Church and Main

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

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