Inspired Human Podcast

Inspired Human
  • 5.0 (10)
  • CHRISTIANITY

Nick Stavlund and Dairus Barnes team up to meditate on living life for Jesus in the Secular Age. inspiredhuman.substack.com

  1. Duke Divinity School professor, J. Warren Smith

    1D AGO

    Duke Divinity School professor, J. Warren Smith

    We welcome a wonderful man and scholar, the one and only J. Warren Smith! Dr. Smith is Professor of Historical Theology at Duke Divinity School, where he teaches courses on early Christianity and the development of Christian doctrine. His scholarship focuses especially on the theology of the early church, with particular attention to figures like Irenaeus of Lyons. Smith is known for his engaging teaching and his ability to connect ancient theological insights to contemporary faith and practice. He has contributed to numerous academic publications and is a respected voice in the field of historical theology. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit inspiredhuman.substack.com

    43 min
  2. Dr. Andrew Root // Sad people living in sad times

    APR 2

    Dr. Andrew Root // Sad people living in sad times

    Welcome to the Inspired Human Podcast! Today we’ve got the one and only Dr. Andrew Root. Andy is a friend. He’s a prolific author. If you have never read his Ministry in the Secular Age book series, you have to stop what you’re doing right now and start reading. Most recently, Andy wrote a book with his wife, Kara, called Pilgrimage into Letting Go: Helping Parents and Pastors Embrace the Uncontrollable. No surprise, but it is WONDERFUL. We talk about this book, and his other somewhat new-ish book called Evangelism in an Age of Despair: Hope beyond the Failed Promise of Happiness. In the book, Andy charts how we in the modern west have become “happiness hunters,” and how as happiness hunters we are mostly becoming sad. We live as sad people, in many cases, living in sad times. Christians, he rightfully points out, can and should console these sad people and in turn invite people to Jesus in the life of the Church. Nick published a book review for the Military Chaplaincy Review in February 2026 on Andy’s book Evangelism in an Age of Despair. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit inspiredhuman.substack.com

    58 min
  3. Episode: Frank Shirvinski // Pastor & Aerospace Engineer

    MAR 19

    Episode: Frank Shirvinski // Pastor & Aerospace Engineer

    Inspired Human Podcast, Season 4, episode 2. Welcome Frank Shirvinski! Frank and Nick are co-authoring a book for Purpose Press with an expected publication date of late 2026 or early 2027. Frank is quite literally a jack of all trades (who has mastered them all). He is a full time aerospace engineer, Christian minister, and co-founder of Purpose Press with his daughter Abigail. Purpose Press is a platform for faith-centered books and study resources designed to help readers deepen their relationship with God and engage Scripture more meaningfully. They chase purpose not profits. Drawing on decades of experience in both technical and theological fields, Frank has authored a range of titles published, including Before the Day Ends, The Trail, and the Toward the Horizon Bible study guides. He blends biblical insight with practical application for individuals and small groups. His work spans children’s stories that point young readers to spiritual truths as well as devotional and study guides that invite believers of all ages to explore faith with confidence and curiosity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit inspiredhuman.substack.com

    36 min
  4. Dr. Hans Boersma // Seeing God is the Telos

    MAR 5

    Dr. Hans Boersma // Seeing God is the Telos

    Thanks for reading Inspired Human Substack! This post is public so feel free to share it. Welcome to Season 4 of the Inspired Human Podcast. This season is all about interviews with Christian thinkers and Christian pastors. We welcome Dr. Hans Boersma! Why did we interview him? * We respect him. He’s a wonderful priest and pastor and a brilliant scholar. * His books on the Beatific Vision and his writings about Scripture have deeply impacted us! Dr. Boersma is an Anglican theologian and priest who holds the Saint Benedict Servants of Christ Chair in Ascetical Theology at Nashotah House Theological Seminary and previously taught at Regent College in Vancouver. He is a leading voice in contemporary sacramental theology and patristic studies, engaging theological traditions from East and West to enrich Christian thought and practice. His influential works include Seeing God: The Beatific Vision in Christian Tradition, which explores classical Christian understandings of the vision of God; Scripture as Real Presence: Sacramental Exegesis in the Early Church, a study of patristic biblical interpretation; and Sacramental Preaching: Sermons on the Hidden Presence of Christ, which offers a theological approach to preaching informed by tradition. His scholarship has shaped discussions on theological interpretation, ecclesiology, and the recovery of pre-modern theological insights for the church today. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit inspiredhuman.substack.com

    41 min
  5. The Epilogue: Ep9

    01/24/2024

    The Epilogue: Ep9

    Friends! This is it. The final episode of Season 3. Let's call it an Epilogue, but it's really a conclusion with a ton of "what do we do now" kind of stuff.  It's a wrap-up, so in many ways, it could have made a great intro episode as well. Whether this is the first episode you've heard, or the final one of the season... enjoy! ///////// Throughout this season, we  want to remove the cultural scales from our eyes using insight from: Alan Noble (You are Not your Own) Andrew Root (Ministry in the Secular Age series) Alan Ehrenberg (Diagnosing the History of Depression in the Contemporary Age) Charles Taylor (A Secular Age) Andy Crouch (The Tech-Wise Family) Leonard Sax (The Collapse of Parenting) All of Jean Twenge's (SDSU) recent interviews / articles / and her books James K.A. Smith's books and articles N.T. Wright (The Day the Revolution Began among others) Alasdair MacIntyre (After Virtue)  The New and Old Testaments... plus other works that we sprinkle throughout.  [The views presented are those of the speaker or author and do not necessarily represent the views of DoD or its components.]  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit inspiredhuman.substack.com

    43 min
  6. Parenting in the You do You Era: Ep8

    01/04/2024

    Parenting in the You do You Era: Ep8

    Season 3, episode 8: "Parenting in the You Do You Era." This episode is our attempt at re-focusing parenting on raising disciples of Jesus. To that end, we draw from parenting "fails" that stem from the junk values of the YDYE, and ultimately encourage Christian parents to help their children see themselves in God's story. Helping our kids see themselves in God's story allows us to  help them "figure out who they are and what they want" in light of their identity as a child of God. ///////// Throughout this season, we  want to remove the cultural scales from our eyes using insight from: Alan Noble (You are Not your Own) Andrew Root (Ministry in the Secular Age series) Alan Ehrenberg (Diagnosing the History of Depression in the Contemporary Age) Charles Taylor (A Secular Age) Andy Crouch (The Tech-Wise Family) Leonard Sax (The Collapse of Parenting) All of Jean Twenge's (SDSU) recent interviews / articles / and her books James K.A. Smith's books and articles N.T. Wright (The Day the Revolution Began among others) Alasdair MacIntyre (After Virtue)  The New and Old Testaments... plus other works that we sprinkle throughout.  [The views presented are those of the speaker or author and do not necessarily represent the views of DoD or its components.]  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit inspiredhuman.substack.com

    45 min
  7. Love and Marriage in the You Do You Era: Ep7

    12/15/2023

    Love and Marriage in the You Do You Era: Ep7

    Season 3, episode 7: "Love and Marriage in the You Do You Era." When relationships are simply an additional tool for you to be "your best self" or to find who you are...then you know you're living in the You do You Era. Today we chat about how love, and marriage itself, has been influenced by the junk values of the YDYE. But, we don't just whine and complain. We also turn to the New Testament, especially Paul's theology of submission, in order to beckon Christians back to a cross-centered foundation for our most intimate relationships.  ///////// Throughout this season, we  want to remove the cultural scales from our eyes using insight from: Alan Noble (You are Not your Own) Andrew Root (Ministry in the Secular Age series) Alan Ehrenberg (Diagnosing the History of Depression in the Contemporary Age) Charles Taylor (A Secular Age) Andy Crouch (The Tech-Wise Family) Leonard Sax (The Collapse of Parenting) All of Jean Twenge's (SDSU) recent interviews / articles / and her books James K.A. Smith's books and articles N.T. Wright (The Day the Revolution Began among others) Alasdair MacIntyre (After Virtue)  The New and Old Testaments... plus other works that we sprinkle throughout.  [The views presented are those of the speaker or author and do not necessarily represent the views of DoD or its components.]  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit inspiredhuman.substack.com

    34 min
  8. Technology in the You Do You Era: Ep6

    11/20/2023

    Technology in the You Do You Era: Ep6

    Season 3, episode 6: "Technology is Forming You and Failing to Transform You." Your phone is not a tool.  It is not neutral. Your phone is a cash-cow device designed to get you to pick it up, use it,  never put it down, and in the process, make other people lots and lots of money. Friends, we are being formed by an algorithm, created by neuroscientists and computer programmers in California, on full display across all major social media platforms. Our eyes and our minds get pulled into video after video, feed upon feed, all based on what other people perceive we want to look at or consume. We are being formed...or perhaps, de-formed. The You Do You Era  is marked by rampant use of electronic devices: Phones, tablets, computers, watches, and more. Our behaviors have become daily liturgies. Rather than organizing ourselves around time in service to God-in-the-world, most everything we do is orchestrated around or deeply influenced by inputs from our smart devices. In this episode, we pull heavily from James K.A. Smith and Andy Crouch (The Tech Wise Family).  We unashamedly encourage you to be weird, to adopt odd practices and thick boundaries around technology. Why? Because you and your kids are being formed by these practices....or, perhaps, de-formed!  The question to consider is "What image am I being formed into?" ///////// Throughout this season, we  want to remove the cultural scales from our eyes using insight from: Alan Noble (You are Not your Own) Andrew Root (Ministry in the Secular Age series) Alan Ehrenberg (Diagnosing the History of Depression in the Contemporary Age) Charles Taylor (A Secular Age) Andy Crouch (The Tech-Wise Family) Leonard Sax (The Collapse of Parenting) All of Jean Twenge's (SDSU) recent interviews / articles / and her books James K.A. Smith's books and articles N.T. Wright (The Day the Revolution Began among others) Alasdair MacIntyre (After Virtue)  The New and Old Testaments... plus other works that we sprinkle throughout.  [The views presented are those of the speaker or author and do not necessarily represent the views of DoD or its components.]  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit inspiredhuman.substack.com

    34 min
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5
out of 5
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About

Nick Stavlund and Dairus Barnes team up to meditate on living life for Jesus in the Secular Age. inspiredhuman.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Inspired Human
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    35
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Nick Stavlund & Dairus Barnes
  • Show Website
    Inspired Human Podcast

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