The Russell Moore Show Christianity Today

“Probably doomed and perplexingly merry.”
That’s how Leif Enger describes one of the characters in his new novel, I Cheerfully Refuse. While the story brings words like dystopian and apocalyptic to mind, it bears witness to a deep sense of hope and even optimism. How and why? That’s the topic of this episode of The Russell Moore Show featuring Enger. 
Moore and Enger talk about what inspired I Cheerfully Refuse, including classic tales like The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. They talk about how Enger explores despair in fiction and the real world, the nuances of suicidal behavior, and how to combat the unbearable overwhelm caused by a 24-hour news cycle. They discuss Enger’s writing process, how religion emerges in his life and books, and where the two differ in their understanding of evangelism.
Tune in for a gracious, rich episode that turns our eyes toward the light that the darkness will not overcome.
Resources mentioned in this episode include:


I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger

Leif Enger


The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

“A Weird, Wonderful Conversation with Kim Stanley Robinson”

“The Story of Orpheus and Eurydice”

Walker Percy

Garrison Keillor


David Copperfield by Charles Dickens


Zero at the Bone: Fifty Entries Against Despair by Christian Wiman

“Clergy on the Rocks”


The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron


Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to questions@russellmoore.com.

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“The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today
Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper
Host: Russell Moore
Producer: Ashley Hales
Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill
Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens
Audio engineering by Dan Phelps
Video producer: Abby Egan
Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton
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There's an unintentional thread that runs through this quarterly books episode: apocalyptic themes.
"That probably tells you what my headspace is right now,” says Russell Moore. Later, he adds, “There is a reckoning in these books.” 
On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, Moore and producer Ashley Hales talk about books, authors, and storytelling. They discuss what draws readers to fateful accounts and trace such tales from the Psalms up to new releases. Their reads span from poetry to prose and sermons to songs.
Tune in for an episode that is as honest about the darkness as it is certain of the light.
Books and resources mentioned in this episode include:


I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger


The Faithful Spy, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and the Plot to Kill Hitler by John Hendricks


The Crisis of Narration by Byung-Chul Han


The Doors of the Sea: Where Was God in the Tsunami? by David Bentley Hart


The Message in the Bottle: How Queer Man Is, How Queer Language Is, and What One Has to Do with the Other by Walker Percy


Wrestling with God: The Meditations of Richard Marius edited by Nancy Grisham Anderson


Praying with the Psalms: A Year of Daily Prayers and Reflections on the Words of David by Eugene Peterson


The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

“The Working of the Spirit” 

“God Is Always Doing 10,000 Things in Your Life” 


Martin Luther: The Christian between God and Death by Richard Marius

Richard Mouw

“Dr. Russell Moore on the Power of Prayer”

“Eugene Peterson – Answering God”


The Songs of Jesus: A Year of Daily Devotions in the Psalms by Timothy Keller


Mariner: A Voyage with Samuel Taylor Coleridge by Malcolm Guite


The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Other Poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge


Aegypt by John Crowley


Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to questions@russellmoore.com.
Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today.
“The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today
Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper
Host: Russell Moore
Producer: Ashley Hales
Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill
Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens
Audio engineering by Dan Phelps
Video producer: Abby Egan
Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“There is so much grace.” 
That’s what Melissa B. Kruger, Bible teacher, author of several books including Parenting with Hope, and vice president of discipleship programming at The Gospel Coalition wants families with teens to know. Not only that, it's what she hopes all who care about the next generation will bear in mind.
On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, Kruger shares insights gained from her years of raising three now-adult children. She talks about the importance of emphasizing relationships with Jesus and one another over a formulaic approach to faith or parenting. Moore and Kruger discuss practical issues in teen life, including mental health concerns, smartphone usage, and how families may be unintentionally raising young people to be “curated…rather than dearly beloved.” 
Kruger and Moore offer hope for families that are struggling and encourage parents to think about preparing their children to encounter risks in the real world with wisdom and hope.
Resources mentioned in this episode include:

Melissa B. Kruger

The Gospel Coalition


Parenting with Hope: Raising Teens for Christ in a Secular Age by Melissa B. Kruger

“Jonathan Haidt’s Way Forward for an Anxious Generation” 

"An Update to The Anxious Generation with Jonathan Haidt"

Reformed Theological Seminary


The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids by Madeline Levine, Ph.D. 


The Gift of Good Land: Further Essays Cultural and Agricultural by Wendell Berry 


Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to questions@russellmoore.com.
Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today.
“The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today
Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper
Host: Russell Moore
Producer: Ashley Hales
Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill
Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens
Audio engineering by Dan Phelps
Video producer: Abby Egan
Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“That is one nutty hospital.”
So says Bill Murray’s character, Jeff Slater, in the 1982 film Tootsie—and, effectively, so say many listeners of The Russell Moore Show when they reach out with questions or comments about the state of society and politics today. America is trying to recover from the physical, emotional, and economic effects of COVID-19 while simultaneously barreling toward an election season that is particularly rife with discord. 
On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, we’re bringing together clips from four past episodes that provide, as Moore puts it, “some counsel of sanity in really crazy times.” Listeners hear from Jen Wilkin on unfair pay for women in churches and Beth Moore on how abuse has affected her view of God as a father. Yuval Levin speaks to what we can do as the institutions around us crumble and the late Tim Keller reminds us that we can both claim the power of forgiveness and seek justice.
Tune in for an episode that offers focus, encouragement, and hope for weathering the days to come.
This episode features clips from the following episodes of The Russell Moore Show:

“Beth Moore Speaks Out”

“Jen Wilkin on Women in the Church”

“Yuval Levin on What Christians Can Learn from Religious Minorities”

“Tim Keller Says Forgiveness Is Key to Christian Witness”


Resources mentioned in this episode include: 

Tootsie

“Honor Thy Church Mother—with Wages”

The Westminster Confession of Faith


All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir by Beth Moore


American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified Our Nation―and Could Again by Yuval Levin


Exclusion and Embrace, Revised and Updated: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation by Miroslav Volf


A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems, 1979-1997 by Wendell Berry


The Diary of a Country Priest: A Novel by Georges Bernanos


Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to questions@russellmoore.com.
Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today.
“The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today 
Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper 
Host: Russell Moore 
Producer: Ashley Hales 
Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill
Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens
Audio engineering by Dan Phelps 
Video producer: Abby Egan 
Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“In this season of my life, I’m not concerned with ego. I’m just trying to figure out how to serve and how to do the right things.”
So says four-time Grammy-award-winning rapper Lecrae on this episode of The Russell Moore Show. This lack of concern with ego hasn’t always been easy. Lecrae, whose two most recent Grammy wins occurred this year, shares that he had to spend a lot of time learning that God is the one who determines who he is. He and Moore discuss imposter syndrome, performance, and comparison. Their conversation covers anxiety, depression, and how God enters into our dark moments.
Lecrae and Moore talk about what deconstructing really means. They also consider how Western exceptionalism arises in Christian spaces, including a reckoning with lauded historical theologians who were slaveholders. They also talk about how Lecrae views the music industry, the importance of close friends when fame is part of your life, and what it looks like to live as though death has no power over us.
Resources mentioned in this episode include: 

Lecrae

Church Clothes 4

“Your Power”


I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger


God Gave Rock and Roll to You: A History of Contemporary Christian Music by Leah Payne

“W.W. Jay-Z?” 

“Underneath the Door”


Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to questions@russellmoore.com.
Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today.
“The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today 
Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper 
Host: Russell Moore 
Producer: Ashley Hales 
Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill
Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens
Audio engineering by Dan Phelps 
Video producer: Abby Egan 
Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Carolyn Weber didn’t have a dependable earthly father, so she had no intention of trusting a heavenly one. As a hardworking, intellectual agnostic, she decided to read the Bible from front to back so she could show her Christian friends how ridiculous their beliefs were. Instead, she found that the Bible made sense to her. Not only that, but it drew her to the person of Jesus. 
On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, Weber talks about her personal story of conversion and how it led to her memoir, Surprised by Oxford, and the resulting film. She and Moore talk about the influence of C.S. Lewis on both Weber and modern Christianity, the power of literature, and how fiction can help us develop a moral imagination. They discuss poetry, philosophy, and prayer, considering the many beautiful ways God reveals himself to us.
Resources mentioned in this episode include: 

Carolyn Weber


Surprised by Oxford: A Memoir by Carolyn Weber


Surprised by Oxford (film)


Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis


The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis


The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis


Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis


The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien


Life Is a Miracle: An Essay Against Modern Superstition by Wendell Berry

“Surprised by Joy” by William Wordsworth


The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin by Beatrix Potter


Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to questions@russellmoore.com.
Click here for a trial membership at Christianity Today.
“The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today 
Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper 
Host: Russell Moore 
Producer: Ashley Hales 
Associate Producers: Abby Perry and McKenzie Hill
Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens
Audio engineering by Dan Phelps 
Video producer: Abby Egan 
Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices