Transforming Culture

The Church as Embassy

Muskoka Bible Centre — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 09:00:00 -0500

It's our final week of Transforming Culture, season four! Thank you for being on this journey with us, and know that we appreciate you! If you want more MBC content throughout the year, consider listening in to our Teaching Archive podcast - where we post sessions from our MBC summer and retreat seasons for you.

This week on the Transforming Culture podcast, we're closing our season with one of our favourite sessions of last summer - not only because our Bible teacher, Sean Sheeran, is a gifted and generous speaker, but also because the topic really hits home when it comes to MBC's mission and vision: we want to create biblically rooted, resilient families, and we believe that is best accomplished through the local church! So, when Sean said he wanted to talk about the church as a type of outpost or embassy, we were thrilled. Enjoy!

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Speaker Bio:
Sean first attended Hespeler Baptist Church as a non-Christian at age 17. Through the preaching of the gospel and the friendship of Christians, God showed him of his need to repent of his sin, believe in Jesus Christ and be saved. From there Sean attended Heritage Bible College, graduating with a Bachelor of Religious Education. In 2011 Sean was ordained with the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches of Canada. Sean has been serving as lead pastor since September 2013. In 2023 he received his Master of Divinity from Heritage Seminary. He is married to Meredith and they have four children.

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Resources:
Churches: The Embassies and Geography of Heaven (Jonathan Leeman)
Storm in the Desert (podcast mentioned during this episode)
The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self (Carl Trueman)
What is the Mission of the Church (Kevin DeYoung)
Missions is Church Planting - Or It’s Not Really Missions (Mike McKinley)
Evangelism: How The Whole Church Tells About Jesus (Mack Stiles)

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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Charles West
Audio and Technical Support: The Summer 2025 A/V team
Theme Song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic Design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

Thinking Biblically About Death and Dying

Muskoka Bible Centre — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 09:00:00 -0500

Welcome to episode 8 of Transforming Culture, Season 4. It's our second last episode of this season, and was a bit delayed by additional editing... but we're here now! This week on the podcast, we're tackling a difficult, but crucially important topic: death, and specifically what it looks like to approach Medical Assistance in Dying, or MAID, from a biblical perspective. Thankfully, we have an incredible Bible teacher with us this week to share his thoughts and experiences. I'm so glad that Dr. Jonathan Griffiths offered to tackle such a sensitive and intense topic, so that we can be equipped to talk about it with friends, family and neighbours.

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Speaker Bio:
Dr. Jonathan Griffiths serves as the Chancellor of Heritage College & Seminary, Executive Director of the Timothy Trust, and a council member of The Gospel Coalition Canada. His syndicated daily radio program, Encounter the Truth, reaches hundreds of thousands of listeners in Canada and the United States on Moody Radio and other networks. He studied theology at the University of Oxford and holds a PhD in New Testament Studies from the University of Cambridge. He is author of a number of books including Gathered for Good (released in early 2025), Strangers & Exiles, and God Alone. Jonathan takes a keen interest in politics, economics, and current affairs. He is married to Gemma, and together they have three children.

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Why Are There Infinite Genders

Muskoka Bible Centre — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 09:00:00 -0500

It's week seven of our fourth season of Transforming Culture - it's hard to believe we're in the home stretch of the podcast. For me, it's a joy to come back to these sessions in the fall after hearing them recorded in the summer - our Bible teachers are incredibly gifted speakers and it's a joy for us to share these sessions with you! This week on the podcast, we have Steve West, sharing about gender. When Steve and I first got together to talk about the session title for this week, we really had a back and forth about what it should be called. No, you're not reading a typo: the title is really "Why Are There Infinite Genders?" Steve is asking you to consider what that means, and I'm excited for his session to clarify. Enjoy!

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Speaker Bio:
Dr. Steve West is a professor at Heritage College & Seminary in Cambridge, Ontario, and the pastor of Madoc Baptist Church. In addition to his work in Canada, Steve has a heart for training international pastors and church leaders, and has taught courses in multiple countries on five continents. He has authored a variety of books and articles, and spoken on a number of college and university campuses in North America.

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Resources:
The Body God Gives (Robert Smith)
Embodied (Preston Sprinkle)
Strange New World (Carl Trueman)

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Technology and the Home

Muskoka Bible Centre — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 09:00:00 -0500

Welcome back to Transforming Culture! This week, we have Paul Carter on the podcast, and he's sharing with us about Technology and the Home. Paul is a great resource for conversations like this - he's had to be all over the rapid technological transformation of the church in the last five years, and we have appreciated his leadership in mentoring and caring for believers across the country. He's been a long-time friend to MBC, and we're always so thrilled to have him share with us!

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Speaker Bio:
Paul is the happy husband of Shauna Lee and father to 5 children. He is a self-described “Bible Geek” and has a passion for helping people build their lives on the solid rock of Jesus and His Word. In his role as Lead Pastor at Cornerstone Baptist Church, he oversees the weekly worship as well as the overall ministry direction and content. He is blessed to provide guidance to an enormously talented and committed group of staff and volunteers. He sits on the Executive Counsel for The Gospel Coalition where he is a regular author and blogger and is the host and Bible teacher for the Into The Word podcast and radio program.
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Resources:
Family Unfriendly: How Our Culture Made Raising Kids Much Harder than It Needs to Be (Timothy Carney)
Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart (Nicholas G. Carr)
The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place. (Andy Crouch)
The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness (Jonathan Haidt)
The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom (Jonathan Haidt)
The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous (Joseph Patrick Henrich)
The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World. (Christine Rosen)
Generations: The Real Differences between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents (Jean M. Twenge)

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Praying Through This Political Moment

Muskoka Bible Centre — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 09:00:00 -0500

We're back with an incredible first-time guest to the podcast, who also happened to be a first-time teacher to MBC this past summer, Bobby Scott. Bobby was a wonderful addition to our MBC line-up, and was full of wisdom, humour and grace as he taught us about prayer throughout his week of ministry with us. Speaking of prayer... Bobby happens to be from Los Angeles, and I guess I should have seen it coming, but he is definitely a Dodgers fan. I was praying for a Blue Jays World Series win, and he and I had some fun back and forth over email during the last two weeks as the Blue Jays and Dodgers went at it in the World Series, Although the Dodgers came out on top, Bobby showed himself to be a gracious fan, even in victory, and it shows his quality as a person even more!

Enjoy this episode talking about a tough subject!

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Speaker Bio:
Bobby Scott is a pastor at Community of Faith Bible Church, and a Council member of The Gospel Coalition. It is his consuming desire to be used by God to strengthen the urban church, and he believes this objective will be best met by building families, motivating singles to live radically for Jesus, and developing a ministry upon the teaching of the word of God. He enjoys writing posts for The Gospel Coalition, Desiring God, 9Marks, and other blogs. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Naomi. They have six adult children.

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Resources:
Should Pastors Endorse a Candidate? (Bobby Scott)
How the Nations Rage Jonathan Leeman
How Can I Love Church Members with Different Politics?
It Happens After Prayer (HB Charles)

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Rhythms of Family Discipleship

Muskoka Bible Centre — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 09:00:00 -0500

We're back with Transforming Culture, season 4, and we're already on Episode 4 - very hard to believe that things are moving along this quickly! I'm excited to welcome back our friend Dustin Boreland, who has been a regular at MBC both in the summer and also at as a part of some of our retreats in the non-summer season. Taking time to take care of your spiritual health is important, and that's exactly what Dustin is here to talk about today. Being formed spiritually is increasingly difficult in a society that focuses on speed, efficiency and output, and spiritual formation can be slow and inward focused. I'm so glad that Dustin took the time to share with us about what he thinks.

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Speaker Bio:
Dustin serves as a pastor at Springvale Baptist in Stouffville, Ontario and is currently completing his Doctorate of Practical Theology at McMaster Divinity College in post-Christendom studies. After several years in Montreal where he planted and revitalized a church, Dustin and his family returned to Ontario in 2022. Dustin is passionate about the intersection of the Gospel and culture, equipping the local church for mission, and can be found overindulging on coffee, hip hop, and spicy chicken sandwiches.

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Resources:
The Gospel Way Catechism (Trevin Wax)
Invitation to a Journey (M. Robert Mulholland Jr)
God in My Everything (Ken Shigematsu)
Sacred Rhythms (Ruth Haley Barton)
The Common Rule (Justin Whitmel Earley)
The Tech-Wise Family (Andy Crouch)

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What is Truth?

Muskoka Bible Centre — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 09:00:00 -0400

It's episode 3 of Transforming Culture - and we're here for all of October and November sharing the podcast for those of you who didn't get a chance to hear our Bible teachers this summer at MBC (and to be honest - for some of you who did - I love getting messsages from people asking "when are the episodes going to drop?!?" The heart behind the Transforming Culture sessions, and so also this podcast, is to get information and wisdom into your hands so that you can be equipped to share and support friends, family and other in their walk towards Jesus. This week,we're listening to Glenn Deane, who is a phenomenal speaker that brought a lot of life experience and humour to this session about truth - which is a big topic! It's important for us to talk about nitty gritty specific topics during our Transforming Culture sessions, but I love when a teacher tackles something so fundamental to what we believe (and in this case, why we can trust what we believe).

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Speaker Bio:
Glenn was raised in a Christian home in Toronto and felt the call of God to ministry as a young man. His first church was in Napanee, Ontario where he served as Pastor for nine years. He and his wife then became missionaries with The Faith Mission (in Canada) and traveled throughout Ontario and beyond. In 2011 he took the role of Teaching Pastor at Pinegrove Fellowship Church in Bracebridge. At the beginning of 2018, he transitioned to Lead Pastor at Pinegrove and continues to enjoy the fabulous people and this magnificent part of His kingdom. He has been married to his wonderful wife Robin for 34 years. They have two grown children and five grandchildren.

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What Does the Bible Say About Abortion?

Muskoka Bible Centre — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 09:00:00 -0400

Welcome back to the second episode of Transforming Culture, season four! We're glad to have you on board.

This week, we're listening to Wyatt Graham talk about what the Bible says about abortion. At first glance, this seems like a topic that, at least for an Protestant evangelical podcast like ours, is one that feels settled - most of our listeners know how they feel about this, one way or the other, so why would we have a session about it on the podcast? I have to admit that I thought it myself when Wyatt first pitched the theme for this week, but was really surprised at the direction of this episode, because he dives deeply into not the practical reasoning behind his position, but also the theological one, which I think will make us all the better for having heard it.

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Speaker Bio:
Wyatt Graham is a Canadian theologian, writer, and professor based in Ontario. He serves as the Executive Director of The Davenant Institute (davenantinstitute.org), an organization dedicated to renewing classical Protestant thought for the contemporary church. Additionally, he is the founding Executive Director and current Editor in Chief of The Gospel Coalition Canada, where he contributes to theological discourse and church leadership. You can follow him at www.wyattgraham.com or on X (@wagraham).

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Caring for Refugees

Muskoka Bible Centre — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 12:00:00 -0400

Welcome everyone, to the fourth season of Transforming Culture. With a few thousand downloads and a whole bunch of amazing conversations, it's so cool to be back for another season of discussion and learning - we're glad you're here! Each summer, we invite our Bible Teacher of the week to share a talk on Tuesday nights about how we can engage faithfully as disciple of Jesus in the modern culture in which we're place. Our summer theme in 2025 was "Prayer", and I can tell you that our Bible teachers prayerfully prepared and brought some great thoughts each week, which we recorded for this podcast.

This first episode of season four is about serving and caring for refugees. Dwayne has a serious amount of experience working with refugees, and so he shares some really important information to share and talk about - enjoy!

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Speaker Bio:
Dwayne served as the Lead Pastor for James North Baptist Church, in downtown Hamilton, for 28 years. He is the part-time interim Executive Director for TGC Canada as well as the board chair for City to City Canada. Dwayne and Aimee have been blessed with four children. He is currently assisting organizations think through matters of governance, strategic planning, team building and fundraising.

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Why Religious Freedom Matters

Muskoka Bible Centre — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 09:00:00 -0500

Here it is: our very last episode of Transforming Culture for Season 3. It's been a ride for us this year trying to navigate all the ups and downs of production issues, so thanks for staying with us through it all! This week, we've invited a special guest, Kristopher Kinsinger to join us to talk about religious freedom, and why it matters. As we were recording this in the summer of 2024, there were lots of questions about elections, politics and how it would affect us all. Some of those questions have been answered (US elections...) but some remain - as we release this in March of 2025, there are lots of questions about Canadian politics. So - religious freedom and what we can do about protecting it are just as important as always. Enjoy this conversation!

NOTE: As you would hear on any good legal podcast, and as we joke about a couple of times during the podcast, Kris has asked me to remind all of our listeners that the views expressed in this podcast are his own, and they don't constitute legal advice - if you need some legal support, there are some great avenues for that outside of this podcast!

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Speaker Bio:
Kristopher Kinsinger is an Ontario lawyer. He received his Juris Doctor from Osgoode Hall Law School in 2019, before completing his articles of clerkship with a national law firm in Waterloo, Ontario. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 2020, and received his Master of Laws from McGill University in 2021. Between 2021 and 2024, he served full-time as the national director of the Runnymede Society, a major Canadian legal organization. Kristopher’s writing regularly appears in periodicals such as The Supreme Court Law Review, Constitutional Forum, the National Post, and The Hub. He served two terms between 2017 and 2023 on the board of directors of Christian Legal Fellowship, Canada’s national association of Christian lawyers and law students. He currently serves as the chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s Constitutional and Human Rights Section and as a member and deacon of Hespeler Baptist Church in Cambridge, Ontario. In his free time, Kristopher can be found reading, writing, drinking coffee, listening to vinyl, or mapping out his next backcountry camping trip.

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Resources:
Liberty for All: Defending Everyone’s Religious Freedom in a Pluralistic Age by Andrew. T. Walker
Political Church: The Local Assembly as Embassy of Christ’s Rule by Jonathan Leeman
Political Visions and Illusions by David Koyzis

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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Abishek Varghese
Audio and Technical Support: The Summer 2024 A/V team
Theme Song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic Design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

Marriage as a Foundation for Flourishing

Muskoka Bible Centre — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 09:00:00 -0500

Welcome back to Transforming Culture - a podcast about asking hard questions about we can engage with and transform the world around us as we work to keep faithfulness in our Christian lives. I'm excited that we get to speak with Phillip Marshall this week, who was at MBC in the summer of 2024 for the very first time! Phillip is an intelligent, thoughtful speaker and many people benefitted from him as you will too - enjoy!
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Speaker Bio:
Phillip Marshall is an Associate Professor in Biblical Languages at Houston Christian University. His teaching focus (and passion) is Classical Biblical Hebrew and Hellenistic Greek. His areas of specialization are the Septuagint, early Greek translations of the Hebrew Bible, textual criticism, Hebrew and Greek grammar, linguistics, and biblical exegesis. He is also a pastor at Founders Baptist Church in Spring, TX, where he mentors future pastors, coordinates adult Bible education, counsels, and preaches/teaches God's Word. Phillip is married to Cheryl Marshall (co-author of When Words Matter Most, Crossway 2021), and they have 3 grown children and one daughter-in-law.

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Resources:
Marry Wisely, Marry Well (Ernie Baker)
When Sinners Say I Do (Dave Harvey)
Strengthening Your Marriage (Wayne Mack)
The Exemplary Husband (Stewart Scott)
The Excellent Wife (Martha Peace)

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Big Pharma: Harmful or Helpful

Muskoka Bible Centre — Thu, 13 Feb 2025 09:00:00 -0500

Welcome to episode 6, season 3 of Transforming Culture. This week, I'm excited to welcome Norm Millar, who was our Bible Teacher at MBC in week 8 of the summer. (Reminder: we had some technical glitches after the summer and so the season order of our podcast doesn't line up with our weekly summer order...)

After our Bible Teachers are picked each year, I reach out to them with a request for their Transforming Culture topic. There's usually a bit of back and forth, talking about what is the right topic, all that. With Norm, it was an immediate answer of "here's my topic", and I loved it, because it's not something that any of our teachers has gotten close to before, and it generates a lot of good conversation, as you'll hear as you listen. Our hope with all our Transforming Culture sessions is that we are helping people to grow in their faith and learn about cultural topics that are perhaps not on their radar, and so I was so glad that Norm put his hand up, and stretched himself outside his comfort zone. I have to confess that I don't think about things like the financial incentives of pharmaceutical companies, so having Norm bring this all up was a good topic for me to engage with!

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Speaker Bio:
Norm Millar is the Senior Pastor at Redemption Bible Chapel London. Before going into ministry, Norm had an 18-year career in computer software design and project management. Norm obtained his MDiv, in 1992, from The Master’s Seminary in Los Angeles. In 2000, he planted, with 30 others, SouthWest Community church in London, which is now Redemption Bible Chapel. Redemption is grateful to be a member church in the church planting organization called The Great Commission Collective (GCC) which has many churches in Canada, the USA, and around the globe. Norm graduated in May 2017 with his DMin from Southern Seminary. He has been married to Cindy for 45 years, and they have five children and 19 grandchildren.

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Recommended Resources:
Saving Normal by Allen Frances

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Thinking Biblically about Social Issues

Muskoka Bible Centre — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 09:00:00 -0500

We're in the home stretch of Transforming Culture for this season... more than halfway there! This week, we're thrilled to have a session with Shai Linne (yes, that Shai Linne!) as he talks about thinking biblically through social issues. We asked Shai to perform a concert at MBC last summer, and also slid in the opportunity to speak at our Transforming Culture session that week - we were thrilled when he said yes. Shai's life experience and ministry meant that he was very qualified to teach us, and it was such a thrill to have him share his perspective on social issues and how to engage faithfully as believers.

Production Note: As you'll hear in the Q&A, we recorded this session in July, with the intention to release in November, but are actually releasing it now in February. Thankfully, the Gospel is never-changing, but some of our political discussion (both American and Canadian!) have a lot of new context since we hit "record" back in the summer. Bear that in mind as you listen to this episode.

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Speaker Bio:
Shai is an author and recording artist who has released numerous acclaimed Christian hip-hop albums, including The Atonement, The Attributes of God and Jesus Kids. After completing a pastoral internship at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C., Shai co-founded Risen Christ Fellowship, an inner-city church in his hometown of Philadelphia, PA. Shai has been featured in or written articles for numerous Christian outlets, including Christianity Today, World Magazine, 9 Marks and The Gospel Coalition. Shai is the author of The New Reformation: Finding Hope in the Fight for Ethnic Unity, which was published in May 2021. Previously, he wrote God Made Me and You and co-authored It Was Good: Making Music to the Glory of God. Shai lives in Portland, OR with his wife Blair and their three children.

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Friendship and the Church

Muskoka Bible Centre — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 09:00:00 -0500

Welcome back to our fourth episode of this season of Transforming Culture - we're glad you're here! This is our first time with a returning guest, and we couldn't be more pleased that it's Stephen Bray, from Mile One Mission. Steve is a generous, gentle but oh-so-funny guy, and uses his disarming personality to draw you into beautiful conversations. This week, we're talking about Friendship and the Church, which is not a topic I would have thought was on the list for this year, but as you can hear, Steve knocked it out of the park. Enjoy!

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Speaker Bio:
Steve Bray attended both Pillsbury Baptist Bible College and Kingston Baptist Bible College for his undergraduate studies and Calvary Baptist Seminary for his (MDiv). He has been in pastoral ministry for over 20 years serving in both Fellowship and Canadian Baptist churches Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and currently as Lead Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. Steve started TGC Atlantic Canada and is a founding member of the TGC Canada Council. Steve is also the Executive Director of Mile One Mission dedicated to planting churches and seeing Newfoundlanders raised up to reach Canada’s most easterly province. Their goal and vision is to see 10 Churches planted by 2030. Steve is the blessed husband of Debbie, his childhood sweetheart and proud father of 3 beautiful children and six adorable grandchildren.

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Recommended Resources:
The Gospel Comes With a Housekey (Rosaria Butterfield)

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Going to the 10/40 Window

Muskoka Bible Centre — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 09:00:00 -0500

Welcome to our third episode this season of Transforming Culture! I'm very excited to be hearing from and talking to Adam Brown, a professor who serves in Abu Dhabi in the UAE. Adam served as a pastor in Ontario before moving to the Middle East, and brings a great sense of humour but also seriousness to his session about serving as a missionary internationally. Growing up in Canada, I heard a LOT about the 10/40 Window, so it was great to hear from personal experience what it's been like for someone serving internationally in this part of the world. Adam brings a personal touch to this episode, sharing lots of stories about his experience.

NOTE: You'll notice during this podcast recording that we edited out a few parts of Adam's time with us - that's for no particular reason other than that he was referencing a PowerPoint slide deck and video while he shared a lot of family photos and updates - which doesn't translate well to the podcast medium. Adam did a great job of weaving personal stories into his talk, and we've done our best to keep things making sense, and as you'll hear at the end of the Q&A, you're always welcome to connect with Adam via email if you want more personal updates!

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Speaker Bio:
Adam serves as Vice President and Professor of Old Testament at Gulf Theological Seminary in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. With 16 years of pastoral experience, he currently teaches Bible and Ministry courses in the seminary to equip and empower church planters, pastors, and ministry leaders for the hard-to-reach regions in Arabia, the Middle East, and the 10-40 window. Adam is married to Angie and they have one daughter, Selah.

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The Sin of Lust and Culture

Muskoka Bible Centre — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 09:00:00 -0500

Welcome back to Transforming Culture - new year, new podcast! We're excited to finally be rolling into Season 3 each week now that we've got our tech issues sorted out! This season will be a bit "out of order" compared to other years as we continue to play with little glitches, but we're just happy to have our content coming to you! This week we're hearing from Robbie Symons about the sin of lust, and as you'll hear in the episode, it's one of the most blunt, hard-hitting sessions we've had at Transforming Culture yet. I'd say "enjoy", but it doesn't quite describe what I mean...

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Speaker Bio:
Robbie Symons is the founding Pastor of Hope Bible Church Oakville. Hope began with a Bible Study of 18 people in 2003 and is now over 4000 people today. It has also been used to see the birth of several vibrant churches across Canada. Robbie’s radio ministry through Hope Bible Church called Live in the Light, can be heard daily throughout Southern Ontario, Western New York, and the Atlantic Provinces. He is also the author of Passion Cry and he serves in the role of On Air Bible Teacher at 100 Huntley St. in order to see a love for Jesus Christ spread across the nation. Robbie, his wife Gillian and their four children live in Burlington, Ontario.

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Recommended Resources:
The Death of Porn by Ray Ortlund
Finally Free by Heath Lambert
Manhood by Josh Hawley

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God's Calling in a Changing World

Muskoka Bible Centre — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 09:00:00 -0500

Welcome back to Transforming Culture - we're finally here with season 3! For those of you who have been patiently waiting for the release of this season because of technical delays - thank you! There were a couple of summer audio recordings that we couldn't recover, and so we've had to switch up the model a little bit for some of the work that we did (including this episode!). We're dropping a couple of episodes before the Christmas season, and then will be back in the New Year with the rest of the season too. You'll notice that the episodes might be a bit out of order from the summer recording schedule, but we're hoping to have them all here by the end of the season.

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Speaker Bio:
Bryndan Crawford Loritts is the son of Dr. Crawford and Karen Loritts. While being raised in Atlanta, he was introduced to and surrendered his life to Jesus Christ. Upon graduating high-school he attended and graduated from the Moody Bible Institute. He’s also a graduate of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School where he received his Masters Degree. He recently started his Doctoral Studies in Biblical Preaching at Moody Theological Seminary. He has served as a youth pastor in the inner city of Chicago as well as pastored two churches, one of which he planted in Nashville. He also served as Teaching and Care Pastor at Shadow Hills Church in Las Vegas Nevada. Recently the Lord called him to be the lead pastor of Woodside Bible Church, Pontiac Campus in Michigan. Bryndan is married to Lucretia and they have 3 daughters, Leilani, Bryana and Sinaiya.

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Season 3 Trailer

Muskoka Bible Centre — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 14:00:00 -0400

Welcome to Season Three of Transforming Culture.... almost.

We've had a bit of a delay from the technical end, so we're a little bit delayed. Thanks for bearing with us!

Parenting the Next Generation

Muskoka Bible Centre — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 09:00:00 -0500

Welcome to episode eight of this second season of Transforming Culture! This is our last episode of season two (we only had eight weeks of Transforming Culture sessions in Summer 2023 because of our partnership with Creation Ministries International during our last week of the summer), but we're glad to go out with a bang! as our friend Lawson Murray brings a whole bunch of wisdom about what it's like to parent the next generation, and how we can be ready to love our kids towards Jesus.

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Speaker Bio:
Lawson is married to his best friend, Karen. They love spending time together with their children and grandchildren (11 so far!). Lawson is deeply committed to connecting children, youth, and families with Jesus and His Word. He is a writer/author, researcher, ministry innovator, conference speaker, adjunct seminary professor, international trainer, Bible engagement specialist, children’s and sports ministry specialist, and President of Scripture Union Canada.

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Resources from this Episode:
Christian Parenting Basics (Scripture Union Canada)

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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Abishek Varghese
Audio and Technical Support: The Summer 2023 A/V team
Theme Song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic Design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

The Social Gospel - Right or Wrong?

Muskoka Bible Centre — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 09:00:00 -0500

Welcome to episode seven of this second season of Transforming Culture! We're hearing from Sunder Krishnan this week about what it looks like to follow Jesus in light of the suffering of others, and particularly: what do we do with this thing called "the social gospel"? Is that even a thing? What does Jesus have to say about it? Listen in to his session from summer 2023 at MBC and a short Q&A afterwards!

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Speaker Bio:
Sunder Krishnan received his Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1969 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. In June 1969, he joined the staff of Atomic Energy of Canada in Toronto. Most of his eleven years on staff were spent in safety analysis of nuclear generating stations. In 1971 Sunder and his family began worshipping at Rexdale Alliance Church. In October 1980, Sunder resigned his position with Atomic Energy of Canada and joined the pastoral staff of the church where he served for nearly 36 years until his retirement in June, 2016. His primary passions are teaching the Word and mentoring the next generation.

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Resources from this Episode:
Rich Christians In An Age Of Hunger: Moving From Affluence To Generosity (Ronald J. Sider)
The Hole in Our Gospel (Richard Stearns)

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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Abishek Varghese
Audio and Technical Support: The Summer 2023 A/V team
Theme Song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic Design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

Disability and the Church

Muskoka Bible Centre — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 09:00:00 -0500

Time flies when you're having fun... right? We're already at week six of our season of Transforming Culture, and the sessions are getting better and better! Today, we have Paul Martin speaking to us about disability and the church, which is a relevant topic considering that 22% of the Canadian population over the age of 15 experiences a disability of some kind. Paul's mission to work well in this area has already blessed MBC in many ways, including a number of his church members volunteering at Family Fusion: Unique, our retreat for families experience disability. So - he puts his money where his mouth is, and we love him for it! Enjoy this episode.

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Speaker Bio:
Paul Martin is the senior pastor of Grace Fellowship Church in Toronto, Ontario. After leading the plant in 2000, he was involved in helping three other churches start in the city. He hopes to be involved in launching many more. His passion for training leaders has led him to teach at local seminaries, as well as oversee a long-standing mentoring program for potential future pastors. He has been married to Susan for more than twenty-five years and loves to spend time with her and their four children.

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Resources from this Episode:
Dignity and Destiny: Humanity in the Image of God (John F. Kilner)
Wrestling with an Angel: A Story of Love, Disability, and the Lessons of Grace (Greg Lucas)
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: Ethics and the beginnings of human life (Megan Best)
When Disability Hits Home: How God Magnifies His Grace in Our Weakness and Suffering (Paul Tautges)

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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Abishek Varghese
Audio and Technical Support: The Summer 2023 A/V team
Theme Song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic Design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

Thinking Through Immigration

Muskoka Bible Centre — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 09:00:00 -0400

Welcome to episode 5 of this second season of Transforming Culture! We've got a great episode for you today that starts out talking about a specific topic (immigration), but also dives deeply into a lot of different areas of how Christians should engage with tough issues. Our teacher, Juan Sanchez, brings personal experience to this discussion, but also a ton of professional experience, and I felt personally blessed by getting to talk with him about it. Enjoy the episode!

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Speaker Bio:
Juan has served as senior pastor of High Pointe Baptist Church since August 2005. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and holds an MDiv, a ThM, and a PhD in systematic theology from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In addition, Juan serves as a council member of The Gospel Coalition, co-founder and president of Coalición, and associate professor of Theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has authored numerous books, including 1 Peter for You and Seven Dangers Facing Your Church. His most recent book is The Leadership Formula: Develop the Next Generation of Leaders in the Church. Juan has been married to Jeanine since 1990, and they have five adult daughters.

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Resources from this Episode:
Good and Bad Ways to Think About Religion and Politics (Robert Benne)
Authority: How Godly Rule Protects the Vulnerable, Strengthens Communities, and Promotes Human Flourishing (Jonathan Leeman)

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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Abishek Varghese
Audio and Technical Support: The Summer 2023 A/V team
Theme Song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic Design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

Living in a Post-Christian Canada

Muskoka Bible Centre — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 09:00:00 -0400

It's episode 4 of this second season of Transforming Culture! Half-way through this season already, but we're really excited for this week of the season, because Dustin Boreland, our speaker, brings a great session on living as exiles in a Canadian context that doesn't really look like it did 50-60 years ago. Dustin is a lot of fun to interview and process this information with, and I love his heart for ministry.

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Speaker Bio:
Dustin Boreland serves as a pastor at Springvale Baptist in Stouffville, Ontario and is currently completing his Doctorate of Practical Theology at McMaster Divinity College in post-Christendom studies. After several years in Montreal where he planted and revitalized a church, Dustin and his family returned to Ontario in 2022. Before moving to Montreal, Dustin and his wife Racquel served as foster parents to more than 15 teenage boys and worked as church planters. Dustin is passionate about the intersection of the Gospel and culture, equipping the local church for mission, and can be found overindulging on coffee, hip hop, and spicy chicken sandwiches.

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Resources from this Episode:
The Church in Exile: Living in Hope After Christendom (Lee Beach)
Post-Christendom: Church and Mission in a Strange New World (Stuart Murray)
Disappearing Church: From Cultural Relevance to Gospel Resilience (Mark Sayers)

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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Abishek Varghese
Audio and Technical Support: The Summer 2023 A/V team
Theme Song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic Design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

Pluralism: Confident Faith in a World of Many Beliefs

Muskoka Bible Centre — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 09:00:00 -0400

Welcome to episode 3 of this second season of Transforming Culture! Today, we're welcome Bernard Mukwavi, who is speaking to us about pluralism, and what it's like to live in a world of many beliefs. He's a wonderful man, and is incredibly passionate about this conversation, which we love! Enjoy this episode, and let us know what you think!

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Speaker Bio:
Bernard serves as the Dean of Canadian Baptist Seminary as well as the District Minister of the British Columbia Baptist Conference. He has extensive missionary, teaching, and pastoral experience in Zambia, Holland, and Canada. His passion is to empower churches to fulfill the great commission and the great commandment in their communities and beyond. In his spare time Bernard loves to take walks, hike, golf and read.

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Resources from this Episode:
The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism (D.A. Carson)
Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics (William Lane Craig)
Postmodern Times: A Christian Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture (Gene Edward Veith Jr. and Marvin Olasky)
Neighboring Faiths: A Christian Introduction To World Religions (Winfried Corduan)
The Reason for God (Timothy Keller)
Spiritual Warfare: Victory over the Powers of This Dark World (Timothy M. Warner)

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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Abishek Varghese
Audio and Technical Support: The Summer 2023 A/V team
Theme Song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic Design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

Generations: Understanding and Bridging the Great Divide

Muskoka Bible Centre — Mon, 09 Oct 2023 09:00:00 -0400

Welcome back to our second season of Transforming Culture - we're thrilled to have Paul Carter this week talking about generational gaps and how we can interact with other generations well. It's a lot of information, and Paul is a high-level thinker, but he does such a fantastic job of bringing those high-level thoughts and making them accessible to everyone. PLEASE NOTE: We had a few minutes of awkward audio quality during the presentation, and we didn't want to edit that out, so we've left that in - it's only about a minute, but we are sorry for the weirdness.

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Speaker Bio:
Paul lives in the City of Orillia with his wife and 5 children. He is a self-described “Bible Geek” and has a passion to help people build their lives on the solid rock of Jesus and His Word. In his role as Lead Pastor at Cornerstone Baptist Church, he oversees the weekly worship as well as the overall ministry direction and content. He is blessed to provide guidance to an enormously talented and committed group of staff and volunteers. While his heart and passion is for the local church he enjoys many opportunities to serve the wider Bride. He is sits on the Executive Counsel for The Gospel Coalition where he is a regular author and blogger and is the host and Bible teacher for the Into The Word podcast and radio program.

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Resources from this Episode:
iGen (Jean M. Twenge)
Generations (Jean M. Twenge)

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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Abishek Varghese
Audio and Technical Support: The Summer 2023 A/V team
Theme Song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic Design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

Educating Your Children

Muskoka Bible Centre — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 09:00:00 -0400

We're back! After a summer of great sessions at MBC, we're pumped to have season two of Transforming Culture ready for you all. Our first episode this season tackles one of the most discussed issues around Muskoka Bible Centre and our public Q&A sessions - the education of our kids. It's a massively important topic, as the education and discipleship of our children is a lasting testimony to so many people, and everyone thinks they've got it right.

Todd Morikawa, our teacher in Week 1 at MBC during the summer, brought humour, grace and insight to the topic, and we're so glad he shared his thoughts with us here!

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Speaker Bio:
Todd was born and raised in Hawaii, and raised in a Christian home. He doesn't ever remember a time where he rejected God, but the Lord seems to have converted me around age 15, which is the year he was baptized in an Assembly of God church. He started pastoring Kailua Baptist Church around 2009, and by God’s grace, is still preaching there. He is married to Natalie, and they have two daughters. He loves Reformed Theology, eating good food, drinking coffee, and sports. He is also currently working on a Ph.D. in Historical and Theological Studies at Southern Seminary.

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Resources from this Episode:
Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham
Training Hearts, Teaching Minds by Starr Meade
You Are What You Love by James K.A. Smith (with a caution to watch out for some liberal leanings, but overall very good and written a few years before he went full liberal)

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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Abishek Varghese
Audio and Technical Support: The Summer 2023 A/V team
Theme Song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic Design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

BONUS: The Music of Transforming Culture

Muskoka Bible Centre — Wed, 10 May 2023 09:00:00 -0400

Welcome to a bonus episode of Transforming Culture! During our recording sessions last summer, Kevin Wilcox (our episode guest when we talked about Deconstruction) and I discovered that we both had a big passion for the music of Jon Guerra - and it led to the song Citizens being chosen as our theme song for this first season of Transforming Culture. We decided to sit down and talk about that a little bit, and here is that conversation!
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Speaker Bio:
Kevin Wilcox is an Assistant Crown Attorney in the Durham Region with a background in criminal defence. He is a candidate for a Master of Laws at the University of Ottawa where he is currently completing his thesis project on human trafficking within Canada’s pornography industry. He has also served overseas with International Justice Mission assisting with anti-slavery litigation in South Asia. He has served various ministry roles over the course of his life, ranging from inner-city ministry building community with street-involved and homeless populations to camp, youth, and worship ministry across Southern Ontario. Kevin is passionate about “visiting the widow and the orphan in their affliction”, and seeing the Body of Christ respond to the world’s suffering in the name, love, and power of our Almighty God.
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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Abishek Varghese
Audio and Technical Support: Abishek Varghese
Theme song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

Unity in the Church

Muskoka Bible Centre — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 09:00:00 -0500

Welcome everyone, to our last episode of Season 1 of Transforming Culture! We're thrilled to have had so many people listening and supporting us over the last two months, and we trust that this season will be a resource to you and your friends as you seek to transform culture for God.

Our last episode is about unity in the Church, and if we're being honest, it wasn't a topic that we would have considered a controversial culture issue until about March 20, 2020. The pandemic certainly highlighted a lot of ways that even Christians can differ from one another, and it has caused a lot of pain with denominations, churches and even families. We're grateful that Sean Sheeran is tackling such an important issue as we close out our first season.
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Speaker Bio:
Originally from Scotland, Sean moved to Canada as a teenager in 2001. A non-Christian at the time, he was invited to attend Hespeler Baptist Church in Cambridge, Ontario. Through the preaching of the gospel and the friendship of Christians, God showed him his need to repent of his sin and trust in Christ for salvation. This was an altogether different experience and message from his Roman Catholic upbringing. From there Sean attended Heritage Bible college, graduating the same year he came on staff full-time at Hespeler Baptist as Associate Pastor. In 2013 he made the transition to serving as Lead Pastor. He has been married to his high-school sweetheart, Meredith, for fifteen years and together they have four children. When not reading or chipping away at his MDiv at Heritage (almost finished!), you’d find Sean and his family hiking, biking, rock climbing, paddle-boarding, making music, or playing board & video games.
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Resources from this Episode:
The Six Way Fracturing of Evangelicalism (Michael Graham)
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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Abishek Varghese
Audio and Technical Support: Charles West and the Summer 2022 A/V team
Theme song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

To Have Conversations about Social Justice

Muskoka Bible Centre — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 09:00:00 -0500

Welcome back to Transforming Culture. This is our second-to-last episode, so if you're tuning in for the first time, check out our archive of episodes - the first episode in particular helps explain what this podcast is all about. This week, we're interviewing Steve West, a pastor and professor, about how to have conversation about social justice. He's a great speaker, and brings his unique blend of wisdom and humour which is both incisive and disarming. Social justice can be a tricky thing to talk about these days, because it feels like getting it "wrong" on social justice can be a friendship ending move, but Steve gives good insight into how we can examine the roots of justice for clues about how to move forward together with others. Enjoy!
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Speaker Bio:
Steve West (PhD) serves as the pastor of Madoc Baptist Church in Madoc, Ontario. In addition to pastoral ministry, Steve serves as an adjunct professor at Heritage College and Seminary in Cambridge. He has preached and taught courses in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. Steve is the author of several books and a frequent contributor to a variety of publications. Recent books include Resurrection, Scripture, and Reformed Apologetics (McMaster Theological Studies Series), Head, Heart, Hands: Life-Transforming Apologetics, and published sermons in A Contemporary Handbook for Weddings & Funerals, and Other Occasions. His ministry focuses on biblical preaching, theological engagement, and exploring and defending the Christian worldview.
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Resources from this Episode:
Leaf by Niggle (JRR Tolkien)
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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Abishek Varghese
Audio and Technical Support: Charles West and the Summer 2022 A/V team
Theme song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

Social Media in a Divided World

Muskoka Bible Centre — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 09:00:00 -0500

Welcome to our first all digital episode of Transforming Culture! Because of some COVID hiccups this summer, Scotty Smith recorded his session over the summer, and then we got the chance to talk about social media during an online interview last week! Scotty is a deeply rooted, well aware pastor, and brings so much depth and knowledge to his conversation about how to manage the tricky online world that we live in.
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Speaker Bio:
Scotty is founding pastor and pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church, Franklin, TN. He currently serves as Teacher in Residence at West End Community Church, Nashville TN. He has written 10 books, is a mentor, coach, ministry consultant, seminary professor and vocational discipler. Among his joys are his wife of 50 years (Darlene), two children and four grandchildren, fly-fishing, baking, walking 7 miles a day, and encouraging God’s people in the riches of the Gospel.
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Resources from this Episode:
Making Faith Magnetic (Daniel Strange)
Plugged In (Daniel Strange)
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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Abishek Varghese
Audio and Technical Support: Charles West and the Summer 2022 A/V team
Theme song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

Deconstruction

Muskoka Bible Centre — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 09:00:00 -0500

Welcome to our next episode of Transforming Culture! We're on a bit of a journey this week - we needed more time with the audio from Scotty Smith, so we're changing up the episode order! Our bumped episode from Week 3 about deconstruction is now ready, so we're slotting that in right now for you to listen in! You'll noticed a difference in the audio quality and format this week - we ended up doing a complete re-record of the topic due to audio quality issues, so you get to hear us chatting from Kevin's home in southern Ontario. We should be back on track next week with our session on social media with Scotty Smith.

NOTE: during our conversation, Kevin talks about sexual assault in a non-specific way, but we know that it is a hard conversation for some. Please be aware of this before listening to this episode with your younger kids.
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Speaker Bio:
Kevin Wilcox is an Assistant Crown Attorney in the Durham Region with a background in criminal defence. He is a candidate for a Master of Laws at the University of Ottawa where he is currently completing his thesis project on human trafficking within Canada’s pornography industry. He has also served overseas with International Justice Mission assisting with anti-slavery litigation in South Asia. He has served various ministry roles over the course of his life, ranging from inner-city ministry building community with street-involved and homeless populations to camp, youth, and worship ministry across Southern Ontario. Kevin is passionate about “visiting the widow and the orphan in their affliction”, and seeing the Body of Christ respond to the world’s suffering in the name, love, and power of our Almighty God.
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Resources from this Episode:
The Explicit Gospel (Matt Chandler)

Mere Christianity (C.S. Lewis)

Thou Shalt Not Be A Jerk (Eugene Cho)

Erasing Hell (Francis Chan)

The Screwtape Letters (C.S. Lewis)

Fear and Trembling (Søren Kierkegaard)

The Gay Science (Fredrich Nietzsche)

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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Abishek Varghese
Audio and Technical Support: Charles West and the Summer 2022 A/V team
Theme song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

Race and Colour in Church History

Muskoka Bible Centre — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 09:00:00 -0400

Welcome back to Transforming Culture! We are now officially more than halfway through our first season, and we're so excited that we have the chance to share these conversations with all of you. This week, we're looking at race and colour in church history. Most of us expect to talk about race and racism in a modern context - after the advent of the modern slave trade, for example - but Dr. Michael Haykin is taking us back to the first century context to help us understand how we need to approach things as Christians.
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Speaker Bio:
Michael A. G. Haykin is on the core faculty of Heritage College and Seminary as Professor of Church History and also serves as Professor and Chair of Church History at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Director of The Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies at Southern Seminary. He is married to Alison and they are members of West Highland Baptist Church in Hamilton, Ontario. He is a big believer in helping local churches develop an appreciation of the significance of Church History for their churches and to this end he has written or edited nearly a dozen local church histories. He has also written widely on fourth-century Christianity in the Roman Imperium and eighteenth-century British Baptists, in particular, the life and ministry of Andrew Fuller, and his circle of friends that included William Carey.
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Resources from this Episode:
Article: 4 Reasons You Shouldn't Be Colorblind (Tricia Newbell)
Book: Beyond Colorblind (Sarah Shin)
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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Abishek Varghese
Audio and Technical Support: Charles West and the Summer 2022 A/V team
Theme song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

The Abortion Debate

Muskoka Bible Centre — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 09:00:00 -0400

Welcome to another episode of Transforming Culture from MBC! We're thrilled that you're joining us for another session where we engage with an important cultural debate. This week, we're talking to Dr. Laura Lewis about the debate around abortion, and how to support those who are making decisions during an unexpected pregnancy. When we asked Dr. Lewis to join us for the summer of 2022, we had NO idea that the Supreme Court of the United States was going to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision that has been the cornerstone of abortion rights in that country. While we live in Canada and operate under a different legal context, that US decision has reinvigorated debate about what the pro-life/pro-choice movements should and can be doing. Join us for this interesting and important discussion!
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Speaker Bio:
Dr. Laura Lewis has served as the Executive Director of Pregnancy Care Canada since May 2016. Pregnancy Care Canada is a Christ-centred national organization seeking to help establish, equip, and encourage local pregnancy care centres across the country. After working for 22 years as a family physician, Dr. Lewis saw the need for education, support, and practical options for women and men facing an unexpected pregnancy. She has a Hon. B. Comm degree from Queen’s University, a Medical Degree from the University of Western Ontario, and a certificate of Family Medicine from McMaster University.
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Resources from this Episode:
Pregnancy Care Canada Resources
When Abortion Suddenly Stopped Making Sense (Frederica Mathewes-Green)
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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Abishek Varghese
Audio and Technical Support: Charles West and the Summer 2022 A/V team
Theme song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

LGBTQ+ Engagement

Muskoka Bible Centre — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 09:00:00 -0400

Weclome back to Transforming Culture. Muskoka Bible Centre hosted a series of lectures over the summer about controversial culture issues, and we've turned those lectures into a podcast! This is our third episode, so if you're tuning in for the first time, we encourage you to check out our first two episodes on political engagement with Dwayne Cline and wokeness with Michael Pawelke. The first episode in particular helps explain what this podcast is all about

This week, we're listening in on a lecture from Steve Bray about engaging with and authentically loving our LGBTQ+ friends and neighbours. It's a great session, and we dive into so much more in our conversation after the lecture is done. As with all our episodes, we know that these topics can be touchy - which is exactly why we're exploring them together. This particular seminar was the most requested episode from those who heard it during the summer, so we're excited to get it out on the air for all of you who were waiting!

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Speaker Bio:
Steve Bray attended both Pillsbury Baptist Bible College and Kingston Baptist Bible College for his undergraduate studies and Calvary Baptist Seminary for his (MDiv). He has been in pastoral ministry for over 20 years serving in both Fellowship and Canadian Baptist churches in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and currently as Lead Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. Steve started TGC Atlantic Canada and is a founding member of the TGC Canada Council. He is the Director of Mile One Mission and is dedicated to planting Churches and seeing Indigenous Newfoundlanders raised up to reach Canada’s most easterly province. Their goal and vision is to see 10 Churches planted by 2030. Steve is the blessed husband of Debbie, his childhood sweetheart and proud father of 3 beautiful children and, in his words, 4 beautiful grandchildren.

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Resources from this Episode:
Is God Anti-Gay? (Sam Alberry)
Gay Girl, Good God (Jackie Hill Perry)
The Bible and Homosexual Practice (Robert A. J. Gagnon)
The Gospel Comes with a House Key (Rosaria Butterfield)
The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert (Rosaria Butterfield)
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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Abishek Varghese
Audio and Technical Support: Charles West and the Summer 2022 A/V team
Theme song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

Our Woke World

Muskoka Bible Centre — Mon, 10 Oct 2022 09:00:00 -0400

Welcome back to Transforming Culture! This week, we're listening to Dr. Michael Pawelke, who is the president of Briarcrest College in Caronport, Saskatchewan. He's talking to us about woke ideology and how to engage with conversations that can look quite engaging and attractive on the surface, but have a very different meaning when you get down to the foundational roots of the thought.
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Speaker Bio:
Dr. Michael Pawelke first came to know the Lord through reading a Gideon New Testament during his teenage years when his parents were going through a turbulent divorce. It was during this difficult time that Michael trusted the Lord and began his journey with Christ. Today, Michael strives to honour the Lord in everything he does, including his role as Briercrest College and Seminary’s sixth president. With a vision of “educating disciples, equipping the Church, and engaging our world”, he aims to continually grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ himself. Prior to stepping into his role as president, Michael served in pastoral roles in Manitoba and Ontario, including 19 years as senior pastor of Compass Point Bible Church in Burlington. Michael has an earned doctorate from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, an honorary doctorate from Briercrest Biblical Seminary, an MA in Biblical Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary, and a BRE from Briercrest Bible Institute. Michael presently teaches on leadership and pastoral ministry in both the college and the seminary and speaks frequently in churches.
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Resources from this Episode:
The Coddling of the American Mind (Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt)
We Will Not Be Silenced (Erwin W. Lutzer)
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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Abishek Varghese
Audio and Technical Support: Charles West and the Summer 2022 A/V team
Theme song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

Political Correctness in Civic Engagement

Muskoka Bible Centre — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 09:00:00 -0400

Welcome to our first episode of Transforming Culture!

This podcast was born out of a desire to help equip and prepare the church to engage with the world around us. Over the summer of 2022, Muskoka Bible Centre invited our summer Bible teachers to share their thoughts on Monday nights with the chapel audience about a controversial cultural issue. We called those sessions our "Transforming Culture Seminars".

Whether it was political engagement, abortion, loving or LGBTQ neighbours, wokeness, deconstruction or many more, they brought so much engaging thoughtful teaching each Monday night, and we are excited to share that with you now as a limited series podcast over the months of October and November. We recorded those Monday night sessions and our host, Luke, then had the chance to sit down with each of the speakers to dig deeper into some of the things that they talked about and hear more about what they think.

We know that not everyone agrees about all the things that we're talking about in these podcast episodes, and that’s okay. Our heart is to present biblically accurate and truthful information, and then allow you to wrestle with the issues as you grow and learn. Whenever they recommend it, we will share resources with you like books and articles that will help you grow.

Our first episode is presented by Dwayne Cline, with a focus on Political Correctness in Civic Engagement.
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Speaker Bio:
Dwayne has been the lead pastor of James North Baptist Church in Hamilton, Ontario since January 1995. He was raised in rural Ontario, where God saved him at a young age. After graduating from Tyndale College, God called him to pastor in the heart of Hamilton. James North offers a variety of ministries in the neighbourhood which cares for over 450 unchurched individuals and families each week. In the fall of 2020, they opened their new worship and ministry facility which includes 45 supportive and affordable apartments for those struggling with homelessness. Dwayne married Aimee in 1998 and they are blessed with four amazing children. They are also business owners of a storefront Aimee runs in Hamilton. Dwayne speaks in a variety of forums across the country.
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Resources from this Episode:
The Coddling of the American Mind (Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt)
The Munk Debates (May 18, 2018)
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Show Credits:
Transforming Culture is a production of Muskoka Bible Centre.
Producer: Luke LaRocque
Editing, Sound Design and Mixing: Abishek Varghese
Audio and Technical Support: Charles West and the Summer 2022 A/V team
Theme song: “Citizens” by Jon Guerra
Graphic design: Christina te-Bokkel Hotz

Trailer

Muskoka Bible Centre — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 09:00:00 -0400

A new podcast from Muskoka Bible Centre - starting October 2022.