Christ the Center

Reformed Forum
  • 4.9 (140)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Biweekly

Christ the Center is an audio program centered on Christian reformed theology. In each episode a group of informed panelists discuss important issues and stimulate listeners to critical thinking and a better understanding of reformed doctrine designed to yield godly living.

  1. 5d ago

    What Is Critical Theory?

    Bradley G. Green joins Camden Bucey to discuss What Is Critical Theory?: A Concise Christian Analysis. They trace the Frankfurt School’s Marxist roots and explain why thinkers such as Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Walter Benjamin, and Herbert Marcuse turned from a narrowly economic account of oppression toward culture, institutions, authority, family, and religion. The conversation evaluates critical theory as a counterfeit religious vision with its own accounts of creation, sin, redemption, and eschatology. Drawing on Cornelius Van Til, Green shows how unbelieving thought oscillates between rationalism and irrationalism; drawing on Henry Van Til, he explains why culture is “religion externalized.” Resources What Is Critical Theory?: A Concise Christian AnalysisBradley G. Green at Southern SeminaryChrist Overall Chapters 00:00 Introduction 04:30 Introducing What Is Critical Theory? 08:14 Marxism after the failed German revolution 10:43 The major Frankfurt School thinkers 12:35 Culture, oppression, and the long march through the institutions 15:54 Critical theory as a counterfeit religion 19:06 What the critical theorists see—and miss 21:56 Creation, givenness, and the autonomous individual 24:05 Sin relocated from the heart to the system 25:18 Marcuse’s vision of sexual liberation 29:42 Utopian hope and Adorno’s “Grand Hotel Abyss” 33:11 Walter Benjamin and a “messianic rupture” 36:45 Repressive tolerance and the authoritarian personality 42:35 Van Til on rationalism and irrationalism 46:31 Culture as religion externalized 49:22 Pastoral and educational applications 53:55 Using the book for personal and group study 56:20 Conclusion Mentioned in this episode: Christ the Center 1000 Christ the Center 1000 Summit Christ the Center 1000 Live in Austin, TX Christ the Center 1000 Summit

  2. Oct 16

    Church History for Everyone

    Kevin DeYoung joins Camden Bucey to discuss Church History for Everyone, Volume 1: The Story of Christianity from the Fall of Jerusalem to the Dawn of the Reformation. They consider why Christianity is inseparable from history and how the story of the church testifies to Christ’s promise to build and preserve his people by his Word and Spirit. The conversation explores how Christians can remember faithful men and women without lapsing into hagiography—or reducing the past to a catalogue of failures. Camden and Kevin also discuss monasticism, the preservation of learning and liturgy, Protestant retrieval of medieval theologians such as Bernard of Clairvaux, and the figures who will appear in the forthcoming second volume. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 00:50 Christ the Center 1000 summit update 12:55 Introducing Church History for Everyone 15:51 Conversation with Kevin DeYoung 17:30 From Sunday school lectures to a two-volume history 20:58 Why Christianity is inseparable from history 23:48 Church history as family history 26:38 Beyond hagiography and “warts only” history 30:57 Choosing characters and telling the church’s story 35:30 What Protestants can learn from monasticism 39:53 Recovering the medieval church 43:59 Previewing volume 2 46:53 Conclusion Resources Church History for Everyone, Volume 1 Clearly Reformed Mentioned in this episode: Christ the Center 1000 Live in Austin, TX Christ the Center 1000 Summit Christ the Center 1000 Christ the Center 1000 Summit

  3. Oct 9

    Van Til’s Influence on Biblical Counseling

    Jared Poulton joins Camden Bucey to discuss Van Til’s Counseling Movement: A Critical Analysis of Jay Adams and Biblical Counseling. They trace how Cornelius Van Til’s presuppositional apologetics supplied key theological instincts for Jay Adams and the modern biblical counseling movement, including the God-relatedness of every human problem, dependence upon divine revelation, and confidence in Scripture’s sufficiency for pastoral ministry. The conversation also examines tensions within contemporary biblical counseling. Camden and Jared consider the antithesis, common grace, the relation of the book of nature to the book of Scripture, and the danger of either rejecting all extra-biblical knowledge or baptizing secular methods without sufficient theological scrutiny. Throughout, they argue that faithful counseling should serve the church’s disciple-making mission and bring every claim about human life under the authoritative framework of God’s Word. ResourcesVan Til’s Counseling MovementInstitute for Reformed Biblical Counseling Chapters00:00 Introduction03:12 Jared Poulton’s path into biblical counseling09:12 What is biblical counseling?17:44 The sufficiency of Scripture and pastoral counsel23:09 CCEF, David Powlison, and Van Til27:29 A Van Tilian foundation and an identity crisis32:48 Competing trajectories in biblical counseling41:02 Robert K. Rudolph and Jay Adams44:02 Three streams that shaped Adams50:57 God is man’s environment55:58 Presuppositions and borrowed terminology61:37 The antithesis and secular psychology67:06 Scripture’s framework for counseling72:59 Common grace and the two-book approach75:56 Counseling in service of the church’s mission77:42 Conclusion Mentioned in this episode: Christ the Center 1000 Live in Austin, TX Christ the Center 1000 Summit Christ the Center 1000 Christ the Center 1000 Summit

  4. Oct 3 ·  Bonus

    Grace and Grace: The One Covenant and the Logic of Hebrews’ Warning | Marcus A. Mininger

    Hebrews never pits the covenants against one another as law versus gospel; it presents them as grace and grace—the same house, the same people, the same promise. Yet the old was always preparatory: shadow giving way to substance, promise to fulfillment. Marcus A. Mininger traces that organic development and shows why the unity of the one covenant is precisely what makes Hebrews’ warning so urgent. The address closes where the letter does—on persevering within the covenant and resting in the sole sufficiency of Christ. Dr. Marcus A. Mininger is professor of New Testament at Mid-America Reformed Seminary, with research on Paul and the General Epistles—including a forthcoming study of the warning passages in Hebrews. Delivered at the 2026 Reformed Forum Theology Conference, “The Covenant of Grace: One Savior, One People, One Purpose,” at Lakeland Church in Gurnee, Illinois, on September 26, 2026. Watch this address: https://youtu.be/DMhQflaD8PM Watch the full conference: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJykAlOwqPCA reformedforum.org Mentioned in this episode: Christ the Center 1000 Christ the Center 1000

    Grace and Grace: The One Covenant and the Logic of Hebrews’ Warning | Marcus A. Mininger

  5. Oct 3 ·  Bonus

    Impossible to Be Restored? What Hebrews Really Warns Against | Marcus A. Mininger

    Few passages have unsettled readers like Hebrews’ warning that it is “impossible … to restore again to repentance” those who fall away. Does it teach a sin beyond forgiveness? Marcus A. Mininger clears away the common misreadings and names the real danger the author confronts: the temptation to abandon Christ and re-lay a foundation in the old covenant alone. The warning, rightly heard, is not about a sin too great to forgive but about the impossibility of going back—and it sets up the covenant question taken up in the session that follows. Dr. Marcus A. Mininger is professor of New Testament at Mid-America Reformed Seminary, with research on Paul and the General Epistles—including a forthcoming study of the warning passages in Hebrews. Delivered at the 2026 Reformed Forum Theology Conference, “The Covenant of Grace: One Savior, One People, One Purpose,” at Lakeland Church in Gurnee, Illinois, on September 26, 2026. Watch this address: https://youtu.be/9B4fCp9fems Watch the full conference: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJykAlOwqPCA reformedforum.org Mentioned in this episode: Christ the Center 1000 Christ the Center 1000

    Impossible to Be Restored? What Hebrews Really Warns Against | Marcus A. Mininger

  6. Oct 3 ·  Bonus

    A Greater Joshua, a Greater Conquest: Another Look at Jesus’s Exorcisms | Benjamin L. Gladd

    A greater Joshua has come. Benjamin L. Gladd takes another look at Jesus’s exorcisms, reading them against the Old Testament backdrop of Israel’s conquest. Where Joshua led a people into an earthly rest by the sword, Christ leads his people into a greater rest by the Spirit and the word, defeating the powers that held them captive. The kingdom does not advance by force but by the triumph of the one Savior who gathers one people to himself, and the exorcisms are a preview of that greater conquest. Dr. Benjamin L. Gladd is executive director of the Carson Center for Theological Renewal and formerly professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson. He edits the Essential Studies in Biblical Theology series and has written widely on the use of the Old Testament in the New, including works co-authored with G. K. Beale. Delivered at the 2026 Reformed Forum Theology Conference, “The Covenant of Grace: One Savior, One People, One Purpose,” at Lakeland Church in Gurnee, Illinois, on September 26, 2026. Watch this address: https://youtu.be/UeBRopgfpmI Watch the full conference: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJykAlOwqPCA reformedforum.org Mentioned in this episode: Christ the Center 1000 Christ the Center 1000

    A Greater Joshua, a Greater Conquest: Another Look at Jesus’s Exorcisms | Benjamin L. Gladd

  7. Oct 2 ·  Bonus

    When Does the Restoration of Israel Take Place? | G. K. Beale - Reformed Academy

    When does the long-promised restoration of Israel take place? G. K. Beale gives particular attention to Acts 1:8 and its use of the Old Testament and argues that the restoration is already under way in the church's Spirit-empowered witness to the nations. God fulfills his covenant promises to Israel in Christ and carries them to the ends of the earth, as the one Savior gathers one people to himself. The answer has direct consequences for how we understand the church, the nations, and the promises of the covenant. Dr. Gregory K. Beale teaches at Reformed Theological Seminary, Dallas. He is a leading New Testament scholar known for his work on biblical theology, the use of the Old Testament in the New, and the temple theme across Scripture. Delivered at the 2026 Reformed Forum Theology Conference, "The Covenant of Grace: One Savior, One People, One Purpose," at Lakeland Church in Gurnee, Illinois, on September 26, 2026. Watch the full conference: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJykAlOwqPCA https://reformedforum.org Mentioned in this episode: Christ the Center 1000 Christ the Center 1000

    When Does the Restoration of Israel Take Place? | G. K. Beale - Reformed Academy

  8. Oct 2

    Roman Catholicism and Christian Unity

    Mark Gilbert joins Camden Bucey to examine what Protestants and Roman Catholics mean when they speak of Christian unity. Drawing on Gilbert’s conversion from Roman Catholicism, they contrast a unity grounded in the Spirit’s work through the Word with Rome’s institutional claim to mediate grace and gather humanity into one visible communion. The conversation turns to Vatican II and Karl Rahner’s doctrine of the “anonymous Christian.” Camden and Mark consider Rahner’s anthropology, his account of God’s self-communication, and the influence of this framework on Roman Catholic inclusivism. They conclude with a pastoral call to speak with clarity and charity and to offer the assurance found only in the finished work of Christ. ResourcesTalking with Catholics About JesusThe Nicene CreedThe Nicene Creed and the Nature of Christian Unity Chapters00:00 Introduction03:48 Mark Gilbert’s journey from Roman Catholicism10:50 The Rome Scholars and Leaders Network15:04 Catholic inclusivity after Vatican II20:36 Institutional and spiritual views of unity26:43 The church as a continuing incarnation28:58 Vatican II and Karl Rahner35:36 Van Til, Rahner, and the image of God45:18 The “anonymous Christian”47:30 Roman Catholicism in a pluralistic world52:06 Inclusivity, gender, and doctrinal development58:19 Rahner, Ratzinger, and competing Catholic trajectories61:28 The Roman Catholic Church as a “sacrament of unity”65:33 Unity in truth and evangelizing Roman Catholics70:14 Resources for churches and small groups72:59 Conclusion Mentioned in this episode: Christ the Center 1000 Live in Austin, TX Christ the Center 1000 Summit Christ the Center 1000 Christ the Center 1000 Summit

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About

Christ the Center is an audio program centered on Christian reformed theology. In each episode a group of informed panelists discuss important issues and stimulate listeners to critical thinking and a better understanding of reformed doctrine designed to yield godly living.

Information

  • Creator
    Reformed Forum
  • Years Active
    2008 - 2026
  • Episodes
    988
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Reformed Forum
  • Show Website
    Christ the Center

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