vocational channels archives

“The Great Commission” (Matthew 28:16-20) is the central driving mission for God’s people. But here is a question to consider: How does this commission that churches have for people relate to the mission that God has for every aspect of life? Before we know what our mission is, we must first know what God’s mission is.

Christopher J. H. Wright (PhD, Cambridge) is the Global Ambassador of the Langham Partnership, strengthening leaders in churches around the world. He was chair of the Lausanne Theology Working Group and the chief architect of The Cape Town Commitment from the Third Lausanne Congress of 2010. He has written many books including commentaries on Deuteronomy, Jeremiah, Lamentations, and Ezekiel. Two incredibly influential books have been The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative (IVP Academic) and The Mission of God’s People: A Biblical Theology of the Church’s Mission (Zondervan Academic).

His latest book is The Great Story and the Great Commission: Participating in the Biblical Drama of Mission (Baker Academic, 2023).

This episode of the Reintegrate Podcast is a little different in that we live-streamed it in conjunction with the Logos Daily Circle. Our guest is Jason Stone, the founder of the Logos Daily Circle.

This is the first of what we are hoping will be a new joint venture between Reintegrate and Logos Daily to feature our guests to the huge community in the Logos Daily Circle.

TIME STAMPS
What we discuss in this episode:
0:00 Getting to know Bob, David, and Jason
8:30 What is Logos Daily Circle?
13:42 What is Reintegrate?
18:52 How should “online community” (like Logos Daily) be different than “social media?”
25:22 What is “calling,” and how can we reintegrate our vocations with God’s mission?
35:30 What is the connection between callings and the kingdom of God?
41:09 Does what we do in our work in a fallen and temporary world really matter?
52:40 How can pastors better equip people to be missional in and through their vocations?

Evangelical Christians often look to Christian celebrities and cultural strongmen for leadership and validation. And we have seen many celebrity pastors, ministry leaders, and cultural icons fall from their lofty celebrity platforms because they didn’t have the needed spiritual maturity or accountability. 

Award-winning journalist Katelyn Beaty‘s new book from Brazos Press, Celebrities for Jesus: How Personas, Platforms, and Profits are Hurting the Church. explores the ramifications of this phenomenon.

Too many of us have experienced abuse of power from pastors in our churches. This happens in churches that have allowed for a culture of toxicity. To resist toxicity, we need to restore goodness in our churches. The Hebrew word translated “good” is tov. Scot McKnight and his daughter Laura Barringer have written A Church Called Tov: Forming a Goodness Culture That Resists Abuses of Power and Promotes Healing (Tyndale, 2020). 

In this episode, we interview Scot McKnight. Dr. McKnight is Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lisle, IL. He is a New Testament scholar, historian of early Christianity, and theologian. He has a very popular blog called “Jesus Creed” that is housed at ChristianityToday.com. 

What does it take for Christians to pursue “shalom” in every corner of society? How can churches be a blessing to their communities in practical ways to actually make life better for those who live there?

Our guest is Dr. Amy Sherman, the author of several books, manuals, and over 80 articles and essays. Her last book, Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good from InterVarsity Press, won Christianity Today’s 2013 Book of the Year in the Christian Living category.

We discuss how churches can make positive impacts in six areas: (1) The True, (2) The Good, (3) The Beautiful, (4) The Prosperous, (5) The Just and Well-Ordered, and (6) The Sustainable.

What are we saved for?

God’s inviting us to join his mission to reconcile all things back to himself. JR Rozko helps Bob and Brendan understand the connections between salvation, discipleship, and mission. Salvation is the embodied experience of participating in what God is now doing in the world. “Discipleship is less about me trying to be like Jesus, and more about me trying to live my life as though Jesus were me.” JR is the Executive Director of The Telos Collective, a national church leadership training organization of the Anglican Church in North America.

We are experiencing disunity in ever-increasing ways. We are feeling it especially in 2020. What is God’s grand plan? “To unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth!” (Eph 1:10). Dr. Mark Roberts, the Executive Director for the Max De Pree Center for Leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary, wrote a new commentary on Ephesians. He shares with us what Ephesians says the gospel accomplishes: The gospel reintegrates all things, which includes the reintegration of the human race.

In this podcast, we continue our discussion with Dr. John Fea. Professor of American History at Messiah University. He provides a historical framework for understanding the rise of the Religious Right and the political environment that led to evangelicals embracing Donald Trump in the 2016 election. Issues he addresses in his book, Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump.

Politics, Social Media, and Polarization

We can’t even agree during a pandemic! Brendan and Bob discuss how we can begin to overcome the venom in our discourse that we’ve learned from our contentious culture. Instead of mimicking what pundits on cable news do, dehumanizing their opponents, and giving in to fear and rage, we are to be what Jesus called the “peacemakers.”