The Richard Eng Podcast

Richard Eng
  • 5.0 (14)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Biweekly

Conversations on Christianity, culture, and apologetics with Richard Eng—lead pastor at Bethel Evangelical Free Church in Devils Lake, ND and author of the children’s book “What Is Heaven Like?”

Episodes

  1. 5d ago

    A Redemptive Use of AI: The Why with Mike Rogers

    Can AI help Christians become more thoughtful, confident, and gracious when sharing their faith? In this episode, Richard Eng sits down with Mike Rogers, creator of The Why, an apologetics training app that uses AI to help Christians practice real conversations about faith. Mike shares how tough questions from his dad and his experience in youth ministry inspired him to build a place where believers can practice answering objections, learn from mistakes, and grow in Christlike character. Together, they explore the connection between apologetics and evangelism, why our tone matters, and how Christians can use AI responsibly while continuing to think and study for themselves. Plus, test your discernment with another round of “AI or the Bible?” Try The Why Pro free for two weeks Download The Why and enter RICHARDPRO inside the app to receive two free weeks of Pro. Download for iPhone and iPad Download for Android This is not an affiliate offer. Richard receives no commission. Episode timestamps 00:08 — A redemptive use of AI 02:01 — Meet Mike Rogers and hear his journey into apologetics 04:56 — From youth ministry to building The Why 09:59 — Practicing apologetics conversations with AI 19:16 — Guardrails, Christian unity, and Christlike tone 25:29 — “AI or the Bible?” trivia 26:59 — Bridging apologetics and evangelism 33:04 — Using AI without outsourcing Christian thought 45:14 — Trivia answers and the importance of discernment 47:44 — How churches can use The Why 49:58 — Two free weeks of The Why Pro 50:54 — Family resources: The Why Youth, Slant Scanner, and Storyloft 53:04 — Listener codes and how to redeem them The Richard Eng Podcast — Biblical clarity for a confused age.

    A Redemptive Use of AI: The Why with Mike Rogers

  2. Aug 28

    Looking Back At The Sermon On The Mount

    What happens behind the scenes when a pastor spends an entire summer preaching through Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount? In this episode, Richard reflects on preparing and preaching Matthew 5–7—from developing ten key concepts that unified the series to making difficult decisions about what belongs in a sermon and what must be left out. He explores different interpretations of the Beatitudes, the Old Testament foundations of Jesus’ teaching, and the linguistic connections that reveal the Sermon on the Mount as one coherent message rather than a collection of disconnected sayings. Richard also shares how preaching these passages challenged him personally, especially Jesus’ teaching about anxiety, and previews the upcoming North Dakota Bible Conference. Timestamps Why look back at a completed sermon series? - 00:07 How the Sermon on the Mount series was prepared - 01:14 Ten key concepts as the series’ conceptual glue - 10:07 What makes it into a sermon—and what gets cut - 13:35 Interpretive questions surrounding the Beatitudes - 19:25 North Dakota Bible Conference preview and trivia - 24:33 Seeing the unity of the Sermon on the Mount - 30:21 How preaching exposes and forms the preacher - 40:57 Resources North Dakota Bible Conference Join us September 25–26, 2026, for the North Dakota Bible Conference at Bethel Church. This year’s theme is Designed. Learn more and register for NDBC bethelfree.com/NDBC Free Logos Bible Software Pro Trial Explore the Bible more deeply with original-language tools, commentaries, sermon preparation resources, and an extensive digital theological library. Get 60 days of Logos Bible Software Pro free https://www.logos.com/partner-offer?irclickid=x17Q7gW1SxycTATXPIVQP1WRUkp3FeVd1TTX3Y0&sharedid=&irpid=5941991&irgwc=1&utm_medium=partner&utm_source=%40richardreng_author

    Looking Back At The Sermon On The Mount

  3. Aug 14

    A Theology of Artificial Intelligence

    Description AI isn’t coming. It’s already here. Artificial intelligence is already shaping how we work, learn, communicate, and even seek advice. So Christians need a better response than either embracing every new tool uncritically or panicking about the future. In this episode, I begin developing a Christian theology of technology. We’ll look at how Scripture presents human creativity, how the fall distorts what we make, and why technology can multiply both good and evil. The goal isn’t to become anti-technology. It’s to use powerful technology without being spiritually formed in its image. Further reading: Our Line in the Sand on AI: TGC’s Missional Opportunity The Danger of AI Isn’t Misinformation. It’s Mis-Formation. ND Bible Conference For more information and to register, go to bethelfree.com/ndbc Timestamps 00:08 AI has already changed the world 01:38 The scope of the conversation and today's trivia 03:13 A biblical theology of technology 07:38 Technology amplifies human good and evil 12:57 Warning one: Do not delegate your brain 24:59 Warning two: AI cannot replace human connection 29:07 Opportunities for faithful use of AI 36:15 Four questions for responsible AI use

    A Theology of Artificial Intelligence

  4. Jul 31

    Discipleship, The Church, and the Family with Zach and Eric

    Description How can the church and family work together to make faithful disciples? In this episode of The Richard Eng Podcast, Richard sits down with Zach Davis and Eric Herman for a practical conversation about Christian discipleship, biblical education, parenting, and the local church. They explore what it means for the church to become a hub of Christian education without replacing the family’s essential role. Their conversation covers the importance of forming a biblical worldview from childhood, helping parents become confident disciple-makers, and creating teaching that is both memorable and theologically deep. Richard, Zach, and Eric also discuss why churches need more than age-specific programs. Genuine spiritual formation happens through intergenerational relationships in which mature Christians mentor younger believers, families share life together, and the entire church encourages one another toward greater faithfulness. Whether you are a parent, pastor, ministry leader, or Christian seeking to grow, this episode offers practical encouragement for building stronger families, healthier churches, and a culture of lifelong discipleship. ND Bible Conference For more information and to register, go to bethelfree.com/ndbc Timestamps Opening: Education, the Church, and the Family - 00:00 Meet Zach Davis and Eric Herman - 01:04 The Local Church as a Hub of Education - 02:32 Can Teaching Be Both Deep and Memorable? - 03:59 Reaching for the Next Rung - 08:48 Why Children Need Intentional Formation - 09:48 Churches Must Own Their Educational Strategy - 11:02 Connecting the Biblical Story to Reality - 12:46 Building a Christian Worldview from Childhood - 14:14 The Home as the Primary Place of Discipleship - 17:44 How the Church and Family Work Together - 18:36 Strong Families Produce Strong Churches - 20:20 Talking with Children Before the Culture Does - 21:46 Trivia Question: Where Did Awana Begin? - 22:45 The North Dakota Bible Conference - 25:28 Practical Ways Churches Can Equip Parents - 27:31 Learning Before a Crisis - 28:57 Stirring One Another to Love and Good Works - 29:56 Consistency, Urgency, and Starting Today - 31:42 From Multigenerational to Intergenerational - 33:29 Older Believers Mentoring Younger Families - 35:20 The Job Isn’t Finished - 37:19 Formation Is More Than Information - 38:52 Humility, Vulnerability, and Prayer - 40:01 Calling One Another Up - 42:03 Trivia Answer - 43:37 Closing and Preview of the AI Series - 45:14

    Discipleship, The Church, and the Family with Zach and Eric

  5. Jul 17

    Beliefs Need To Be Fed

    Description Christian beliefs do not remain strong through neglect. C. S. Lewis wrote that our beliefs must be fed—a warning that helps explain why some people do not argue their way out of Christianity so much as slowly drift away from it. In this episode, Richard explores how God uses Scripture, worship, Christian community, service, and the repeated practices of the local church to keep truth alive in embodied people. He also examines the competing “feeds” shaping our attention, why online content cannot replace Christian community, how physical spaces support discipleship, and five practical rhythms for nourishing your faith. A scene from Lewis’s The Silver Chair brings the episode together and illustrates how our environments, habits, and practices shape what feels believable to us. ND Bible Conference For more information and to register, go to bethelfree.com/ndbc

    Beliefs Need To Be Fed

  6. Jul 3

    Why Biblical Illiteracy Is A Worldview Problem

    Description Biblical illiteracy is usually treated like a knowledge problem: Christians don’t know enough Bible stories, doctrines, or verses. But what if the problem goes deeper than that? In this episode, Richard looks at Ephesians 4:17–24 to show why Scripture is not merely giving us information, but renewing the way we see reality. When Christians are not formed by the truth of Christ, they are still being formed by something else. This episode explores why an unrenewed mind cannot produce a faithful walk, why culture is always discipling us, and why learning Christ changes more than what we know. This episode is sponsored by Logos Bible Software. Check out Logos through my affiliate link here: https:// https://www.logos.com/partner-offer?irclickid=x17Q7gW1SxycTATXPIVQP1WRUkp3FeVd1TTX3Y0&sharedid=&irpid=5941991&irgwc=1&utm_medium=partner&utm_source=%40richardreng_author Affiliate disclosure: If you use this link, it helps support the podcast at no extra cost to you. ND Bible Conference For more information and to register, go to bethelfree.com/ndbc

    Why Biblical Illiteracy Is A Worldview Problem

  7. Jun 19

    Can Information Produce Transformation?

    In this episode of The Richard Eng Podcast, Richard explores one of the most important questions in Christian education and discipleship: if people know more, will they actually become more like Jesus? Scripture gives us a more nuanced answer than many assume. Information alone cannot produce transformation, but transformation requires information. Drawing from James 2, Matthew 7, Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 2, Ephesians 4, and other key passages, Richard explains why biblical knowledge matters, why knowledge by itself is not enough, and why experience must always be grounded in truth. Along the way, he interacts with common misconceptions like “I don’t need theology, I just need Jesus,” “doctrine divides,” and the idea that powerful spiritual feelings are automatically evidence of truth. ND Bible Conference For more information and to register, go to bethelfree.com/ndbc

    Can Information Produce Transformation?

  8. Jun 5

    The Difference Between Education and Ideology

    What is Christian education really for? In this episode of The Richard Eng Podcast, Richard argues that education is never neutral. Every system of education is forming students according to some vision of what is true, what is good, what is beautiful, and what it means to be human. The question is not whether children will be shaped, but who will shape them — and toward what end. Richard explores the difference between education and ideology, showing that true education helps students live according to reality, while ideology reduces reality to a preferred narrative. If Christianity is true, then Christian education is not indoctrination — it is formation in the world as it actually is. North Dakota Bible Conference bethelfree.com/ndbc

    The Difference Between Education and Ideology

  9. May 22

    How to Create a Successful Sunday School Program

    Why do so many Sunday School programs struggle? It is usually not because churches picked the wrong curriculum. It is because they started with curriculum before clarifying their vision for discipleship. In this episode of The Richard Eng Podcast, Richard explains how to create a successful Sunday School program by starting with clear ministry goals, a systematic teaching plan, and a multi-year discipleship strategy for kids, students, and adults. Rather than chasing the “perfect curriculum,” churches need to ask what kind of Christians they are trying to form. A strong Sunday School ministry should teach Scripture and doctrine, help believers understand the times, equip parents and teachers, and connect biblical truth to real life. Richard also discusses how churches can evaluate curriculum wisely, build a core-and-electives model for adult Sunday School, avoid nostalgia-driven ministry, train teachers, and lead curriculum changes without letting familiarity override faithfulness.

    How to Create a Successful Sunday School Program

  10. May 6

    Why Sunday School Declined—and Why We Need It Again

    Sunday School didn’t disappear because Christians stopped needing formation. Over the last few decades, church rhythms have thinned, small groups have often replaced classes, and many believers have grown suspicious of knowledge itself—as if information and transformation are enemies. But Scripture never pits teaching against discipleship. We cannot obey what we do not know, and the church cannot form mature Christians without intentional biblical education. In this episode of The Richard Eng Podcast, Richard explores why Sunday School declined and why the local church needs to recover its teaching ministry for a confused age. This is not about reviving a nostalgic program from the 1950s; it is about reclaiming a necessary function of the church: helping Christians think biblically, live faithfully, and apply the truth of God’s Word in real life, in real community, with real people. More about the North Dakota Bible Conference: bethelfree.com/ndbc Timestamps: Opening: Sunday School’s Decline - 00:00 Three Shifts Behind the Decline - 02:17 Shift 1: Time Priorities - 02:55 Shift 2: Small Groups Over Classes - 06:29 Shift 3: Dismissing Knowledge - 10:59 Trivia Question - 15:35 North Dakota Bible Conference - 16:11 Why We Need Sunday School Again - 17:40 The Church Needs an Education Plan - 18:31 The Old Educational Pipeline Is Weakening - 24:20 The Church Is Being Secularized - 27:08 Application Without Knowledge Is Impossible - 30:45 Education Must Be Incarnational - 31:55 Trivia Answer and Conclusion - 37:02

    Why Sunday School Declined—and Why We Need It Again
  • 10 Episodes

5
out of 5
14 Ratings

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Conversations on Christianity, culture, and apologetics with Richard Eng—lead pastor at Bethel Evangelical Free Church in Devils Lake, ND and author of the children’s book “What Is Heaven Like?”

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