En Route: Journeys in Faith and Modern Life

Sep 25, 2026 • E299 • 00:53:35

What if the church's obsession with growth is just modern-day Baal worship? Andrew Root returns to the podcast to discuss his new book Baal and the Gods of More: Rescuing Church Growth from Idolatry (Baker Academic). Root — Carrie Olson Baalson Professor...

Sep 18, 2026 • E298 • 01:07:15

We tend to think of democracy in terms of institutions and procedures — voting, the Supreme Court, Congress. But what if it actually depends on something less visible: the everyday virtues that make shared life with people we didn't choose possible at all...

Sep 11, 2026 • E297 • 01:08:42

We've all heard of Trump Derangement Syndrome — the caricature of the uber-progressive who can't stop talking about the president. But what about the opposite version? The diehard loyalist who dismisses any criticism of Trump as irrational, even when it c...

Sep 04, 2026 • E296 • 01:04:11

Dennis talks with Australian theologian Graham Joseph Hill about his new book, Ten Movements of the Jesus Way: Shifting from Worldly Self-Interest to Radical Discipleship. They discuss Graham's journey from a legalistic upbringing to planting his first ch...

Aug 07, 2026 • E295 • 00:47:41

When JD Vance accused "in this house we believe" yard signs of butchering the Nicene Creed, Methodist pastor Teer Hardy started wondering what creeds are actually for. That question turned into an essay — and this conversation. Teer Hardy, pastor of Trini...

Jul 31, 2026 • E294 • 01:02:05

Dennis sits down with Jason Swan Clark, theologian, spiritual director, and director of the London Centre for Spiritual Direction, to unpack his article "How Inclusive Church Excludes."  Drawing on his doctoral work on Christian identity formation and con...

Jul 24, 2026 • E293 • 01:07:16

America isn't breaking apart because people are more extreme. We're breaking apart because our civic relationships are. That's the line from writer and researcher Lura Forcum that sparked this conversation on political polarization, tribalism, and what fa...

Jul 17, 2026 • E292 • 01:20:45

In a culture where churches increasingly demand ideological uniformity, is there still room for people who don't fit neatly into a camp? Dennis sits down with Garwood Anderson — former Dean and President of Nashotah House Theological Seminary, now a Senio...

Jul 10, 2026 • E291 • 01:03:01

Why bad things happen to good people has always been the classic question of faith. But Gen Z is asking something different: why don't bad things happen to bad people? Jared Dodson — a Gen Z Bible professor at Bushnell University — joins Dennis to unpack...

Jul 03, 2026 • E290 • 00:51:08

There's a lot of despair in the world right now, and it seems especially pronounced among Generation Z. Writer, speaker, and podcaster Jake Doberins joins the show to talk about his recent essay "Having Hope in a Hopeless World," exploring why hope feels...