Consider It Joy

We ask a lot of questions in our podcast, questions about music, faith, theology, movies... And we ask our guests a lot of questions.  This time, it's your turn!  You submitted questions, and we answer them!  Some questions are personal, some are fun, but they all pull out some great stories!  This is a relaxed, fun episode, where your questions lead us on a winding path!  

If you havn't yet, please consider subscribing (and rating...

Deconstruction has been a big topic around the church, and a lot of people, like with everything else, have taken sides on it.  This episode asks what is deconstruction? What does it look like when it happens?  Is it bad? Can it be a good thing? We invited Preston Ulmer, a pastor and author of the books 'The Doubters Club' and 'Deconstruct Faith, Discover Jesus' to help us define the word, and share some hope with those who are fac...

There have been SO MANY amazing theme songs over the years.  From the animated shows of the 80s, to the sitcoms of the 90s, even the public television educational shows had some real jams! Join us as we walk through some of the best of all time, and attempt to declare the best TV theme song ever created. Will you agree?  Will the people revolt against us? Either way, you'll love this nostalgic trip down memory lane and the theme so...

Some people get excited about them, others cringe.  We thought it was time to have a thoughtful conversation about Christian movies.  We invited back our friend Sean Chandler, one of the top movie critics on YouTube, to talk about things like:

• Where are they getting it right, and where can they improve?
• Should we label movies as 'Christian' and 'non-Christian?'
• How Christians are portrayed in Christian movies, but also in mains...

Ever wonder what the process is to write a song?  Anyone can write a song, but when you get a recording contract, is there a specific process?  Are there requirements?  Do record labels get to control the songs that are written?  We talk to our favorite recording artist Steven Stanley about it all. BUT, the BEST PART, we attempt to write a song in real time, have Stephen perform it, and share the live recording.  Listen in to a hil...

In the world of Christian apologetics, it is easy to move from backing up something you believe, to aggressively being defensive about it. In a time where everyone seems to be defensive, what is a better way to approach this?  Do we really need to engage every argument that comes our way?  What if it's ok to simply say "I don't know." 

Join us for a refreshing and eye opening approach to apologetics.  We are joined this week by ret...

If you've ever felt removed, hurt, ignored, or rejected by the church, you're not alone. Maybe you want to grow spiritually, but not sure you ever want to step into a church again. Where is the balance between the church taking responsibility, and the individual being able to let go?  We invited a pastor who has experienced first hand being hurt by the church multiple times.  Pastor Matt Delgadillo takes us very realistic approach ...

In our final show for 2023, we are taking a look back at our personal favorite music, movies, and moments of the year, and pretty sure you'll be surprised (possibly confused) at what we picked.

Hear which concert had people in butterfly costumes walking around on stilts, go behind the scenes with some secret industry events, and try to figure out why in the world would Matt pick THAT movie?!

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Even a joyful holiday can be stressful or messy when the family gets together.  For some, it may be the first holiday without someone you love; for others maybe the incoming drama you know will happen around the table. It just might be both.  We have experienced all of the above this year, and invited pastor & psychologist Jon Engen to give us encouragement and practical tips in how to keep your sanity during the holidays.

This...

Every place has it's own culture.  From geographically like a region or city, to a community like a book club or sports team.  Churches have specific cultures, too.  Sometimes, that culture and what the Bible actually says might not be the same.  We are joined by Cecil Ramos, a Global Worker from Thailand, to talk about how we can thoughtfully navigate between church culture and Biblical truth.  

If you enjoy the podcast, please ch...

If you lived through it, you already know.  If you were not around Christian music in the 90's, you're about to find out. This was a truly unique time in Christian music when the industry exploded in every direction and format.  We talk to the authors of Mixtape Theology (Dr. Ashley Mofield and Rachel Cash) about what made that time frame so different in CCM, and dig into some of the theology of the songs from that time.

This episo...

Anger is such an emotional response, it's hard to talk about it objectively.  We like to feel justified in our anger, because there are terrible things in the world.  People say "even Jesus flipped tables" or "but it's a righteous anger." What the Bible actually says might surprise you.  It will also free you. We talk with our friend (who happens to also be a pastor and a psychologist) Jon Engen about what role, if any, anger shoul...

Country music superstar Jay DeMarcus has been on all sides - on stage and in studio; performing and managing; mainstream and Christian; gospel music, rock music, and country music. So how do you find balance between the business side, and the ministry side? AND MOST IMPORTANTLY: How did Jay end up on the best B-movie franchise of all time? 

There is lots of laughing and lots of learning, with some surprising revelations from one of...

All the songs sound the same. They're too repetitive. There's no originality. They play the same 10 songs.

We hear it all the time, and have seen all the memes, but is it true?  Our answers might surprise you!

We tackle the myths and stereotypes of Christian music and Christian radio.  To do this, we brought our friend Mike Couchman.  Mike has worked in multiple formats of radio, and is a trail blazer in the Christian radio industr...

Do they walk through jungles with machetes? Do they just hand out tracts? Are they pushing western culture into the third world countries?  What does a missionary actually do? This episode we talk to our close friend Cecil Ramos who has been on the mission field for a decade. He helps us understand the difference between some of the past perceptions of what a Global Worker does, ways it has been done right as well as wrong, how it ...

What defines a Christian song?  What if a Christian artist does a love song for their spouse, or a secular artist does a song about their faith?  Why do we say someone is a 'Christian artist' but not say, for example, 'Christian Optometrist' if they are a believer? 

Chris Cleveland is the perfect person to have a conversation with about this! Stars Go Dim didn't start as a "Christian" band although he always was, but now they do op...

Are we living in the end times?

If you talk about the 'end times' in the church, you will likely get one of these responses. "Oh yeah, I read all the Left Behind books"  "have you seen what's happening in (fill in the blank with a middle eastern country)"  or "Revelation is weird and confusing"

There are a lot of hot takes about the book of Revelation and living in the end times, but not a lot of thoughtful discussion.  For some it...

What's it like getting thrown off of a car and caught by Vin Diesel?  Brenda Garcia knows. Brenda is a professional stunt performer & actor who has been in some of the biggest movies!  Ant Man & The Wasp, Fast X, Transformers, and many more!  She talks about her life in the stunt world, the scariest stunts she's had to do, and how she has been able to keep her faith strong in Hollywood.

You can connect with Brenda on Face...

We love movies. We also love Jesus.  Sometimes the church community has a hard time navigating those things, or developing a standard for them.  On this episode we are joined by one of the top movie reviewers on Youtube, Sean Chandler.  Sean is a former pastor who switched to full time work as a Youtuber after a powerful testimony unfolded in his life. What is the right perspective to have on Hollywood, Youtube, and Jesus?  Is Holl...