Church and Main

Episode 62: The Scandal of Jesus and Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter. Those three words have launched a million arguments over the last 8 years or so. What began as a hashtag in the wake of the killing of young black men by the police has become a phrase that has gone global and all the while it has been controversial. Some think it is exclusive and even racist because they think it only focuses on black people. Others like the phrase and take it on without asking questions.Methodist Pastor Drew McIntrye wanted to look at black lives matter from a theological standpoint. What does it mean for followers of Jesus to say this phrase? Can followers of Jesus say this phrase? The answer is an emphatic yes. We will talk about what blacks live matters means theologically and what it means for African Americans to hear the church say black lives matter.website: enroutepodcast.orgLeave a Review: https://ratethispodcast.com/churchandmainYouTube: https://bit.ly/enrouteytShow Notes:The Scandal of Particularity, Black Lives, and Jesus by Drew McIntyreDrew’s WebsiteThe God & Whiskey Podcast- Drew and Evan Rohrs-DodgeDrew on Twitter Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 61: The Death and Resurrection of Peace Lutheran Church

Peace Lutheran Church is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in the small town of Lauderdale which sits between Minneapolis and St. Paul. When Pastor Dave Greenlund was asked to pastor the congregation, the Synod office thought he might be a hospice pastor that would let the church die a good death. That was 2004. Peace is still alive and kicking having grown a little as well. In this episode, I chat with Rev. Greenlund about the story of Peace Lutheran and how it learned to connect with the community around it.website: enroutepodcast.orgLeave a Review: https://ratethispodcast.com/churchandmainYouTube: https://bit.ly/enrouteytShow Notes:Peace Lutheran WebsiteProfile of Peace Lutheran in Living LutheranSupport the Show!  Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 60: We Have Some Healing To Do (Rewind)

On this special Thanksgiving episode, Dennis reaches back to an episode from March where he talks about the need for common ground.Original Description: Like all good GenXers, Dennis wants to take you back to the 1990s! In this episode, Dennis recounts an experience he witnessed in a church basement nearly 30 years ago that is a reminder of how people with differing views still shared common ground. They shared a common faith that was able to hold them together even when they disagreed. What has happened in our culture that you can't find that kind of unity anymore? Dennis explores how religion has become swallowed up by politics and how we have made politics an idol, not unlike what happened at a certain political conference in Florida where the likeness of a certain former president covered in gold was worshipped.., like an idol.Leave a Rating or Review: https://ratethispodcast.com/churchandmainwebsite: enroutepodcast.orgemail: denminn@gmail.comYouTube: https://bit.ly/enrouteytLeave a Tip Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 58: Two Aspergers and A Microphone

In this episode, Dennis chats with a colleague, Dwight Welch. Welch is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and like Dennis is on the autism spectrum. The two pastors talk about the challenges and blessings of being a pastor on the spectrum.Books Mentioned:Disability and the Church by Lamar HardwickWe're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation by Eric GarciaOn the Spectrum: Autism, Faith, and the Gifts of Neurodiversity by Daniel Bowman Jr.website: enroutepodcast.orgTwitterFacebook PageYouTube: https://bit.ly/enrouteytLeave a Tip Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 57: The Last of the Lutherans?

When the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was created in 1988 as the result of a merger, it had 5 million on the rolls. According to a 2019 article, if projections remain the same, we might see only 16,000 in worship across the denomination.This could have been the time for a lot of hand-wringing. But that was not the intent of the article’s author, Dwight Zscheilie. Instead, it was a jumping-off point to talk about what mainline Protestant congregations are doing that is causing fewer people to attend and what can be done to turn things around. Zscheile is the Vice President of Innovation and Associate Professor of Congregational Mission and Leadership at Luther Seminary in St. Paul (which is my alma mater) and is also a priest in the Episcopal Church. If you belong to a mainline congregation hoping to make a difference in your neighborhood and are concerned for its future, you will want to listen as we talk about the article and how churches can move from an "age of association" that worked in the 20th century to a model of authenticity that works in the 21st century.Show Notes:Will the ELCA Be Gone in 30 Years?The Data is Clear – Episcopalians Are in Troublewebsite: enroutepodcast.orgTwitterFacebook PageYouTube: https://bit.ly/enrouteytLeave a Tip Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 56: Michael Kruse on What Christians Don‘t Get About Economics

If you know anything about economics, it has to be the concept of scarcity. This is the gap between a limited resource and unlimited wants. Scarcity means making decisions on how to best allocate these resources efficiently so that as many people benefit as possible. That’s what scarcity means. It’s econ 101. But when I got to seminary and afterwards, I head pastors say over and over again that scarcity was bad. God is a God of abundance, they would say. Scarcity was about greed and not sharing resources with others. I never understood where pastors were getting this. I knew about this basic fact of economics, why were they having problems figuring this out? Over time I realized this sort of thinking was pretty standard throughout mainline Protestantism.Today, Micahel and I talk about economics, business and the mainline Protestant church. We also talk about how evangelicals have such a hard time understanding structural racism.Economic Fallacies Christians BelieveBe sure to rate us and leave a review. Share the podcast with others! What did you think of the podcast episode? Questions? Send an email: reverendpodcast@gmail.com .website: enroutepodcast.orgTwitterFacebook PageYouTube Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 55: Marian Edmonds Allen on the Utah Compromise

Maybe one of the biggest debates of the early 21st century was the debate about expanding marriage rights to include same- couples. From the minute I got married to my husband in 2007, the fight for same- marriage went from theoretical personal. Between the mid-aughts and 2015, religious conservatives and LGBTQ Americans fought over this question, ending with the decision by the Supreme Court in favor of same- nationwide by Supreme Court in 2015. You might have thought that would end the argument, but it didn’t. The fight shifted to a battle between religious conservatives who wanted to be able to practice their faith and LGBTQ persons who wanted to express their newfound rights. The Masterpiece Cake Shop in Colorado has become the physical embodiment of the clash between religious liberty and same- marriage.Is there a way to bridge the gap?Rev. Marian Edmonds Allen believes there is and it’s taken place the in most unusual places. Utah. Give it a listen.Parity websiteBe sure to rate us and leave a review. Share the podcast with others! What did you think of the podcast episode? Questions? Send an email: reverendpodcast@gmail.com .website: enroutepodcast.orgTwitterFacebook PageYouTube Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 54: Yael Ossowski On What‘s So Bad About Facebook?

Remember around 2009 or 2010 when everyone seemed to love Facebook? As a pastor, I was told about all the wonderful virtues of social media, especially Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg, the founder, was an icon. He visited then-President Obama at the White House. He got the Hollywood treatment with the movie “The Social Network.” Remember when there was speculation that he might run for President?How things have changed. Zuckerberg and Facebook are now in the doghouse. Now people seem to blame the platform for everything, from genocide to the loss of civility to affecting the outcome of the 2016 Presidential election. Facebook is now likened to Big Tobacco with Democrats and Republicans looking to find some way to regulate the platform.Today, I chat with Yael Ossowski, the deputy director of the Consumer Choice Center and the cohost of Consumer Choice Radio. We talk about how Facebook can be used for good, what critics get wrong, and what would happen to the internet if Section 230, the US law that governs most of the internet today were radically altered or removed.Australia’s Attempted Blackmail of Facebook Shows the Pendulum Swings Back on ConsumersFacebook trustbusters motivated by partisan politics, not consumer protectionFacebook failures may be real, but the case for increased censorship is weakHow to bring back the old internetBe sure to rate us and leave a review. Share the podcast with others! What did you think of the podcast episode? Questions? Send an email: denminn@gmail.com.website: enroutepodcast.orgTwitterFacebook PageYouTube Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 53: What Does Communion Have to Do With Racial Justice?

This is a special episode where I got to talk to one of my mentors. Doug Skinner is a retired pastor in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the same denomination I’m ordained in. I He lives in the Dallas Fort Worth area and we talk every so often via Zoom to talk about theology. Today, you get to join in on our discussion. We talk about an experience he had after a day of anti-racism training about the role communion has in racial reconciliation. That leads to a wider discussion about the language of the church and social justice. In some ways, they are becoming more and more separated from each other. How do topics like the cross, theology, and communion have to do with sexuality or gender issues? Sit back and find out listen in as I talk to mentor and friend Doug Skinner about the Divine Act of Christ’s death on the cross, expressed in communion and what it means for the public square.Doug Skinner's BlogPlease leave a rating or review on your podcast platform. Share the podcast with others! What did you think of the podcast episode? Questions? Send an email: denminn@gmail.com.website: enroutepodcast.orgYouTube: https://bit.ly/enrouteyt Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 52: What Is Christian Democracy with William Fleming

The United States stands alone among major democracies in having just two parties. For many years that was okay; because the Democrats and Republicans were actually two coalitions with smaller “parties” within them. But as the parties have become purer, our politics have become more polarized and unable to govern. It has also left a lot of people who were once part of either party on the outs. Pro-life Democrats and Moderate Republicans have become rare in our political culture.Could a third party break the logjam? History would tell us no but William Fleming would say yes. Fleming is the head of the Georgia state affiliate of the American Solidarity Party. What’s unique about this party is the ideology that it springs from. The ASP is a Christian Democracy party. You might think this is some kind of far-right theocratic party, but it’s not. Instead, Christian Democracy is an ideology that is ground in Catholic Social Teaching and Neocalvinist thought. It takes these teachings to provide solutions on issues such as poverty and the environment. The parties are found throughout the world, with the most well-known being the Christian Democrats in Germany and the Christian Democrats of Chile.In this episode, we learn about Christian Democracy and the American Solidarity Party.American Solidarity PartyThe American Commons MagazinePelican Brief PodcastPlease leave a rating or review on your podcast platform. Share the podcast with others! What did you think of the podcast episode? Questions? Send an email: denminn@gmail.com.website: enroutepodcast.orgTwitterFacebook PageYouTube: https://bit.ly/enrouteyt Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe