Who is your favorite famous personality, writer, actor, politician? Isn’t that an easy ice breaker for a small group discussion? I’m guessing your mind is already wondering to that person, thinking of favorite anecdotes you have about them on the tip of you tongue. But now imagine you have the opportunity to introduce this person to the world, not just with words, but you get to play the part in a movie about them. Today, we welcome stage and screen actor, Max McLean, a man whose credits are easily found on Google, or better yet at the Fellowship for the Performing Arts web page: fpatheater.com, where Max is the founder & artistic director. He is here today because in just a handful of days, on November 3rd, there is a major one day release of a compelling movie telling the untold story of C.S. Lewis entitled, “The Most Reluctant Convert.” Welcome Max McLean. https://www.churchhurtsand.org Closing: Closing: A few words before we close. What church should you go to?  “And above all, you must be asking which door is the true one; not which pleases you best by its paint and panelling…the question should never be: ‘Do I like that kind of service?’ but ‘Are these doctrines true: Is holiness there? Does my conscience move me towards this? Is my reluctance to move to this door due to my pride, or my mere taste, or my personal dislike for this particular door-keeper?”  ― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity In my lifetime I have observed faith in God moving from a rather passive assumption in the culture around me, to a rather passive irrelevance. “Which church do you go to?” is a question with far more assumptions than a modern American would now make. Atheists have claimed the high ground in academia, somehow assuming they have won the day, disinterested in revisiting arguments from antiquity which allowed theism to dominate in world history. In my world I come across a lot of atheists and less courageous agnostics. When allowed the chance I often express to them my envy of their assurance. I tell them I might be willing to join them, but I just can’t get there intellectually. This usually causes them pause. That’s their line. “Did he just say he can’t get to atheism intellectually?” What they don’t know is that I don’t believe they came to a belief in the absence of God intellectually either. It doesn’t take a genius to look at a sunset and have a pretty strong intuition that this didn’t come from nothing, or chance which is another word for nothing. As prayers are cancelled in public gatherings, I haven’t noticed many hospitals and senior centers asking for fewer chaplains. When one is waiting for results of the cancer screening, I don’t know many calling out to the local atheist society for help. In you are reluctant to follow thinking which could land you in the camp of Christ followers, perhaps it would be worth the time to meet one of your predecessors. His name is C.S. Lewis. You can find him in the movie “The Most Reluctant Convert.” Oh, and don’t be surprised if he becomes a rather good friend. It’s Worth a Thought For Church Hurts And, this is John Bash. Go and enjoy God today.

Producer: Church Hurts And is a listener-supported podcast. Please go to ChurchHurtsAnd.org and click on the DONATE button to become part of our support team.  Do you need grace? Tired of feeling judged by Christians? Stay tuned as we look at God, Golf, and Grace with Dr. Doug Rehberg. I have seen huge cultural shifts in my time, a comment worthy of one who admits to being an old curmudgeon. One of those shifts was in the role and status of the clergyman. When growing up, the clergy was among the most respected professions in America. A local minister was revered in a way, often asked to open public meetings in prayer, provide benedictions at political functions, sought after for wisdom in times of crisis, and appreciated for his willingness to visit shut-ins, perform funerals, and preside over weddings. Often his counsel was even desired the way professional therapists are today. While historically clergy have been among the most educated people in society for over two thousand years, they have also been notoriously underpaid, treated at times as “the help,” tipped a little extra at Christmas, or recipients of extra vegetables from the garden. There were other benefits as well, sometimes including a home while they served the church, along with a coveted free membership at the local country club, or at least the opportunity to play on Mondays when courses were traditionally closed. Early in my ministry, I discovered those days were fading, which isn’t saying I didn’t pine away wishing for them to return. Ministry, as a “profession” was being stained daily by abuses as educational qualifications for ordination, were watered down by many independent and congregational churches.  Today we have a guest a man who straddled that generational gap as well as any I know. Highly respected in his community, he honored his country club for their generosity to him. He used their fairways to minister to many, and find refreshment for his own soul. Let’s welcome the Reverend Dr. Doug Rehberg, author of the new book, “God, Golf and Grace.   If you have benefitted from these podcasts, please consider joining our support team at Standing Stone Ministry. ChurchHurtsAnd.org

Have you ever had something happen to you which has haunted you for your entire life? Playing in the woods was my favorite part of childhood in suburban Pittsburgh. As those years passed, the woods continued to provide new discoveries, new paths, new creatures, and invited adventures created by developing adolescent minds. Tadpoles and insects soon came to be replaced by the thought of building our place of habitation, free from adult eyes, nasty weather, and a safe refuge from the watching world. Finding the right spot took many weeks of roaming through the trees, wanting to be close enough to civilization to provide easy access, but far enough in to be hidden even during the winter months when the leaves were gone. Of course, we didn't want to dig too much; a level spot would be ideal. Imagine going through the design and materials stage with the resources of early teens. As you might imagine, all of this was facilitated by the slowing sprawling suburban neighborhood. New construction was asking for little boys to come to steal a few sheets of plywood, 2x4s, and nails. I undertook this project with my partner, Jim, whose father was an attorney. My dad was an insurance man. That's my way of suggesting our trade skills were at best lacking, as was proven by the result. But we had a shack, and we were proud of it.  Over the years of life, I have remained handyman-challenged, constantly in need of friends with developed skills and knowledge. But I have also come to appreciate those who design in the mind structures which provide the walls we live within. Boring designs make me yawn. Poor construction, I find repulsive. Yet somehow, there seems to be a connection between our view of life and the buildings we build and live in. Perhaps they even say something about God. Today we have a guest who can make sense out of these meanderings, welcome Architect Ron Thomas to Church Hurts And. Dr. John Bash is a shepherd with Standing Stone, a ministry that ministers to ministers, a need as important in this time as any in our lifetime. Consider joining this support team at www.churchhurtsand.org.

Ever faced pain? I mean real pain, deep pain, defining pain? Stay tuned as we look today at “Deep Pain with Dr. Mark Talbot” author of “When the Stars Disappear”. Church Hurts And is a listener-supported podcast. Go to ChurchHurtsAnd.org and click on the DONATE button to become part of our support team.  There was one wooded winding road at the bottom of a hill right at the midpoint of my 20-minute jaunt to Jim’s house. It seemed like a long way in my early teens, traversing the way only teens can do, unabashedly combining quick sprints, slow jogs, periodic skipping, and rarely a normal walking gait. Somehow this hollow at the bottom of the hill at the end of Murdstone Road seemed special, the terrain prohibiting the constant suburban sprawl for a few hundred yards as the woods grew wild. By this point in my journey, I was ready for some deeper reflection, a safe distance from the place of my fear called home. Few would have guessed the content of the conversation I permitted myself to speak out loud in this private hollow. Almost always it was filled with prayerful questions reflecting confusion about the pain and fear I lived in on Murdstone Road, one of the least safe places I ever have experienced in life. I asked God to do things on that stretch of road I would never have done in public. “Please God, just lift me up and transport me ten feet so I can know you really exist.” I’d close my eyes as I continued walking, waiting to feel the lift, and then laughing at my own silliness. I knew God didn’t play those games, but I thought it would be nice and surely strengthen my faith in the midst of the pain nightmare I called home. Pain comes in a lot of forms. We could begin putting adjectives in front of the noun and be here all day, or we could turn it into an adjective and talk about all of the painful people, experiences, churches, muscles, thoughts…you get the idea. So today we turn for help to an unusual place. A real philosopher of all things.    Let’s welcome Dr. Mark Talbot to Church Hurts And. Dr. Mark Talbot encourages support of www.christianscholarsfund.org. Dr. John Bash is a shepherd with Standing Stone, a ministry that ministers to ministers, a need as important in this time as any in our lifetime. Consider joining this support team at www.churchhurtsand.org.  

Church Hurts And is a listener-supported podcast. Go to ChurchHurtsAnd.org to click on the DONATE button and become part of our support team. Have you ever had something happen to you which has haunted you for your entire life?  Forgiving the Nightmare with Mark Sowersby “I really don’t like Bob. He’s rather arrogant and aloof I think.” “Oh, he’s not that bad if you get to know him.” “Well, who would want to get to him? He’s a jerk.” “Well, he’s been through a lot in life. Give him a break.” Who among us has not had a conversation like this? I heard it so often when I was younger I got sick of it, but it got me thinking. What is it about people who manifest unattractive relational skills which drive people away, but whom underneath can be really nice people? And since I don’t have the time to get to know everybody, what should I learn about how I should behave? Now that could be a book, but let me jump to the conclusion. Every person you meet has a story. Part of that story will probably include some very vulnerable life-changing events or relationships which made an indelible imprint upon them. I am not talking about the kind of things that come up in a two-minute cocktail party introduction. “Hi. My name is John and I had an evil stepmother who defined my childhood. How are you?” That isn’t how it works, is it? But then there are those rare moments, those times in life when another opens up to you in a moment of vulnerability. They wouldn’t be doing this if a certain amount of trust hadn’t already been built. And then it comes. You hear a bit of their nightmare. Everything changes. They wonder if you will run away, ask more questions, or be frozen by the reality of it all. Today we have someone with a real nightmare and the courage to bring it into the light. He’s even discovered some life principles which others have used to get them through their own nightmares. Let’s welcome Pastor Mark Sowersby to Church Hurts And. For more about Mark: https://www.forgivingthenightmare.com John Bash is a shepherd with Standing Stone, a ministry that ministers to ministers, a need as important in this time as any in our lifetime. Consider joining this support team at www.churchhurtsand.org.

If you benefit from this radio show/podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://churchhurtsand.org.  Donations are tax-deductible, needed, and appreciated more than you know. Have you ever heard of Romantic Theology? Sounds good, doesn’t it? Let’s find out more with Dr. Michael J. Christensen. After becoming a Christian at the age of 13, I developed some habits and behaviors which could have been considered prudish, ironically quite contrary to my generally outgoing personality. Not committing adultery or fornication before marriage became my obsession for over a decade, carefully studying the meaning of the word, along with fornication, the way other teens might have devoured those certain National Geographics or hard to come by Playboys. How was a Christian adolescent survive a normal increase in testosterone which felt more like an abnormal bomb going off in my body? “Be careful of those things which could naturally lead to inappropriate sexual intimacy in your relationships with girls,” I heard from Rev. Bob Letzinger during a mid-winter conference at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Pittsburgh. Amazingly he confessed to having a climax the first time he ever held hands with a girl. His talk was famous, and we knew it was coming, but did he really say that? And he kept going, warning about the hugs which lasted too long, the times alone without accountability, the dates which lasted too late into the night. As if all of that wasn’t enough, my very best friend sitting next to me (who currently holds a very prestigious position as a professor of theology at a premier evangelical seminary) looked over at me and noticed the mark on my neck. He looked like he had seen a snake as his face turned red and his hands started to shake. Quietly and accusingly he pointed at it, trying not to be obvious as the speaker continued, “That’s a hickey,” he said with wide eyes. I hadn’t known about hickeys until the previous evening with my long-term high school girlfriend, Kathy. You remember those days, your first love, the power of attraction, the depth of longing. Could that tell us anything about God and the Church? Let’s ask Dr. Michael J. Christensen. professor of theology at Northwind Seminary. For more about Michael Christensen, visit https://www.northwindseminary.org.     

If you are a jazz fan, you don’t want to miss this. If you aren’t, get ready to learn from an amazing man accomplished in a lot of ways. Today, bass virtuoso, John Patitucci.  PREFACE: Reality, Jazz, AND Faith If you grew up in a church traditional at all, you will remember a worship component called the “offertory.” To me it seemed simply to be a time for the music director to show off his high-brow classical taste, sometimes with a soloist belting out with too much vibrato in a foreign language. With a little more reflection it seemed to be a programing sleight of hand designed to cover the exact amount of time it took the ushers to collect the offering before the organ abruptly broke into the Gloria Patri shaking the very foundation stones of the church with a refrain all knew and were able to sing along without looking at the words. Modern liturgies, which some would consider not liturgical at all, a conclusion with which I strongly disagree, lean toward something less repetitive. I remember one time in a mid-week service the offering was the last thing done before I was to get up and teach. That is the time for a preacher to compose himself, double-check that his zipper is up, make sure the notes are in order, and grab a moment of prayer remembering it isn’t about him. “Get out of yourself turkey,” my spirit would hear. But this Wednesday evening the music director introduced a guest musician to do a solo instrumental piece for the offering. Doesn’t sound too unusual, right? But the guest’s instrument was a bass. “This should be interesting,” I thought. And the bass had six strings, not four. Thankfully I would be getting up in a few minutes to save things if it was a flop. A few minutes later I walked up to the lectern, wiping tears from my eyes, wondering what had just happened. Nothing I could say would reach the heart of people like what they had just heard. I would teach humbly, knowing God had shown up already, thankful to be a part of the body of Christ. Let us welcome today to Church Hurts And, that bass player and renowned virtuoso, John Patitucci.   If you have benefitted from this radio show/podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://churchhurtsand.org. Donations are tax-deductible, needed, and appreciated more than you know. For more about our guest, you can check him out at: https://www.johnpatitucci.com

If you’ve ever wanted to scream the classic Rodney King line, “Why can’t we all just get along?” it might have been in church. Today: Crazy Church Boards with Attorney William Larson.  Did you take civics or political science when you went to school? Part of basic education is learning how people have tried to organize themselves to get along in this world. Who can tell whom what to do, why, and how? A few forms of government might stir the cobwebs in the brain: Democracy, Communism, Socialism, Monarchy, Theocracy, Totalitarianism. Now for the pop quiz. Describe each in a few sentences and then explain why you think one is the best. Now let’s get a bit more practical. With a bit of thought, we realize that nations aren’t the only thing that needs to be governed. Schools do too, and corporations, and states, and homeowners associations, and families. Oh, that’s right, and churches too. Uh oh! If you ask people who have been hurt by the church somehow what it was that hurt them, it won’t be long before you are talking about church leadership and church government. If you care to know, it is a sub-category of “Ecclesiology,” a big word for the study of the church. They might not use the word “government,” let alone “ecclesiology, but that’s what they are talking about. Leaders, pastors, priests, elders, deacons—all referring to roles in church government. And wow, they sure have the capacity to mess things up and make one wonder if common sense has been banned from the church board room. Let’s find out more about this from someone who might know. A practicing attorney who has sat on more than a few boards, let’s welcome William Larson to Church Hurts And.   If you have benefited from this radio show/podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://churchhurtsand.org. Donations are fully tax-deductible, needed, and appreciated more than you know.

Are you an animal lover? Have a soft spot for the furry creatures of the forest or the brilliant feathered friends above?  Today, Animals, Family,and Photos with Award-Winning Wild Life Photographer and Artist, Holly Cannon. Do you know the three basic distinctions which make up the foundation for any worldview which is considered Christian? They are all found in the first chapter of the first book in the Bible: Genesis one.  #1 There is a distinction between God and creation. There is a fundamental difference between the two and if you get that confused, everything else turns into a mess. In the beginning God. Not in the beginning God and. God didn’t check in with me, or you, when He decided to start this world as much as we might like to believe otherwise. #2 There is a distinction between human beings and all other creatures. Being in the image of God is something uniquely reserved for mankind. God gives man the special responsibility to rule over all the creatures of this world. Its part of the job description we have as humans. Interesting, huh?  #3. Man is distinct from woman. God made man; male and female he created them. It doesn’t matter how confusing the use of language or pronouns are, a man isn’t a woman and vice versa no matter how confusing we might try to make that. Three fundamental distinctions are worthy to consult when things get confusing in this life. Today we are going to talk a bit more about one of them which all too often gets overlooked. What about all those other creatures which God put on this earth the do their thing? If God put them there, I bet they can teach us something about Him, even if they aren’t in His image like us humans are. How are we to rule over them if we don’t know them, study them, and enjoy God’s creation? Ever consider that the first job God gave man? It is common to say prostitution is the oldest profession. That’s not true. Adam and Eve were Zoologists. So let’s talk to someone who has seen animals of all kinds and gives us a peek into their glory. Welcome, Holly Youngblood Cannon to Church Hurts And.   If you have appreciated this radio show/podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://churchhurtsand.org. Donations are fully tax-deductible, needed, and sincerely appreciated.

Know what it is like to live with a smile masking pain and hurt so deep there aren’t enough drugs to cover it up? Today, Death, Drugs, AND Church with Jeff & Shannon Bryant. It is hard to imagine this today, but there was a time when the selection of a marriage partner began with the assumption you would choose someone from your family's own ethnic identity and religious affiliation. This wasn't a problem for those whose lives were completely surrounded by only such people anyway. So Dutch married Dutch. Scots married Scots. Mexicans married Mexicans. Chinese married Chinese. Notice I started with national identities because you know it gets messier when we add religion into it. Surely the nice Scottish Lass raised in the Church of Scotland wouldn't want to marry a Roman Catholic Scot, of all things, would she? If this were a discussion group, all of you would be ready with stories of your own. You know someone whose parents were horrified when he married a Russian girl and at the wedding… dot dot dot. These are stories that include way too much relational pain, generational conflict, historical changes, and cultural metamorphosis. They are hard to understand, more challenging to live, and often produce irreconcilable damage to children who find it all just stupid. So let's cut beneath all of those external cultural, national and religious labels and dive right into the home. Here we have a happily married couple with three children. Issues arise as they always do in life, some more significant than others. How does the couple navigate these challenges as they turn to their important fundamental values? She thinks Church would help if they could go together as a family. He's not surprised because she's always been a bit more spiritual than he was. "Go ahead, Honey, take the kids." "But I'd like you to come with us." she implores. To say the least, he isn't tempted.  Years go by with the script remaining the same. He misses that the issue isn't about Church at all, really. His wife longs for faith to play a part in their marriage, their family, their decisions. The bickering between the two of them becomes more commonplace. The once passionate love affair turns into an endurance race, finding ways to avoid the growing gap between them. Now what? Let’s find out. Welcome, Orange County Entrepreneur Jeff Bryants to Church Hurts And.   If you enjoyed listening to this radio show/podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://www.standingstoneministry.org/shepherd/john-bash/ or visit us at: https://www.churchhurtsand.org

Ever thought the devil made you do it? Why do you do what you do and how does faith fit into it? Don’t tell anybody, but I’ve gotten addicted to binge-watching a series on Netflix. No, really, don’t tell anyone because the language is way too graphic, and the sex on the screen won’t pass any Sunday School test, but the storyline and imagination is simply overwhelmingly compelling. The series is called Outlander, and it forces one to contemplate the cultural, medical, and spiritual dynamics in the mid 20th century compared to the mid 18th century. How would you handle life if you woke up tomorrow 200 years back in time? Imagine the differences, beginning with no lights to turn on, much less, thermostats to adjust, or prescriptions to take. So why do we just keep that line of thought going for a minute? In the Christian world, it wasn’t long ago Catholics believed all Protestants were heretics, and Protestants all thought The Pope was the Anti-Christ. Psychology as a specific field of study was not even born as myths and superstitions abounded in the areas we might call brain science today. You are doing something crazy? What are we supposed to conclude if we don’t know about brain tumors, chemical imbalances, and personality disorders? Rushing forward to today, do you wonder why you are struggling with faith and relationship issues in a way that seems unique? Do you question the prescriptions which are supposed to take the edge off of your anxiety or depression, still finding yourself unsatisfied? Does trust in God seem to elude you, making you long for the faith you see in others? Let’s ask someone who has pondered these things for most of a lifetime. Founder and CEO of IDT Ministries (Institute for Discipleship Training) and former pastor of Coast Hills Church in Aliso Viejo, welcome Dr. Ken Baugh to Church, Hurts And. If you enjoyed listening to this radio show/podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://www.standingstoneministry.org...​ or https://www.churchhurtsand.org​ For more about Ken Baugh:  https://idtministries.com

In our opening, we mention having a “dash of recovery” thrown in. What is that? Recovery? Recovery from what?  If you Google recovery, the first thing to come up will be how to recover a lost or corrupted Word document. That is something we hope we don’t have to do anytime soon. But we are looking at something far more important and fundamental. That’s easy for me to say not panicking over a corrupted Word document containing months of work, but you get the point. Consider the meaning of the prefix “re.” It means simply “back” or “again.” It appears hundreds of times in the English language. Rearrange. Retool. Readjust. Reborn. Reform. Remember. I could go on and on or chose different words if I wanted to redo this intro. And then, have you ever been in a situation where you were responsible for too many things and the deadline was looming? You are running around checking on things and someone says, “I got this covered.” Wow, does that feel good! Covered. Protected. Now we have something which was supposed to be covered but was left out in the elements too long. The storms came. The snow fell. The wind blew and too much exposure has taken its toll. Maybe we should just throw it out. Or, or is it worthy enough to RE-cover. I have discovered that recovery people are some of the most gracious-giving people in this world. They know what it means to be beat-up by life. They know what it means to be exposed to too many storms. They know what it means to have a second chance. You get to meet one of these people who knows something about this subject today. Welcome former Iron Worker and current CEO of NJ Boom and Erectors, Terry Kolb to Church, Hurts And.   If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://www.standingstoneministry.org/shepherd/john-bash/ and making a recurring or one-time donation. And, come visit us at https://www.churchhurtsand.org  

Bonhoeffer 1945 and Today I don’t know about you, but I know life seems more complicated to me today than it was years ago. What used to be apparent black and white issues have turned into an insane amount of grays and purples and browns. It reminded me of third-grade art class when we were first allowed to play with paints and shown how to mix colors. Blue and yellow could make the loveliest shades of green. Like every other ADD child, of course, I figured if two colors mixed was good, why not three and four and five. You know the result, that ugly shade of mud which was irredeemable.  Unfortunately, when I am talking about life being complicated, it isn’t as easy to understand as paint mixing. When what we learned was good ends up being not so good, or even harmful, confusion kicks in. If a right isn’t right, and wrong is what we were told was right, how are we act? When what was cast in stone in front of the courthouse from ten commandments is now forbidden to be on public property, who is making the rules, or maybe more importantly, who has changed the rules, and why? In college, I was taught that there were different views of ethics, the two primary ones being Absolute and Relative. Absolute Ethics emphasized what was always true, no matter what. Relative Ethics emphasized that ethics changed based upon the situation. The classic illustration given was based upon lying being bad. If lying is evil, what do you do when the Gestapo comes to the door and asks if you are hiding Jews in your attic. If you tell the truth, they will surely be shot. If you lie, you have violated God’s prohibition against lying. Today we will talk about a man who actually faced those issues, in that time with the Gestapo and Hitler and churches as messed up as church gets. His name was Dietrich Bonhoeffer. To find out more, let’s ask an actor who has played Bonhoeffer all over the world in the play Bonhoeffer 1945. Welcome actor/playwright D. Paul Thomas to Church, Hurts And. www.ChurchHurtsAnd.org www.bonhoeffer1945.com

Christian Podcast | Heart of the Artist I was the ripe old age of 22, settled into a graduate school outside of Chicago, and attempting to adjust to the north again after a marvelous year working in Key Biscayne, Florida. My father had died the previous year from sorosis of the liver, leaving me a bit lonely, while at the same time feeling quite adult. I was on my career path into church ministry, already quite settled into my theology of choice, yet eager to learn, and get my walking papers to be a legitimate clergyman. Attending a singles group in the city, I ran into an all-too-cute girl who wouldn’t quit talking about her church in the suburbs. Actually, everyone seemed to be talking about that church, so I allowed myself to be dragged along one Sunday, more interested in the girl than I was in the church. I knew things were going to be different since the lobby was packed in the theater hosting this new fangled trendy church, awaiting the previous service to let out. It is hard to imagine nowadays, but back then churches were mostly known for their pipe organs, choirs, and liturgy. The site of a band set up on the stage was different. But then, four female vocalists with microphones and smiles started to sing in harmony, quite well by the way. And then it happened. I saw the drummer lift slowly from his seat at the drum kit as the singers paused. With no shame or apology, and all the strength the young man had, he came down on the snare and the beat was on. Welcome to the modern church. If I had to compare those three years in the seminary with the impact of that one church on my thinking, I’m not sure which was greater. I do know this, I will forever be grateful. Why do we do what we do in church? How much of it is because of outdated traditions, and how much of it is led by God’s instructions in the Bible? Today we have a special guest who has spent his life asking such questions, picking the songs, rehearsing the bands, and leading the worship. Today he continues to serve the church as the director of Heart of the Artist Ministries. Let’s meet him. Welcome, Rory Noland, to Church Hurts And. https://www.churchhurtsand.org http://www.heartoftheartist.org

Inside a Princess. I am guessing you think your intuition is pretty good. You read people rather well. Trust your instincts. “Trust the Force, Luke.” At the core of the romantic ideal in America today is the scene of two unknowns who look across a crowded room, happen to catch the eyes of each other, and it is immediately there. You feel the electricity as it sparks between them and shudders through their body down to their toes. Nothing will be the same again. Perhaps a third notice the silent exchange, camera angle catching it just right, and now knowing voyeurs react, and the plotline is set. Will this be the beginning of a great romance or a tragedy of epic proportions? With a whiff of smell salts, we know real life would end up with some twisted combination of the two. I relate to the writer's desire to want to create the tale, rather than be another typical movie-goer, at the mercy of the author’s and producer’s imagination. How would we write the tale? Want to have happy endings? Then craft the story that way. Want to see tragedy turned into miracles? Write it that way. The power of authorship can be powerful. But what do you do if are enamored with a story already told, a story known to many, and told for millenniums? What if you see it differently? What if the villain isn’t a villain, and the heroine isn’t quite so heroic? What do you do then? Let’s make it harder. What if that story is in the Bible? Really? A Bible story that may have some insights people have been missing, and missing badly? If told another way, there are those in this world who could be helped by telling it, bringing it to life, and giving a whole new twist a dust-covered Sunday School lessons long forgotten. What would that be like? Let’s find out.  Welcome, K.D. Holmberg, to Church Hurts And. https://www.churchhurtsand.org https://www.kdholmberg.com

PART 1. I was disappointed when my hostess in London informed me she had set up a tour for us to go on. I’m not a tour-going kind of tourist and I was sure no tour was going to show me to the kind of places I’d want to see. “But it is the Christian Heritage Tour” she explained, a bit hurt by my obvious lack of enthusiasm. I bit my lip, not wanting to appear any more unappreciative than I already had. So now I’m going to get some sappy tour of Church architecture by a typical Anglican who will explain away the empty churches with some cultural psycho babble. Surely the guide won’t know much about the truly great preachers of London I would want to know about.  As I sat on the steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral, best know to this American mind for the wedding of Charles and Diana in 1981, little was I prepared for the bouncing smiling tour guide to be another act of God’s humor upon me. Ben Virgo was his name. Surprisingly he was not a stayed traditional Anglican at all and proceeded to take us on a walking tour of London which turned the day into one of the most meaningful and memorable days of my life. I’d like to keep telling you about it, but let me cut to the chase. In a way I had never understood, Ben helped me see how much of key moments in history can be tied back to London and even to specific places in London. So in the midst of all the questions and unrest lately here in the US, I figured I’d test out Ben’s theory. What can we learn about racial issues from London? What about disease and pandemics? What about God and Church and Hurts? So with no further adieu, Ben Virgo, Welcome to Church Hurts And from the other side of the pond. churchhurtsand.org

Virginia Woolf once said, “If you do not tell the truth about yourself, you cannot tell it about other people.” Let me repeat that, “If you do not tell the truth about yourself, you cannot tell it about other people.” That is rather scary if you think about it. Four years ago, I went through a life-changing, radical, character-defining, unnerving transition. I’m not going to tell you exactly what it was because I am not ready to get that vulnerable, but I will say to you: I am not the same person as I was four years ago. I thought it was just a choice, until every day I found out something new about myself. Here is the strange about it. Of all the things in life I might have doubted, one thing I did not doubt was I was the world’s number one expert in John Bash. Nobody knew me as well as I knew me. How could they? Isn’t that rather self-evident?  I once heard a woman say, “I’m not much, but I’m all I think about.” I wasn’t quite that bad, but I did claim a certain amount of self-awareness. I had my share of psychology classes, two graduate degrees, was a minister for 25 years, with more than a few therapy sessions. Doesn’t that qualify me to know myself? In short, the answer is a resounding “No.” Have you ever heard the question, “Would you rather be happy or right?” Most people who ask this expect it to be rhetorical. I have the kind of brain which doesn’t do well with such questions. Right or happy? I ponder it. Doesn’t this open the possibility for a happy idiot? Let’s not dismiss “right” too quickly, right? I am particularly appreciative of people who can come into such pondering and help me to think about life differently. Their way to truth is not nearly as propositional as I would like, is much more sensitive and caring, and usually includes some fun stories along the way. Today we have such a person. Brian Mann is an artist, communicator, churchman and currently holds the title of Story Ninja at Citycoast Creative in Sonoma, California. Welcome, Brian Mann, to Church Hurts And. ChurchHurtsAnd.org

One of the pains of getting older comes in attempting to accept changes, even embrace changes, rather than staying stuck in old ways and acting precisely like the old people at whom you used to roll your eyes. By allowing myself to be stereotyped as an old curmudgeon in the introduction to this show, I guess I've admitted that I don't intend to bend over backward to embrace the latest trendsetting fashions. Perhaps the most difficult of all changes for me are those that come into the world of ideas and language. I knew I was in trouble last November when the Oxford University Dictionary changed the definition of "woman." Really?  How am I to talk if you change the meaning of words on me? If this is starting to sound too obtuse, take the time to watch the 2019 movie entitled "The Professor and the Madman" with Mel Gibson and Sean Penn. The meaning of words does matter and helps us as we try to understand and navigate the world around us, not to mention relationships within that world.  Now I can admit to being a bit pedantic about some things, and I know for a fact that our special guest today can be, but at some point, I have to put my foot down and scream, "This Matters." It isn't just words. It is words. Have I lost you yet? Let me give you one example, one word, and then see where it takes us. Ready? TRUTH. What does the word "truth" mean?  Growing up, I learned that everyone could have opinions, some more right than others, and the essence of good conversation was exchanging ideas to learn and be influenced by others. All decent people were seeking the truth, so such discussions were outstanding. But something happened. Somebody switched the definition of "truth" with opinion. Instead of "the truth," people were talking about "my truth." If I try to explain my confusion any further, I'll confuse myself, so today we have as a guest the author of LIFESTYLE: A Biblical/Philosophical Study of Christianity & the Culture it Produces. Maybe he can help. From Western Ohio, welcome Dr. Richard Knodel to Church Hurts And. ChurchHurtsAnd.org

Everything changes when one is introduced with the title of “Pastor” or “Reverend” or “Father” or “Preacher.” An individual self-consciousness seems to invade the social space, consistently altering the subject under discussion. People somehow seem obligated to qualify themselves, dropping a sentence or two about their spirituality, church attendance, or lack thereof. Frequently there may also be a reference to childhood upbringing, ethnic traditions, or family practices. Since I was often introduced to such a title, I was self-conscious of the expectations. I was now the church or religion representative as the discussion twisted to a disagreement or disillusionment with “organized religion.” Over the years, I usually discovered I was in agreement with the person expressing their discontent and fully understood why they chose to disengage.  While I have never taken a poll, I certainly have a lot of anecdotal evidence to conclude people’s primary distaste for organized religion is founded in what they perceive as hypocrisy. Leaders allow themselves to be perceived as more holy, more together, closer to God, and wiser than the average Joe. It can be quite off-putting, but it is also very seductive. Who doesn’t want someone with an into God? Why listen to sermons if the one preaching it doesn’t have something you don’t have?   But then the hammer comes down, and the stories unfold. This preacher didn’t know how to keep his pants on. That leader, she had her hand in the till. The neighbor always going to church was rude to me. In some ways, this whole discussion can get mundane to me. I’ve had it hundreds, if not thousands of times. That’s sad, but cause it isn’t mundane. It is so the opposite of what the Bible teaches from beginning to end, perhaps nowhere more prominently than in the leading figure of Old Testament Israel, King David. Let’s find out more from our two guests today, who I will introduce in a moment after an excerpt from their work “The Odyssey of King David” read by D. Paul Thomas. ChurchHurtsAnd.org

Relationship Pain. Ever been excommunicated? I mean, kicked out of a church kind of excommunicated? Sounds like we are talking about the Middle Ages, doesn’t it? Does that really happen anymore? I mean, there are churches for every species of thought under heaven. One church I visited had a blessing Sunday for pets. Choose your sexual preference, a god off the menu, liturgical stripe you prefer, and you can find a church that fits. Why would anyone get excommunicated when one can just walk down the street to open arms of people equally indignant at the idea, to begin with? It doesn’t take a whole lot of self-reflection to realize we excommunicate people from our lives all the time. The word comes from the Latin “excommunicare,” which means to put outside of the community. We can put it more simply by staying in English and just looking at ex and communication. I bet you have a bunch of people in your life who would fit into that category: “I am not going to communicate with you anymore.” You have done something so offensive, so repulsive, so defiling to my standards, I no longer will have you in my life. This gets particularly difficult when it happens in the most intimate relationships, particularly the family.  When I was a young pastor, already starting my second church, and had a second child on the way, I had a very unique friend. In his beginning years of fatherhood, he happened to be a nuclear power engineer and personified what any pastor would like to have in the church. He was the greeter from heaven, making everyone who dared walk through the doors feel special, and welcomed. Come back again, and he would remember your name, ask about your week and point you to the coffee before the service. When the lights went off at church, we would find our way to his small starter home, where the ping pong table was my immediate destination. Laughter began, and extended volleys were interspersed with deep theological questions and a passion for unbelievers throughout the world. In so many ways, everything just seemed perfect. Let’s see… Welcome, Brian Holian to Church Hurts And.