Church and Main

Episode 68: YoYos and Mainline Churches

One of the best takes on Mainline Protestantism are recent converts to Mainline Protestantism from evangelical backgrounds. They are able to see things about that church that people on the inside can’t see. Today, we are talking to Loren Richmond, Jr. a pastor in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) which is my denomination. A few months back he wrote an article on his substack called “Yoyos and Mainline churches.” We use a little physics to talk about how churches respond to members and how they reach out beyond the church.website: enroutepodcast.orgLeave a Review: https://ratethispodcast.com/churchandmainYouTube: https://bit.ly/enrouteytShow Notes:Yoyos and Mainline Churches by Loren Richmond Jr.Future Christian Podcast - Loren's Podcast Support the Show! https://pod.fan/en-route-journeys-in-faith-and-modern-life Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 67: January 6 in Three Acts

On the one-year anniversary of the January 6 Insurrection at the US Capitol, Dennis reflects on the day and the American future in three acts.website: enroutepodcast.orgLeave a Review: https://ratethispodcast.com/churchandmainYouTube: https://bit.ly/enrouteytShow Notes:Year in Review Episode with Andrew Donaldson Support the Show! Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

EnRoute Excursions: Geoffrey Kabaservice on J. Irwin Miller

Geoffrey Kabaservice talks about J. Irwin Miller and the loss of Mainline Protestantism and Moderate Republicanism.Full Episode and Show NotesSupport the Show!  Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

EnRoute Excursions: Drew McIntryre on Black Lives Matter

En Route: Excursions is an experimental microcast that features snippets of longer conversations. This is one is with Drew McIntryre on Black Lives Matter.Do Black Lives Matter to Jesus?Full Episode and Show NotesSupport the Show! Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

EnRoute Excursions: The End of Sears

Sears and Kmart were once leaders in retail. Now they are nearly defunct. What happened? Retail journalist Warren Shoulberg tells us why.Full Episode and Show NotesEn Route: Excursions is an experimental microcast that features snippets of longer conversations.Support the Show!  Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 66: 2021 Year in Review

This time last year, everyone hoped 2021 a better year than 2020. It didn't really work out that way. We talk to Andrew Donaldson, editor of Ordinary Times and host of the Heard Tell Podcast about the year in review in politics and religion. From January Sixth to COVID; from President Biden to former President Trump, 2021 was not a quiet year.website: enroutepodcast.orgLeave a Review: https://ratethispodcast.com/churchandmainYouTube: https://bit.ly/enrouteytShow Notes:Heard Tell Podcast on Twitter Andrew's Take on the failure of Build Back Better Support the Show!  Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 65: Possession Obesession

In this final solo episode for 2021, Dennis tries to the best of his abilities to explain why he is obsessed with the downfall of Sears. He then moves on to why he is obsessed with telling seldom-heard stories and the download stats of the podcast. He wraps it up by talking about his obsession with the old Frum Forum website (run by David Frum) and why it's needed today.website: enroutepodcast.orgLeave a Review: https://ratethispodcast.com/churchandmainYouTube: https://bit.ly/enrouteytShow Notes:What Really Happened to SearsHedge-Fund Ownership Cost Sears Workers Their Jobs. Now They’re Fighting Back.Before the Bulwark, there was Frum Forum.Support the Show!  Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 64: Goodbye, Columbus

I’ve known Geoffrey Kabaservice since we were both writers for David Frum’s news site, Frum Forum. Today Geoffrey is the Vice President of Political Studies at the Niskanen Center and host of the Vital Center Podcast. He’s an author, especially in for our purposes of the book Rule and Ruin: The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican Party, from Eisenhower to the Tea Party. I brought him on the podcast today to talk about the intersection of two important streams of 20th century American culture, Moderate Republicanism and Mainline Protestantism. Both of these movements drove much of American society and now they are both weakened. We will look at what has been lost as both institutions decline. We’ll also focus on one person where these two streams meet: J. Irwin Miller, the CEO of Cummins Engine, a Rockefeller Republican and a member of a mainline denomination, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He was also a corporate titan that invested in his hometown of Columbus, Indiana that allowed it to prosper when other Rust Belt towns withered. If you are someone who is interested in American political and social history, you will love this episode.website: enroutepodcast.orgLeave a Review: https://ratethispodcast.com/churchandmainYouTube: https://bit.ly/enrouteytShow Notes:Geoffrey Kabaservice’s Niskanen Center profileThe Rust Belt Didn’t Have to Happen by Aaron Renn (on J. Irwin Miller)The Vital Center PodcastSupport the Show!   Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 63: Michael Siegel on the Rise of Omicron

Just when we thought it was safe to get back in the water. As many of us got our booster shots for COVID-19, we started to think that maybe, just maybe, this pandemic was at an end. Then on Thanksgiving Day, we started hearing news from South Africa that yet another variant of COVID was out there. Doctors and scientists in South Africa were among the first to identify this new variant, which ultimately was deemed omicron. Right now it looks like omicron is highly contagious but seems to give people a mild illness if they are vaccinated.Will it stay that way? Do we have to put our masks back on? Is this going to be Delta the sequel?When I have questions about the coronavirus, I want to go to Michael Siegel. Michael is an astrophysicist, with a vast knowledge of all things scientific. He is also a fellow writer at Ordinary Times. I spoke to him about what’s happing with the coronavirus.website: enroutepodcast.orgLeave a Review: https://ratethispodcast.com/churchandmainYouTube: https://bit.ly/enrouteytShow Notes:Michael Siegel’s YouTube ChannelMichael at Ordinary Times (some great articles on COVID) Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

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