The Denison Forum Podcast Denison Forum

Curtis Chang joins Dr. Mark Turman to talk about his book, The Anxiety Opportunity, how anxiety affected Chang’s life, why anxiety is not a sin but a chance for spiritual growth, how anxiety reflects a fear of loss, and how Jesus speaks into our worries. 
 
Show notes:   
Curtis Chang begins by sharing a deeply personal story about struggling with his anxiety disorder as a senior pastor and how God helped him see anxiety as an opportunity for spiritual growth (3:04). Chang explains how some level of anxiety is natural and why we can’t just “pray it away” (8:04). They discuss how anxiety is the fear of future loss, and this should prompt us to ask: what are we afraid of losing (20:10)? Chang gives practical ways to overcome the symptoms of anxiety while warning that we must also address the deeper heart issues, relying on the power of the Holy Spirit (29:31). They consider the danger of avoiding loss at all costs, remembering that we will lose everything on this earth at some point, and how loss avoidance can end in a false version of the gospel (38:46). They close by talking about the importance of community to deal with anxiety, taking it first to God and then to others who love us (54:10). 
 
Resources and further reading: The Anxiety Opportunity: How Worry is the Doorway to Your Best Self, Curtis Chang
Redeeming Babel
The Good Faith podcast
“In “The Anxiety Opportunity,” Curtis Chang says that worry opens doors to our best selves” Mark Legg
 
About the host   
Mark Turman, DMin, is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church. 
 
About the guest   
As a theologian, Curtis is on the faculty of Duke Divinity School and is a Senior Fellow at Fuller Theological Seminary. His ministry experience includes serving as a senior pastor of an Evangelical Covenant Church in California, a campus minister with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and engaging in racial reconciliation work in Soweto, South Africa. He has authored or contributed to numerous books, including Engaging Unbelief: A Captivating Strategy from Augustine and Aquinas (IVP).
Curtis is the founding Executive Director of Redeeming Babel, a nonprofit that produces content to promote a reformation in how Christians engage the wider world. He also co-hosts (with David French) the Good Faith podcast, where they discuss how Christian faith intersects with culture, law, and politics. His biblical insights are enriched by his own secular career, which includes founding a White House award-winning nonprofit consulting firm and teaching strategic planning as a faculty at American University’s School of International Service. Curtis graduated from Harvard University and is a former Rockefeller Fellow.
 

Matt Jacobson joins Dr. Mark Turman to discuss being a biblical spouse, the pornography epidemic, how to have freedom from sexual temptation, and the power we have amid spiritual warfare through our identity in Christ. 
Show notes:  Matt Jacobson begins by talking about his testimony, biblical marriage, and the severity of the sin of fornication in the Bible (1:32). Jacobson says that the way Christians believe the lie that they are weak in confronting sexual temptation leads to bondage (14:36). He emphasizes the spiritual warfare around us and at the same time, the choice we have to sin (17:21). They discuss how pornography leads to lonely emptiness, and why Christians must know their power in the Spirit (30:59). Jacobson talks about practical ways to fight the spiritual battle against sexual temptation, drawing on our identity as children of God (39:42). They close with advice for parents and a word of grace and hope for those addicted to pornography (47:53). 
Resources and further reading: Freedom Course
“What does the Bible say about pornography” Mark Legg
Faithful Man
100 Ways to Love Your Husband/Wife
Faithful Life Podcast
Fight the New Drug
About the host  Mark Turman, DMin, is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church. 
About the guest  Matt Jacobson is a teaching pastor of Cline Falls Bible Fellowship and founder of FaithfulMan.com, an online social media community focusing on marriage, parenting, and biblical teaching. He is the creator of Freedom Course, teaching men the powerful, biblical path to getting completely free from porn and sexual sin. Matt is the author of the bestselling Loving Your Wife Well and 100 Words of Affirmation Your Wife Needs to Hear. He lives with his wife, Lisa, in the Pacific Northwest, where they have raised their eight children. Together Matt and Lisa are cohosts of the popular Faithful Life podcast.
 

Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman discuss Dr. Denison’s most pivotal book, The Coming Tsunami, one year later, the history of American ideals, AI ethics, Paul’s example of peaceful cultural engagement, and hope. 
 
Show notes: 
 
Dr. Denison begins by giving the elevator pitch of The Coming Tsunami, discussing the history of how America’s ideals and why the culture opposes Christianity (1:58). They discuss how America has turned to politics as a new religion and why postmodernity cripples us against AI ethics questions (11:51). They discuss how to prepare rather than panic, to hope rather than fear, and how Paul and Jesus modeled peaceful engagement with the culture (14:48). They discuss why looking at the history of ideas is so important and how one kind of freedom can turn into tyranny (29:14). They talk about why opposition to Christianity in the US is significant, even if persecution against Christians is not new to the world or history (40:21). They close by considering how Christians can practically steward their influence to act as salt and light to the world (45:25).
 
Resources and further reading:  
Get your copy today: The Coming Tsunami: Why Christians Are Labeled Intolerant, Irrelevant, Oppressive, and Dangerous―and How We Can Turn the Tide, Dr. Jim Denison
 
About the host   
Mark Turman, DMin, is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church. 
 
About the guest   
Jim Denison, PhD, is a cultural theologian and the founder and CEO of Denison Ministries, which is transforming 6.8 million lives through meaningful digital content.
Dallas-based Denison Ministries includes DenisonForum.org, First15.org, ChristianParenting.org, and FoundationsWithJanet.org. Jim Denison speaks biblically into significant cultural issues at DenisonForum.org and DrJimDenison.com, as well as on radio, TV, podcasts, and social media.
 

Dr. Jeff Myers, the president of Summit Ministries, joins Dr. Mark Turman to discuss apologetics for Gen Z through Summit’s summer camps. They also consider the idea of worldviews, explain the philosophical nature of truth, and talk about his book, The Truth Changes Everything. 
 
Show notes:   
Dr. Jeff Myers begins by sharing his testimony and how he became president of Summit Ministries, which helps kids stand firm in a biblical worldview through camp and student conferences (5:44). Dr. Myers explains Summit and how they help prepare Gen Z for defending their faith and thinking critically. They also talk about pivotal life moments when faith becomes relevant (11:57). Dr. Myers talks about what a “worldview” is and what led him to write Truth Changes Everything (23:30). Armed with a PhD in philosophy, Dr. Myers provides a deep, philosophical understanding of truth (29:21). Dr. Turman asks why the Christian worldview is unique, given the incarnate person of Christ (47:36). 
 
Resources and further reading:  
Truth Changes Everything: How People of Faith Can Transform the World in Times of Crisis, Dr. Jeff Myers
Summit Ministries, website
The Coming Tsunami, Dr. Jim Denison
  About the host   
Mark Turman, DMin, is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church. 
 
About the guest   
Dr. Jeff Myers is the president of Summit Ministries. As an educator and entrepreneur, Dr. Myers has become one of America’s most respected authorities on youth leadership development. 
Through his speaking engagements and media appearances, Dr. Myers has become a fresh voice offering humor and insight from a Christian worldview. He is the author of 14 books, including Understanding the Faith, Understanding the Times, and Understanding the Culture textbooks, which are studied by tens of thousands of students. Dr. Myers holds a Ph.D. from the University of Denver. 
He continues to engage college students and adult learners by serving as a trustee of Colorado Christian University and through a Signature Leadership Course offered by the Lumerit Corporation, which serves the training needs of many Fortune 100 companies. Jeff and his wife Stephanie and their family live in Colorado.
 

Dr. Jim Denison sits down with Dr. Mark Turman to discuss the brevity of life, sudden deaths of loved ones, human suffering and God’s sovereignty, and to pastorally unpack Psalm 23.  
Show notes:  Dr. Mark Turman and Dr. Jim Denison begin by discussing why the brevity of life is on their minds, both with personal stories of sudden deaths (1:29). They consider the tension between being frightened of the unexpected and trusting the purpose of God; we’re “vapor” and yet have eternal value to God (6:33). Dr. Turman asks whether it was God’s plan for his church member’s six-year son to die and the theology of death and God’s foreknowledge (14:31). They move thinking about practical advice for if you or someone you know loses a loved one (25:47). They discuss how Psalm 23 can speak into the darkest times of our lives and how we can intimately know the good shepherd (31:28). 
Resources and further reading: “If God is sovereign, why does evil exist?” The Denison Forum Podcast
“What does the Bible say about suffering?” Dr. Jim Denison 
About the host  Mark Turman, DMin, is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church. 
About the guest  Jim Denison, Ph.D., is an author, speaker, and the CEO of Denison Ministries, which is transforming 6.8 million lives through meaningful digital content.

Lou Phillips, Director of Church Relations for the Center for Faith, Sexuality, and Gender, joins Dr. Turman to discuss his work in Christian sexual ethics apologetics, how churches make an idol of marriage and sex, the way to reach out to LGBTQ+ people, and why the culture finds its identity in sexuality. 
 
Show notes:   
Lou Phillips starts by sharing his testimony, why he works in teaching Christian sexual ethics in an apologetic setting, and how he’s been received by secular audiences (1:50). They turn to consider how marriage has become an idol in the church and how Christians seek fulfillment in marriage rather than in God (11:20). Phillips and Dr. Turman talk about why sexuality, tied together with suffering, has become the biggest obstacle for our culture coming to Christ (18:17). They dive into the issues of identity, why culture finds it in sexuality, and whether sexual sin is worse than others (29:19). Phillips goes into a complex practical question: Should Christians with homosexual attraction call themselves gay (43:40)? They close by returning to how churches need to do better at supporting single people, which is equally as fulfilling as marriage—it needs to be the crux of the entire argument for Christians (56:02).  
  Resources and further reading: The Center for Faith, Sexuality, & Gender
“What does the Bible say about homosexuality?” Dr. Jim Denison
Embodied: Transgender Identities, the Church, and What the Bible Has to Say Dr. Preston Sprinkle
 
About the host  
Mark Turman, DMin, is the executive director of Denison Forum. He received his DMin from Truett at Baylor and previously served as lead pastor of Crosspoint Church. 
 
About the guest   
Lou Phillips is the Director of Church Relations for the Center for Faith, Sexuality, and Gender. 
Phillips attended Grove City College and graduated with a Bachelor of Science, double majoring in molecular biology and political science. Lou also received his certificate of theological studies from the University of Oxford (Wycliffe Hall) and was trained at The OCCA (The Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics).
For the past eight years, Lou has been traveling and speaking at universities, conferences, and churches, entertaining people’s biggest objections to Christianity. Lou is most interested in topics such as meaning, identity, and sexuality as they relate to the Christian worldview, especially in the lives of students and young adults.