worldviews and philosophy. He talks about “plausibility structures” and “social imaginaries” and “cultural liturgies.” But it’s not some kind of vain philosophical exercise. He’s trying to help people grow in how they present the person and work of Jesus to their skeptical neighbors.After years as director of Oak Hill Theological College in London, he now directs

Oct 19, 2021 • 38:58

Faith and Our Fathers

Faith and Our Fathers

Blair Linne’s mother planned to abort her before a Baptist minister’s words changed her mother’s mind. Linne moved 25 times before she set out on her own as an adult. She did not grow up with a father. I won’t spoil her new book, Finding My Father: How the Gospel Heals the Pain of Fatherlessness, published by The Good Book Company. But it’s a raw, sometimes shocking memoir with a surprise ending.Blair Linne describes fathers as a covering, a shield from danger. But where do you go when your dad

Oct 12, 2021 • 32:19

Good News for Our Bodies

Good News for Our Bodies

For as long as I’ve been paying attention, some 20 years, I’ve heard Christians complain that we need more attention on the body. I’ve heard that Catholics have much deeper, more comprehensive theology of the body. I’ve seen Protestant evangelicals try to make the case, but for some reason or another their arguments don’t land. I don’t know how to explain the disconnect. We worship the God who became flesh in the incarnation of Jesus. When Paul talks about the body, he’s referencing all of life.

Oct 5, 2021 • 42:14

Why the Body of Christ Is Essential

Why the Body of Christ Is Essential

We’re long past the time when we could assume even that dedicated believers in Jesus Christ understood why they should bother with church. The number who identify as Christians is far larger than the number who attend a weekly meeting. Even then, the bulk of the serving and giving in our churches tends to be done by only a few. So it’s not as if COVID-19 suddenly convinced Christians they didn’t need church. Millions had already made that decision even before gathering involved online registrati

Sep 28, 2021 • 37:39

Faithful Presence in the Tennessee Capitol

Faithful Presence in the Tennessee Capitol

In former Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam’s new book, Faithful Presence: The Promise and the Peril of Faith in the Public Square (Nelson Books), he asks, “Do our political actions match our theology, or has our theology been taken captive to our political beliefs?”A political book that’s driven by theology, Faithful Presence offers a stirring call to justice and mercy with humility. Gov. Haslam sees the “image of God” as the foundational truth that can bridge the gap in our polarized political cu

Sep 21, 2021 • 29:20

From Mother to Son on Race, Religion, and Relevance (Re-Release)

From Mother to Son on Race, Religion, and Relevance (Re-Release)

Jasmine Holmes is the author of Mother to Son: Letters to a Black Boy on Identity and Hope (InterVarsity Press) and cohost of TGC's new podcast for women, Let's Talk. Holmes joined Collin Hansen on Gospelbound to discuss politics, race, police brutality, abortion, and everything else you’re not supposed to bring up in polite company.

Jul 27, 2021 • 37:12

Tim and Kathy Keller Share the Secret of a Great Marriage (Re-Release)

Tim and Kathy Keller Share the Secret of a Great Marriage (Re-Release)

Tim and Kathy Keller joined Collin Hansen on Gospelbound to discuss the link between decreasing marriage and decreasing religiosity, how to know you’re ready to get married, how to raise children to prepare them for marriage, and more.

Jul 20, 2021 • 43:17

Bonus: J. D. Greear on Future Hopes for the Southern Baptist Convention

Bonus: J. D. Greear on Future Hopes for the Southern Baptist Convention

On today’s bonus episode of Gospelbound, we’re featuring a clip from an interview between TGC senior writer, Sarah Zylstra and her guest, J. D. Greear as they discuss his experience as SBC president, future hopes for the SBC and the global church, and the importance of keeping the gospel at the center of it all. To hear the full episode, head to TGC Podcast episode 169. You can hear more about J. D.  in the new book, Gospelbound: Living with Resolute Hope in an Anxious Age.

Jul 13, 2021 • 13:31

Bonus: Alex Harris on How to Do Hard Things

Bonus: Alex Harris on How to Do Hard Things

On today’s bonus episode of Gospelbound, we’re featuring a clip from an interview between TGC senior writer, Sarah Zylstra and her guest, Alex Harris about his experience clerking for two U.S. Supreme Court justices and editing Harvard Law Review, his brother Josh’s high-profile deconstruction of his faith, whether evangelicals invest too much import in presidential politics, and much more. To hear the full episode, head to TGC Podcast episode 166.  You can hear more from Alex in the new book, G

Jun 8, 2021 • 15:04

How to Succeed at Seminary

How to Succeed at Seminary

Because of the gospel, there’s always hope. Even in the rubble, you can find defiant new growth poking through the rocks. A similar hope can be seen in seminary education. One of the greatest success stories can be found in Kansas City at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.The president there is Jason Allen, and under his leadership, the school has grown in enrollment and resources and in quality of education. It's exciting to consider what this turnaround means for generations of churches

May 25, 2021 • 33:35

Can a New Reformation Bring Ethnic Unity?

Can a New Reformation Bring Ethnic Unity?

For Shai Linne, the cultural differences in music and dress never seemed to matter compared to unity in the crucified and risen Christ. Shai became a key figure in the growing movement of Christian hip-hop, musically like Wu-tang Clan but lyrically like Billy Graham. The style was appealing, but the crowds seemed more excited about Jesus than anything else. He’s convinced that we’ll look back one day on this era, between 2002 and 2012, as a revival much like the Jesus Movement of the late 1960s

May 18, 2021 • 32:05

Christian Nationalism: Heresy or Hype? (Live at TGC21)

Christian Nationalism: Heresy or Hype? (Live at TGC21)

In this live episode of Gospelbound from TGC’s 2021 national conference, Collin Hansen is joined by two esteemed guests who can help explain the origins and shape of Christian nationalism with a view toward the promises of the gospel. Michael Horton is the J. Gresham Machen professor of systematic theology and apologetics at Westminster Theological Seminary in California. Justin Giboney is cofounder of the AND Campaign, an attorney, and a political strategist in Atlanta.Whether or not your churc

May 11, 2021 • 45:23

Bullies and Saints in Christian History

Bullies and Saints in Christian History

These days, you’ll see many Christians defend the faith by pointing out the problems with others. But owning up to ways the church has fallen short of its own ideals may be the more appropriate path. In his new book, Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History (Zondervan), John Dickson takes an honest look at the church’s successes and failures.Dickson sums up history by observing, “Bullies are common. Saints are not.” So on Gospelbound, I dug in on his survey an

May 4, 2021 • 34:42

Why Apatheism Is More Challenging than Hostility

Why Apatheism Is More Challenging than Hostility

Maybe you imagine the biggest problem facing Christians in the West today is hostility, whether from media or government or schools. You wouldn’t be wrong to notice how these venues don’t usually look kindly on orthodox, observant Christians these days.But what if we actually face a bigger problem? What if the problem isn’t that our unbelieving friends and family care too much about what we believe—it’s that they don’t care at all what we believe? That’s not a challenge we’re typically prepared

Apr 27, 2021 • 32:49

Before You Lose Your Faith

Before You Lose Your Faith

Has anyone ever confided in you, “I’m deconstructing”? Maybe you don’t know the phrase, but you know the phenomenon. Yet another social-media post announces departure from the Christian faith. The cause could be sex, race, politics, social justice, science, hell, or all of the above. For many, Christianity is becoming implausible, even impossible to believe. It might be tempting to leave the church in order to find answers, but the new book Before You Lose Your Faith: Deconstructing Doubt in the

Apr 20, 2021 • 47:24

How the New Fundamentalisms Divide Us

How the New Fundamentalisms Divide Us

In this episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen is joined by Morton Schapiro and Gary Saul Morson, authors of Minds Wide Shut: How the New Fundamentalisms Divide Us (Princeton University Press). Schapiro and Morson describe fundamentalism as “radical simplification of complex questions and the inability to learn either from experience or from opposing views.”Among their proposed solutions is a recovery of casuistry, or employing case studies especially from great literature for experience-based le

Apr 13, 2021 • 35:37

Where to Find Hope in Our Anxious Age

Where to Find Hope in Our Anxious Age

Politicians, advertisers, talk radio hosts, social media engineers—you name it, they want your attention. They want you to be angry and afraid. But as Christians, we’re called to faith and love—even when we’re scared, even with people who don’t like us.We need to get back to the gospel so we can move forward—together. That’s why we wrote the new book Gospelbound (Multnomah), to help Christians live with resolute hope in an anxious age. My co-author and guest on this episode is Sarah Zylstra, one

Apr 6, 2021 • 40:50

The Multi-Directional Leader

The Multi-Directional Leader

When church leaders assume that they can only scan for attacks in one direction, they leave Christians vulnerable to different dangers. What the church needs, then, is what Trevin Wax calls multi-directional leadership—leaders who combine dexterity and discipline. Leaders today must demonstrate faithful versatility. And that’s what Trevin Wax commends in his new book, The Multi-Directional Leader: Responding Wisely to Challenges from Every Side, published by The Gospel Coalition.Wax applies mult

Mar 30, 2021 • 37:50

The Secular Creed

The Secular Creed

Maybe you’ve seen a sign in your neighbor’s yard that reads something like this:"In this house we believe that:Black Lives MatterLove Is LoveGay Rights Are Civil RightsWomen’s Rights Are Human RightsTransgender Women Are Women"If the “we believe” format and propositions sound familiar, that’s because they are. It’s a creed, albeit a secular one, without reference to transcendent moral authority, whether divine or historical. Rebecca McLaughlin’s provocative new book, The Secular Creed: Engaging

Mar 23, 2021 • 1:06:33

Why You’re WEIRD

Why You’re WEIRD

Joseph Henrich is chair of the department of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University and author of many important works. His latest is The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous. In it, you’ll get pretty everything you want: theology, history, neuroscience, biology, social science, economics, and more. Henrich weaves everything together to explain what separated the West from world history. But his story is neither inevitab

Mar 16, 2021 • 45:17

What’s Next for Our Culture with COVID

What’s Next for Our Culture with COVID

Andy Crouch and his colleagues at The Praxis Journal wrote an article titled, “Leading Beyond the Blizzard” on March 20, 2020, just one week after the national COVID-19 shutdown began in the United States. Crouch and his team warned us that this crisis would not be a blizzard that rages for a few weeks or a winter that lasted a few months, but an “ice age” of 12 to 18 months that would change our way of life for good, and they were right. Crouch joined Collin Hansen on Gospelbound to lament the

Mar 9, 2021 • 58:29

See the Sacred in Everyday Life

See the Sacred in Everyday Life

You know an author is worth reading if he can make stones interesting. But after reading Andrew Wilson’s God of All Things: Rediscovering the Sacred in an Everyday World (Zondervan), you’ll be seeing stones everywhere in the Bible, and you’ll understand their significance in ways you never imagined before.Andrew Wilson is teaching pastor at King’s Church London and has theology degrees from Cambridge, London School of Theology, and King’s College London. He is a columnist for Christianity Today

Mar 2, 2021 • 30:45

How You Can Walk Through Fire

How You Can Walk Through Fire

Veneetha Rendall Risner has dealt with more than her share of trials, which she recounts in her new book, "Walking Through Fire: A Memoir of Loss and Redemption", published by Nelson Books. She opens up her thought process for a raw look at the emotional and spiritual wrestling of suffering, anger toward God, and the reason for suffering.This episode of Gospelbound is sponsored by The Good Book Company, publisher of Being the Bad Guy by Stephen McAlpine. The church used to be recognized as a for

Feb 23, 2021 • 30:25

When You Became the Bad Guy

When You Became the Bad Guy

At some point, Christians were viewed by many in the West as annoying, perhaps prudish, even self-righteous. Sometimes Christians set themselves as an example of holiness that the world could not or did not want to attain. To be called “holier than thou” was common.But those days are long gone, says Stephen McAlpine, author of the new book Being the Bad Guys: How to Live for Jesus in a World That Says You Shouldn’t, published by The Good Book Company. McAlpine is a pastor, blogger, and ex-journa

Feb 16, 2021 • 39:36

The Dangers of a Diet Based on Digital Junk Food

The Dangers of a Diet Based on Digital Junk Food

Solomon prayed for wisdom, and the Lord granted his request. Oh, how we need more Solomons in our day! At least the early Solomon, before all the foreign wives.Brett McCracken is here to help with his new book, The Wisdom Pyramid: Feeding Your Soul in a Post-Truth World, published by Crossway. Brett works as director of communications and senior editor for arts and culture with The Gospel Coalition. You may also know him from his excellent earlier books, especially Uncomfortable: The Awkward and

Feb 9, 2021 • 41:46

Social Justice: Heresy or Necessary?

Social Justice: Heresy or Necessary?

By this point I don’t think I’m going out on a limb by saying the debate over social justice in the church will not progress through Twitter accounts and YouTube rants. Events and face-to-face conversations have been hindered by COVID-19. But at least we have books.We’d be in much better shape inside the church if the debate were informed by books like Confronting Justice Without Compromising Truth, published by Zondervan. The author, Thaddeus Williams, is an associate professor of systematic th

Feb 2, 2021 • 58:48

Russell Moore: How to Stand When the World Is Falling

Russell Moore: How to Stand When the World Is Falling

If I want to read anyone’s reflections on recent years, it’s Russell Moore. The president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the SBC hasn’t been as visible or vocal as he was before 2017, at least until the last week following the attack on the U.S. Capitol. But his newest book, The Courage to Stand: Facing Your Fear Without Losing Your Soul, published by B&H, is even better than a tell-all memoir. It’s a grace-infused reflection on where and how to stand tall when it feels like t

Jan 14, 2021 • 50:00

The Hardest Year and the Hope That Never Fails

The Hardest Year and the Hope That Never Fails

As 2020 finally ends, it feels appropriate to look back on what we've learned and ultimately celebrate what God has done, even in the midst of one of the most difficult years ever collectively experienced.In this special bonus episode of Gospelbound, host Collin Hansen is joined by TGC colleague Melissa Kruger, who co-hosts the Let's Talk podcast. They discuss big trends and stories from 2020, share their hopes for 2021, and reflect on God's faithfulness displayed through TGC and many other area

Dec 15, 2020 • 1:05:05

The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self

The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self

A recent article in New York Magazine included this bombshell, "Roughly 30% of American women under 25 identify as LGBT. For women over 60, that figure is less than 5%."Now, I can't find anyone who believes this number can really be that high. To acknowledge such a dramatic shift in such a short period of time would be nothing short of a world changing revolution. But, we know about rapid onset gender dysphoria among adolescents and teens. We've seen the prevalence of social contagion in our Ins

Nov 17, 2020 • 57:26

Evangelism Is Much Easier Than You Think

Evangelism Is Much Easier Than You Think

Why would anyone think a preacher from 2,000 years ago would be relevant today? Assume for a second you don’t believe in the resurrection. What did his age know of nuclear weapons, space exploration, and microchip computers? Many would say that if that preacher wants to speak for today, his followers will need to translate and update.But that’s not Becky Pippert’s view. Her new book, Stay Salt, argues that while the world has changed, our message must not. Pippert, author of the bestselling 1979

Nov 10, 2020 • 35:21

New Calvinists and the Battle for Evangelicalism

New Calvinists and the Battle for Evangelicalism

On Gospelbound I typically interview authors whose ideas intrigue and encourage me. And today is no different with my guest Brad Vermurlen, author of the new book Reformed Resurgence: The New Calvinist Movement and the Battle Over American Evangelicalism, published by Oxford University Press.Vermurlen works as a research associate in the sociology department at the University of Texas at Austin. His book is revised and expanded from his PhD dissertation at the University of Notre Dame, working u

Nov 3, 2020 • 41:58

The Election of the Evangelical

The Election of the Evangelical

The year 1976 marked a turning point in American and evangelical history. It was the year of the evangelical, with a born-again Southern Baptist, Jimmy Carter, capturing the Democratic nomination and narrowly defeating the Republican incumbent, Gerald Ford. And it was the end of the New Deal elections, when factions had been divided along class and regional lines. From then until now, American elections would be engulfed in ideological culture war between right and left.Daniel K. Williams is one

Oct 27, 2020 • 53:19

The Most Powerful Factor in Determining Belief

The Most Powerful Factor in Determining Belief

Imagine you spent countless hours studying scientific and philosophical objections to Christianity. You enrolled in the classes. You read the books. You practiced the arguments.And you found out that no one really cared.That’s the post-Christian world described by Sam Chan in his new book, How to Talk About Jesus (Without Being That Guy): Personal Evangelism in a Skeptical World, published by Zondervan. Chan is a public speaker for City Bible Forum in Australia and the award-winning author of Ev

Oct 20, 2020 • 36:12

Why Progressive Christianity Can't Bring Reformation

Why Progressive Christianity Can't Bring Reformation

“Time for another Reformation” has been a rallying cry of many Protestants since, well, the original Protestant Reformation. And in the last 20 years you’ve heard this cry from a particular group that wants a new kind of Christianity more attuned to our times.Alisa Childers wants another Reformation, too. But not one that leaves behind historic Christianity. As she writes in her new book, Another Gospel? A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity, published by Tynda

Oct 13, 2020 • 41:32

What Africa and the West Can Give Each Other

What Africa and the West Can Give Each Other

It’s not that Africa needs a different kind of Christianity. But many common challenges for ministry in Africa simply don’t arise in books published in the West. That’s why Conrad Mbewe wrote God’s Design for the Church: A Guide for African Pastors and Ministry Leaders, published by TGC and 9Marks with Crossway. The need for such a resource is tremendous: while about 9 million Christians lived in Africa at the beginning of the 20th century, that number reached 380 million by the year 2000. And i

Oct 6, 2020 • 27:28

David Platt’s Plea Before You Vote

David Platt’s Plea Before You Vote

Elections have consequences, but not nearly as much as we probably think. That's what I concluded after reading David Platt's new book, Before You Vote: Seven Questions Every Christian Should Ask, published by Radical. Here's a sober dose of biblical reality from Platt in the book: "Even if we lose every freedom and protection we have as followers of Jesus in the United States, and even if our government were to become a completely totalitarian regime, we could still live in abundant life as lon

Sep 29, 2020 • 37:04

America’s Secession Threat

America’s Secession Threat

It happened before. Can it happen again? I’m talking about secession. That’s the question that animates David French’s new book, Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation, published by St. Martin’s Press. I’m pretty skeptical about books that seem to oversell such catastrophic outcomes. It seems like scare tactics to sell books. But the way French sets up the book I hadn’t quite realized the scenarios that would make secession politically advantageous for both par

Sep 22, 2020 • 59:37

Promise and Peril: The Decline of Religion in America

Promise and Peril: The Decline of Religion in America

Before the coronavirus pandemic, American religiosity had been in steady decline.When American religiosity peaked in 1960, one in two adults in the United States attended any religious service in a given week. Now it’s a little more than one in three. Membership in religious bodies has declined from more than 75 percent to 62 percent. And the number that gets all the attention is the “nones,” the Americans who claim no religion. That’s now 25 percent, compared to just 5 percent in 1960.It’s hard

Sep 15, 2020 • 26:23

Paul Tripp on Leaders Who Won’t Flame Out

Paul Tripp on Leaders Who Won’t Flame Out

A number of years ago, I grew distressed with the number of friends and colleagues who had left ministry amid controversy and scandal. I tried to learn what had gone wrong and how to keep it from repeating. From that study came several books devoted to helping pastors endure, especially as they learn from historical and present-day mentors who have fought the good fight.I’m grateful for Paul Tripp’s latest contribution to this cause with his new book, Lead: 12 Gospel Principles for Leadership in

Sep 8, 2020 • 38:17

We Have a Better Story

We Have a Better Story

What's most important about humanity never changes. We're made in the image of God and separated from our creator by our sin. We need a savior lest we fall under God's judgment. It doesn't matter where you travel or what time period you study, this story doesn't change. But every culture around the world and across the ages highlights some aspects of this story and ignores others. It's the work of cultural apologetics to discern and explain these changes for Christians seeking to walk faithfully

Sep 1, 2020 • 43:13

Sean of the South on Learning You'll Be Ok

Sean of the South on Learning You'll Be Ok

Everyone loves a good story. Especially in these hard times. Or maybe not. Should we be swapping yarns while the world burns? Maybe we need less levity, more solemnity, when we see so much wrong in the world.As a professional storyteller, Sean Dietrich brings together the levity and solemnity in his new book, Will the Circle Be Unbroken? published by Zondervan. Also known as Sean of the South, Dietrich regales readers with stories of family, faith, and food. But this memoir of learning to believ

Aug 25, 2020 • 24:54

The Future of Christian Marriage

The Future of Christian Marriage

You’ve probably noticed that the views toward and practices of marriage have changed. But how? And how do Christian views and practices differ?That’s what Mark Regnerus set out to discover in a global study of Christians from across denominations. You’ll find the results in his new book, The Future of Christian Marriage, published by Oxford University Press. Mark is a professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin and author of many important books, including Cheap Sex and the Trans

Aug 18, 2020 • 41:56

How to Prioritize Family Discipleship

How to Prioritize Family Discipleship

“No one can help or hurt a child like a parent can.” Do you doubt this observation? Try finding a memoir that isn’t an extended meditation on the author’s parents. And if you’ve read the memoirs I have, you don’t want your children to grow up and write one.The story of growing up with two parents who loved you and loved the Lord doesn’t make for good drama. But it can help set you up for a lifetime of faithfully serving God and neighbors. Matt Chandler aims to help parents toward this goal in hi

Aug 11, 2020 • 32:09

The Bible You Never Expected

The Bible You Never Expected

“Nothing we expected, yet everything we need.”That’s what Michael and Lauren McAfee suggest you’ll find when you read the Bible for yourself. That’s their charge to the millennial generation in their new book, Not What You Think: Why the Bible Might Be Nothing We Expected Yet Everything We Need, published by Zondervan.Michael and Lauren write this book to millennials, those born between 1980 and 1995. Believe it or not, this is the largest generation in American history: 78 million, or one in th

Jul 7, 2020 • 34:28

What We Can Learn from Unlikely Converts

What We Can Learn from Unlikely Converts

I don’t know that any religious conversion is more unlikely than another. After all, we’re only born again because a perfect man who is God died on a cross and rose from the dead on the third day. That’s not a likely story. We’re all equally dead in our transgressions before Jesus saves us.But I know what Randy Newman means in his new book, Unlikely Converts: Improbable Stories of Faith and What They Teach Us About Evangelism [Read TGC's review], published by Kregel. We all know someone who’d re

Jun 30, 2020 • 34:06

How to Prepare for the Most Intense Opposition We've Faced

How to Prepare for the Most Intense Opposition We've Faced

It’s going to get worse before it gets better. We’re facing opposition far more intense than anything Christians in the United States have experienced in the last century.That’s the message from Luke Goodrich in his new book, Free to Believe: The Battle Over Religious History in America, published by Multnomah. Goodrich, the leading religious-freedom attorney at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, has fought and won in the Supreme Court. But he’s concerned that we’re not prepared for the chan

Jun 17, 2020 • 43:59

The Man Who Tackled the Klan

The Man Who Tackled the Klan

Jerry Mitchell remembers what so many others want to forget. For more than three decades, he worked as an investigative reporter for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi. During that time, his dogged reporting helped put four Klansmen in jail after they had eluded justice year after year for their heinous crimes in the 1960s.Mitchell tells this story of justice delayed and finally done in his new book, Race Against Time: A Reporter Reopens the Unsolved Murder Cases of the Civil Rights Era,

Jun 16, 2020 • 29:52

An Emotional History of Doubt

An Emotional History of Doubt

Everyone agrees that we’re drowning under a rising tide of atheism. Right? Actually that’s how author Alec Ryrie describes early 17th century Europe. We’re talking about the century following the Protestant Reformation, a century marked by wars of religion fought between Protestants and Catholics, and civil war in England. It’s the century that gave us these words: “What is the chief end of man? Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever” from the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

Jun 9, 2020 • 33:40

Join Challies on an Epic Journey Through Christian History

Join Challies on an Epic Journey Through Christian History

Tim Challies visited 25 different countries in his memorable year. And I think he may have even eaten McDonald’s in each of these countries. He attended worship services on every continent. He searched high and low for the artifacts that would help him tell the story of 2,000 years of Christian history. And he brings us along that journey in his new book, Epic: An Around-the-World Journey through Christian History, published by Zondervan.I loved following along on social media as he traveled nor

Jun 2, 2020 • 23:14

When You're Found, You Can Fail (and Other Augustinian Insights)

When You're Found, You Can Fail (and Other Augustinian Insights)

I don’t know how exactly to describe Jamie Smith’s new book, On the Road with Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts, published by Brazos. I just know I recommend it.Smith himself describes the book as one last take at Christianity for someone tempted to leave the faith behind. Augustine is the guide—so ancient he’s strange, so common in his experiences that he feels contemporary.Smith is professor of philosophy at Calvin University and author of many thought-provoking bo

May 26, 2020 • 37:32

Tim and Kathy Keller Share the Secret of a Great Marriage

Tim and Kathy Keller Share the Secret of a Great Marriage

“God is in the longest-lived, worst marriage in the history of the world.”That’s from Tim and Kathy Keller in their short new book, On Marriage, part of the How to Find God series with Penguin Books. They continue: “God is the lover and spouse of his people. But we have given him the marriage from hell.” But God has been faithful even when we were not. He sealed this union with us through Jesus Christ in his cross and resurrection. Tim and Kathy write, “Your marriage to him is the surest possibl

May 19, 2020 • 43:08

We Need Formation, Not Performance

We Need Formation, Not Performance

We may not agree on much any longer. But this we seem to share in common: we don’t trust institutions. Just the drop in Americans’ confidence in organized religion should concern us: from 65 percent expressing a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in organized religion 40 years ago down to 38 percent in 2018.Less trust in institutions means fewer close friends. We spend less time with others and feel more disconnected. Through online media we’ve never been exposed to so many competing vi

May 12, 2020 • 31:58

From Mother to Son on Race, Religion, and Relevance

From Mother to Son on Race, Religion, and Relevance

Jasmine Holmes has been called everything from a cultural Marxist to an Uncle Tom. And other derogatory names I can’t repeat on this podcast. Thus is the fate of anyone who seeks to transcend our cultural, religious, political, and ethnic tribes.She lays out a gospel-centered, transcendent agenda in her timely new book, Mother to Son: Letters to a Black Boy on Identity and Hope, published by InterVarsity Press. If I had to select a representative quote from the book, it might be this one: “The l

May 5, 2020 • 37:02

Pastor, You Can't Give What You Haven't Received

Pastor, You Can't Give What You Haven't Received

Harold Senkbeil has the secret of sustainable pastoral work: “You need to realize that you’ve got nothing to give to others that you yourself did not receive.”That’s his main message in a new book called The Care of Souls: Cultivating a Pastor’s Heart [read TGC’s review], published by Lexham Press. Senkbeil is an executive director of DOXOLOGY: The Lutheran Center for Spiritual Care, and a veteran of nearly 50 years in parish ministry, seminary teaching, and parachurch leadership.Senkbeil argues

Apr 28, 2020 • 30:01

Are You Willing to Obey Before You Understand?

Are You Willing to Obey Before You Understand?

Whether Rachel Gilson is a hero or villain depends on your perspective. Her remarkable story doesn’t leave much room in between.“When pursuing your desire for same-gender sex and romance would publicly mark you as a hero—brave and strong—denying it makes you a villain.”So Gilson writes in a new book, Born Again This Way: Coming Out, Coming to Faith, and What Comes Next, published by The Good Book Company. Gilson serves on the leadership team of theological development and culture with Cru and li

Apr 21, 2020 • 43:44

John Piper on the Coronavirus and Christ

John Piper on the Coronavirus and Christ

How likely are you to contract the coronavirus? To die of it? Or at least to know someone who does?Even if you knew those odds, such knowledge would bring little comfort. In these uncertain times you need something more solid that you can trust. You need a foundation you can stand on. In this pandemic, God is inviting us to build our lives on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ. God is good, and he is in control.In a new book, Coronavirus and Christ, John Piper writes, “The coronavirus is God’s

Apr 8, 2020 • 45:34

John Lennox on Where to Find God During COVID-19

John Lennox on Where to Find God During COVID-19

It’s the tale of two crowns: the so-called coronavirus that looks like a crown under the microscope and Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Can God be good when thousands around the world get sick and die from something they cannot even see? Where is he, and what is he doing?John Lennox poses these and other good questions in a new book, Where Is God in a Coronavirus World?, published by The Good Book Company. John Lennox is professor of mathematics at Oxford University (emeritus),

Apr 2, 2020 • 38:34

Follow This 'Third Way' for Resilient Faith

Follow This 'Third Way' for Resilient Faith

The church will always face external threats. The gospel will always incite opposition. What if our biggest problem, then, isn’t hostility from the world but instead compromise inside the church?Gerald Sittser marshals that argument in his new book, Resilient Faith: How the Early Christian ‘Third Way’ Changed the World, published by Brazos. Sittser is professor of theology at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington.He writes: “The problem we currently face is not primarily political or ideol

Mar 31, 2020 • 34:53

Moral Leadership for Turbulent Times

Moral Leadership for Turbulent Times

If Erik Larson writes the book, I read the book. It's one of my simple rules of life. All the more so when he writes about one of the most dramatic periods of history, the so called London blitz of 1940 and 1941 when Great Britain withstood aerial bombardment by Nazi Germany. Larson's latest book is The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz, published by Crown. Larson is also the number one New York Times bestselling author of two of my most memorable

Mar 21, 2020 • 26:59

A Handbook for Thriving Amid Secularism

A Handbook for Thriving Amid Secularism

It turns out that rock bottom isn’t the worst place to be. When you have nowhere else to turn, you realize we need renewal.Mark Sayers has not written another book on the challenges that face the church in the West, though few would be better suited to do so. He’s written instead a handbook for not only surviving but even thriving in our secular age. Sayers is the author of Reappearing Church: The Hope for Renewal in the Rise of Our Post-Christian Culture, published by Moody. Sayers has written

Mar 17, 2020 • 35:22

The Revolution the West Wishes It Could Forget

The Revolution the West Wishes It Could Forget

Now here’s a good question: “How was it that a cult inspired by the execution of an obscure criminal in a long-vanished empire came to exercise such a transformative and enduring influence on the world?”That we take for granted this enduring influence is the main point of Tom Holland’s new book, Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World, published by Basic Books.Holland is an award-winning historian of the ancient world and regular contributor to the Times of London, The Wall Stree

Mar 10, 2020 • 42:08

How Decadence Could Give Way to Revival

How Decadence Could Give Way to Revival

I don’t know what vision the term “decadence” conjures up for you. Some advertising campaign years ago implanted an association for me with chocolate cake. But Ross Douthat sees a rich and powerful society no longer going anywhere in particular. We’re stuck with economic stagnation, political stalemates, cultural exhaustion, and demographic decline.He writes: “For the first time since 1491, we have found the distances too vast and the technology too limited to take us to somewhere genuinely undi

Mar 3, 2020 • 38:59

Introducing Gospelbound

Introducing Gospelbound

Gospelbound, hosted by Collin Hansen for The Gospel Coalition, is a podcast for those searching for firm faith in an anxious age. Each week, Collin talks with insightful guests about books, ideas, and how to navigate life by the gospel of Jesus Christ in a post-Christian culture. Coming Tuesday, March 3.

Feb 20, 2020 • 1:56

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