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Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor. “Upon these two commandments,” says Jesus, “hang the whole Law and Prophets.” This isn’t difficult statement. Jesus is giving us the default standard for the Law--love. The Pharisees were intent of debating every nuance and letter to the point it was the only thing that gave meaning to their relationship with God. Even today, Christians want to use the Bible to justify all sorts of reasons to isolate and hate their neighbors. The Greatest Commandment is the baseline measure. It forces us Christians to ask if we are showing love or just indulging bigotry, or displaying fear and insecurity, or hiding pride and self-righteousness behind scripture. The church answer is always “God loves you.” The follow-up question is how will you let that change you. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There's more at church than the Sunday service. A Sunday School class offers direct engagement with the scriptures in an informal group. We discuss the value of a good Sunday School class and how best to prepare as a participant. We also talk about our experiences with Bill's Man Up Formula for creating and leading a men's Bible study class. Download or listen or watch this episode on our No Church Answers YouTube channel. Find the Man Up Formula: How Your Church Can Build an Effective Discipleship Group For Men on Amazon. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We finished our study of Seth Troutt's Authentic Masculinity: Leaving Behind the Counterfeits for God's Design with a discussion of the roles Troutt puts at the top of the pyramid: Husband and Father. Unlike Son and Brother, these two are roles men chose. Troutt says they are "normative" in God's plan for men, a notion that already might ruffle some feathers. But to do them well, the require the maturity and self-knowledge built through experience. Is the Christian idea of marriage traditional or countercultural? Confining or liberating? Listen and argue. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After offering his perspectives on masculine virtues, in the second half of Authentic Masculinty: Leaving Behind the Counterfeits for God's Design, author Seth Troutt addresses masculine roles. He defines these broadly, but bottom line, to him a “role” is all about what a man should be doing and how he ought to function in the world. Troutt identifies five specific roles a man will take throughout his life. This week we cover the first three.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Author Seth Troutt sees willingness to take on responsibility as the principal difference between a man and a boy. True male adulthood comes when one can say, "I am the cause of my actions." In the second half of the podcast, we extend the discussion into Troutt's fourth, and culturally dicey, virtue of masculinity--chivalry. We examine Peter's call to be considerate and understanding to women and place this command in context with the the biblical truth that God created women as co-heirs to His kingdom. Order Authentic Masculinity: Leaving Behind the Counterfeits for God's Design See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We're back from summer break with a new study, Authentic Masculinity by Seth Troutt. As some churches attempt to attract men through a questionable theology that stresses headship, unquestioned household control and limited agency for wives and children, Troutt's book advocates a more accurate biblical standard of male conduct and behavior that conforms to neither so-called conservative nor liberal models. Up this week, discussion of the first two of four masculine virtues Troutt identifies: humility and discipline, characteristics you rarely find on lists of admirable or expected male traits. Find Authentic Masculinity: Leaving Behind the Counterfeits for God's Design at Amazon.com or order it from your favorite local bookseller. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is there a Christian mindset when it comes to spectator sports? Paul used sports analogies in 1 Corinthians, so clearly he had no issue with fandom. But how much awareness should we bring to an industry so deeply soaked with money and so demanding of time and attention? Make no mistake, like most guys we're both rabid sports fans, but there are some things about it that gives us pause. Just in time for college and pro football, not to mention baseball's pennant race, we toss wet blankets all around. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

An recent article in Christianity Today posed this question. Is Ozempic an an answer to prayers or does it represent a easy worldly response to a struggle that belongs only in the spiritual realm? Nonetheless, obesity is a health issue and, like it or not, research shows the world is biased against overweight people. Robert and Steve debate how Christians should approach obesity, medication, diet and health and if Satan really wins every time you grab a donut. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Robert and Steve talk about AI, Pope Leo XIV's recent encyclical and what ethical issues the technology raises for Christians. We debate the degree of value AI offers and whether it too easily can become a crutch that replaces human creativity and effort with "quick and cheap." Robert has fun prompting ChatGPT to create a sermon on Acts 1:6-9 for five different denominations. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to our first Back Porch Banter podcast, a spin-off of No Church Answers! We’re going to be a little more informal, a little less structured. We'll spend more time on topical discussions while still maintaining a Christian perspective. First up we visit with No Church Answers' venerable host, Bill Cox, who has just published his new book The Man Up Formula: How Your Church Can Build an Effective Discipleship Group for Men. Bill talks about his experience as a "Sunday School Consumer" and how, when given the chance to launch his own men's group, broke the mold of standard Sunday School set-ups. Bill also talks about why men's church ministries are important and new ways a congregation can serve men in the church--and in turn motivate men to better serve the congregation. The Man Up Formula Amazon.com link See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When Jesus said the last shall be first and whoever wants to be great must become a servant, he attached no qualifiers or provisos. In our last podcast before summer break, we confront the Bible truth of the upside-down Kingdom, even as some churches today preach that Christianity means national, political and cultural dominance. The Apostles James and John literally thought the Messianic mission meant a seat beside God's throne. Jesus admonished them otherwise. We talk about the Christ's command to witness through servanthood and the danger of looking for loopholes. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In his second letter, Peter vigorously asserts the inevitable return of Jesus. Instead of debating the question of when, Peter emphasizes the importance of living righteously and in accord with the Lord's teaching during the great Second Advent. From there, we get the concept of "Imitation of Christ." Our good friend Dr. Chris Curran, senior pastor of Southland Baptist Church, San Angelo, Texas, joins us for a discussion on what we, individually and as a Church, should be doing while waiting for the Second Coming. Rather than squabbling in the pews, perhaps we should modeling life in the Kingdom to come and nurturing the spiritual fruits Paul (who gets a shout out here from Peter) lists in Galatians. Perhaps there are expectations to be gleaned in Matthew 24 and 25. What do you want Jesus find you doing when he returns? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What do we mean by Bible inerrancy? We accept the Bible is essential truth, but is every passage and every story literally true? We talk about the authorship, history and authenticity of scripture, then we delve into our opinions about what's essential truth as opposed to literal and discover we have some different opinions. Did Adam live to be 960? Was there an Exodus? Was Jonah swallowed by a great fish? All this and more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If this request brings you no dread, may God bless you. For most men, sharing their faith is a difficult ask, even though the Bible beseeches us to spread the Gospel. Trouble is, the traditional model tends to be the energetic preacher who regales us how, in the lowest point in his life, the sudden "bright light of Jesus" saved him. Believers all around shout "Hallelujah!" Who wants to follow that? We discuss different ways one can speak about their faith, sometimes by not speaking at all, but by just in the way they treat people. The fellows talk about the ways they have made their testimony their story, and some of the challenges they've had along the way. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A dedicated worker never stops learning, that's one of the tenets of the Ministry of Competence, the idea that as Christians, we should be mindful we are working for the Lord, not "the Man." But that's far from easy in jobs that can be dangerous, enervating or just plain boring. We discuss how men can witness for Christ simply by putting their best effort into their work, no matter what the job is. We also talk about finding meaning through working for something larger than one's self, something young people seek and a place where our religion may intersect with cultural trends. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.