Mortification Of Spin

With the notes coming out of the Music City, the Mortification of Spin Trio decides to chime-in on the Nashville Statement.Who is the intended audience? What do the writers hope to accomplish? Our skeptical English host – who doesn’t sign statements whether he agrees with them or not! – wonders if such statements are even effective?Tune-in as the crew thinks through each of these issues while considering who’s affected by this statement and who’s really on the front line facing the toughest questions. Is it possible to stand firm on sexuality issues without alienating the very people we must witness to?All that and more, including this week’s great giveaway, “The Gospel & Sexual Orientation”, a booklet birthed out of RPCNA Synod Report to provide guidance on the same points addressed by the Nashville Statement! 

We’re joined by a familiar guest this week, someone who knows the underground bunker very well. Todd and Aimee try to keep him humble by setting the ground rules right from the start.Having recently returned from his celebrity tour, our special guest, Carl Trueman, uses the opportunity to talk about his newest book “Grace Alone”. He addresses the importance of distinguishing the Protestant and Catholic meanings of “grace” and gives us a brief history of the word.And, being the well respected man that he is, Carl will fill us in on what’s next. This time he’s taking a year off from Westminster Theological Seminary to join Princeton University as a fellow research scholar.Pull up a chair and join our conversation to find out about Carl’s projects this coming year.We have a several copies of "Grace Alone: Salvation as a Gift of God" by Carl Trueman published by Zondervan that we are giving away. Enter for your chance to win.

Carl’s globetrotting celebrity tour continues! So as Todd polishes off a fresh batch of gospel-centered cupcakes, he and Aimee stare into the bright spotlight of listener questions.What’s the difference between error and heresy? Can we declare someone a heretic? When is appropriate to do so? What's the importance of the creeds in all this? Aimee starts by defining orthodoxy in order to answer these questions and once cornered, Todd rightly turns to the apostle Paul to define the Gospel of Christ and its implications.Join us in this week’s conversation!We have a several copies of "A Christian's Pocket Guide to Justification" by Guy Waters published by Christian Focus that we are giving away. Enter for your chance to win.

We travel this week to experience real southern charm. And there’s no one better to sit down with for sweet tea and casual conversation than Melissa Kruger, writer and Women’s Ministry Coordinator at Uptown Church in Charlotte, NC.Aimee talks with Melissa about her books The Envy of Eve and Walking with God in the Season of Motherhood. We’ll hear the circumstances in which they were birthed and how they help women. Then Carl and Todd jump in for advice on the most important things OTHER pastors need to understand about women’s ministry. Oh and of course, to brag about how sensitive they are to the women in their own churches! Please pull up a seat and join us!We have a several copies of "Envy of Eve: Finding Contentment in a Covetous World" by Melissa Kruger published by Christian Focus that we are giving away. Enter for your chance to win.

As Carl and Todd are nowhere to be found, Aimee is left to defend the bunker alone. There she uncovers that very first MoS recording from the grand ole’ days before she was voted in as “one of the guys.” Not at all surprising, they’re talking about a woman, Rosaria Butterfield in particular, and her first book The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert. Join the conversation as we listen to Carl and Todd’s review of this powerful testimony of God’s saving grace and how helpful and instructive it is for the Church. Oh, and Todd’s brief public admission of his dark past as a Baptist.We have a several copies of "The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert" by Rosaria Butterfield published by Crown and Covenant Publications that we are giving away. Enter for your chance to win.

Kelly Kapic, professor of Theological Studies at Covenant College, talks about suffering and bravery. Bravery exemplified by his courage to return to have old skeletons exposed by Aimee. His latest book, Embodied Hope, highlights where grace and goodness is found when suffering from illness and chronic pain strikes. He gives biblical perspective when we ask “why us?” and on finding the right place to lament in the body of Christ. Join the conversation as Kelly shares his next project. Oh yes, and learn how Carl became the hero of his own story in a restaurant fire in Amsterdam. There are pictures to prove it!We have a several copies of "God So Loved, He Gave" by Kelly Kapic published by Zondervan that we are giving away. Be sure to enter for your chance to win.

With Todd away at rehab after PCA General Assembly, Carl and Aimee gab on the 20-year mark of Joshua Harris’ book I Kissed Dating Goodbye, particularly on its impact for the young Christian. Dating - or are we to call it courting? - brings up a lot of questions! Can a guy even take a girl out for a burger without having to propose?Carl answers, as we expect, “It’s the Americans” when the problem of how we see the relationship between the sexes comes up! No fear, Aimee quickly backs him down when she fires back with the true lasting relationship between them.Join us in this “powerful journey.” And along the way, find out what is the most terrifying Bible verse in Carl’s opinion - here’s a hint: kiss.Please, come on a journey with us and make a donation to Mortification of Spin.Donate to Mortification of Spinvar r_protocol=(("https:"==document.location.protocol)?"https://":"http://");var r_path="https://www.razoo.com/javascripts/widget_loader.js";var r_identifier='Mortification-Of-Spin';document.write(unescape(

Group therapy is in session and we get to eavesdrop… Carl and Aimee lend their ears to Todd as he pours out his heart about the joys and sorrows of the PCA’s General Assembly. We hear about very important topics; women’s ordination, the Second Commandment, anti-Presbyterian factions in the PCA, and the implications in the life of laity and their role. The outcome is mostly positive as Todd offers up encouragement to fellow PCA-ers. All the while Carl and Aimee once again show jealously for the lack of thrill at any GA the OPC has ever had!We have a several copies of "How Jesus Runs The Church" by Guy Prentiss Waters that we are giving away. Be sure to enter for your chance to win.

The bunker has erupted with trouble - yes, once again! This time the team tries to form a consensus on who's to blame for the therapeutic language of brokenness in contemporary Christianity. Todd blames Aimee and all the women; Carl blames Americans for the “pursuit of happiness” being the chief end of man. In the end they agree on one thing: the theology of the cross informs us that we are sinful and not just broken, damned before a holy God and not just hurting. So time to kick back and tune in!We have a several copies of "Overcoming Sin and Temptation" by By John Owen, Edited by Kelly Kapic and Justin Taylor that we are giving away. Be sure to enter for your chance to win.

Lydia Brownback joins the conversation today to talk about loneliness - that dark cloud that shows no partiality on whom it descends. Lydia is a friend of the Alliance as a one time producer of The Bible Study Hour broadcast and what is now our Think and Act Biblically devotional. While we certainly miss her, she’s now both an author and speaker whose typical audience is women. But her latest book, Finding God in My Loneliness, strikes a chord, both, with men and women. Let’s join in now as Lydia debunks some common myths about loneliness, offers careful critique of singles in the church, and voices the biblical standards at stake in the sexualized culture in which we live.We have a several copies of "Fine China is for Single Women Too" and "Finding God in My Loneliness" by Lydia Brownback that we are giving away. Be sure to enter for your chance to win.

The nauseating activity of church shopping should not be confused with the often necessary need to find a new church. When there are several Gospel preaching churches to choose from, God has given us the ability to think critically to help us discern the right church to attend. Don’t think, what can the church do for me, but rather, what can you do for the church. And, make sure you listen to find out how Carl ended up in the OPC.The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals would like to offer everyone a free MP3 download entitled "Marks of a Healthy Church" by Mark Dever. Download for free now.

Has social justice taken a prominent stage over sharing the Gospel message? What is social justice anyway? A growing number of Christians are giving voice to social justice. Yet one needs to beware of the snare of liberal camp movements too.Perhaps a good historian could be helpful here. Maybe Carl can recommend one? Join the conversation with Carl, Aimee & Todd!We have a several copies of "Social Justice Isn't What You Think" by Michael Novak published by Encounter Books, that we are giving away. Be sure to enter for your chance to win.

With Carl visiting his mum, Todd and Aimee can finally consider the very real beauty gap between the Brits and the Americans!However, when we pick up the conversation Todd and Aimee return to talk about how the church deals with a repentant sinner versus one that is unrepentant. We all know that sin has consequences, often the teenage girl who gets pregnant or a divorced individual knows this best. It’s such an other worldly thing to simultaneously say; we hate sin, we hate what sin does, and we take sin seriously. But, that we also believe that where sin abounds grace abounds even more because of what Christ has done for us.Isn’t that the beauty of Christianity? Isn’t that what we should be showing to the world?Be sure to listen!The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals would like to offer you a free MP3 download entitled A Psalm of Repentance. Download for free now.

Today’s special guest Rosaria Butterfield was once a bold advocate for the LGBTQ community. Since then, she has come to Christ and married an Evangelical pastor, with whom she has had several children. She has authored two marvelous books about this "unlikely conversion" and one on hospitality.Why hospitality, one might ask. Because it was through Christian hospitality, God, slowly but surely, disarmed and compelled her to faith. Today she opens up her own Christian home to the community so that her family can bear witness and evangelize. On a daily basis, Rosaria's family dines with her neighbors. She is eager to count the cost much like Jesus did.Are you?We have a several copies of "Openness Unhindered: Further Thoughts of and Unlikely Convert on Sexual Identity and Union with Christ" by Rosaria Butterfield published by Crown & Covenant Publishers, that we are giving away. Be sure to enter for your chance to win.

The church has a silent killer, much like when carbon monoxide creeps into your house and you don’t even know it. Why are people coming to your church? Do they want to hear the Bible preached or do they want something more superficial? Is the purpose of the church to meet your individual felt needs? The church is called to provide an ordinary means of grace - those things which it ought to be emphasizing and prioritizing in her ministry. Listen as Carl, Todd, and Aimee discuss those things we should not compromise on, including what kind of car Todd is convinced he needs.We have a several copies of "The courage to be protestant" by David Wells published by Eerdmans Publishing Company, that we are giving away. Be sure to enter for your chance to win.

Which is more beautiful?: Bach or Beyonce? Symmetry or asymmetry? Bald or Blonde? Carl or Todd? By natural design, beauty appeals to us and we seek it out daily whether it's music, art, fashion, or romance. Under sin's curse, we attune our minds to wrong perspectives and standards and make more of what God counts as less. The battle with beauty is something everyone has to fight. So how does the Christian combat against Hollywood's norms and not cheapen the inner adornment of our character without going to the opposite extreme? Today we count the costs of our cultural obsession with beauty, pointing out shameful ways we prize the pretty and cast all the Todd & Carl's to the curb.We have a several copies of "Far Above Rubies: The Life of Bethan Lloyd-Jones" by Lynette Clark published by Christian Focus, that we are giving away. Be sure to enter for your chance to win.

While Carl soaked in Italian rays, he treaded the town in his English footgear (black socks and open-toed sandals, to be exact), pondering the differences Protestants have with the Pope and his posse. Over the years, we've hosted numerous guests from the Roman Catholic persuasion on the show so it's no surprise folks have been wondering: on which doctrines do we agree, and on which must we disagree? You may be surprised!We have a several copies of "Roman Catholic Theology & Practice" by Gregg Allison published by Crossway, that we are giving away. Be sure to enter for your chance to win.

Do children belong in Sunday morning worship? Is it worth the potential tantrums in the pew? We have Jason Helopolous on the line to help us answer this parental conundrum. Jason is Associate Pastor at University Reformed Church in East Lansing Michigan. He's also an author, husband and father. As that last role, Jason can sympathize with parents of young children. So when are children "old enough" to join worship? What about the theology behind "children's church”, and the misconception that children take away from worship? Fortunately, we have two children here today to give us their perspective on being in service … thanks for joining us, Carl & Todd!We have a several copies of Jason's book "Let the Children Worship" published by Christian Focus, that we are giving away. Be sure to enter for your chance to win.

Should Evangelicals "celebrate" Martin Luther? With this year marking the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, Luther is on the brain! His life and legacy should be an inspiration to us all - a man God significantly used in the birth of the Protestant Church. But, should we make a big fuss over him every year? Before you buy into the pub-crawl and raise a pint of malty, Martin Luther-y beverage, take a listen to what Carl, Aimee and Todd have to say about this stubborn monk.We have a several copeis of Carl's book "Histories and Fallacies: Problems Faced in the Writing of History" publsihed by Crossway that we are giving away. Be sure to enter for your chance to win. 

With us today is Fran Maier, "the most interesting man in the world" … according to Carl Trueman. And here we thought Carl assumed that title (per his own nomination!). Fran, once a screenwriter for Warner Brothers, not only has an impressive resume but a unique perspective on American culture having been submerged in LA's superficiality. This conservative Catholic has never looked back and now serves as the executive personal assistant to the Archbishop of Philadelphia, Charles Chaput. Tune in to hear his informed critique and spin on our culture, technology, and the likes … that's alllll folks!The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals would like to off you a CD message entitled "Engaging the Culture".