Theology in the Raw

Josh Butler is a good friend and one of the most gifted, enjoyable, and all around brilliant dudes I’ve ever met. He’s a pastor, teacher, scholar, writer, and scandalous witness to the gospel of Christ. I could do ministry with this dude any day of the week. He’s written two incredible books: The Skeletons in God’s Closet and The Pursuing God--both are absolute gems. Josh also serves as a lead pastor at Redemption Church in Tempe, AZ, and served as a pastor for over 15 years at Imago Dei Church in Portland, OR. In this podcast, we banter around about all kinds of things related to politics, race, discipleship in 2021, pastoring in a post-Covid world, nationalism, partisanship, and how to deal with Christians who are heavily influenced by the partisan politics of our day.  Support Preston Support Preston by going to patreon.com Venmo: @Preston-Sprinkle-1 Connect with Preston Twitter | @PrestonSprinkle Instagram | @preston.sprinkle Youtube | Preston Sprinkle Check out his website prestonsprinkle.com If you enjoy the podcast, be sure to leave a review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Humans can live without sex, but we can’t live without love, intimacy, and community. So where does this leave Christian who are gay, who are also pursuing celibacy as a vocation? Pieter Valk helps us think through this question on a rich, theological, and practical level.  Pieter graduated from Vanderbilt University with Highest Honors in Chemistry in 2013. After graduating, Pieter studied at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary for a year with a focus on Lay Leadership and Culture-making. Pieter is the founder and director of Equip Ministries, a Nashville based organization created to help churches become places where LGBT+ Christians could belong and thrive according to a traditional sexual ethic. See more here: https://equipyourcommunity.org One of the most interesting projects Pieter is involved in is the Nashville Family of Brothers (https://familyofbrothers.org), a monastic-like community of Christian men devoted to pursuing celibacy together. Support Preston Support Preston by going to patreon.com Venmo: @Preston-Sprinkle-1 Connect with Preston Twitter | @PrestonSprinkle Instagram | @preston.sprinkle Youtube | Preston Sprinkle Check out his website prestonsprinkle.com If you enjoy the podcast, be sure to leave a review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It makes sense. Illegal drugs should be criminalized. Period. The harsher a society is on drug use and drug dealing, the fewer problems it will have. Right? Not necessarily. As long as there are buyers, there will be producers. And as long as people experience pain and trauma, they will seek ways to numb it.  Christina Dent is a politically conservative Christian who supported criminalizing drugs until she became a foster parent and saw the negative effects up close. She researched why drug-related harm isn’t decreasing and became convinced it’s because the criminal justice system is the wrong tool for addressing drugs.  Check out more about Christina’s work at https://www.enditforgood.com/about Support Preston Support Preston by going to patreon.com Venmo: @Preston-Sprinkle-1 Connect with Preston Twitter | @PrestonSprinkle Instagram | @preston.sprinkle Youtube | Preston Sprinkle Check out his website prestonsprinkle.com If you enjoy the podcast, be sure to leave a review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Oftentimes, we don’t know what to do with the ascension. I mean, we believe in it, but we don’t often appreciate the theological necessity of it. Get your Bible’s out for this episode, because Patrick and I dance through various passages of Scripture to reconstruct the lost doctrine of the ascension of Christ.  Patrick Schreiner is Associate Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He previously taught at Western Seminary in Portland Oregon (2014–20) and received his Ph.D. from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (2014). He is the author of a number of books, including The Body of Jesus: A Spatial Analysis of the Kingdom in Matthew (T&T Clark), The Kingdom of God and the Glory of the Cross (Crossway), Matthew, Disciple and Scribe: The First Gospel and Its Portrait of Jesus (Baker),  and The Ascension of Christ: Recovering a Neglected Doctrine (Lexham Press). He has also contributed chapters to God’s Glory Revealed in Christ: Essays on Biblical Theology in Honor of Thomas R. Schreiner (B&H) and Baptists and the Christian Tradition: Toward an Evangelical Baptist Catholicity (B&H). He is married to Hannah and they have four children. They love good local food, the outdoors, sports, and he enjoys serving local churches through teaching and preaching. You can follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Support Preston Support Preston by going to patreon.com Venmo: @Preston-Sprinkle-1 Connect with Preston Twitter | @PrestonSprinkle Instagram | @preston.sprinkle Youtube | Preston Sprinkle Check out his website prestonsprinkle.com If you enjoy the podcast, be sure to leave a review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is it possible for Christians to maintain unity when they are so divided over hot-button issues like politics, race, and points of doctrine? Do you have to sacrifice conviction for the sake of unity? Is it possible for a zealous Trump-supporter and an ardent Biden-supporter to worship together in the same church without thinking the other person is evil? There is no better person to help us navigate these issues than Dr. Tim Muehlhoff.  Tim Muehlhoff (Ph.D., University of North Carolina) is the co-author (with Rick Langer) of the recent book Winsome Conviction and is a professor of communication at Biola University's Department of Communication Studies in La Mirada, California, a speaker and research consultant for the Center for Marriage and Relationships, and an author of several books on communication. In addition to being an educator and author, he is the co-host of a podcast entitled, The Art of Relationships which is produced by Biola University and is currently heard in 100 countries. Tim and his wife, Noreen, are frequent speakers at FamilyLife Marriage Conferences. For more information, visit timmuehlhoff.com. Check out the Winsome Conviction Project at: https://www.biola.edu/blogs/winsome-conviction Buy Tim’s book: https://www.amazon.com/Winsome-Conviction-Disagreeing-Without-Dividing/dp/0830847995 Support Preston Support Preston by going to patreon.com Venmo: @Preston-Sprinkle-1 Connect with Preston Twitter | @PrestonSprinkle Instagram | @preston.sprinkle Youtube | Preston Sprinkle Check out his website prestonsprinkle.com If you enjoy the podcast, be sure to leave a review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Sandy Richter is one of my favorite--and one of the most provocative--biblical scholars, and she comes back on Theology in the Raw for the second time in 10 months to help us think through this important question: should Christian care for the environment? The answer, of course--if you read the Bible--is yes. But why are so many Christians resistant to this question? (Pssst...it’s because we’re often shaped more by American political tribal identities than the actual Bible.) We also wrestle with questions like: What age will we be in the resurrection? Will animals be resurrected in the new creation? And why won’t there be marriage in the resurrection? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kurt is the author of the brand new book: Echoing Hope: How the Humanity of Jesus Redeems Our Pain (https://www.amazon.com/Echoing-Hope-Humanity-Jesus-Redeems/dp/0593193504/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=kurt+willems&qid=1613502655&sr=8-1) And his forms the bulk of our discussion. Do we believe Jesus was really human? Do we overemphasize his deity and therefore lose out on embracing the beauty of his humanity? When did Jesus realize he was God? Do his miracles prove his divinity or show that he was empowered by the Spirit?  Kurt Willems is a pastor, writer, and spiritual director. After several years in student and adult church ministry in Central California, he partnered with the Brethren in Christ to plant a Christian community in Seattle called Pangea Church. Kurt maintains a resource website, which hosts articles and podcasts, called Theology Curator (formerly called, The Paulcast). He is passionate about taking dense ideas and communicating them in ways that are empowering for people in all walks of life. He holds a master of divinity degree from Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary and a master's degree in comparative religion from the University of Washington (where he focused on the historical Paul within Judaism and the Roman Empire). Kurt also completed a two-year training program to become a spiritual director called, Stewards of the Mystery. His wife, Lauren, is a special education teacher. They have two amazing, young daughters.  Support Preston Support Preston by going to patreon.com Venmo: @Preston-Sprinkle-1 Connect with Preston Twitter | @PrestonSprinkle Instagram | @preston.sprinkle Youtube | Preston Sprinkle Check out his website prestonsprinkle.com If you enjoy the podcast, be sure to leave a review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Clare De Graaf is a cancer survivor, sort of “retired” businessman, a friend, a mentor, the chairman of the board for The Center for Faith, Sexuality & Gender, founder of many Christian non-profit ministries, and one of the most zealous, faithful, wise Christian leaders I’ve ever met. In this conversation, Clare talks about his journey in the faith--which involves many twists and turns, ups and downs--and his contagious outlook on the kingdom of God.  You can read more about Clare, his life and ministry, and his book The Ten Second Rule, on his website: https://www.claredegraaf.com Support Preston Support Preston by going to patreon.com Venmo: @Preston-Sprinkle-1 Connect with Preston Twitter | @PrestonSprinkle Instagram | @preston.sprinkle Youtube | Preston Sprinkle Check out his website prestonsprinkle.com If you enjoy the podcast, be sure to leave a review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As the title suggests, this episode is all about the question of multi-ethnicity in the body of Christ. And Dr. Gray is the right person to challenge us in this conversation. Dr. Derwin L. Gray is the founding and lead pastor of Transformation Church, one of the largest multiethnic, multigenerational, mission-shaped communities in the U.S., located in Indian Land, South Carolina, just south of Charlotte, North Carolina. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ed Shaw is Associate Pastor at Emmanuel Bristol and part of the editorial team at Living Out. He loves his family and friends, church and city, gin and tonic, and music and books. He is the author of Same-Sex Attraction and the Church: The Surprising Plausibility of the Celibate Life (IVP) and the recently released Purposeful Sexuality: A Short Introduction (IVP).  Ed is attracted to the same-sex and has committed his life to celibacy and the ministry of the gospel. In this episode, we talk about his journey as an SSA Christian man and minister and about the themes unpacked in his latest book Purposeful Sexuality. Support Preston Support Preston by going to patreon.com Venmo: @Preston-Sprinkle-1 Connect with Preston Twitter | @PrestonSprinkle Instagram | @preston.sprinkle Youtube | Preston Sprinkle Check out his website prestonsprinkle.com If you enjoy the podcast, be sure to leave a review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.