What is Advent hope, and how do we hold onto it when life feels overwhelming?

In this first episode of a four-part Good Faith Advent series, Curtis Chang and author Sara Billups explore what true hope looks like for 21st-century Christians navigating consumer culture, climate anxiety, and widespread disillusionment with the church. Drawing on her experiences as a caregiver for her aging parents and as a Gen Xer shaped by the fundamentalism of the 1970s and 80s, Sara reflects on the Gospel story of Simeon, whose patient hope in the long-awaited birth of Jesus offers a timeless example for mid-lifers, millennials, and anyone yearning for hope in troubled times. With practical tips for sharing Advent’s meaning with children, this episode provides encouragement for the whole family.

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Send your Campfire Stories to: info@redeemingbabel.org

Listen to Songs For the After Party, get sheet music, lyrics, and prayers for your church.

Referenced in This Episode:

• Kate Bowler Everything HAppens for A Reason and Other Lies

• Misgivings About Hal Lindsay’s “Planet Earth” by John Piper

• Engage with the Daily Office

• Use the Pray As You Go application

• Read The Morning Offering prayer

• Teaching Children The Examen Prayer

• Order a copy of Every Moment Holy

• Read The Benedictine Rules of Fidelity and Stability (PDF)

More From Sara Billups:

• Check out Sara Billups’ Bitter Scroll Substack

• Buy & read Orphaned Believers by Sara Billups

• Listen to the That's The Spirit podcast with Sara Billups and Morgan Page

A sister listens to her family even when disagreement over abortion makes it hard.

Good Faith's series of Campfire Stories, invites listeners to share how the podcast has inspired them to engage deeply with their families and communities. These personal narratives illuminate how individuals like you are grappling with complex issues and fostering meaning right where they live. Join us for Alyssa's Campfire Story.

Send your Campfire Stories to: info@redeemingbabel.org

Is it true that “you can’t believe” anything you read? Can we consume news with a mindset other than cynicism, outrage, or fear?

Host Curtis Chang welcomes journalist and author Jon Ward to discuss why Christians need to care about a well-functioning news culture. With an AP poll on mainstream media showing trust at an all-time low, they explore the reasons behind this crisis—political isolation, social media's influence, and potential media bias. Together, they offer a framework for healthy news consumption, focusing on the postures of spectator, student, and servant, while Jon shares his personal strategies for staying informed in a fractured media landscape.

Referenced in This Episode:

• Gallup: Media Trust Data

• AP Media Trust Polling

• Gallup: Ideology percentages in the U.S.

• Media Bias Chart (based on self-identified ideology)

• The Highest Paid Media Personalities

• Top News Anchor Pay Cuts

• Tucker Carlson’s 2009 Defense of The New York Times

Jon Ward’s Suggested Media Sources:

• The Associated Press

• The New York Times

• The National Review

• Politico

• The Dispatch

• Axios

• The Liberal Patriot

• Wake Up To Politics

Some Local News Options

• The Baltimore Banner

• The Texas Tribune

• Streetcar Suburbs Publishing

More From Jon Ward:

• Check out Jon Ward’s Border-Stalkers Substack

• Buy & read Jon ward’s book Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Failed a Generation

• Listen to Jon Ward’s podcast The Long Game

Send your Campfire Stories to: info@redeemingbabel.org

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Listen to Songs For the After Party, get sheet music, lyrics, and prayers for your church.

What level of crazy or calm will the next Trump White House bring with it?

Host Curtis Chang is joined by Tim Alberta, author of The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory, to explore the turbulence surrounding the final days of Donald Trump's 2024 campaign and what it might signal for the next administration. They analyze potential picks for key cabinet roles, examining what these choices could mean for America's future both domestically and abroad. Curtis and Tim go beyond the palace intrigue to offer thoughtful ways to pray for the president-elect, urging listeners to consider Trump’s humanity, vulnerabilities, and penchant for chaos.

*This episode was recorded on Tuesday Nov 12, 2024 before some of the administration picks had been made.

Referenced in this Episode:

• Read Tim Alberta's The Atlantic piece about the last days of the Trump campaign

• Engage with our course The After Party

• Read 1 Timothy 2:1-2

More From Tim Alberta:

• Check out all of Tim Alberta’s writing for The Atlantic HERE

• Buy & read Tim Alberta’s books HERE

• Follow Tim Alberta on https://x.com/TimAlberta

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Listen to Songs For the After Party, get sheet music, lyrics, and prayers for your church.

Trump Wins, Good Faith Reacts

America elected a new president, and a familiar administration is poised to return to the White House. What does it all mean for Christians? Host Curtis Chang is joined by "founding friend" David French and public theologian Russell Moore to explore the intense emotions many are experiencing in the wake of this election. Together, they dive into listener questions about the global repercussions of another Trump presidency, the complex feelings some Christians experience about the political choices of fellow believers, and the evolving role of the church in a deeply divided America. Confronting shared experiences of anguish, alienation, and anger, the trio offers thoughtful insights into how we can navigate this challenging landscape of emotions about the known and unknown implications of the vote.

Referenced in this Episode:

• Engage with our course The After Party

• Read an interview with Reinhold Niebuhr HERE

• Read Henry David Thoreau’s Walden online

• More on Augustine and the fall of Rome

• Neil Postman predicted Donald Trump in 1985

• Explore the J.R.R. Tolkien Society HERE

• 85 quotations from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings

• C.S. Lewis on courage

• Listen to The Kingdom of Jesus by the Jon Guerra, Sandra McCracken, and Porter’s Gate

More From David French:

• Read David French’s opinion pieces HERE

• Follow David French on Threads

• Listen to David on the Advisory Opinions podcast

More From Russell Moore:

• Read Russell Moore’s Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America

• Listen to The Russell Moore Show podcast

• Explore Russell’s Christianity Today pieces

Listen to Songs For the After Party, get sheet music, lyrics, and prayers for your church.

Are you ready to cast your ballot?

In this final episode before the presidential election, host Curtis Chang and “founding friend” David French explore the tense feelings and tough questions Christians face as they prepare to vote. They explore how political instability might actually be a gift that pushes Jesus followers to adopt a mindset that seeks to defend the vulnerable, and when it’s necessary challenges “people of good will.” Curtis and David also discuss how social media often amplifies instability rather than providing insight, the importance of finding a virtuous purpose amid uncertainty, and the need for prayers of lament.

Referenced in this Episode:

• Read Curtis Chang’s Washington Post opinion piece Anxious about the nail-biter election? Here's how to survive it.

• Read Augustine’s City of God online

• Read Curtis Chang’s book Engaging Unbelief: A Captivating Strategy from Augustine and Aquinas

• Read Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl

• Engage with our course The After Party

Engaging with Prayers of Lamentation:

• Learning to Lament: A Guide to Praying in Our Hardest Moments

• Dare to Hope in God: How to Lament Well

More From David French:

• Read David French’s opinion pieces HERE

• Follow David French on Threads

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Join the Redeeming Babel Team: Marketing Manager Job Opening

Join us for the following The After Party/Good Faith virtual events:

November 4th all-comers election eve noontime prayer

November 6th post-election podcast recording

Listen to Songs For the After Party, get sheet music, lyrics, and prayers for your church.

Enter to win the Good Faith Book Giveaway: The After Party Edition!

Why is truth-telling so hard to do within the church? Host Curtis Chang and renowned therapist and author Dan Allender explore the complex crossroads of theology and psychology, tracing the evolving, sometimes fraught relationship between the Christian church and therapy. With warmth and candor, Dr. Allender shares both his love for and ambivalence toward psychotherapy, reflecting on how it can challenge our understanding of the role trauma plays in the search for God’s truth. Together, they invite listeners to consider how an imaginative rethinking of the "war within you" can open new pathways to authentic worship.

Drawing upon material from a past conversation, this episode will inspire a continued reimagining of therapy’s place in faith communities.

Join the Redeeming Babel Team: Marketing Manager Job Opening

Join us for the following The After Party/Good Faith virtual events:

October 28th pre-election podcast recording

November 4th all-comers election eve noontime prayer

November 6th post-election podcast recording

Listen to Songs For the After Party, get sheet music, lyrics, and prayers for your church.

Bring The After Party course to your church or small group!

Enter to win the Good Faith Book Giveaway: The After Party Edition!

Referenced in this Episode

• Read Calvin’s Institutes online

• Learn more about Christian Smith and Melissa Lundquist Denton’s Moralistic Therapeutic Deism

• Find out about Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy

• Read about Rollo Mae and existential therapy

• Read C.S. Lewis’s "Weight of Glory" sermon online

More From Dan Allender:

• Learn more about Dan’s work at The Allender Center

• Check out Dan Allender’s books

"What if much of what you’ve been told about Heaven was incorrect?" Host Curtis Chang is joined by Skye Jethani, author and co-host of the Holy Post podcast, for a conversation about the widespread misconceptions of Heaven. Together, they unpack why many of us have been asking the wrong questions about Heaven. For instance, rather than asking “Is Heaven real?" or “Who is going to Heaven?” Christians are called by Jesus to make Heaven more real in the here and now, including in our vocation, family, and even how we care for the Earth. Join them in this shift from a Heaven-focused faith to a Christ-centered practice that brings Heaven and Earth closer together than you might have imagined.

Join the Redeeming Babel Team: Marketing Manager Job Opening

Join us for the following The After Party/Good Faith virtual events:

October 28th pre-election podcast recording

November 4th all-comers election eve noontime prayer

November 6th post-election podcast recording

Listen to Songs For the After Party, get sheet music, lyrics, and prayers for your church.

Bring The After Party course to your church or small group!

Enter to win the Good Faith Book Giveaway: The After Party Edition!

Referenced in this Episode

• Read what N.T. Wright believes the New Testament says about Heaven

• Watch The Bible Project video about the overlapping of Heaven and Earth

• Read about the Heresy of Eusebius

• Read Richard Mouw’s essay Heaven: The Logic of Eternal Joy

• Read an excerpt from Andy Crouch’s Culture Making about "culture as the furniture of Heaven"

More From Skye Jethani:

• Check out Skye’s work at The Holy Post

• Subscribe to Skye’s daily devotional With God Daily

• Explore Skye’s books including What If Jesus Was Serious About Heaven?