Have a Backbone

Welcome back to the Have a Backbone Podcast!In today's episode, Daniel and Nate talk about the doctrine of baptism. Ever since the beginning of the church, baptism has always accompanied the believing of the Gospel. So what is essential to believe about baptism? Is it essential for salvation? If it's just a symbol, is it wrong to not get baptized? What kind of baptism is best - full immersion or sprinkling? Join the discussion!Email: [email protected]: @haveabackbonepodcast

In this final part of the series on women in church leadership, Daniel and Nate once again enlist the help of scholar, pastor, teacher, Dan Lewis to unlock both the Greek language and cultural context of passages like 1 Timothy 2 and 1 Corinthians 14. What they discover is that in doing so, it appears likely that these passages are not, in fact, forbidding women to be pastors. And once again, the question is asked: If the Bible does not explicitly forbid women from being pastors, does the rest of Scripture support the idea that all gifts of the Spirit can be granted equally, regardless of gender?

In this episode, Nate and Daniel respond to some listener questions and feedback following the initial episode on this topic. The main question addressed? Does the Bible explicitly prohibit women from being pastors? If we were to find that the verses that are so often used to imply that they cannot aren't actually addressing the issue of women being leaders/teachers/pastors at all, then what evidence CAN we look to in the Scriptures to find an answer to these questions?

Merry Christmas everyone! In this episode, Daniel and Nate tackle some of the issues that are NOT really backbone things surrounding the holidays. It's probably best to not yell at your barista for saying "Happy Holidays", and your Christmas tree is probably not a pagan idol.

The Backbone crew continues working through the doctrine of the Church by addressing the issue of leadership in the Church - specifically whether it's ok for women to hold positions of leadership. Jennifer Wilson, wife, mom and founder of the Counterculture School of Apologetics joins Daniel and Nate and shares what she's learned about the love and empowerment that the Gospel brings to women. This one was a ton of fun!Join the conversation and reach out to us with your thoughts and questions!Email: [email protected]: @haveabackbonepodcast

In this episode, Daniel and Nate talk through the first of the two Christian sacraments, communion. They look at the history of the sacrament and its connection to the Old Testament. While it is a backbone issue for Biblical churches to participate in communion on a regular basis, is communion required for salvation?

In this episode, Daniel and Nate take some time to address an issue related to the doctrine of The Church. Oftentimes, while Christians are called to be a part of a local church body, that local church body and its leaders can be the source of great pain and abuse. How should we deal with abuse of power within the church? When is it time to move on and find a new church? What are some red flags to watch out for? Both of the guys share personal stories from their time in the Church and touch on how even though sinful people can take advantage of God's flock, God can still turn that damaging experience into something beautiful, and we should never fully give up on the Body of Christ.

Welcome to the first episode on the topic of Ecclesiology, or the doctrine of the Church. Daniel and Nate work through what the church is (invisible and visible aspects) and the backbone things that each church should have in order to be a Biblical church. While attending a church is not essential to our salvation, it is essential to growing in our faith. Join the conversation!Email: [email protected]: @haveabackbonepodcast

Daniel and Nate continue working through the backbones issues of the doctrine of salvation (soteriology). This week they get into the topic of "subjective soteriology" attempting to tackle the questions of:How are we saved by Christ's sacrifice?Who receives the blessing of salvation?Are there any works involved?How does the Calvinist debate factor in?Join our conversation:Email: [email protected]: @haveabackbonepodcast

The guys start to tackle to topic of soteriology, or the doctrine of salvation. They start with what is often known as "objective soteriology" - what did Christ accomplish on the cross? Was it the payment of a ransom for sinners? Was it a substitutionary sacrifice? Was it a moral example? Or was it a bit of all of those in one beautiful portrait of God's saving love?Contact us!Email: [email protected]: @haveabackbonepodcast

In this episode, Daniel and Nate chat about Christology, or the doctrine of Jesus Christ. Jesus came to earth and lived a life as fully man and fully God. While this is hard to understand, it's not a contradiction, and it IS a backbone, essential belief to the Christian faith. Contrary to modern accusations, Jesus very clearly states in the New Testament that he was fully God, and this is backed up by both Scripture and early church theology. Part of the beauty of the Gospel is that God came in human form, and instead of avoiding all of the pain that comes with being a human, he endured it all, and did it because of his love for us.

Daniel and Nate continue the discussion on the Backbone beliefs about the Holy Spirit by going over the debate between Cessationism (the belief that the supernatural gifts of the Spirit ceased at some point in history) and Continuationism (the belief that those gifts are still operating in the Church today). Are these gifts still around today, and what should they look like? All that and more on this week's episode of the Have a Backbone Podcast. Connect with us!Email: [email protected]: @haveabackbonepodcast

The Holy Spirit can be a bit of a hot topic within Christian circles these days, particularly regarding the ongoing gifts of the Holy Spirit. Daniel and Nate share their personal journeys in discovering who the Holy Spirit is, and how he works in our lives as believers, as well as stories of people who have abused certain beliefs about the Holy Spirit. The guys also get into what the Bible actually says about who the Holy Spirit is, what he does, and what it means that he dwells within human beings. Join the conversation!Email us: [email protected]: @haveabackbonepodcast

In this episode, the guys bring in Dan Lewis, a pastor and a professor from the great state of Michigan. Dan walks us through the topic of the Trinity. From its old testament roots, to the immediate usage of trinitarian theology and language in the early church, to modern day misunderstandings and heresies, our hope is that this episode helps break down what can otherwise be a confusing, but essential backbone doctrine to the Christian faith. Join the discussion!Email us: [email protected]: @haveabackbonepodcast

The guys continue the discussion on the Christian backbone beliefs about God by getting into the sometimes-confusing and beautiful doctrine of the Trinity. Belief in a triune God is a distinctly Christian doctrine. God is three in persons, but one in essence. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all three distinct beings, but they are all equally God. They work together through their distinct actions. This doctrine is one that has been believed and discussed from the beginning of the church until today. To join in the conversation, you can reach us at:Email: [email protected]: @haveabackbonepodcast

After establishing the authority of Scripture, Daniel and Nate dive into the bottomless pool of study that is Theology Proper, or the doctrine of God. God is above and beyond anything we can comprehend, yet He has chosen to reveal aspects of His character to His creation. While God shares those characteristics with humans made in His image, He alone will carry these attributes in a holy manner. Because of His greatness and His love for humanity, we can all have an intimate relationship with the Creator of the universe.

Daniel and Nate continue talking about the backbone issues regarding the authority of Scripture. Yes, Scripture is completely true, but in order to truly understand it to the best of our ability, we need to strive to understand things like culture, context, language and genre. They also address extra-biblical writings during the time of the early church (are they on the same level of authority as Scripture? Why or why not? Why aren't they included in the New Testament?). Can we claim that the Bible is inerrant if it appears to contain conflicting information? All this in more in the latest episode of the Have a Backbone Podcast. Have a question or a comment? Email: [email protected]: @haveabackbonepodcast

In this episode (the REAL episode 2), Daniel and Nate talk about how harmful broad generalizations can be within the Christian communities. They also kick-start their discussion on the authority of Scripture, and wrap up their talk on fasting.

In this episode, Daniel and Nate get into the first major doctrinal backbone issue - the authority of Scripture. What does it mean to believe that Scripture is inerrant? What about inspired? What about infallible? What is vital for Christians to believe about the Bible?

Welcome to the Have a Backbone Podcast! Host Daniel and Nate kick the show off by introducing themselves and explaining the purpose and the heart of this podcast. The episode wraps up with a conversation about fasting - what constitutes fasting, how should Christians go about it, and if you tell someone you're fasting...did you just ruin it?Join in on our conversations! If you have questions or comments, you can email the show at [email protected] for listening!