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Today's episode covers the history of Lent and explores whether Christians should celebrate it. John Piper, Charles Spurgeon, Tim Challies and others weigh in (via quotes)  This will be more of a pop-history overview, and not a deep dive, but that should be sufficient for most who are curious about the origins of Lent, or are unfamiliar with its practice.    First, and this is pretty important, Lent is NOT a mandated biblical practice, BUT in many ways it has roots in biblical practices, and many wings of the Christian church have been practicing Lent, or Lent-like observances since at least the second or third century, possibly earlier, but the word Lent itself is first mentioned by the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, though the way they mention it, it is clear that this is an accepted practice of the church at the time. In other words, the first extant mention of Lent is 325 AD, but the church had been observing Lent for quite some time before that.    Second, what does the word even mean? Has somebody borrowed something? Not at all. Lent comes from an old English word, lencten, which stood for the spring season…that word seems to come from a word that could potentially mean long, as in longer days, which begins to happen in the Spring season. In other languages, like Greek and Latin, the word for Lent Tessarakostí and quadragesima, indicates 40 - as in the 40 days before Easter.    Also, why does Lent start today when today, Ash Wednesday is not 40 days before Easter, but FORTY-SIX? Well the answer lies in church history, and the practice of the early church to FEAST on Sundays. In 601, Pope Gregory I moved the beginning of Lent to 46 days before Easter, allowing for the usual 40 days of fasting plus six Sundays of feasting when the rules of fasting did not apply. Into modernity, the Lenten season is 46, rather than 40 days, and most suspend fasting on Sundays. Further, most Christians who observe Lent do not do a complete fast. In the early church, Christians might have fasted from meat, or rich foods, or richly seasoned foods. Many today fast until sundown. Almost nobody does a complete food fast, as the one that Jesus did in the wilderness.

In this episode of the Every Church Flourishing Podcast by the Great Commission Association of California, hosts Pastor Christopher Cole and Dr. Chase Thompson interview the senior directors of the GCA, including Dr. Michael Stewart, Ms. Lannette Lozano and Dr. Se J. Won about topics ranging from prayer to mission fields, to prayer and great pastoral resources. Chase and Chris also taste test Lester's Fixins Ranch Dressing Soda and barely survive the experience.  In terms of what makes a church healthy and flourishing, there's no good answer to that question that doesn't begin with what Jesus said in John 15 about abiding in Him. - Chris Cole.  "I've been to churches where there is an inauthentic, almost Stepford Wives too bright, too shiny kind of vibe where people greet you like you're their long-lost brother that they haven't seen in years…I would much prefer, rather than bright hot, gleaming and polished smiles, I would much prefer something more genuine, warm real and authentic. The way to make that happen is not a program, but to preach the Gospels, preach the epistles, and cultivate a people who value biblical humility, biblical serving, biblical gentleness and biblical warmth.  There's no program or strategy that replaces the kind of outflow of the Fruit of the Spirit that should come from an authentic church with real greeters - that is massively important to reach your community. It may not grow you into a megachurch, but it will grow you into a place where people will come and feel welcomed and feel real warmth. "  "People don't want to be sold on Jesus. That's not the same as saying we don't want to invite them to a real-world encounter with the Good News of Jesus Christ and the hope that we have…When we center the gospel into the middle of authentic relationships, it should overflow into how we greet guests, do outreaches, and how we teach people to grow up into disciples of Jesus." Chris Cole Resources mentioned: Thom Rainer's Becoming a Welcoming Church.  Daniel Henderson's Old Paths, New Power: Awakening Your Church through Prayer and the Ministry of the Word. "There is a great need for spiritual renewal and awakening…for us to see something that can't be explained by numbers or logic, for us to see God move in such a way that we can only say that was God. If I'm not right with God, then what we do, doesn't really matter." Dr. Se J. Won.    Waking the Dead - John Eldredge (Dr. Stewart)  "Who we are matters more than what we do. We must have a good sense of our relationship with Christ, and who we are in ourselves and how we interact with other people." Chris Cole. Steve Cuss - Managing Leadership Anxiety, Yours and Theirs Peter Scazzero: The Emotionally Healthy Leader: How Transforming Your Inner Life Will Deeply Transform Your Church, Team, and the World. Dr. Se J. Won, "Many people go through unknown pains…unknown trials and challenges that they can't talk about or say outloud. Pain is not a curse."    Paul Brand: The Gift of Pain.  YouVersion Bible App on Android or iTunes.  Chris Cole, "As an ex-missionary, I have put a lot of weird things into my mouth, and this Lester's Ranch Dressing Soda might be moving close to my top ten of weird things to put in my mouth."  "As a Baptist pastor, you would not know what a Pina Colada tastes like!"   The UNsecret to baptizing more people. Hint: There's not a strategy, trick, or hack.

Hi everybody! Please check out my NEW podcast, Every Church Flourishing at www.EveryChurchFlourishing.com or podfollow.com/ecf. Don't miss the earlier BeachCast.tv episode in THIS feed about Kid Rock Vs. Bad Bunny and Progressive vs. Conservative Christians.  On this inaugural episode, hosts Dr. Chase Thompson and GCA Assistant Director Pastor Chris Cole discuss the importance of ministry TOGETHER, and interview the directors of the Great Commission Association of churches located in North/Central California.   Rational Ministry Topics covered:  Interview with the senior directors of the Great Commission Association, including Dr. Mike Stewart, Dr. Se J. Won, Pastor Christopher Cole and School Superintendent Ms. Lanette Lazano.  A move of God at a local church in Salinas, California that took the pastor by surprise.  Free ProPresenter program called FreeShow: https://freeshow.app/features  Review of FreeShow, a free alternative app to ProPresenter  Living in Indonesia and visiting Singapore for medical care as a missionary.  Great prayer resources Crazy, Beyond The Pale. Topics covered:  Chupa Chups Bubble Gum Soda Tasted and Reviewed on a scale of 1 Spurgeon (gross!) to 5 Spurgeons (The Prince of Sodas!)  Medical Halitosis.  Keywords church, ministry, community, Great Commission Association, COVID-19, church support, church leadership, podcast, church flourishing, relationships, Building Community in Ministry, Navigating Church Leadership Changes Summary In this episode of the Every Church Flourishing podcast, hosts Pastor Chris Cole and Dr. Chase Thompson discuss the importance of community in ministry, share personal experiences from recent church services, and explore the impact of COVID-19 on churches. They interview the senior directors of the Great Commission Association (GCA), highlighting the organization's role in supporting churches and fostering relationships among church leaders. The conversation emphasizes the value of collaboration and the need for churches to work together to flourish in their mission. takeaways Community is essential in ministry, as Jesus sent disciples two by two. The Great Commission Association is a diverse network of churches. Healthy churches adapted more quickly to COVID-19 challenges. Relationships in ministry foster support and collaboration. GCA provides resources and care for churches in need. Personal experiences in ministry can be deeply impactful. Humor can play a role in connecting with church members. Church attendance has significantly changed post-COVID. The importance of being on mission together cannot be overstated. Every church has the potential to flourish with the right support. titles Building Community in Ministry The Role of the Great Commission Association Sound Bites "We are a phone call away." "We are a family of churches." "We are a mission agency."

This episode is a weak attempt to steady the room when everything feels like it's tilting into tribalism. With all the controversy on the two half-time shows, I decided to do some research on Kid Rock and Bad Bunny.  What started as a simple effort to understand a controversy grew into a deep, data-driven investigation, over twenty pages of notes, because I don't just want to give another lame opinion, but to offer something more backed by evidence than that.   How can believers of various stripes be so polarized that one group praises one half-time show while condemning the other, and another group does the exact reverse, each claiming moral or Christian justification?  Today we consider how political identity can hijack Christian discernment, like sports rivalries where "right" and "wrong" depend on which jersey you wear. Anchoring the entire conversation is Romans 14: "Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves." What are we praising—publicly, loudly—and what might that praise be doing to our souls?  If you're tired of outrage, tired of "team politics," and ready for a thoughtful, Scripture-shaped lens on a cultural flashpoint, download Episode 1 and listen for the deeper question underneath the noise:

Search for "Interestingpod" on Apple Podcasts, or just go to www.InterestingPod.com to subscribe!  BEACHcast podcast coming SOON - Stay tuned!

Features a preview of the Debut Single "Young Romilly Sinks" by Bolton 'band' The Bolton Bardeaters.  Hi guys! It's been about two years since I've launched a podcast, but I wanted to give you what I hope is exciting news. First, if you keep listening, you're going to hear the trailer for a new podcast that launches this week called the InterestingPOD hosted by me. It's the first podcast I've produced in almost two years, and I'm really excited about it. I'd tell you more, but if you'll keep listening just a few minutes, the trailer will tell you everything you need to know. Another bit of news too - this podcast, which began in 2019 as the Bible Mystery podcast, is about to have it's fifth rebirth as the BEACHcast. The Beach kind of has a double meaning. I live in the Monterey/Salinas area of California now, just a few miles from the beach, and I've always been a beach guy. More than that, Beachcast is an acronym that stands for Bible Exploration, Apologetics and Church History, and that podcast is planned to launch ALSO in July of 2025. I look forward to talking to you about some fascinating Bible topics like Whether Christians should Pray to Mary/Pray to the Saints, the Reliability of the Bible, Can historians prove Jesus existed? Does communion/the Eucharist, literally turn into the Body and Blood of Jesus? What is the Number of the Beast - is it 666, or maybe even an older number written down in the oldest manuscript of Revelation that we have!  There will be lots more of those kind of topics too, as we relaunch shortly to explore the Bible, apologetics and the fascinating world of Church history. I'm Doctor Chase, your host, but if you meet me in real life, it's just plain Chase.  I have a doctoral degree in counseling, and am finishing up work on a PhD in history, and I love doing a deep dive on these kinds of topics, and I hope you'll join in! Ok, that's all for the beachcast…just stay tuned - I hope to have the first episode out later in July, Lord willing and the Creek don't rise.  Oh yeah, by the way - the first episode of InterestingPOD, which will drop later this week, is about the Bolton Strid. If you don't know what that is, you will soon, but I'll just tell you it's one of the most dangerous stretches of water in the entire world, and is supposed to have a 100 percent fatality rate for anybody who falls in, even though it mostly looks like a regular river. But buddy, it's anything but regular. Before I play the trailer for the upcoming podcast, let me play a clip from a song about the Bolton Strid from a band we "commissioned" for the first episode of InterestingPOD. (each episode will have its own song!) The band is local to Bolton, in Northern England where you'll find the Strid, and they're called the Bolton Bardeaters. Here's their song about the Strid, which features lyrics by Friend of the Show William Wordsworth. Buckle up…it hits hard.

The following podcast is from a school project that I am working on in pursuit of a doctoral degree in counseling. This will likely be a pilot episode of a future podcast that is planned to release sometime in the Fall of 2023, but potentially under a new name. Stay tuned, or write [email protected] with questions or updates.  Today we discuss whether or not Christians can be depressed and discover a whole slew of famous people - Christian and otherwise - who have struggled deeply with depression. We also discuss ways to wrestle with and overcome depressive episodes.

Abortion: the most controversial issue in America. Though the Bible doesn't use the word "abortion," the Bible most certainly speaks to the topic. Does the Bible teach that the unborn are persons? Is there scientific or philosophical evidence that could indicate the unborn are persons? Today we look at abortion through the lens of the Bible.

In part two of our interview with Mike Licona, we discuss his seven hour debate with religion scholar and skeptic Dr. Bart Ehrman. What caused Ehrman to abandon his faith and become an aggressive critic of Christianity? Dr. Licona also shares how he discusses faith and the resurrection of Jesus with skeptics and strangers.

Today we interview best-selling author Dr. Mike Licona - a Youtuber and college professor who specializes in the resurrection of Jesus. Dr. Licona went through a long period of doubt - while in seminary! - and came through the other side convinced that Jesus historically rose from the dead. How did that transformation happen? Dr. Licona also discusses his relationship with his mentor Dr. Gary Habermas, probably the foremost expert on the resurrection in the world.

What is the most important way to live your life, according to Jesus? In this episode, we look at the life and habits of Mary of Bethany - a woman commended by Jesus. We contrast her with the irritability and anxiousness of her sister, Martha. How is it that Mary was praised by Jesus, while Martha was so disturbed and short-tempered?

Over the last ten years, the United States has averaged MORE than one mass-shooting event PER DAY. How should Christians react to such violence? Should Christians loudly show their support for guns and gun ownership, or does God's Word call us in a different direction?

Does unanswered prayer prove that God doesn't care? How is it that a good God, who listens to and loves His people, sometimes doesn't answer their prayers? Unanswered prayer is an issue addressed throughout the Bible, and we will discuss several reasons prayers go unanswered. Today we also discuss how noted Bible scholar Bart Ehrman lost his faith, the origin of Thor's enemy Gorr, and what both have to do with unanswered prayer.

One question that Christians don't talk about enough is HOW should we actually study our Bibles? Should we read them cover to cover, starting at the beginning? Should we follow a Bible reading plan? Should we spend more time in the Old Testament or New Testament? Today we discuss Dr. Sean McDowell's Bible reading plan and its merits. We also discuss what percentage of the Bible is Old Testament vs New, and how that should inform our Bible reading decisions.

Today we discuss a question that probably isn't asked enough: Do all parts of the Bible have equal importance? Are there some chapters, or verses, or even books that are more important than others? Interestingly, as Jesus Himself will tell us - some parts of the Bible are indeed more important than others, and knowing this will better prepare us to study the Bible in a more advantageous way.