Culture Matters

In the last of our Advent conversations, Adam Hawkins welcomes back Elizabeth Woodson and Tymarcus to unpack the biblical concept of peace (shalom)—especially what it means in a season that’s often chaotic, overwhelming, and culturally mischaracterized. Merry Christmas. We will see you in the new year.In This Episode01:00 — Life Lately with Elizabeth02:00 — Starting the Discussion: What Is Peace?03:55 — Peace in a Broken World04:42 — Ty’s Reflection on Isaiah & Peace07:00 — Relational Tension & True Peace09:00 — Peace Now vs. Peace Then12:00 — Peace Beyond “Be Nice”14:00 — The Reality of Brokenness18:00 — How to Cultivate Peace Today22:00 — Final Reflections28:00 — Close & Christmas BlessingKey TakeawaysTrue peace (shalom) is not just absence of conflict—but wholeness and restoration found only through life with God.We can experience real peace now through obedience, worship, and trust—even as we wait for its full realization in Christ.Peace confronts brokenness at the root—requiring more than proximity or niceness, but the transformative work of Jesus.Guest ResourcesLiz's new Podcast: ShalomiesFollow Us!InstagramYoutube-- Editing and support by The Good Podcast Co. If you would like to sponsor this show, email [email protected]

We continue our conversation with Caroline Smiley for a moving meditation on Love through the lens of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Tymarcus and Caroline reflect on Mary’s embodiment of sacrificial love at the manger and at the cross. This episode explores how Mary models a risky, selfless, participatory love—one that mirrors God's invitation for us to love as sons and daughters, not merely as servants.The conversation weaves from Hebrews to the manger, from John's Gospel to the Prodigal Son, connecting the bloodied straw of the birth with the suffering of the cross. Through Mary’s obedience and Christ’s incarnation, listeners are invited into the family of God—called to love deeply, suffer faithfully, and hope fiercely.In This Episode00:00 – Introduction: Mary, Love, and Advent03:00 – The Love of a Mother and the Love of God10:00 – Mary’s Participation in Redemption17:00 – Grieving the Cross: Mary and the Suffering of Love23:00 – From Servanthood to Sonship30:00 – Prodigal Sons and the Invitation to Come Home34:00 – Closing Reflections: Love that Bleeds, Love that WelcomesKey TakeawaysLove Begins with Incarnation, Not Just the CrossMary Models Risky, Participatory LoveWe’re Invited into God’s Family, Not Just His ServiceSuffering and Love Are IntertwinedFollow Us!InstagramYoutube-- Editing and support by The Good Podcast Co. If you would like to sponsor this show, email [email protected]

In this second Advent episode, Tymarcus and guest Caroline Smiley explore what it means to experience true joy during Advent — not the manufactured “cheer” of the holiday‑season spectacle, but a deep, scripturally rooted joy anchored in the arrival of Jesus Christ. They walk through how Mary’s song (the Magnificat) in the Gospel of Gospel of Luke isn’t just a moment of personal celebration, but a fulfillment of centuries of longing, pain, exile, and promise from the Old Testament. Through that lens, Advent becomes a sacred space for honest reflection, recognition of brokenness, and hope for what God has done — and is doing — in and through us.In This Episode02:00 – Holidays & Hardship: Joy in the Midst of Pain05:00 – The Power of Mary’s Story in Advent10:50 – Where Mary’s Song Sits in Luke’s Narrative11:10 – Daughter Zion: The Honest Backdrop to Mary’s Joy17:00 – Past Tense Praise: Why Mary Says “He Has Done”21:00 – The Magnificat: Mary’s Song Read Aloud23:00 – Defining “Good Things” Through God’s Eyes30:00 – Incarnation and Human Longing34:00 – Final Reflections & A Blessing for the ListenerKey TakeawaysAdvent isn’t about manufactured cheer. It’s about honest reflection — acknowledging our brokenness, recognizing the world’s pain, and yet hoping because God is entering that story.Mary connects us to the deep longing of God’s people. By framing Mary as “Daughter Zion,” we see that her joy isn’t merely personal or sentimental — it’s cosmic, spanning generations of suffering, exile, and promise.Joy precedes fulfillment. Mary sings in past tense because true joy is rooted not in what we see, but what God has already done and promised to do — God dwelling with us.Good things are deeper than comfort. For Christians, the “good” God promises isn’t just material blessing or comfort — it is Himself, righteousness, mercy, presence, and ultimate restoration.Incarnation anchors hope. The fact that Jesus became human assures us: God knows suffering, grief, exile, waiting — and in Him, even the most painful reality can be redeemed.Follow Us!InstagramYoutube-- Editing and support by The Good Podcast Co. If you would like to sponsor this show, email [email protected]

We're releasing a series of episodes centered around the Season of Advent. In this episode, Chelsea sits down with Lindsey Jackson by reflecting on Hope — not as wishful thinking, but as a firm trust in God's promises amid suffering. Lindsey shares the story of losing her infant daughter Hadley in 2017 to sudden unexplained infant death (SUID) and how her grief became a place where God reoriented her faith, built deeper endurance, and reshaped her understanding of biblical hope. Together, they discuss how lament differs from grief, why holidays can be hard, and how the church can show up for those in pain.In This Episode01:00 – Introducing the Advent series: Hope, Joy, Love, Peace03:00 – Lindsey’s story: marriage, motherhood, and baby Hadley05:00 – Hadley’s death and the immediate aftermath07:00 – “So much of me died when she died” — grief and resurrection10:00 – What helped: letters, meals, naps, presence12:00 – On studying grief and counseling at DTS14:00 – Hope and the discipline of remembering17:00 – Hebrews: endurance, lament, and anchoring in Christ20:00 – Longing in Advent: slow down, find wonder again24:00 – Misplaced hope vs. rooted hope27:00 – Lament is not passive grief — it holds expectation30:00 – Heaven: the promise of restoration33:00 – “Pre-Hadley” Lindsay vs. post-suffering hope36:00 – Endurance is a group projectKey TakeawaysHope is not optimism or emotional positivity — it's a discipline to root your mind in God's promises.Grief is the response to loss; lament is grief directed toward God, filled with trust and expectancy.Holidays can amplify sorrow — presence, not perfection, is what grieving people need most.Studying grief deepened Lindsey’s calling: to walk with others through loss as a biblical counselor.The resurrection reframes our pain — we grieve, but not without hope.Advent means coming — Christ came once, and He is coming again. This fuels our hope.Follow Us!InstagramYoutube-- Editing and support by The Good Podcast Co. If you would like to sponsor this show, email [email protected]

In this episode, Adam and Ty sit down with Rebecca McLaughlin to discuss her new book How Church Could (Literally) Save Your Life, which explores how regular involvement in a local church is linked with mental, physical, moral, and spiritual flourishing. Drawing on rigorous academic research (especially from Harvard School of Public Health), Rebecca outlines compelling findings: weekly attendance correlates with lower rates of depression, extended life expectancy, reduced deaths of despair, and more. She also addresses objections (such as church‑hurt, abuse, selection bias) and pivots to a theological framing: the church is more than an event — it is family.In This Episode01:00 – “church is our family”06:00 – Why this topic? The research behind the book08:00 – Stats: church attendance & health outcomes11:00 – Not prosperity gospel: deeper than health hacks12:00 – What about unhealthy churches?14:00 – Data controls: not just correlation16:00 – Theology: why worship matters18:00 – Church vs. self-optimization culture23:00 – Virtual vs. in-person: why weekly presence matters26:00 – Making church a real family29:00 – Marriage, singleness & spiritual kinship32:00 – Closing reflections & next stepsKey TakeawaysRegular attendance at church (once a week or more) is strongly correlated with improved mental health, longer life expectancy, and reduced risk of “deaths of despair.”The positive effect is not explained solely by social support.The church is not just “another activity” but a family.Making church family real may require simple but counter‑cultural practices.The research is not a guarantee of trouble‑free life or a health‑miracle; the gospel remains central — the church is for life in Christ, not just health benefits.For those who’ve been hurt in church: the invitation is not necessarily to abandon church, but to work toward healthy, safe, loving communities.Guest ResourcesHow Church Could Literally Save Your Life by Rebecca McLaughlinRebecca’s Website Confronting Christianity Podcast Follow Rebecca Follow Us!InstagramYoutube-- Editing and support by The Good Podcast Co. If you would like to sponsor this show, email [email protected]