The Kindness of God

Each Friday, New Saint Andrews holds "Disputatio," where we all gather to hear speakers, followed by a Q&A time. Often, the floor is open to questions from the floor. Sometimes the focus is upon a one-on-one interview on stage. The topics range from the notion of holy ambition to the promise/perils of AI to actual student debates. The gathering, where upper classmen and faculty wear black robes, corresponds to what's called "chapel" at most Christian schools. But, again, this assembly is more discursive than usual. And yes, the Latin, it's big here. All the freshmen take a year of it, and our grades come out in terms of "summa" this and "laude" that. Anyway, a distinguished speaker had to cancel at the last minute to make a run to DC, so the day before, I was drafted to speak. I decided to go with a more pastoral approach, and I managed to take up the whole time, leaving no room for response. (I wasn't reluctant to field questions and comments. Just got long winded. But I think it worked out OK.)

Moscow, Idaho, April 2, 2025

CrossPolitic

I’ve enjoyed my year in Moscow, Idaho, teaching philosophy as a fill-in at New Saint Andrews College. The tasks have been invigorating and the people inspiring, not only at the school, but also in the wider community. And that community includes David Shannon (AKA “Chocolate Knox”), a host of CrossPolitic (“Christ Above Politics”). In connection with Founders Ministries, I sat for his camera at Grace Baptist, Cape Coral, FL, and at Founders events connected to the SBC annual meetings in Birmingham and Nashville. Here in Moscow, he was kind to ask me to sit in on one of his discussions, this one with Toby Sumpter, a pastor at Christ Church locally.

Moscow, Idaho, February 24, 2025

Where Beauty Dies, Culture Follows

As Digital Engagement Officer, Lennox Kalifungwa is a great addition to the New Saint Andrews College staff. He comes from Lusaka, Zambia, but spent a good deal of his life in South Africa. Along the way, he’s become a very insightful, eloquent Christian scholar and communicator. You can read a bit about him here (https://nsa.edu/contributors/lennox-kalifungwa) and some of his blogs here (https://nsa.edu/blog). I’ve had him speak to and lead discussions in several of my classes, and he was kind enough to interview me for his “Of Flames and Crowns” series. The episode (#5) is called “Where Beauty Dies, Culture Follows.” It runs about an hour.

Moscow, Idaho, January 23, 2025

This Dude Podcast

So many interesting, gratifying people in Moscow, Idaho, many of them connected with New Saint Andrews College, where I'm teaching as a fill-in this year. One of them is a remarkable young man named Jackson Crapuchettes, an NSAC grad. He interviews folks for his This Dude Podcast, and it was a pleasure to sit down with him one Saturday morning for nearly two hours in the reading room of the college library. It wasn't just a Q&A exercise, but a conversation.

Moscow, Idaho, November 3, 2024

Whither Southern Baptists?

While down in Cape Coral, Florida (beside Fort Myers) to teach a week on "Logic and Rhetoric: Reasoning and Persuading" for the Institute of Public Theology (IOPT), I sat down with Dr. Tom Ascol (Senior Pastor of Grace Baptist Church and President of Founders Ministries) to talk about the Southern Baptist Convention. Here we discuss its recent past and prospects for the future.

Cape Coral, Florida, March 19, 2024

Love Within The Church And For The Church

It's such a privilege to preach for my most-excellent daughter's most-excellent father in law, Dr. Carl Broggi, the pastor of Community Bible Church in historic Beaufort, South Carolina. Pastor Broggi came from a Catholic family in Massachusetts and went to Jesuit Boston College. But under the Lord, he found his way to Evangelical faith and thus to Dallas and Southwestern Seminaries, and then on to years of service with Campus Crusade. He leads a remarkable church, drawing on the region, but with particular service to personnel from the local Marine Corps Air Station (cf. the film, The Great Santini) and the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, where countless men wearing the Globe and Anchor have gone through basic training. He and his wife Audrey have raised an exemplary family, whose children include my son-in-law, Jeremy Broggi, who served in the "W" Bush White House, earned a JD at Harvard, and has clerked for both district and circuit federal judges in DC. Carl and Audrey's daughter, GraceAnna, is married to Grant Castleberry, an SBTS grad, who pastors a church in Raleigh, North Carolina. On this occasion, I preached from the Love Chapter, 1 Corinthians 13, with special application to the church.

Beaufort, SC, January 21, 2024

What's Wrong With the American Church

I've enjoyed being interviewed by my former SBTS student, Richard Henry, now the pastor of New Harvest Baptist Church in Caneyville, Kentucky. Back in 2021, we spoke in my home about Christianity and the Arts. This time around, we discussed the foibles and trajectory of the church in America, albeit with a word of hope. Last month, I had the privilege of preaching Richard’s ordination message up in Kentucky.

YouTube, October 22, 2023

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At the Mic in Anaheim

In 2021, the Houston Chronicle ran a series on sex abuse in the SBC, identifying 220 men convicted of the crime. Immediately, the SBC Executive Committee was embroiled in defending itself against charges of negligence, and a range of leaders jumped on the issue and came prepared to bring recommendations to the 2021 annual meeting in Nashville. Messengers approved appointment of a task force to address the matter, one to be picked by newly-elected president Ed Litton. I wasn’t persuaded that this was necessary or even advisable, and I faulted the task force’s work here and here. At the 2022 meeting in Anaheim, they had framed a range of actions for approval, including the formation of an implementation task force. As time for discussion wound down, and it seemed to me that there needed to be additional words of caution, I stepped to the mic and took my three minutes to argue that the motion should be defeated. But in vain. The vote, with a show of raised ballots, went decisively in favor of the proposal. Still, I was heartened by the number of people who thanked me afterwards for giving it a shot. You’ll find my little, impromptu contribution from 1:15:11 to 1:18:11 in this session.

New Orleans, Louisiana, July 7, 2023

Father's Day Panel, RCC

On June 18 (Father's Day), 2023, Brandon Wolf moderated a panel of three dads, myself included. He's an elder at Redemption City Church (SBC), where my son Jed is pastor. We come to the couch they set out for us at the 21:00-minute mark. Early on, we introduce ourselves, and then the discussion runs about 35 minutes. (This is the version the congregation witnessed at the second of three services; the cast changed with each service.)

Redemption City Church, June 28, 2023