Episode 13: The J Word: Why Don’t We Say Jesus’ Name‪?‬ King of the Middle

— Intro: Update on our latest projects



— Michael discusses his new short story collection, ‘Currents’



— There’s an audio drama for one of Michael’s short stories / Discussion about the making-of a few recent audio dramas



— Michael tells a story about the recording session for his short, ‘Landings’



— We’re scared to mention Jesus to family, friends, and co-workers. Why?



— Michael answers the question first



— Chris gives his reasons / He traces the atmosphere in the workplace from early schooldays though Hollywood



— Why are we afraid to share about Jesus with our friends? / Michael comments first regarding his extended family / The struggle to develop faith transparency and articulating the complex aspects of our faith



— Matthew 7:1 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged,” is often quoted out of context / Our egos are on the line we associate with Christianity / Exclusivity doctrines of Christianity can be off-putting to our friends



— A new Netflix Christmas film exemplifies the modern mindset: The world centers around us and not Jesus: This mindset is what we’re up against when talking about Jesus



— Christmas is actually a very hard time to share about Jesus when you look at the true message of His sacrifice for us / Chris has struggled in recent years with how far he allows secular holiday narratives into his family’s advent season



— Even waiting until well after the holidays to share our faith will still be tough because we bump against ego issues



— In the recent past, it was mainstream to be “Christian” / It’s riskier to talk about faith in the 21st century



— People in the past associated with Christianity even if they weren’t practicing Christians / Our faith-sharing muscles were weak coming into modern times



— Chris reacts to recent rules in California regarding lockdowns on church gatherings / We have a lot to do to get the name of Jesus out to the secular world



— Matthew 10:33: If we deny God, He’ll deny us / Jesus knew the fleshly battle against fear and laziness when sharing about God and Himself and warned us to fight the urge to be silent



— The fact that we’re afraid to speak about Jesus to those we know translates directly to our lack of speaking about faith in our art



— What steps can we take to counter our lackluster witnessing? / Michael answers: generic mentions of “God” versus saying Jesus’ name



— Chris warns that we’re going to be attacked (as Jesus was) for telling the truth



— Shared humanity is a key to breaking down faith-sharing boundaries / Chris mentions an upcoming story where he starts the story by writing about shared humanity then reveals Jesus as the story unravels



— Engaging with an audience through our art / A recent story about a person who posted a negative comment on KotM’s Facebook page



— We are called to be light in the darkness, love others



— Wishing everyone a great rich season



—————

Youtube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYhB_T8K03t8WO1XyvjaKWA



Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/kingofthemiddle/



Podcast Page

https://anchor.fm/kingofthemiddle



Chris’s Website

http://www.cmobmo.com



Michael’s Website and Amazon page

https://michaeljoelgreen.wordpress.com