Matt Swaim talks to former Protestant pastors Ken Hensley and Kenny Burchard about one of the most important questions a Christian can ask: what is the Gospel? As a Baptist pastor, Ken Hensley believed and preached that salvation was by faith alone, apart from works, and that it is accomplished entirely by God; otherwise we could boast about our role in the process. Ken shares how Martin Luther came to develop his theology of salvation by faith alone, the Scriptures he used to argue for it, and how it came into conflict with the prevailing historic Christian idea of humans cooperating with God's grace on the path to salvation. More episodes of On the Journey: https://chnetwork.org/on-the-journey-show/ Our Online Community: https://community.chnetwork.org Support our work: https://www.chnetwork.org/compass
Matt, Ken, and Kenny conclude their series looking at the formal teaching of the Catholic Church on the doctrine of Purgatory. They wrap up the discussion by focusing on how the Catholic Church really sees Purgatory at the end of the day: as a final purification in the presence of a person, that person being Jesus Christ, whose light dispels all darkness, and who desires eternal fellowship with us all. More episodes in this series: https://chnetwork.org/category/blog/chnvideos/on-the-journey/purgatory/ Our Online Community: https://community.chnetwork.org Support our work: https://www.chnetwork.org/compass
Matt, Ken, and Kenny continue their series looking at the formal teaching of the Catholic Church on the doctrine of Purgatory. This time they address one of the biggest objections to the concept of Purgatory: the story of the thief on the cross, who died alongside Jesus and was promised paradise. He wasn't even baptized! So how should we think of the Good Thief's story in the context of Catholic teaching on Purgatory? More episodes: https://www.chnetwork.org/onthejourney Our Online Community: https://community.chnetwork.org Support our work: https://www.chnetwork.org/compass
Matt, Ken, and Kenny continue their series looking at the formal teaching of the Catholic Church on the doctrine of Purgatory. This time they address three key questions that people often have about Purgatory: Is it mentioned in Scripture? Is it a second chance for salvation after death? Is it a third place for those who neither merit Heaven nor deserve Hell? More episodes: https://www.chnetwork.org/onthejourney Our Online Community: https://www.chnetwork.org/community Support our work: https://www.chnetwork.org/compass
There are a lot of ideas out there about Purgatory, from pop culture, to literature, and more, and many of them come by way of myth, misunderstanding, and even memes. So what does the Catholic Church actually officially teach about Purgatory? Matt Swaim is joined by former Protestant pastors Kenny Burchard and Ken Hensley to look directly at the passages from the Catechism of the Catholic Church which formally address Purgatory, and look at the ways that Pope Benedict XVI explained this formal teaching in his encyclical Spe Salvi. More stories and resources: https://www.chnetwork.org Our Online Community: https://community.chnetwork.org Support our work: https://www.chnetwork.org/compass
Order your copy of Journeys Home 3: Pentecostals and Charismatics Former Foursquare pastor Kenny Burchard concludes his discussion of fifteen key commonalities between the beliefs and practices of Catholicism and Pentecostalism, as a way of hopefully having more fruitful conversations about the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of Christians. In our final episode of the series, Kenny talks to Matt Swaim and Ken Hensley about five more elements common to Catholics and Pentecostals. So far, we’ve discussed: 1. Belief in the manifest, or "real" presence of God in worship 2. Ongoing spiritual gifts, miracles, and signs 3. Charisms expressed through unique callings 4. God's word spoken, read, preached, and alive 5. Impartation through the laying on of hands 6. Apostolic authority and anointing 7. Holy places, objects, and sacraments as channels of grace 8. Dreams, visions, and mystical encounters 9. Spiritual warfare and real deliverance 10. Disciplines that lead to practical holiness And in this episode, we discuss: 11. Fresh graces that follow initial conversion 12. The sobering reality of apostasy—and the call to perseverance 13. Breakthrough as the fruit of persistent, faithful prayer 14. Embodied worship: kneeling, lifting hands, incense, anointing with oil, song 15. A share in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly mission of Christ This discussion continues in the new book available Summer 2025 from The Coming Home Network, "Journeys Home 3: Pentecostals and Charismatics," which features thirteen conversion stories from people who come from this spiritual tradition. Find out more at https://www.chnetwork.org/jh3. Also mentioned was the Deep in History talk by Paul Thigpen, The Road From Topeka to Rome: How the Pentecostal Movement Has Brought Millions Closer to the Catholic Faith. Watch it for free here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7H7qJKD1dU&t More stories and resources: https://www.chnetwork.org Our Online Community: https://www.chnetwork.org/community Support our work: https://www.chnetwork.org/compass
Order your copy of Journeys Home 3: Pentecostals and Charismatics Former Foursquare pastor Kenny Burchard continues his discussion of fifteen key commonalities between the beliefs and practices of Catholicism and Pentecostalism, as a way of hopefully having more fruitful conversations about the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of Christians. In the second of three episodes on the topic, Kenny talks to Matt Swaim and Ken Hensley about five more elements common to Catholics and Pentecostals. Last week we discussed: 1. Belief in the manifest, or "real" presence of God in worship 2. Ongoing spiritual gifts, miracles, and signs 3. Charisms expressed through unique callings 4. God's word spoken, read, preached, and alive 5. Impartation through the laying on of hands Added to the list this week: 6. Apostolic authority and anointing 7. Holy places, objects, and sacraments as channels of grace 8. Dreams, visions, and mystical encounters 9. Spiritual warfare and real deliverance 10. Disciplines that lead to practical holiness This discussion continues in the new book available Summer 2025 from The Coming Home Network, "Journeys Home 3: Pentecostals and Charismatics," which features thirteen conversion stories from people who come from this spiritual tradition. Find out more at https://www.chnetwork.org/jh3. Also mentioned was the Deep in History talk by Paul Thigpen, The Road From Topeka to Rome: How the Pentecostal Movement Has Brought Millions Closer to the Catholic Faith. Watch it for free here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7H7qJKD1dU&t More stories and resources: https://www.chnetwork.org Our Online Community: https://www.chnetwork.org/community Support our work: https://www.chnetwork.org/compass
Order your copy of Journeys Home 3: Pentecostals and Charismatics To the casual observer, Pentecostals and Catholics seem to be almost polar opposites in the Christian world. What could they possibly have in common with one another? Former Foursquare pastor Kenny Burchard begins a discussion of fifteen key commonalities between the beliefs and practices of Catholicism and Pentecostalism, as a way of hopefully having more fruitful conversations about the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of Christians. In this first episode, Kenny talks to Matt Swaim and Ken Hensley about these five elements common to Catholics and Pentecostals: 1. Belief in the manifest, or "real" presence of God in worship 2. Ongoing spiritual gifts, miracles, and signs 3. Charisms expressed through unique callings 4. God's word spoken, read, preached, and alive 5. Impartation through the laying on of hands This discussion continues in the new book available Summer 2025 from The Coming Home Network, "Journeys Home 3: Pentecostals and Charismatics." Find out more at https://www.chnetwork.org/jh3 Also mentioned was the Deep in History talk by Paul Thigpen, The Road From Topeka to Rome: How the Pentecostal Movement Has Brought Millions Closer to the Catholic Faith More stories and resources: https://www.chnetwork.org Our Online Community: https://community.chnetwork.org Support our work: https://www.chnetwork.org/compass
Matt Swaim, Ken Hensley, and Kenny Burchard continue their series looking at how they began to rethink their commitment to the Bible alone as the sole and sufficient rule for faith and practice. Kenny Burchard shares a list of some key things that the Bible can't tell you using only the principle of sola Scriptura, and Matt Swaim shares how Flannery O'Connor helped him see that the Right of Private Judgment can lead to Gnosticism. Hope you enjoyed this latest series! We look forward to sharing a new series of On the Journey soon... More episodes: https://chnetwork.org/on-the-journey-show/ Our Online Community: https://www.chnetwork.org/community Support our work: https://www.chnetwork.org/compass
Former Protestant pastors Ken Hensley and Kenny Burchard continue their series looking at how they began to rethink their commitment to the Bible alone as the sole and sufficient rule for faith and practice. Matt, Ken, and Kenny spent previous episodes looking at whether or not the Reformation doctrine of "sola Scriptura" is workable, whether or not it is taught in the Bible, and whether or not it reflects early Christian faith and practice. In this episode, they look at one more category: Is "sola Scriptura" logical? Does it even make sense? More episodes: https://chnetwork.org/on-the-journey-show/ Our Online Community: https://www.chnetwork.org/community Support our work: https://www.chnetwork.org/compass
Former Protestant pastors Ken Hensley and Kenny Burchard continue their series looking at how they began to rethink their commitment to the Bible alone as the sole and sufficient rule for faith and practice. Matt, Ken, and Kenny did deeper into the historical practice of the earliest Christians, and look at what primary sources can tell us about the role of Scripture in the first centuries of Christianity. How does the way the Church Fathers interacted with Scripture help us understand the nature of authority in the early Church? More episodes: https://chnetwork.org/on-the-journey-show/ Our Online Community: https://www.chnetwork.org/community Support our work: https://www.chnetwork.org/compass
Former Protestant pastors Ken Hensley and Kenny Burchard continue their series looking at how they began to rethink their commitment to the Bible alone as the sole and sufficient rule for faith and practice. Matt, Ken, and Kenny look back at the history of the early Church to ask some key questions about "sola Scriptura." For instance, why did it take so many centuries for the Church to formalize the New Testament? And if "sola Scriptura" was the belief and practice of the early Church, why do the most ancient Christian creeds make no mention of it? More episodes: https://chnetwork.org/on-the-journey-show/ Our Online Community: https://www.chnetwork.org/community Support our work: https://www.chnetwork.org/compass
Former Protestant pastors Ken Hensley and Kenny Burchard continue their series looking at how they began to rethink their commitment to the Bible alone as the sole and sufficient rule for faith and practice. The two passages of Scripture most often cited in defense of sola Scriptura are the account of the "noble Bereans" in Acts 17, and Paul referring to Scripture as "God-breathed" in 2 Timothy 3:16. But do these passages truly teach sola Scriptura, or are there better ways to understand them? More episodes: https://chnetwork.org/on-the-journey-show/ Our Online Community: https://www.chnetwork.org/community Support our work: https://www.chnetwork.org/compass
Former Protestant pastors Ken Hensley and Kenny Burchard continue their series looking at how they began to rethink their commitment to the Bible alone as the sole and sufficient rule for faith and practice. In this episode, they discuss whether the case for "sola Scriptura" is something that is clear from the teachings of Scripture itself, or whether one has to come at Scripture already having a "sola Scriptura" mindset in order to argue that Scripture teaches "sola Scriptura." You followed that, right? More stories and episodes: https://www.chnetwork.org Our Online Community: https://www.chnetwork.og/community Support our work: https://www.chnetwork.org/compass
We're taking a short break this week from our series on sola Scriptura to invite you to a special event, exclusively for Protestant pastors who have become -- or are thinking seriously about becoming -- Catholics. There are certain things that only clergy converts to Catholicism can truly relate to -- such as planning your last sermon before resigning from ministry. In this episode, Ken and Kenny share how that last sermon played out for each of them, as well as who they were most afraid to tell about their decision to become Catholic, and which pastor convert was most helpful to them personally as they entered the Church. The uniqueness of this shared experience among clergy converts highlights why we are so excited to be able to partner with the St. Paul Center for a special conference designed exclusively for converts to the Catholic Faith whose background in Protestant ministry, academia, or the mission field had to be left behind when they became Catholic. The event will take place May 30-June 1 at the St. Paul Center in Steubenville, OH, near the campus of Franciscan University. We're keeping the event small so everyone can have a chance to talk to everyone else and share experiences, but many of the names of those involved are ones you already know: Dr. Scott Hahn, Dr. John Bergsma, Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson, and of course, Ken Hensley and Kenny Burchard, all of whom served as Protestant pastors of some kind before becoming Catholic. If you're a Catholic convert from a professional ministry background, we'd love to see you there! Please reach out to us if you're interested. More information: chnetwork.org/clergyconference We'll be back next week with another episode in our ongoing series on sola Scriptura!
Former Protestant pastors Ken Hensley and Kenny Burchard continue their series looking at how they began to rethink their commitment to the Bible alone as the sole and sufficient rule for faith and practice. In the last episode, Matt, Ken, and Kenny discussed how "sola Scriptura" was clearly not the authority model followed by the early Church. But are there any clues in the writings of the New Testament that indicate whether or not the apostles expected "sola Scriptura" to be the norm for the generations of Christians that followed them? More stories and episodes: https://www.chnetwork.org Our Online Community: https://www.chnetwork.org/community Support our work: https://www.chnetwork.org/compass
Former Protestant pastors Ken Hensley and Kenny Burchard continue their series looking at how they began to rethink their commitment to the Bible alone as the sole and sufficient rule for faith and practice. In the previous episode, they discussed how sola Scriptura does not, and cannot work. But if sola Scriptura is indeed Biblical, then Christians are obliged to observe it. This time around, Matt, Ken, and Kenny begin to reflect on whether or not sola Scriptura is the teaching of the Bible, starting with what we see recorded about how Christian authority functioned in the New Testament itself. More episodes: https://chnetwork.org/on-the-journey-show/ Our Online Community: https://www.chnetwork.org/community Support our work: https://www.chnetwork.org/compass
Former Protestant pastors Ken Hensley and Kenny Burchard continue their series looking at how they began to rethink their commitment to the Bible alone as the sole and sufficient rule for faith and practice. If the Bible Alone is the sole source of authority for Christian faith and practice under sola Scriptura, then why are so many Christians who hold to sola Scriptura divided against one another over what the Bible means? Matt, Ken, and Kenny talk about the implications intrinsic to sola Scriptura that ultimately make it unworkable on its own as a foundation for Christian authority. More stories and resources: https://www.chnetwork.org Our Online Community: https://www.chnetwork.org/community Support our work: https://www.chnetwork.org/compass
Former Protestant pastors Ken Hensley and Kenny Burchard continue their series looking at how they began to rethink their commitment to the Bible alone as the sole and sufficient rule for faith and practice. One of the key effects of the Reformation was that the right of private judgment -- which had always been allowed in a limited way by the Catholic Church-- was expanded by Luther and others to become a universal right, immediately leading to discord and division even among Luther and his earliest followers. Matt, Ken and Kenny argue that this is one of the main reasons that the Reformation doctrine of sola Scriptura simply does not -- and cannot -- work. More stories and resources: https:///www.chnetwork.org Our Online Community: https://community.chnetwork.org Support our work: https://chnetwork.org/donate
When Ken Hensley and Kenny Burchard were Protestant pastors, they believed and taught what many Christians profess: the doctrine of sola Scriptura, which holds that the Bible alone is the sole and sufficient rule of faith. Along with fellow Catholic convert Matt Swaim, they begin a series unpacking the basic conditions and consequences of sola Scriptura, and share the ways that each of them began to question its workability, its historicity, and whether or not it was even a biblically sound doctrine. More stories and resources: https://www.chnetwork.org Our Online Community: https://community.chnetwork.org Support our work: https://www.chnetwork.org/compass
Ana Lucía Sequeira Castro
I have stated before that this is my favorite podcast. And I do it again today. Thanks guys.
Ana Lucía Sequeira Castro
Awesome episode. I enjoyed it a lot. As a Catholic from Latin America, I can confirm that many Catholics (especially if they don't know their faith very well or have fallen into a religious routine) go to Pentecostal churches looking for the sensations and emotions that those services give them. In my country, which is more secular than others in the region, after several years jumping from one church to another, those people just stop believing in God.
Ana Lucía Sequeira Castro
Definitely, On the Journey is one of my favorite podcasts. Thanks a million.
Ana Lucía Sequeira Castro
This was an awesome series. I enjoy every series. But really enjoyed this one. Thanks very much.
Ana Lucía Sequeira Castro
I love your podcast. I've learned so much, and with every cliff hanger I get more and more excited. Thanks for your work.