Posts by Mortification of Spin

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Bully Pulpit: Navel-Gazing Translations

Mortification of Spin
Dec 2, 2015
Seems every category of person needs their own make of Bible these days in order to really read it, “for themselves”. What does this say about our culture, and even more, the Church? Have we grown so individualized that even our Bible translations aid in our navel gazing? Is the Word...
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Mortification of Spin

Pornography: A Perpetual Pastoral Problem

Mortification of Spin
Nov 25, 2015
There’s a lot of talk [ah-boat] pornography these days. Christian author and blogger, Tim Challies, even calling it “the primary pastoral issue of the church”. Tim lends insights from his pastoral perspective and the call to fight this particular lust of the flesh by seeking...
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Mortification of Spin

Bully Pulpit: The Art of Application

Mortification of Spin
Nov 18, 2015
Sermon applications … they're important and can be a real hit or miss. So how should we think of making them from the pulpit and implementing them from the pew? As a pastor, should you aim to include the big picture of the gospel in every sermon, or would that be a stretch? And if you...
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Pink Theology

Mortification of Spin
Nov 11, 2015
Today we have Hannah Anderson on the line. Hannah is a pastor's wife, blogger, author of "Made For More", and co-host on the podcast, Persuasian. Usually holding her own among the fellas, Aimee’s glad for more estrogen on the show. Hannah asks pointed questions for the Church...
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Bully Pulpit: The Lord's Supper (Part 2)

Mortification of Spin
Nov 4, 2015
Exclusion of the Lord's table - it is both a severe mercy and primary act of church discipline and something our hosts have given witness to in their own churches. Carl, Aimee, & Todd share insights from this discipline, the beauty it can yield, and some other odds and ends: Do you take...
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Mortification of Spin

The Visibly Invisible Church

Mortification of Spin
Oct 28, 2015
An impostor host has taken over! Only his second time on the show and he wants to call all the shots! Tune in to hear who our first-time honorary host is as Carl, Aimee & Todd discuss the invisible Church. So who decides who's in or who's out of the Church? Does the visible church...
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Mortification of Spin

Bully Pulpit: The Lord's Supper (Part I)

Mortification of Spin
Oct 21, 2015
This week Carl, Aimee, & Todd chew on the significance and mystery behind the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper. There are many different views on this sacrament, and more ink was spilt over this particular issue in the Reformation than any other! So what are the elements? What is the...
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Mortification of Spin

Puritans, Piety, & Prodigals

Mortification of Spin
Oct 14, 2015
Reverend Joel Beeke joins us today to talk piety and backsliding. Joel has faithfully pastored for 37 years having served 29 of them at Heritage Reformed church in Grand Rapids, is President of Puritan Reformed Seminary, and has authored numerous books on the puritan writings. So why read the...
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Bully Pulpit: Emotional Exhibitionism

Mortification of Spin
Oct 6, 2015
Due to some technical difficulties (yes, even recording equipment has not escaped the Fall), we've reached into the vault to resurrect a conversation that's as relevant as it was when we first aired it last May. It never hurts to hear some good truths twice, especially when it concerns the...
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The Inside Out of The Insider Movement

Mortification of Spin
Sep 30, 2015
The Insider Movement … what is it? Well, we've pulled out the big guns to ensure we got a good answer, and his name is Dr. David Garner. He's Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, and he's even willing to say he's friends with Carl...
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Bully Pulpit: Train Up a Child to Read

Mortification of Spin
Sep 23, 2015
Proverbs 22:6 says: "Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it." Apart from teaching your child the living Word, there are other means to teach them the doctrines we hold fast to and few things capture their mind quite like a good children...
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The Breakfast Club

Mortification of Spin
Sep 16, 2015
Next stop: Mortification Elementary! Carl, Aimee & Todd are on the big yellow bus shootin' the breeze about school. It's a hard conversation in the church and can become a heated one, too! Do you take your kids to public school or do you homeschool? Is it the role of the church to...
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Bully Pulpit: The Scarlet Letter

Mortification of Spin
Sep 9, 2015
There's a searing spotlight on adultery in today's headlines, highlighting the recent blow up of the Ashley Madison hack that exposed many - and church leaders were among the fallen. Carl, Aimee, & Todd discuss the havoc such sin wreaks on the sinner, the cost to the spouse, and their...
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Excommunication: Why? How?

Mortification of Spin
Sep 2, 2015
Carl & Todd have really done it now. The Puppetmaster is about to pull the plug and poor Aimee appears to have gotten roped in, too. They'll undergo some serious trial and may face a mortifying …excommunication?! It could get ugly. So what do we think or even know about...
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Bully Pulpit: Openness Unhindered Part Two

Mortification of Spin
Aug 26, 2015
Carl, Aimee, & Todd continue their discussion on Rosaria Butterfield's latest book: Openness Unhindered , in which they respond specifically to her thoughts on and approach to Christian fellowship and hospitality. So how do you and your church fair in these areas? Is hospitality a...
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Mortification of Spin

Bully Pulpit: Openness Unhindered

Mortification of Spin
Aug 12, 2015
Rosaria Butterfield, former advocate and participant of the LGBT agenda, now converted Christian living a heterosexual lifestyle, has authored two books and speaks publicly about her homosexual past, unlikely conversion, and present life of faith and repentance. Carl, Aimee & Todd discuss her...
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The Sound of Silence

Mortification of Spin
Aug 5, 2015
Shhh, you mustn't speak a peep. Our hosts are pacing the grounds at a monastery pondering the painful sound of silence. They wonder: "Why is the church so quiet, turning a blind eye to outrageously unbiblical issues? Why is there growing ambiguity on doctrine and confession within the...
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Mortification of Spin

Bully Pulpit: The Luxury of Nominalism

Mortification of Spin
Jul 29, 2015
There are some Christians who are neither hot nor cold - it's what we'd call nominalism and it's nothing new in today's Church. So how do we approach "Christians," having the appearance of godliness, or non-Christians clothed as sheep among the flock? Christ has not only...
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Don't Forget the Little People

Mortification of Spin
Jul 22, 2015
Outside Gold's Gym in sunny Cali, our beach-buff Spinners await Max Benfer, a friend and pastor of Meadowcroft Church (PCA). As they pump iron, they discuss Max's call to the pastorate, roles, and the challenges of the ordinary pastor. For instance, when you're the pastor, who shepherds...
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Bully Pulpit: A Holy Deficit

Mortification of Spin
Jul 15, 2015
One of our hosts is missing today which means there's less troubling a'brewin' on the air. The two "left behind" discuss the call to holiness on Church leaders, with specific emphasis on the pastor. It seems there is a deficiency in godliness these days, and even a more common...
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Ash to Ashes

Mortification of Spin
Jul 8, 2015
Job: it’s one of the darkest, most troubling, and misunderstood books in the Bible. Christopher Ash, Director of the Cornhill Training Course of Proclamation Trust in London and council member of Tyndale House in Cambridge, has authored a worthwhile book on Job. Carl, Aimee, & Todd sit...
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Bully Pulpit: "Call Me… Contradiction"

Mortification of Spin
Jul 1, 2015
Sex change operations have been around for some time but with recent headlines about "Caitlyn" Jenner, transgender issues are a hot topic and something every Christian must be discerning about. So how should we think of our bodies? Is a sex change gender denial, body mutilation, or result...
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Reclaiming Reverence

Mortification of Spin
Jun 25, 2015
How does one approach God in reverence? Is it a tone?... a feeling?... an outward posture? Seems a lot of confusion surrounds our understanding of God’s holiness. Of course, it doesn’t help that we live in an irreverent age that’s traded structured sobriety for what’s casual...
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Bully Pulpit: Bookworms & Beach Bums

Mortification of Spin
Jun 17, 2015
OK kids, it’s summer and your reading list is out! Grab your flip flops, sunscreen, a good read and join the Spin Gang by the shore. My my, Todd's looking rather bronzed in his white-beater and Bermuda shorts - those trips to the tanning salon really paid off. Aimee’s shownin'...
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Depression: Purposed Pain

Mortification of Spin
Jun 10, 2015
Is depression a sin? Can a Christian be depressed and still godly? Thankfully we have pastor David Murray chiming in with his wisdom on the matter. David has authored many books, and a few of them deal with the topic of depression: The Happy Christian and Christians Get Depressed Too . In the...
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Mortification of Spin

Bully Pulpit: Beg to Differ

Mortification of Spin
Jun 3, 2015
Just back from Yale, Carl & Todd try not to make Aimee feel too bad for missing out on their trip. While at Yale, they shared tables with great thinkers, enjoyed dinners and other pleasantries, but it sometimes seems that no matter where these boys go trouble, dispute, and controversy are sure...
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Mortification of Spin

Forever Young

Mortification of Spin
May 27, 2015
“Let no one despise you for your youth.” Those were Paul’s words to Timothy. But is that even an issue in today’s culture obsessed with catering to and seeking youthfulness? Youth is highly prized, while seasoned, wise leaders are tossed to the curb. So many churches have...
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Mortification of Spin

Bully Pulpit: You Snooze You Lose

Mortification of Spin
May 20, 2015
Two shady sheep wandered into Todd's megachurch today. Skirting by security, Carl and Aimee are incognito to rate Todd's preaching and their notes are ... lacking in content. Aimee's doing her usual multitasking - doodling nun chucks and jotting her grocery list while Carl's a man...
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Defending Life & Understanding Identity Politics

Mortification of Spin
May 13, 2015
Where do our rights come from: God or Government? As Christians, how are we using (or should we say misusing) our American liberties? What does God have to say about abortion and sexual identity? These are pressing questions during an era submerged in promoting pro-choice and normalizing immoral...
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Bully Pulpit: Revisiting an Old Favorite

Mortification of Spin
May 6, 2015
Time for another book review, and we're giving this one three thumbs up! Our hosts discuss the recent republication of The Church of Christ , a classic of Scottish Presbyterian polity and theory by James Bannerman. This book highlights the Church's role, power, and importance during a time...
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Mortification of Spin

How to Help When There is Abuse

Mortification of Spin
Apr 29, 2015
Domestic violence and sexual abuse are not easy topics to discuss, but they are ones every church leader must know how to address. Justin & Lindsey Holcomb, authors of Rid of My Disgrace: Hope and Healing for Victims of Sexual Assault , and Is It My Fault?: Hope and Healing for Those Suffering...
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Bully Pulpit: Can't Have Your Cake & Eat It Too

Mortification of Spin
Apr 22, 2015
Most of us know how we'd answer when asked to officiate, attend, or participate in a homosexual wedding, but what about baking the cake? Recently the media is all over Christian bakers who refuse to bake cakes for such unions. It's hitting close to home and those in the pew are feeling the...
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Mortification of Spin

100th Episode: Taking Care of Business

Mortification of Spin
Apr 15, 2015
Today we celebrate a momentous feat in reformed evangelical church history: Mortification of Spin’s 100th episode! Carl and Todd reminisce about “The Golden Age”, Aimee highlights Carl’s inability to pronounce the English language, and all three discuss the spin they...
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Bully Pulpit: Reinventing the Worship Wheel

Mortification of Spin
Apr 8, 2015
“Well-rounded ministry is relatively rare today ... ‘while in God’s grace, there is an encouraging number of bright spots in the church, we see no broad movement yet of this gospel–centered ministry.’ […] We want more gospel-shaped churches,” according to...
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Mortification of Spin

To Read or to Burn, That is the Question

Mortification of Spin
Apr 1, 2015
Is it wise to recommend authors or quote those you don't agree with? Or is that playing with fire? What reasons justify avoiding a book or author altogether? Carl & Todd stand in agreement - you can respect, disagree with, or even dislike authors you quote. Exhibit A: Aimee Byrd. Joking...
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Mortification of Spin

Bully Pulpit: Sex In The City Church

Mortification of Spin
Mar 25, 2015
City Church San Francisco recently wrote a letter about their views and ministry towards those attending City and associate with LGBTQ. City Church now affirms that homosexual sex is justified within the context of marriage. How should we respond to this? Surely the Church welcomes sinners,...
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Losing Loved Ones, Keeping Faith

Mortification of Spin
Mar 18, 2015
Today a motion, only the second of its kind in history, is made on the Spin; one that is, as Todd so eloquently puts it: "...so Presbyterian." Joining the Crew for such an honor is Nancy Guthrie. An author, teacher, and speaker, Nancy joins the team to talk about bereavement. Having lost...
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Bully Pulpit: Luther on the Christian Life

Mortification of Spin
Mar 11, 2015
While Carl, known in some circles as RevMaster T, is off touring Australia with Lecrae, Aimee and Todd discuss the latest book on Luther with its token, British author. The book, Luther on the Christian Life , was written for the Church with a pastoral emphasis in mind, so it’s far from just...
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Baptist Calvinists?

Mortification of Spin
Mar 4, 2015
Tom Ascol, Executive Director of Founders Ministries, author, and pastor, joins the Spin Crew for a riveting conversation on Calvinism in the Southern Baptist Convention. Are Calvinists and Baptists so oil-and-water after all? Tom speaks on why Baptists do what they do, and the Gang gets down to...
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Bully Pulpit: Keep the Sabbath Holy

Mortification of Spin
Feb 25, 2015
It's Oscar Sunday and gracing the red carpet tonight are our very own podcast "superstars," Carl, Aimee, & Todd. As they await the chance to mingle with the famous (and infamous), they reflect on what it will be like to get a selfie with Lecrae and what Sabbath observance even...
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When You Know You're Dying

Mortification of Spin
Feb 18, 2015
Today our hosts have a meaningful, sober conversation with Todd Billings: author, pastor, and professor at Western Theological Seminary. Todd has been diagnosed with a rare, and for him terminal, form of cancer: Multiple Myeloma. He shares some of his experience and hope amidst acute awareness of...
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Bully Pulpit: More Canadian Bacon

Mortification of Spin
Feb 11, 2015
Carl, Aimee & Todd find themselves in the company of a Canadian... again. Once running a fish 'n' chips restaurant, Francis VanDelden now pastors a church in Frederick, Maryland. Carl & Todd are dying to know: Does Francis regret the day Aimee Byrd cast a shadow on his church door?...
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Living La Vida Shatner

Mortification of Spin
Feb 4, 2015
Authors & "Canadian cultural icons" Linda & Sandy Finlayson, join the round table to talk Shania Twain, maple syrup, books, and their estranged friendship with the Spin's own Carl Trueman. They discuss Sandy's biography on Thomas Chalmers and Linda's book Wielding the...
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Bully Pulpit: A Man and His Book

Mortification of Spin
Jan 28, 2015
This week the spin's all about Thomas Oden and his latest book, A Change of Heart: A Personal and Theological Memoir . Oden, once a man deep in radical, liberal ideals passionately opposed to orthodoxy, confesses a stunning conversion to orthodox evangelical Christianity, and at the coaxing of...
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PART II: Westminster Q&A with Kent Hughes

Mortification of Spin
Jan 21, 2015
Welcome back to the Preaching Conference as we rejoin the panel discussion where the team and Reverend Kent Hughes tackle meaningful questions submitted by pastors and seminary students attending the event. The banter is contagious and some of the questions outrageous… yet helpful. Tune in...
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Bully Pulpit: Best Seller Sell-outs

Mortification of Spin
Jan 14, 2015
Take a gander with Carl, Aimee, and Todd as they browse today's Christian Best-Sellers list. Discerning worthwhile reads from sentimental fluff, they look for theological substance but the pickin's are slim. With the casual aside, this is a courageous conversation to address a serious...
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PART I: Westminster Panel Discussion

Mortification of Spin
Jan 7, 2015
Grab a seat in Rust Auditorium at Westminster Theological Seminary where the MoS crew talk with Dr. Kent Hughes at the annual preaching conference. Dr. Hughes has a long track-record of faithfulness behind the pulpit and the pen. He answers on a topic he knows much about: preaching. You'll hear...
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Bully Pulpit: Bromanticism

Mortification of Spin
Dec 31, 2014
Jonathan & David of the Old Testament… were they homosexual or was it just a bromance? Not a new question to a culture tending to attribute sexuality to deep, rewarding relationships… but why is that so? The Gang addresses the need to reinstate friendships to a non-sexual category...
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Sweep Me Unto the Wine

Mortification of Spin
Dec 24, 2014
This week, the Gang loiters outside a mega-church conference, enticed by the big-band jams vibrating through the concrete to their high-tops. They've decided to forego the meeting this time because they've gotten "swept away" in conversation about the experience they could be...
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Bully Pulpit: When the Pulpit is Bullied

Mortification of Spin
Dec 17, 2014
How high should standards be for a pastor and his ministry? Do we rate his success in congregation size, fame, or by how white his teeth are? Standards can be unrealistic and unbiblical when a new pastor comes on the scene, and comparisons can foster a culture of critique and criticism. Bad pastors...
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