For the Church Podcast

Originally aired on February 3, 2021 The tongue is indeed a fire. In this episode of the FTC Podcast, Jared Wilson and Ronni Kurtz discuss the danger of church gossip.

Our first mailbag installment with returning co-host Ronni Kurtz! On this installment of the FTC Mailbag, the guys discuss responsible introversion, membership covenants, preaching the gospel from the Sermon on the Mount, and fiction recommendations for ministry leaders. As always, if you have a question or topic you'd like to hear on a future installment of the FTC Mailbag, email us at mailbag@ftc.co

To be in fellowship is to open yourself up to disappointments. But how do we deal with it when someone we trusted or respected disappoints us deeply? How can we avoid "spiritualizing" our disappointments or holding grudges? On this episode of the FTC Podcast, Jared Wilson and Ronni Kurtz discuss ways to give grace to others even -- especially -- when they don't deserve it.

Brother and Friend. Master and Teacher. Lord and God. The glory of Jesus is inexhaustible. On this episode of the FTC Podcast, Jared and Ronni talk about the wonder of Jesus and the wonder of knowing him.

Our new podcast cohost is actually an old podcast cohost! Dr. Ronni Kurtz returns to the pod after a few years away. On this episode, we introduce him to new listeners and catch up on his life and ministry since his last time at Midwestern Seminary.

It's another installment in our occasional Bible book feature. This time around, Jared Wilson talks with Dr. Andrew King, Assoc. Prof. of Biblical Studies and Assistant Dean of Spurgeon College, about Hosea. Who was this prophet? What does his story have to do with the story of Jesus? And how can this book impact a local church?

Why in the Bible do we find so many prayers composed as poetry? How can poetic prayers help us in our own devotional life? FTC guest all-star Dr. Ronnie Martin joins Jared Wilson on the podcast this week to talk about poetry, prayer, and his new book In the Morning You Hear My Voice, which aims to help Christians in their daily walk with God through all the seasons of life.

It's time to say goodbye to our Assistant Director of Ministry Policeman. Raise a bottle of Irn Bru in the air to toast our irrascible, Christian movie-loving co-host, Ross Ferguson, as he shares more about his new ministry assignment, offers some words of wisdom on life and ministry in reflection, and the guys walk down a bit of the podcast memory lane, sharing some favorite famous (and infamous) moments from their 125 episodes together.

This week's episode of the FTC Podcast begins an occasional feature where we talk to an expert on different books of the Bible. In this first Bible book episode, Jared Wilson talks with Dr. Patrick Schreiner, Assoc. Prof. of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Midwestern Seminary, about the book of Acts, Luke's chronicle of the early church after Christ's resurrection. What are the major themes? What do we make of some tricky texts? And what is the importance of this book for the average local church?

Pastor Appreciation Month is coming soon, and Jared and Ross want to get you in the right mindset to make a difference in your pastors' hearts and minds. Why do pastors need so much encouragement anyway? And where should we start? The guys discuss the "double honor" ways of encouraging our churches' shepherds.

From two guys who grew up with only brothers comes a podcast on being daddies to only girls. On this episode of the FTC Podcast, Jared Wilson and Ross Ferguson discuss the different seasons, challenges, and blessings of raising daughters.

Why should more churches take leadership development seriously? Why is raising up leaders "in house" so important? And how would you go about doing it? On this episode of the podcast, Jared Wilson and Ross Ferguson discuss the ins and outs of raising up the next generation of church leaders in your local ministry.

It's Ross' last mailbag feature on the podcast! Tune in as he and Jared tackle listener-submitted questions and topics. On this week's episode, the guys discuss: whether a call to ministry is permanent, when husbands and wives disagree on a church, men serving in children's ministry, neglected doctrines, dealing with complaints in the church, and more.

They don't make headlines. They don't sell books. They're not killing it on Insta or TikTok. But they're probably way better than we deserve. They're boring pastors. In this episode of the FTC Podcast, Jared and Ross talk about why we're tempted to underestimate pastors we find "less than dynamic" (but why we shouldn't) and try to encourage ordinary pastors in their boring-ness to trust God in the normalcy of everdyay ministry.

Does obeying the fifth commandment mean never bugging your unbelieving parents about their spiritual state? How might other passages of Scripture provide some guidance on evangelizing our lost mom or dad? It's common for Christians to think about winning prodigal children, but in this episode of hte FTC Podcast, Jared and Ross discuss how to handle having "prodigal parents."

It's now come to be expected in evangelical headlines -- the fallen pastor. Whether by sexual immorality or greed or abusive patterns of leadership, ministers big and small, famous and relatively unknown, seem to be dropping like flies. How does it happen? And, perhaps more intriguingly, can they be restored? In this episode of the FTC Podcast, Jared and Ross talk about fallen pastors and the possibility of restoration to ministry? Also: stick around til the end of the ep for a REALLY BIG announcement. Links mentioned in this episode include "How to Fall in Ministry": https://ftc.co/resource-library/blog-entries/how-to-fall-in-ministry-and-what-to-do-when-you-do/ and "Can We Restore Pastors After Sexual Sin?": https://www.9marks.org/article/can-we-restore-pastors-after-sexual-sin-a-longer-answer/

In the occasional Grab Bag! feature of the podcast, Jared and Ross come prepared with two surprise questions for the other. No prep, no warning -- just unfiltered, off-the-cuff responses to each other's curiosity.

Our debate over the quality of Christian movies is now notorious and a running gag on the podcast, but this is only the second time ever we've done an official "movie swap." Ross assigns Jared a Christian movie to watch. Jared assigns Ross a "Christian-"eque movie to watch. Then they sit and down and compare notes. On this week's episode of the podcast, the guys discuss 2006's "Facing the Giants" and 1998's "Simon Birch."

An American and a Scotsman walk into a podcast studio . . . It's not just the start of an obscure joke; it's the start of this conversation about patriotism. Is it a sin? Is it biblical? How should Christians think through national patriotism in a way that still maintains their allegiance to God above all?

It's another installment in the FTC Mailbag feature, where Jared and Ross answer listener-submitted questions. This week's topics include pastors keeping in contact with previous churches, preaching "balance," whether churches should lock their doors during services, the purpose of the trees in the garden of Eden, and suprisingly influential books.