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Welcome back! On our new series of The Cartographers, we are exploring Good Institutions: what institutions are, why they matter, and how they are fundamental in shaping and connecting the individuals and communities within them. In this series, Bryce and Ashley consider the institutions that make up our society, the challenges they are facing today, how we belong together, and what it looks like for the Church to build institutions that foster belonging and human flourishing.

What is charisma, and what is the church’s role in navigating the charisma-driven ecosystem? This week, Molly Worthen joins Bryce and Ashley to discuss the Reformation’s historical impact on individualism and leadership, how stories invite communities into larger narratives, and the influence of charismatic leadership on American evangelical society.

How can we help people imagine a different way of living? This week, David Zahl joins Bryce and Ashley to discuss the repercussions of seculosity in the way we relate to performance, how community points to a bigger mission than our own wants, and how language and stories can offer a fresh way of engaging with issues in Christian spaces.

What is the beauty and dignity of dependence? This week, Leah Libresco Sargeant joins Bryce and Ashley to discuss how individualism has created an illusion of autonomy that contradicts our identity as children of God, our need to see our strengths and crosses as fruitful because of God’s power, and the stories and images in the Bible that depict our dependence on God and on others.

What does it mean to not belong to ourselves? This week, Alan Noble joins Bryce and Ashley to discuss the consequences of striving for self-fulfillment and self-sufficiency in our society, the need for community for individuals’ stories to flourish, and the assurance that our identity rests in the loving gaze of our Father.

How can a robust understanding of our finitude help counter the dangers of individualism? This week, Kelly Kapic joins Bryce and Ashley to discuss how trinitarian theology can deepen our understanding of personhood, how suffering can teach us dependence on God and others, and the effects of technology on our relationship with the world around us.

What are the consequences of forgetting what it means to be human? This week, Carl Trueman joins Bryce and Ashley to discuss what it means for humans to be made in the image of God, how community and hospitality can restore our sense of the imago dei, and the acts of consecration that hold the tension of our agency as individuals and our responsibility to the Body.

What does the self mean for a Christian identity? This week, Angela Franks joins Bryce and Ashley to discuss identity in individuality throughout Christian history and in the Church today, solid versus liquid identity formation, and how body-related issues are deeply connected to identity struggles.

Welcome back! This new season of The Cartographers is exploring individualism, its history, and how the Church can build a community and legacy in which individuals partake in the joys of self and others. In the first episode, Bryce and Ashley outline the shape of this conversation, discussing the background of the gifts and challenges that individuality has brought through the lens of freedom, meaning, and community.

What does it mean for manhood and womanhood to be redeemed? This week, Abigail Favale joins Bryce and Ashley to discuss the differences between men and women, their integral complementarity, and why our bodies matter more than we might expect. Abigail Favale: The Genesis of Gender: A Christian Theory Abigail Favale: "Rethinking Complementarity: From Stereotypes to Icons" Abigail Favale: "Is Gender Too Troubled?" Abigail Favale: "What is a Woman? A Half-Answered Question" Abigail Favale is a writer and professor in the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame. She is the author of The Genesis of Gender: A Christian Theory and Our Lady of the Sign: A Novel. Sign up for The Willowbrae Institute substack here, and learn more about the work Willowbrae does here. The Cartographers is a production of The Willowbrae Institute, a think tank researching the intersection of American Christianity and the common good.

What does healthy masculinity look like? This week, Aaron Renn joins Bryce and Ashley to discuss the formation of men today, how men lived in the past, and how men can live well in the future. Aaron Renn: "The Three World's of Evangelicalism" Mary Harrington: Feminism Against Progress Aaron Renn is a writer and consultant in Indianapolis. He is the author of Life in the Negative World: Confronting Challenges in an Anti-Christian Culture. Sign up for The Willowbrae Institute substack here, and learn more about the work Willowbrae does here. The Cartographers is a production of The Willowbrae Institute, a think tank researching the intersection of American Christianity and the common good.

How have our modern technologies transformed the lives of young men? This week, Jake Meador joins Bryce and Ashley to discuss the cultural forces shaping men and masculinity today, the ways technology has reformed masculine formation, and the relationship of men to the new right. Jake Meador: ⁠"Four Types of Christian Cultural Engagement"⁠ Katherine Dee: "How the Internet Made the Far-Right" Jake Meador is the editor-in-chief of Mere Orthodoxy. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, First Things, National Review, Christianity Today, and more. He is also a contributing editor at Plough and a contributing writer at The Dispatch. Sign up for The Willowbrae Institute substack here, and learn more about the work Willowbrae does here. The Cartographers is a production of The Willowbrae Institute, a think tank researching the intersection of American Christianity and the common good. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Take a peak behind the curtain with Bryce and Ashley as they discuss some of the articles they've been mulling over recently. Bryce and Ashley discuss the existence of double standards against men today, the cross-gender pornification of our culture, the desire men and women feel for discipleship, and how we can meet those desires in ways that are both affirmative and redemptive. The Agenda: - Jen Hatmaker and the double standard against men - Is hypermasculinity a problem? - The shift from individualism to mob identity - Pornography is a violent hallucinogen - Reflection questions! Sign up for The Willowbrae Institute substack here and find out more about the work Willowbrae does here. The Cartographers is a production of The Willowbrae Institute, a think tank researching the intersection of American Christianity and the common good. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How safe should we be? This week, Jeremy Lundgren joins Bryce and Ashley to discuss the cultural pressures of 'safetyism' today, the shifting ways humans have related to safety across history, and the spiritual good of healthy risk in childhood. Jeremy Lundgren is director of the Nicolet Bible Institute and a professor of theology at Wheaton College. He is also the author of The Pursuit of Safety: A Theology of Danger, Risk, and Security. Sign up for The Willowbrae Institute substack here and find out more about the work Willowbrae does here. The Cartographers is a production of The Willowbrae Institute, a think tank researching the intersection of American Christianity and the common good. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is it to be a man or woman, according to the Bible? Sam Allberry joins Bryce and Ashley to discuss the relationship of culture to the biblical vision of masculinity and femininity, the need for both grace and truth in discussions of gender today, and the constance of God's grace and presence in uncertain times. Sam Allberry is an apologist, speaker, and pastor at Immanuel Nashville. He is the author of several books, including Is God Anti-Gay?, Seven Myths About Singleness, and What God Has to Say About Our Bodies. Sam Allberry - "How Should We Think About Gender Identity?" Sign up for The Willowbrae Institute substack here and find our more about the work Willowbrae does here. The Cartographers is a production of The Willowbrae Institute, a think tank researching the intersection of American Christianity and the common good. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices