Phil, Skye and Christian discuss the phenomenon of Black Friday, whether or not Thanksgiving has been “erased” by the modern media, and why Santa Claus has become the spokesman for Christmas rather than Jesus. They then discuss a TED talk called “The Demise of Guys” about how media is affecting the development of men in our culture and the implications for the future of civilization.

Listen here.

Worship Songs from The Work Of The People on Vimeo.

Last Tuesday, the Church of England's General Synod narrowly failed to pass a motion to allow women to serve the church as bishops. The move, supported by outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, was hotly debated. Concerns regarding the practical specifics of the measure sapped some support from those sympathetic to the cause.

The resulting vote defeated the measure by only six votes. This is far too close to settle the question of women's leadership in the church, widening the divide between traditional and egalitarian factions in English Anglicanism. It will be five years before the Synod can vote on this issue again.

More details at Christianity Today.

I'd like to hear your reaction. Is female ordination an inevitable reality throughout the church, or will denominations continue to split over the question? And is this an issue worth fighting--a "slippery slope" toward more troublesome compromises as some believe?

Phil, Skye and Christian discuss the 50th birthdays of James Bond and the Rolling Stones, and Phil shares why he is tired of movies. A conversation about whether or not they should address politics on the podcast turns into a thoughtful conversation about the relationship between Christians and democracy surrounding abortion and other issues. Then they talk about the increasing diversity in the US and how that affects our engagement in politics.

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This week’s podcast is a throwback – recorded over the summer with filmmaker Darren Wilson, founder of Wanderlust Productions. You’ll hear about old news items, including an accident involving Lady Gaga and an interview Skye conducted with President Obama’s spiritual advisor. They discuss the role of the church in the political debate about marriage. Then Phil and Skye have a discussion with Darren Wilson, who shares some of his miraculous experiences and his documentary film about the supernatural.

Darren founded Wanderlust Productions in 2006 when he started stumbling through his first feature film, Finger of God. Later, he decided to surround himself with people who were more talented than him to help create his next features, Furious Love and Father of Lights. Darren taught for 10 years at Judson University before moving into film production full time, and he is currently the Artist-in-Residence at Judson. He has a wonderful and long-suffering wife, Jenell, and three wonderful children, Serenity, Stryder, and River.

Listen here.

In 2004 Evangelicals were credited with sweeping George W. Bush into his second term. But eight years later some are asking if the Religious Right's influence on American politics is over. For the last 30 years the Religious Right has been in lock step with the Republican party on issues like abortion and gay marriage. But last Tuesday multiple states affirmed same sex marriage for the first time by popular vote, and President Obama was reelected even though a record number of white evangelicals voted for Romney.

Daniel Darling believes many younger evangelicals, along with the rest of the country, is looking beyond just abortion and gay marriage. The failure of the GOP to address the wider concerns of religious people may explain their loss. He writes:

[W]hen it comes to the full range of issues evangelical churches are discussing, the GOP is really missing the boat. During the primary season, most of us were cringing at the statements being made by some of the candidates. I suspect they were being consulted by old-guard evangelical activists, who presented their candidates with the same portfolio of issues – taking our country back, abortion, tyranny, etc. So you had a Rick Perry running ads on ‘they are stripping God out of the country, etc).’ Most evangelicals now would cringe at that stuff.

"Instead, we are talking about, yes abortion, but also human trafficking, poverty, orphan care, adoption, etc. The primary hit on none of these, precisely because I think GOP’ers think all they have to do is appease … white conservative evangelicals. But in narrowing their appeal to them, they do lock up the white evangelical vote in a sense, but lose out on Hispanic evangelicals, some younger evangelicals"

Even as President Barack Obama celebrates being re-elected, it’s clear he faces the monumental task of leading a deeply divided nation. Though the president won a decisive number of the electoral votes, the popular vote told a different story. Voters split their ballots nearly evenly between the candidates: 50 percent for Obama, 48 percent for Mitt Romney.

As pastors sit down to write their Sunday sermons, many will be mulling the stark division in our nation. They will encounter feelings of relief and anxiety, hope and despair, apathy and anger—sometimes in the same congregation. We asked several pastors to share the gist of the message they will be preaching in light of the election results. We hope their insights will help you as you prepare for Sunday.

John Ortberg, Menlo Park Presbyterian Church: This Sunday I will give a call of prayer for our country and its leadership, and a call for civility in political conversations. Romney supporters: don't despair. Obama supporters: don't gloat. Remember, the office that matters most has already been permanently filled with a God of eternal omni-competence.

It was May 2, 1996 and I was sitting in the U.S. Capitol rotunda with my family. We were eagerly anticipating the ceremony that was getting ready to begin. I had been to Washington DC once before, back in 1985, when I was just 13 years old. This trip was different though. We were there because my grandparents were being honored on this day with the Congressional Gold Medal—the highest honor the Congress of the United States can bestow on a citizen. In fact, Senator Bob Dole, during a speech at the ceremony, said, “When the idea of awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to Billy and Ruth Graham was first raised, it received something rare in this building—unanimous approval.” Everybody laughed. At the time, it was only the 114th medal awarded, with George Washington being the first recipient.

There were hundreds who came that day to honor my grandparents, ranging from then Vice President Al Gore to Kathy Lee Gifford. Newt Gingrich, Senator Dole, and Vice President Gore publicly honored my grandparents by sharing how much my grandparents meant to each of them personally.

After the medal was presented, my granddad got up to speak. Before he could say a word, the crowd stood and applauded for a solid three minutes. Tears began streaming down my face. I was so proud of him and so thankful that God had given me such a tremendous heritage—one I had neither asked for nor deserved. Here was a man who was being publicly honored for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to more people than anyone in history; a man who was being recognized for his love for God and love for others—and I had the privilege of calling him “Daddy Bill.” As we all stood and clapped, I prayed: “Lord, no matter what it is that you call me to do, I want to do it with the God-centered focus, passion, and humility that have characterized the life and ministry of my grandfather.”

For many Christians stay-at-home dads are today what “Joe the Plumber” was for the 2008 presidential elections. No one really cared what Joe did, or whether he was a good plumber or a bad one. It was what he represented that mattered. In the same way, the stay-at-home dad is a figurehead, and he represents different things to different people. To some, liberation from antiquated gender stereotypes, a new and improved vision of masculinity and femininity. To others, the disintegration of biblical authority.

Owen Strachan, for example, writes here that the “‘Dad Mom’ concept is a ‘man fail.’” “Men are not called by God to be “working at home” as women are in Titus 2:5. For Strachan the Bible clearly teaches that a woman’s “intended sphere of labor and dominion-taking was the home (Genesis 3:16). This is true of the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31 as well.” By contrast, he writes here that the man’s God-ordained sphere of labor is outside the home: “the men of Israel. . .leave the home to provide food for their families (see Genesis 37, for example); the husband of the Proverbs 31 woman sits with the elders in the gates while she cares for her family and home in manifold ways.”
Thus the stay-at-home dad illustrates how “the cultural decline of men continues apace” because secular values have seeped into the Christian consciousness, confusing the clear biblical message about where God intends men and women to work.

And then there’s Rachel Held Evans, whose recent book, A Year of Biblical Womanhood, (Thomas Nelson, 2012), is creating quite a stir. Evans set out to live the biblical commands for women literally for one year. She seems to conclude that any such attempt will require us to pick and choose which of these commands applies in our contemporary setting. And different people pick differently.

According to Trillia Newbell, the central problem with Evans’ book is that, “God’s word was on trial. It was the court of Rachel Held Evans. She was the prosecution, judge, and jury. ... And with authority and confidence, she would have the final word on womanhood.”

The evangelical Christian world is increasingly divided between two groups: the Believers and the Leaders.

The Believers are driven by deep and passionate beliefs. They are heavily invested in knowledge, and they are passionate about truth. They devote themselves to learning truth, teaching truth, and defending truth. They define themselves in terms of what they believe, and they are ready to give their lives for these beliefs.

The problem is, many of them are not ready to lead. They have never thought much about leadership and are afraid that thinking too much about it will turn them into mere pragmatists, which they know they shouldn’t be. They know a great deal and believe a great deal, but they lack the basic equipment for leadership. As one proverbial deacon said of his pastor, “Oh, he knows a lot, but he can’t lead a decent two-car funeral procession.”

The Leaders, on the other hand, are passionate about leadership. They are tired of seeing organizations and movements die or decline, and they want to change things for the better. They look around and see dead and declining churches and lukewarm organizations. They are thrilled by the experience of leading and ardently study leadership wherever they can find it. They talk leadership wherever they go and are masters of motivation, vision, strategy, and execution.

Unfortunately, many of them are not sure what they believe or why it matters.

Today citizens of New York and New Jersey awakened to a still-desperate scene. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, power is still out in much of the city and many streets and tunnels are still flooded. Debris is being cleared. Some subways are still shut down. New Yorkers are beginning to look toward reconstruction, but many are still struggling to go about their daily lives. In the midst of the mess, many turn to their churches for stability, comfort, and guidance.

Armin Sommer, pastor of Grace Church in Netcong and Rockaway, New Jersey, said, "Sandy has devastated the area in many ways. Gas lines are a mile long. Most people are without power. We are a multi-site church (2 sites). One of our campuses is without power, so we have consolidated all our worship services to the other site."

New Life Fellowship Church in Queens, New York, feels the combined weight of their members’ losses. Associate lead pastor, Rich Villodas, said, “Many of our members—particularly those in Long Island, Queens, New Jersey, Manhattan—have lost power for the last week. Some have lost their homes, and others have incurred significant property damage.”

New Life responded quickly. “We have spent the last few days making phone calls to check in on our members,” Villodas said.

Bruce Terrell, executive director at Redeemer Presbyterian Church, said, “We had to cancel two of our services last week, and we’re not sure about services this Sunday.” While Redeemer’s Downtown site is still without power, their East Side site has been converted into an evacuation shelter. “We are in contact with city officials, who told us the most urgent need presently is assistance in these evacuation shelters,” said Terrell.

But New Life Fellowship and Redeemer Presbyterian and other churches are still doing everything they can to aid the victims of this tragedy.