Church and Main

La Vie En Route

Big changes are happening to the podcast. Dennis talks about why the changes are happening (again) and the direction of the podcast moving forward.Be sure to rate us and leave a review.  Share the podcast with others!  Questions? Send an email: denminn@gmail.com.  Twitter Facebook Page  YouTube Channel Support Spheres of Influence by leaving a tip Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

The Price of Power: Napp Nazworth on Evangelicalism and Trump

The steadfastness of the white evangelical vote for former President Donald Trump is old news by now. However it still leaves people scratching their heads: how does someone who has been married three times, a serial adulterer, race-baiting, misogynist win the GOP nomination and then the Presidency? How does he win white evangelicals by such wide margins?Today, I talk to Napp Nazworth, who made headlines in late 2019 for leaving the Christian Post over its support of Trump. Nazworth provides an insight to American evangelicalism, where its headed and what this all means for its present and future.We will also talk about the leaked detailing Russell Moore’s struggle with the Southern Baptist Convention and the changing environment in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination when it comes to race.Russell Moore Letter to the SBC Executive CommitteeChristianity Will Have Power-New York TimesHow the Christian Post Sold Its Soul to Trump- By Napp NazworthTo Those Who Say, “These Aren’t Christians - by Napp NazworthNapp Nazworth’s websiteProtestant & Politics PodcastBe sure to rate us and leave a review.  Share the podcast with others!  Questions? Send an email: denminn@gmail.com.  website: spheresofinfluence.org Twitter Facebook Page  YouTube Channel Support Spheres of Influence by leaving a tip  Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

Doing Time on the Mainline

Dennis looks back at 30 years as part of Mainline Protestantism, what bugs him, why he stays, and why this part of Christianity matters.Jonathan Edwards vs. Charles Finney The Post-Anxiety Church Mainline Faith, With Passion The Un-churching of America Why I Can't Give Up on the Mainline As Churches Close, A Way of Life Fades Revisioning the Future of Oldline Protestantism Be sure to rate us and leave a review.  Share the podcast with others!  Questions? Send an email: denminn@gmail.com.  website: spheresofinfluence.org Twitter: @CompanyPolite  Facebook Page  YouTube Channel Make a Donation to Spheres of Influence (Buy me a coffee!) Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

The Thing With Feathers

Hope is something that is missing from American politics. It was not found in the campaign and presidency of Donald Trump and oddly it isn't found among his detractors. In this commentary, Dennis argues that if Trump and Trumpism is to be defeated, his enemies must have hope.Show notes:Theologies of Hope Why politics needs hope (but no longer inspires it) The world to come: A new politics of hope A Political Hope Why ‘thoughts and prayers’ is starting to sound so profane Be sure to rate us and leave a review.  Share the podcast with others!  Questions? Send an email: denminn@gmail.com.  website: spheresofinfluence.org Twitter: @CompanyPolite  Facebook Page  YouTube Channel Make a Donation to Spheres of Influence (Buy me a coffee!) Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

The Republican Underpants Gnome Theory

Picking up where the interview with Reed Howard left off, how important is it to create a faction in the GOP? People say there isn't a civil war in the GOP and that the Trumpists won, but was it ever even tried? We talk about the hard work of politics, easy answers and magical moderates.The Future is Faction  The Future Really Is Faction Forking the GOP A New Center-Right Party Won't Work Be sure to rate us and leave a review.  Share the podcast with others!  Questions? Send an email: denminn@gmail.com.  website: spheresofinfluence.org Twitter: @CompanyPolite  Facebook Page  YouTube Channel Make a Donation to Spheres of Influence (Buy me a coffee!)Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

The Future Is Faction: An Interview with Reed Howard on the GOP

Everyone is talking about the future of the Republican Party these days. Some think its too late to save the party, while others think there's a chance. Reed Howard thinks there could be one last chance to save the GOP from Trumpism. He was part of a groups of NeverTrump and Trump-critical Republicans who signed A Call for American Renewal, a statement calling on the party to change its ways or face the prospect of a new third party. Dennis and Reed talk about American Renewal and its prospects, the future of the GOP and why white evangelicals took a more authoritarian turn.A Call for American Renewal The Future is Faction  The Future Really Is Faction Be sure to rate us and leave a review.  Share the podcast with others!  Questions? Send an email: denminn@gmail.com.  website: spheresofinfluence.org Twitter: @CompanyPolite  Facebook Page  YouTube Channel Make a Donation to Spheres of Influence  Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

Potpourri : Liz, NeverTrump, Unemployment, Israel-Palestine

In this episode, Dennis does a potpourri of events from Liz Cheney to the Israeli Palestinian conflict.  Why the Republican Party Won’t Die Already:Life for those in GazaIs this Anti-Trump group ready to fight Trump? Does Never Trump have a chance?A Call for American RenewalThe Free Market Welfare StateThe Party of Free Enterprise High Tory America?Simplistic Narratives About Israel/Palestine #1Simplistic Narratives About Israel/Palestine #2Secular QuebecBe sure to rate us and leave a review.  Share the podcast with others!  Questions? Send an email: denminn@gmail.com.  website: spheresofinfluence.org Twitter: @CompanyPolite  Facebook Page  YouTube Channel  Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

Democracy in the Golden Age of Bulls***t

We like to think that b**********g is a mostly harmless gesture, but it can do great harm to institutions. Dennis looks at how b**********g from the boardroom to the White House can threaten democracy.Sears, Trump and the Age of Bull, by Dennis Sanders Eddie Lampert Interview, Chicago Sun-Times Donald Trump Is BS, Says Expert in BS by Harry Frankfurt Why BS is More Dangerous Than A Lie by John PetrocelliBe sure to rate us and leave a review.  Share the podcast with others!  Questions? Send an email: denminn@gmail.com.  website: spheresofinfluence.orgTwitter: @CompanyPolite Facebook: YouTube Channel Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

Is Black Still Beautiful?

Join Dennis as he takes a trip to 1970s Michigan and recounts what is was like to grow up as a young black man.  It was a time of challenges to be sure, but it was a time of hope and of pride.  Dennis remembered the importance of being "Black and Proud."  The 2020s is a time period where Black Pride seems nowhere to be found.  What happened?  Dennis looks into the question, Is Black Still Beautiful?What Happens When a Slogan Becomes the Curriculum by Conor Friedersdorf‘The Narrative Is, “You Can’t Get Ahead”’ by Conor FriedersdorfThe Virtue Signalers Won’t Change the World by John McWhorterBe sure to rate us and leave a review.  Share the podcast with others!  Questions? Send an email: denminn@gmail.com.  website: spheresofinfluence.orgTwitter: @CompanyPolite Facebook: YouTube Channel Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe

Why Are Pastors Leaving the Ministry?

A lot of pastors are leaving the ministry and it has only worsened during the pandemic.  Why?  Dennis shares his own frustrations as a pastor in this very challenging time.  If you are ordained, have you ever considered leaving the ministry?  Or, are you a former pastor that left in frustration? What got you into the ministry and what would made you leave or tempted to leave?  If you’re willing to share please drop me a line via email at denminn@gmail.com or through Twitter by going to @CompanyPolite.  I look forward to hearing from you!Thanks to all of you who have rated the podcast or left a review. The more you can do that, the more this podcast can be found by others.  Also consider subscribing!I have had 28 pastor friends resign this year, by Dan WhitePastors are leaving their congregations after losing their churchgoers to QAnon by Sophia Ankel6 reasons why your pastor is about to quit by Thom RainerFor some pastors, the past year was a sign from God it was time to quit, Religion News ServiceFailing Pastor BlogBe sure to rate us and leave a review.  Share the podcast with others!  Questions? Send an email: denminn@gmail.com.  website: spheresofinfluence.orgTwitter: @CompanyPolite Facebook: YouTube Channel Get full access to Church and Main at churchandmain.substack.com/subscribe