Church & Culture Podcast

Zach White, pastor of Meck Creative and leadership trainer who equips Gen Z for the workplace, shares his perspective. He discusses why headlines say Gen Z is unprepared, three root causes (relational gaps, disrupted education, mental health), strengths Gen Z brings, and why many avoid leadership roles. He outlines essential leadership skills and how communities can give young people supervised, real-world reps.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the incredibly important role that money can play in a marriage. While many couples focus on the wedding and the checklist of what needs to get done before the wedding day, few realize the importance of discussing personal finances and how they view and value money. Episode Links At the top of the episode, Alexis mentioned an article written by Jake Hays for the Pew Research Center titled “8 facts about divorce in the United States.” The purpose of the study was to look at causes for the very high divorce rate in the U.S. and, in particular, why so many divorces happen so quickly - often within the first five years of marriage. Money was the reason behind many of those failed marriages. Dr. White referenced a recent string of articles from The Wall Street Journal that are related to today's topic of marriage and money. They discuss things like financial infidelity, why men and women choose to often have separate finances, and how what we value when it comes to money can be a factor. You can find those articles below. You can also find the National Endowment for Financial Education study that Dr. White mentioned HERE. Julia Carpenter, “What We Fight About When We Fight About Money.” Gunjan Banerji, “Inside the ‘Financial Infidelities' That Tear Marriages Apart.” Allie Jones, “She Almost Lost Everything in Her Divorce. Now Women Are Learning From Her Mistakes.” Finally, for those interested in some pastoral wisdom when it comes to both marriage and money, we'd encourage you to check out the many marriage and finance series that Dr. White has delivered at Mecklenburg Community Church. You can find the various series on marriage and family HERE, and the series on finances HERE. For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.

A conversation about the growing role of death doulas and what they actually do for those nearing the end of life. Discussion of Elisabeth Kübler‑Ross and the stages of dying, and why companionship matters at life’s close. Exploration of rising loneliness, who traditionally provided end‑of‑life care, and how faith communities can offer practical presence and relational repair.

You probably noticed something quite different for today's conversation. Alexis Drye is joined by Pastor Jonathan Emery White, who serves children and families at Mecklenburg Community Church. Along with his pastoral role at Meck, he also teaches classes through the Meck Institute, instructing parents about the realities of the new digital world when it comes to their children. It's this background that he brings to today's episode about some recent interesting studies and trends related to teenage sexuality. Episode Links There's an on-demand class at Mecklenburg Community Church that was taught by Jonathan called “FaceTime: What Parents Need to Know About Technology, Social Media, Video Games and More.” You can find that on the Meck website HERE. Dr. White also did a series at Meck called “Streaming Now,” which featured background on four of the most popular streaming series at the time and the lessons that can be applied to the Christian life through them. One of the installments was on the show Adolescence - you can find that series HERE. Jonathan mentioned the software that he recommends to protect parents and their children from the dangers of pornography and the online world. It's called Covenant Eyes, and you can find that HERE. There are also a number of articles relevant to our conversation today if you'd like to take a deeper dive on this topic. We'd encourage you to check out: Selena Simmons-Duffin, “Teen birth rates hit another historical low in 2025, CDC says,” NPR. Lyman Stone, “Sexless America: Young Adults Are Having Less Sex,” Institute for Family Studies. “The Impact of Pornography on Children,” American College of Pediatricians. Mar Alvarez-Segur et al., “Impact of pornography consumption on children and adolescents: a trauma-informed approach,” National Library of Medicine. Carmen M. Leon et al., “From Pornography Consumption to Sexually Violent Practices: Uncovering the Hidden Influence of Sexual Norms,” National Library of Medicine. Taylor Lorenz, “The Hottest Chat App for Teens Is … Google Docs,” The Atlantic. “Injections, Bone Hammering and the Pursuit of Peak Male Beauty: Inside the image-obsessed subculture that is ‘looksmaxxing,'” The New York Times. John Koetsier, “80% Of Gen Zers Would Marry An AI: Study,” Forbes. Finally, there are two past podcast episodes that we'd encourage you to go back and listen to when you have the time. They are: CCP152: On Women's Porn, CCP72: On Toxic Masculinity and CCP146: On Hooters and OnlyFans. For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.

James Emery White, pastor and theologian who studies faith and culture, tackles the rise of Christian-branded wellness. He explores how faith language is used to sell products, the power of YouTube and influencer trust, and worries about anti-medicine narratives, unregulated supplements, and wellness turning into idolatry. The conversation urges a balanced, gospel-centered ethic for caring well for our bodies.

James Emery White, founding pastor and author on theology and faith-culture, explores why reasons for belief have changed. He discusses functional atheism, the shift from proving God to answering “so what?”, science-driven curiosity about the cosmos, and how wonder and reason now steer people back toward questions about Jesus and meaning.

They unpack recent court rulings that spotlight parental notification and responsibility in school matters. They explore legal decisions tied to gender-related school policies and a criminal case linking parental inaction to violence. They discuss cultural trends reshaping ideas of safety, privacy, and parental authority. They outline practical parental roles: be informed, involved, and in charge.

A conversation about the U.S. entry into war with Iran and the immediate military and political fallout. A tour of Iran’s history, identity, and regional influence. Explanations of Sunni–Shia origins, nuclear fears, and why Jerusalem is a flashpoint. A look at just war principles and how conflict reshapes culture, conscience, and religious communities.

Dr. James Emery White, founding pastor and theologian who writes on faith and culture. He unpacks rising cultural interest in exorcism, the biblical view of Satan, and distinctions between possession and oppression. He outlines signs to watch for, typical practices for deliverance, and why occult exposure is growing. Practical next steps and pastoral care are also discussed.

They talk about how leaders decide which news stories deserve a church response. They explore avoiding needless culture-war reactions while still offering biblical guidance. They discuss practical alternatives to full sermons and how to prepare teaching series on recurring cultural topics. They weigh prophetic warning against evangelistic grace when engaging public issues.