Steve Brown Etc.

There are fewer and fewer people in this generation that publicly profess Christian faith and commitment. What s more, the role of the Church in politics and culture is changing, but not in the way you might think! Dr. John H. Armstrong joins us on this edition of SBE in the wake of Obama s acceptance speech (and McCain s choice of running mate) to talk about the advancement of the Christian tradition in the third millennium. Use one of the options below to listen. Dr. Armstrong is an author, seminar and conference speaker, and founder and president of ACT 3. Visit ACT3Online.com to find out more about the organization and Steve Brown s celebration of its 17th anniversary.

Tomorrow, 08.29.08 - John Armstrong - Founder and president of ACT 3 Friday, 09.05.08 - Frank Viola - Coauthor of Pagan Christianity Friday, 09.12.08 - Curt Moore and Jean Larroux - Two guys dedicated to the restoration of the Mississippi Gulf Coast through the declaration and demonstration of the love of God Friday, 09.19.08 - John Eldredge - Manly Christian and author of Walking with God Friday, 09.26.08 - John Whitehead - Constitutional attorney and author of The Change Manifesto The nationally syndicated talk show, Steve Brown Etc. streams live during recordings on Fridays from noon - 1 ET. Then, we post it to the site and the show airs on stations across the country that weekend. Join us for the recordings and talk to our guests by calling in on Fridays from noon -1 ET at 1.888.54.STEVE (1.888.547.8383). Also, feel free to leave any guest suggestions in the comments on this post.

Why is the gospel of love dividing America? Dan Merchant spent two years looking for answers to that question, and the result is the entertaining and thought-provoking documentary, Lord, Save Us From Your Followers. Dan s quest to explore faith and culture in America included everything from engaging people on the street as Bumpersticker Man, to interviewing experts, to shooting a game show called Culture Wars. Use one of the options below to hear all about it. This edition of SBE also includes an interview with Beliefnet.com Politics Editor, Dan Gilgoff, on his interview with Rick Warren after the Saddleback Civil Forum with Obama and McCain. Don t miss it!

Today, 08.22.08 - Guests Dan Merchant - Writer/Director/Producer of the documentary Lord Save Us From Your Followers and Dan Gilgoff - Beliefnet Politics Editor and author of The Jesus Machine: How James Dobson, Focus on the Family, and Evangelical America Are Winning the Culture War Friday, 08.29.08 - John Armstrong - Founder and president of ACT 3 And don t miss John Eldredge and Frank Viola in September. The nationally syndicated talk show, Steve Brown Etc. streams live during recordings on Fridays from noon - 1 ET. Then, we post it to the site and the show airs on stations across the country that weekend. Join us for the recordings and talk to our guests by calling in on Fridays from noon -1 ET at 1.888.54.STEVE (1.888.547.8383). Also, feel free to leave any guest suggestions in the comments on this post.

If you ve ever felt like your emotions have been trivialized by religious folks in the name of focusing on the facts of the faith, this edition of Steve Brown Etc. is for you. Use one of the options below to listen. From the time he was a teenager, Dr. Matthew Elliott has been on a lifelong quest to find the true role of feelings in one s spiritual life, and this week he made a pit-stop on that journey at SBE. Dr. Elliott has a Ph.D. in New Testament studies from the University of Aberdeen in Scotalnd where he studied emotion in the Bible. He s also the author of Feel: The Power of Listening to Your Heart. Find out more about his work at FaithfulFeelings.com.

Biochemist, Dr. Fazale Fuz Rana, joins us on this edition of Steve Brown Etc. to talk about his new book, The Cell s Design: How Chemistry Reveals the Creator s Artistry. Use one of the options below to listen. Many of the technological advances in medicine and agriculture today are driven by the field of biochemistry. As humans gain greater understanding in this area, many scientists who don t profess belief in God are finding themselves faced with the fact that biochemical systems are less likely a product of chance and appear to be designed. Dr. Rana has a Ph.D. in biochemistry and he s the vice president of research and apologetics at Reasons To Believe. He is also the coauthor, with Dr. Hugh Ross, of Origins of Life and Who Was Adam?

Today, 08.08.08 - Guest: Fuz Rana - Author of The Cell s Design and vice president for science apologetics at Reasons To Believe Friday, 08.15.08 - Guest: Matthew Elliot - Author of Feel Friday, 08.22.08 - Guest Dan Merchant - Writer/Director/Producer of the documentary Lord Save Us From Your Followers Friday, 08.29.08 - John Armstrong - Founder and president of ACT 3 And don t miss John Eldredge and Frank Viola in September. The nationally syndicated talk show, Steve Brown Etc. streams live during recordings on Fridays from noon - 1 ET. Then, we post it to the site and the show airs on stations across the country that weekend. Join us for the recordings and talk to our guests by calling in on Fridays from noon -1 ET at 1.888.54.STEVE (1.888.547.8383). Also, feel free to leave any guest suggestions in the comments on this post.

Carol Kent was living a model Christian life as a successful author and conference speaker. Her only child graduated from Annapolis and went on to become a lieutenant in the Navy with an impeccable military record. Then the phone rang in the middle of the night and everything changed. The voice on the other end of the line said her son had been arrested for murdering his wife s ex-husband. Use one of the options below to hear Steve Brown and Carol talk about her gut-wrenching story and her new normal. Carol Kent is the president of Speak Up Speaker Services and author of numerous books, including When I Lay My Isaac Down and A New Kind of Normal: Hope-Filled Choices When Life Turns Upside Down.

Sara Miles was a passionate atheist, but early one morning curiosity got the best of her and she walked into the open doors of St. Gregory s Episcopal Church in San Francisco. She was offered a piece of bread and some wine, she took it and walked out of the church a Christian. Use one of the options below to hear Sara and Steve talk about her radical conversion and what happened next. Sara is a journalist who has written for The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Out, The Progressive, La Jornada and Salon. She s the author of Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion, the founder of St. Gregory s Food Pantry and this week s guest on Steve Brown Etc. Don t miss it.

Our Favorite Lib., Tony Campolo joins us on this edition of Steve Brown Etc. to give us the latest on his efforts to represent pro-lifers “to the highest members of the Democratic Party.” Use one of the options below to listen. Mr. Campolo has been appointed to the Democratic Party s platform committee and he says Democratic officials are open to hearing his argument that abortion is a human rights issue. We talk about that and the need for Christians to speak truth to power in both the Democratic and Republican parties. Tony Campolo is a speaker, sociologist, pastor, social activist and author of 35 books, his most recent being, Red Letter Christians, A Citizen’s Guide to Faith and Politics.

Join us on this edition of Steve Brown Etc. as we discuss An Evangelical Manifesto with one of its primary authors, Os Guinness, and one of its more vocal critics, Warren Smith. Use one of the options below to listen. The culture wars have created a lot of confusion and consternation around the term Evangelical. So, a group of Christian leaders have come together to clear things up with An Evangelical Manifesto. Os Guinness and the other authors of the manifesto hope to, make clear that we are followers of Jesus Christ and [are] therefore to be defined theologically and not politically or culturally. Sounds simple enough, doesn t it? Well, it s not. Some say it s a ploy on the part of the religious left to undermine the religious right. Others say the list of leaders who drafted and signed the manifesto is conspicuously bereft of the most strident right-wing Christian leaders. Enter Steve Brown Etc. to bring the two sides together to kiss and make nice, nice. Don t miss it.

Dr. Marvin Olasky joins us on this edition of Steve Brown Etc. to discuss his book, The Tragedy of American Compassion. Use one of the options below to listen. Bill Bennett once called The Tragedy of American Compassion “the most important book on welfare and social policy in a decade. Period.” It influenced the Clinton Administration’s welfare reform and deeply affected George W. Bush’s policies. But with the war on terror, the ideas in The Tragedy of American Compassion have taken a backseat. Don t miss this conversation with Steve Brown and one of his heroes as they look at the problem of modern welfare not its cost but its stinginess in offering the true necessities: challenging, personal, and spiritual aid rather than entitlement and bureaucracy. Dr. Olasky is editor-in-chief of World magazine, provost of The King s College in New York, and author of a bunch of books.

Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck are young, passionate, surrounded by diversity and engaged in passionate dialog with a postmodern world. So why aren t they emerging or Emergent or whatever? Kevin and Ted join us on this edition of Steve Brown Etc. to give us the answer. Use one of the options below to listen. Kevin DeYoung is the senior pastor at University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Michigan. Ted Kluck is a journalist and author. They joined forces to write, Why We re Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be). It s a fun and thoughtful look at a movement that s all the rage with people that don t care about truth or something.

Daniel Radosh joins us on this edition of Steve Brown Etc. for a funny and enlightening conversation about his book, Rapture Ready! Adventures in the Parallel Universe of Christian Pop Culture. Use one of the options below to listen. As much as you may not want to admit it, if you re a Christian, you ve done your part to support a $7 billion dollar a year industry that pumps out everything from thong panties with stop signs on them (to promote chastity) to Christian music to Bibles. What does that world look like to a secular New York Jew? Check out the show and buy the book to find out.

A once-free land under the thumb of a twisted ruler. A prince who has risen to give hope to the people and lead them to victory over evil. No, not Prince Caspian. I m talking about Obama! Use one of the options below to join us on this edition of SBE as Steve attempts to straighten out my spurious political views. Then, stick around for a visit from Douglas Gresham, co-producer of the Narnia films and C.S. Lewis stepson, as he talks about making Prince Caspian, a look ahead at future Narnia films and an update on the movie based on The Screwtape Letters. Also, a big thanks to Bill Mallonee for providing music for today s show. Get some of his music and support a talented and prolific artist.

There s only one true religion and despite all the pain and suffering in the world, there is a loving God who will send many of us to rot in Hell for all of eternity. You ve got to be a bigoted idiot to believe that stuff, don t you? Use one of the options below to hear Steve Brown and Tim Keller talk about The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism. Keller uses literature, philosophy, real-life conversations, and reasoning to explain how faith in the Christian God is a soundly rational belief, held by thoughtful people of intellectual integrity and deep compassion.

Sick of partisan politics? Are independent voters on the verge of ushering in real change, or will the two-party system squelch their voice? Marcia Ford, author of We the Purple: Faith, Politics and the Independent Voter, joins us on this edition of SBE to talk about how rabid partisanship is prompting voters to go independent and how the Republicans Democrats are reacting. Use one of the options below to listen. Click here to visit Marcia s blog. Also, here s a link to the Levote-tra bit we played on this show.

Eduardo Verástegui joined us on Steve Brown Etc. this week to talk about his critically acclaimed movie Bella, the journey that led him to Hollywood and the reason he s there. Use one of the options below to listen. Bella was one of the most honored films of 2007 - including the coveted People s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival. Eduardo plays the role of Jose in the movie, a man who had money, fame and success, but didn t find what really matters in life until he lost it all. A story not dissimilar to Eduardo s. Click here to buy Bella on DVD. Also, click here to see Eduardo s appearance on The Today Show that Steve mentioned on the program.

The author of The Shack, William Paul Young, joins us on Steve Brown Etc. this week to talk about living in a jacked-up world full of pain and loss and full of a God who loves us. Use one of the options below to listen. Stories are pouring in about the healing impact of The Shack and, as I write this, the book is #8 on Amazon. Not bad for a book that Young wrote as a gift to his 6 children and was never intended to be published. Join us as we talk about some of the controversy surrounding The Shack, but more importantly, William Paul Young s personal journey and how it shaped the book that is now a phenomenon. Visit TheShackBook.com for more on the book and visit WindRumors.com for more from Mr. Young.

The Internet Monk, Michael Spencer, joins us on Steve Brown Etc. this week to talk about gays, lesbians and evangelicals. Use one of the options below to listen. When homosexuals listen to evangelicals, what do they hear? One friend of mine suggested that we sound like the teacher from the Peanuts cartoons, Wa wah wa. Wah wa wa wah. But much of the time, our words are far more caustic. Join us as we discuss the subject in the context of Michael s insightful and controversial piece, What do Gays and Lesbians Hear?. Michael Spencer is a popular blogger, podcaster and self-described post-evangelical. Go to InternetMonk.com for his regular posts and podcasts. Also, visit The Guest Room for his piece, Jesus Watches Your Church Ad. Michael has been blogging since 2000. He has a master s degree in Theology, is currently a campus minister living in a Christian community in southeastern Kentucky, and has been a teacher in churches and schools for more than 30 years.

What happens when you take the black sheep of dc Talk and put him on the same show with an old, cynical preacher of grace? Join Kevin Max and Steve Brown on this week s SBE to find out. Use one of the options below to listen. Max has a new album out called The Blood that explores his gospel roots and features collaborations with Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Joanne Cash and a dcTalk reunion with Kevin and former band members TobyMac and Michael Tait (they cover the Prince tune The Cross). We talk about that, his upcoming film The Imposter and being honest in art and in life. Don t miss it. Also, don t forget to join the Steve Brown Etc. Facebook group and connect with other SBE listeners from around the world.

Want to raise your fundamentalist pastor s blood pressure? Tell him you re emergent. But be prepared to be accused of compromising truth, going liberal or even rubbing idols. There s a lot of confusion and emotion surrounding the emergent church movement, but Steve Brown Etc. is here to help. The national coordinator of Emergent Village, Tony Jones joins us on this edition of SBE to discuss the emergent phenomenon in the context of his new book, The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier. Use one of the options below to listen. Also, click here if you d like to view the video with R.C. Sproul and Al Mohler from which we took sound bites for today s program.

When Rev. Jeremiah Wright said, God bless America? No! God damn America, how do we hear his words? John Armstrong stops by Steve Brown Etc. this week to talk about it. Use one of the options at the bottom of this post to listen. Dr. Armstrong has taken heat for his stance on the issue and for writing things like Racism can be variously understood and thus most of us who are white are convinced that we are not racists at all. But racism is more than personal prejudice. It is social prejudice joined with power. And it is systemic. Join us as we discuss racism in the Church with John Armstrong, founder and president of ACT 3, a ministry for the advancement of the Christian Tradition in the third millennium. He is a former pastor and church-planter, of more than twenty years, the author/editor of eight books, and the author of hundreds of magazine, journal, and Web based articles. Also, a big thanks to Bill Mallonee for providing music for the show. Bill will be playing Taste near Orlando on April 26 at 8 PM. I ll see you there!

Join us on SBE this week along with our guest A.J. Jacobs as we discuss his book, The Year of Living Biblically: One Man s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible. What happens when an agnostic journalist and author in New York City sets out to follow over 700 Biblical rules as literally as possible for an entire year? We re talking everything from the Ten Commandments to obscure stuff like not wearing clothing of mixed fiber, not shaving the sides of his beard and blowing a horn on the first of every month. Thou shalt use one of the options below to listen and find out! A.J. is editor at large of Esquire and author of the New York Times bestseller The Know-It-All. Click here to see pictures of Jacobs extreme spiritual makeover. And thanks to Leo Nevilo for the Beastie Boys remixes we used as bumper!

The world is being torn apart by religious extremists, divisive political rhetoric, shrill secularists and uptight culture warriors. But how do we hold on to our deepest beliefs while living together with our deepest differences (especially those of a religious and ideological nature)? Dr. Os Guinness joined us this week to answer that question and talk about his new book, The Case for Civility: And Why America s Future Depends on It. Use one of the options at the bottom of this post to listen. Dr. Guinness is a social critic and author/editor of over 25 books, including The Call, Long Journey Home, Unspeakable, and The American Hour. He s also the co-founder of The Trinity Forum and he brews a mean stout (I ve been an admirer of Guinness work for years). In addition to civility, Dr. Guinness also discussed his Books Culture piece on Frank Schaeffer and his book, Crazy for God. Don t miss this program!

The president and strategic leader of The Barna Group, David Kinnaman is on SBE this week to talk about understanding the faith-driven vote. What are the moral and social issues that concern Christian voters the most? How do those concerns compare with the U.S. population as a whole? And what about the volatile utopian cocktail that often results when mixing faith and politics? Use one of the options below to listen. Since joining Barna in 1995, David has designed and analyzed nearly five hundred research projects for clients like the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, NBC-Universal, Campus Crusade, Focus on the Family, and Time-Life. He s also co-author of the book, unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity…and Why it Matters.

Radio stations across the country will be re-airing the previously broadcast episode of SBE with New York Times best-selling author Frank Schaeffer. Join us as we talk about his book, Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back. Use one of the options below to listen. As the son of famous evangelists Francis and Edith Schaeffer, Frank grew up at L Abri in Switzerland, and eventually helped to form the Religious Right. As he worked with guys like Robertson, Falwell, and Dobson, he felt increasingly alienated. Then he chucked all (or almost all) of it. Listen to this from the dust cover of the book Schaeffer, whom Cal Thomas, Vice President of the Moral Majority, once introduced at a huge rally as the best speaker in America, was reduced to stealing pork chops and smuggling them out of stores in his underwear rather than return to the fold to take on any more high-paying evangelical speaking gigs. Man, you gotta really hate evangelical speaking gigs to smuggle pork chops in your skivvies. Either that, or you really like pork chops. Anyway, check out the show. It s a good one.

This week on Steve Brown Etc., author and advocate for the homeless, Tim Huff joins us to talk about his two decades of full-time work among poor and marginalized youth. Use one of the options below to listen. In an age of prosperity and plenty, hundreds of thousands of people continue to find themselves homeless. As one of Canada s leading papers has noted, Tim Huff is not just another outreach worker, but a tireless activist for the cause of the homeless. Tim has traveled throughout Canada, the US and Europe training people in creative and compassionate responses to poverty. Tim both wrote and illustrated The Cardboard Shack Beneath the Bridge, a book that lays the groundwork for parents and teachers to start talking with children about homelessness. He s also the author of Bent Hope: A Street Journal.

Here s a quick look at what s coming up on the nationally syndicated talk show, Steve Brown Etc. The program streams live during recordings on Fridays from noon - 1 ET. Then, we post it to the site and the show airs on stations across the country that weekend. Friday, 03.14.08 - Guest: Tim Huff - Advocate for the homeless and author of Bent Hope: A Street Journal. Friday, 03.21.08 - Guest: Jamie Tworkowski - Founder of To Write Love On Her Arms. Friday, 03.28.08 - Guest: David Kinnaman - President of The Barna Group and co-author of unChristian. Friday, 04.04.08 - Guest: Dr. Os Guinness - Author scholar with a desire to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and popular knowledge. Friday, 04.11.08 - Guest: A.J. Jacobs - Author of The Year of Living Biblically: One Man s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible. Friday, 04.18.08 - Guest: John H. Armstrong - Founder and president of ACT 3. Friday, 04.25.08 - Guest: Tony Jones - National Coordinator of Emergent Village and author of The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier. Join us for the recordings and talk to our guests by calling in on Fridays from noon -1 ET at 1.888.54.STEVE (1.888.547.8383). Also, feel free to leave any guest suggestions in the comments on this post. (Or if you feel led, have a long discussion that has nothing to do with this post instead of creating a thread in the forums.)

It s not easy being an old white guy. Not that I know anything about it, but Steve has had a week from H-E-double-hockey-sticks. Join us on this edition of Steve Brown Etc. to hear about it. Also, Steve s left-wing, old white guy buddy Tony Campolo stopped by to tell us who he ll vote for and give us his red letter Christian plan for dealing with the immigration issue. Use one of the options below to listen. Tony is a popular media commentator on religious, social and political issues and the author of 35 books, his most recent being Red Letter Christians: A Citizen’s Guide to Faith Politics.