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On October 4, 2017 By In Podcast

Episode 16: Colin Kaepernick and the NFL Culture War

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In this episode of the Kuyperian Commentary Podcast, Pastors Uri Brito and Andrew Isker discuss the recent brouhaha over the flag and the NFL. They discuss the religious nature and culture of the NFL as well as various American idolatries.

On August 26, 2016, then–San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick quietly remained seated during the National Anthem at 49ers pre-season game. A few weeks into the new ritual, he was asked about it: “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” explained Kaepernick.

Since then some players have continued the protest, but “gasoline was poured onto the fire,” said Andrew Isker, at a campaign rally for failed Republican Senatorial candidate Luther Strange. At the event, President Trump criticized the on-going protests as, “a total disrespect for our heritage,” and encouraged NFL owners to fire protesting players. Trump described a scenario where NFL owners would react to the protest with, “Get that son of bitch off the field right now, he’s fired. He’s fired!”

Pastor Isker explains how the protests have revealed the political worldview of the NFL as aligned with the entertainment industry. “Their views, especially in the case of Kaepernick, are radically to the left and the NFL has more-or-less given cover to allow this.”

They conclude with a call to worship the Triune God as the most central act of the Christian. This is a helpful discussion. Please leave your comments.

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On September 27, 2017 By In Podcast

Episode 15: Interviewing C.R. Wiley

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Contributors Uri Brito and Dustin Messer introduce the listeners to author and pastor, C.R. Wiley. We learn about Pastor Wiley’s pastoral and writing ministry and his book, Man of the House: A Handbook for Building a Shelter That Will Last in a World That Is Falling Apart, as well as his new fiction series published by Canon Press. You will not want to miss this!

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On September 25, 2017 By In Podcast

Episode 14: Biblical Counseling with Paul Tautges

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In this episode of the Kuyperian Commentary Podcast, Pastor Uri Brito and Dr. Paul Tautges discuss the role of Biblical Counseling in the Church.

“Counseling is the normal work of Christian Discipleship,” says Dr. Tautges, who also serves as senior pastor of Cornerstone Community Church just outside of Cleveland, Ohio.

Where preaching is often considered the public ministry of the word, Tautges suggests counseling may be the “personal ministry of the word.” The two discuss the Biblical basis for Christian counseling and its relationship to psychology and the Church. Pastor Uri Brito is also a certified counselor through the Association of Biblical Counselors.

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On September 13, 2017 By In Podcast

Episode 13: The Nashville Statement

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In this episode of the Kuyperian Commentary Podcast, Pastors Uri Brito and Peter Jones discuss the impact of the Nashville Statement.

On August 29, 2017, the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) announced the release of The Nashville Statement, an evangelical coalition statement on biblical sexuality. The statement, comprised of 14 affirmations and denials, addresses issues related to the Christian view of human sexuality.

“When it came out, the reaction was quick and sharp by the progressives,” said Peter Jones, who published a reaction on Kuyperian entitled Mere Sexuality. Jones writes,”the reaction of progressive Christians and secular folks indicates that the document was necessary.”

In a guest post for Kuyperian, Alistair Roberts said that, “In signing the statement, I am not committing myself to walk in lockstep with a particular party, but am joining with fellow flawed Christians in bearing witness to what I believe to be essential Christian truth.”

The entire text of The Nashville Statement can be read here, with a list of endorsements for the statement found here.

“If you reject the substance of the document that is a serious issue” said Peter Jones, “In my mind, you are rejecting Christian orthodoxy and Christian morality…”

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On August 30, 2017 By In Podcast

Episode 12: Clergy Self-Care

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In this episode of the Kuyperian Commentary Podcast, Pastor Uri Brito and the Rev. Canon Dr. Tony Baron discuss the idea of clergy self-care and pastoral life satisfaction.

“We ought to love the church,” says Uri Brito. “But never at the expense of our families.”

Uri Brito is the Senior Pastor of Providence Church in Pensacola, Fl. He is married to Melinda and is the father of four children. He is the editor of The Church-Friendly Family, author of The Trinitarian Father, and a certified counselor through the Association of Biblical Counselors (ABC). Uri is also the founder and a contributor to Kuyperian Commentary and a board member of the Theopolis Institute. Rev. Brito received his M.Div from Reformed Theological Seminary and is currently a doctoral student at RTS.

The Rev. Canon Dr. Tony Baron shares on what constitutes a healthy and satisfying life and how to approach each of them. You can watch his entire video series on pastoral life satisfaction here.

Tony Baron is a psychologist, theologian, professor and author— he has successfully planted two churches, developed a Christian Healing Center, and started two consulting firms based on the concept of servant leadership. Dr. Tony Baron serves as the Director of Azusa Pacific Seminary in San Diego and Associate Professor of Christian Leadership and Spiritual Formation at Azusa Pacific University. Baron is also founding president of Servant Leadership Institute, a resource think tank on leadership development and transformation, and has shared his expertise with churches and denominations worldwide. Ordained as an Anglican priest and serving as Canon for Clergy and Congregational Care for the Anglican Church in North America under Bishop Todd Hunter, Baron has a great love for current and future pastors who seek to live, learn, and love the Christ-life within the Church.

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On August 23, 2017 By In Podcast, Pro-Life

Episode 11: Abortion, Courage and Blood Money

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In this episode of the Kuyperian Commentary Podcast, Jesse Sumpter interviews Pastor Toby Sumpter to discuss the Christian’s responsibility on the abortion issue. Pastor Sumpter believes, “We need to pass laws outlawing abortion in our states and then we need to refuse to show up in federal court.”

In June of 2017, Pastor Sumpter penned an article entitled, “Courage & Blood Money: A Proposal toward the Abolition of Abortion” for his blog on Crosspolitic. In this cutting blog post, he criticizes Christians for failing to demonstrate the courage to challenge the federal government on abortion.

“What would happen if the Feds started sniffing around the Colorado or Washington State marijuana laws?” asks Pastor Sumpter. “Or what about states that have declared that they will not enforce illegal immigrant laws? I’m pretty sure the states wouldn’t give the Feds the time of day.”

The Idaho pastor notes that current efforts to make progress against abortion are often undermined by the cowardice of American Christians. “We think we need to be nice — but that is not a fruit of the Spirit,” said Sumpter. “We need to be patient, to be kind… but what we need to recognize is that there are more options and tools at hand.”

Another significant obstacle for states like Idaho is the amount of federal funding that the state depends on each year. A legal breech between the state and federal government could jeopardize the billions of dollars the federal government gives to the state. According to Pastor Sumpter, “the feds are paying us to murder 1300 to 1400 babies every year in the state of Idaho… they are bribing us to murder our children. We ought to say ‘no’ and that we won’t sacrifice the life one child for all the money in the world.”

Toby J. Sumpter serves as a minister at Trinity Reformed Church in Moscow, Idaho and is the author of the commentary Job Through New Eyes: A Son for Glory and Blood-Bought World. He is married to Jenny and they have four children.

Podcast music and editing by George Reed.

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On August 9, 2017 By In Interviews, Podcast

The Life of J.R.R. Tolkien

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In this interview, Pastor Uri Brito discusses the life and legacy of J.R.R. Tolkien with Pastor Mark Horne.

Pastor Horne is the author of J.R.R. Tolkien of Christian Encounters, a series of biographies from Thomas Nelson Publishers, highlights important lives from all ages and areas of the Church.

“When Tolkien becomes famous he’s almost too old,” says Horne, who has written about Tolkien’s little known early life and career.

Born in South Africa and growing up in Great Britain, J.R.R. Tolkien, or Ronald as he was known, led a young life filled with uncertainty and instability. His was not a storybook childhood- his father died when Ronald was three years old, and his mother died just before he reached adolescence. Left under the guardianship of his mother’s friend and priest, Ronald forged his closest relationships with friends who shared his love for literature and languages.

As Tolkien grew older, married, served as a soldier, and became a well-respected Oxford professor publishing weighty works on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Beowulf, the Christian faith that his mother had instilled in him continued as an intrinsic element of his creative imagination and his everyday life.

It was through The Hobbit and the three-volume The Lord of the Rings that Tolkien became a literary giant throughout the world. In his fiction, which earned him the informal title of “the father of modern fantasy literature,” Tolkien presents readers with a vision of freedom- nothing preachy- that a strong, unequivocal faith can transmit.

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On August 2, 2017 By In Books, Podcast

Episode 9, What Should a Pastor Read?

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What should a pastor’s reading list and library look like? Should his reading be limited to serious theological tomes and commentaries?

In this episode of the Kuyperian Commentary Podcast, Pastor Uri Brito explains how our patterns and choices in reading can reflect a more Trinitarian approach that includes a broader variety of reading.

Subscribe to the Kuyperian Commentary Podcast on iTunes and Google Play.

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On July 26, 2017 By In Music, Podcast, Worship

Episode 8b, Fighting Musical Relativism in the Church with James B. Jordan

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In part two of this series on music, Jarrod Richey again interviews James B. Jordan, scholar in residence at the Theopolis Institute (Birmingham, Alabama) and founder of Biblical Horizons.

On this podcast, Jordan addresses the question of the appropriateness of music in worship, the use of chant in the Protestant tradition, and musical instruments.

Jordan makes the argument that “worship shouldn’t sound like the rest of the week.” He acknowledges that this often makes modern worshippers uncomfortable, but points to John Calvin’s example of teaching the Genevan Psalter, then strange and unfamiliar to the adults, to children. “Do you want you children growing up not knowing the psalms?” asks Jordan. “Or are you willing to set aside what makes you feel good for the sake of your kids?”

Demystifying chant, Jordan points out that part of the problem is the English language itself. He explains that “other languages don’t have two different words for sing and chant.” Jordan surveys the various Protestant uses of chant and explains the surprisingly recent history of what we think chanting sounds like.

Finally, James B. Jordan offers practical wisdom for pastors and worship leaders on how to develop music in their local congregations. “Don’t do anything that calls attention to yourself,” says Jordan, who prefers to see the leaders in worship as servants, not performers. On the issue of instruments in Worship, Jordan playfully tackles to the controversy of guitars and explains how the pipe organ most fully respects the orchestral dignity of the worship service.

Subscribe to the Kuyperian Commentary Podcast on iTunes and Google Play.

About James B. Jordan

James B. Jordan Theopolis Biblical Horizons His father was a professor of French Literature and his mother a piano teacher and a poetess. Jordan graduated from the University of Georgia in 1971 with a degree in Comparative Literature and studies in music and political philosophy. He finished his master’s degree in systematic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia and was awarded the D. Litt. degree from the Central School of Religion, England, in 1993.

Jordan is the author of several books, including The Sociology of the Church (1986); Through New Eyes: Developing a Biblical View of the World (1988); Creation in Six Days (1999); and several books of Bible exposition, worship, and liturgy.

Music:

Psalm 119 – Psalm Sing, Christ Church, Moscow, ID.
Rendition of Psalm 119 by Dr. David Erb.

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On July 19, 2017 By In Culture, Music, Podcast

Episode 8, Fighting Musical Relativism in the Church with James B. Jordan

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In part one of this series on music, Jarrod Richey interviews James B. Jordan, scholar in residence at the Theopolis Institute (Birmingham, Alabama) and founder of Biblical Horizons.

This podcast on “fighting musical relativism in the church” is a discussion about a Christian theology of music, how to read the Bible’s musical themes, and developing mature church music.

Jordan also discusses the historicity of the psalms and how music shapes our theology.

Subscribe to the Kuyperian Podcast on iTunes and Google Play.

About James B. Jordan

James B. Jordan Theopolis Biblical Horizons His father was a professor of French Literature and his mother a piano teacher and a poetess. Jordan graduated from the University of Georgia in 1971 with a degree in Comparative Literature and studies in music and political philosophy. He finished his master’s degree in systematic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia and was awarded the D. Litt. degree from the Central School of Religion, England, in 1993.

Jordan is the author of several books, including The Sociology of the Church (1986); Through New Eyes: Developing a Biblical View of the World (1988); Creation in Six Days (1999); and several books of Bible exposition, worship, and liturgy.

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