• 1-Russell-Moore-Said.mp3
• 2-Derek-Webb-Said.mp3
• 3-Derek-Webb-Said.mp3
• 4-Brad-Waggoner-Said.mp3
• 5-gregg-allison-said.mp3
• 6-Chuck-Lawless-Said.mp3
• 7-Tim-Challies-Said.mp3
• 8-Owen-Strachan-Said.mp3
• 9-peter-smith-said.mp3
• 10-NT-Wright-Said-Nov-2007.mp3
• 11-John-DiVito-Said.mp3
• 12-Martin-Luther-King-Said.mp3
• 13-abraham-piper-said.mp3
• 14-Tom-Ascol-Said.mp3

• What is the Gospel?
• What encourages you about the reformed resurgence in the SBC?
• What advice do you give to reformed leaning pastors?
• Is Calvinsim a hill that pastors should die on?
• Why was your membership resolution rejected by the Southern Baptist Convention?
• With all your concerns about the SBC, why does your church still cooperate?
• And much more …

14-Tom-Ascol-Said.mp3

About Dr. Tom Ascol

• Pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral FL since 1986
• Founders Ministries and Blog
• Mp3 collection on Monergism.com
• BS degree in sociology from Texas A&M University (1979)
• MDiv and PhD degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
• Tom and his wife, Donna, have six children
• #2 most influential SBC blogger (by only four votes)

Other Interviews With Dr. Ascol

• Joe Thorn with Ascol on Family Worship
• Dr. Tom Ascol on The Mike Corley Program
• The Baptist Center at NOBTS Interview
• Against Heresies two part interview titled The Good Shepherd

Related Posts

• Podcast #4 – Brad Waggoner on Calvinism, the Gospel and the SBC
• Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover: Is Southern Seminary Ground Zero?
• Building Bridges Conference: Calvinism & Southern Baptist Convention
• Let Grace Abound in Us, Fellow Seminary Students
• Confessions of an Intellectual Sellout

Photo Credit: Timmy Brister

Abraham writes for Desiring God and his own blog TwentyTwoWords.

13-abraham-piper-said.mp3

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This podcast contains a recording of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speaking at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary on April 19, 1961. The speech is more remarkable considering the context. Southern Baptists were not unified in their posture toward the Civil Rights movement and in 1961 the outcome was far from certain.

In this speech, you will hear Dr. King cast his vision for the church’s role in racial reconciliation. While it has become fashionable to find fault with his personal life and theological positions, there is much to appreciate in King’s prophetic voice.

• Read Dr. Russell Moore’s article Why Southern Baptist Say “Amen” To Rosa Park
• Read about the Civil Rights Movement
• Read about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Nobel Prize and Wikipedia
• Read about King’s visit from the SBTS Archives HT
• Read Matthew Hall’s background information about this speech.

Calling For Posts: Religion, Racism and the Church

We are collecting links for a special roundup of articles discussing religion, racism and the church. Please email me a link if you have written on this topic, TonyKummer@gmail.com

The deadline for submissions will be Friday, January 18, 2008 – the Racism roundup will be posted on Monday 1/21/08.

John Divito was raised a Mormon, graduated Southern Seminary and is now preparing to serve in Africa as a missionary specializing in counter cult apologetics. In this podcast interview John shares about his conversion for the LDS church, some advice for witnessing to Mormons and about the need for counter cult apologetics in East Africa. You can learn more about John and his ministry at the African Center For Apologetics Research website. You can also subscribe to the ACFAR blog to keep up to date on John’s exciting ministry.

On the podcast we talk about several topics including:

• How John came to Christ out of the LDS church
• The Mormon world view and how Christians can engage Mormons with the Gospel
• The spiritual situation in East Africa
• What John’s ministry is doing to counter the rising cults

John is currently raising support and making preparations to move his family to Africa. If you would like to help John, please link to the ACFAR blog and website. He has requested prayer for his ministry and family. John is available to speak about his ministry in your church. To learn more visit the ACFAR website.

• 10-NT-Wright-Said-Nov-2007.mp3

Last Thursday, Trevin Wax interviewed Bishop NT Wright for the Said At Southern Podcast. You can find a full transcript of the conversation on his website Kingdom People. This podcast was recorded on the campus of Asbury Theological Seminary on November 15, 2007.

Here is a long list of topics. These links point to specific parts of the interview transcript on Trevin’s website.

1. Introduction
2. Wright’s conversion, calling, and personal worship
3. Wright on “the gospel”
4. Justification by faith
5. Justification – present and future
6. Justification and the Roman Catholic Church
7. Sola Scriptura
8. Is Wright arrogant to assume he has just now figured out what Paul meant?
9. Wright on his critics
10. Justification in practice
11. Wright on penal substitution
12. Wright on the resurrection
13. Wright on Evangelism
14. Wright on Church and State
15. Upcoming Writings and Conclusion

Introduction To NT Wright

by Trevin Wax

N.T. Wright is a British New Testament scholar whom Christianity Today has described as one of the top five theologians in the world today. After serving many years three years as the canon theologian of Westminster Abbey, Wright became the Bishop of Durham in 2003 – the third fourth highest ranking position of authority in the Church of England.

(corrections 11/26/07)

Tom Wright has spent his life studying the history surrounding the New Testament and early Christianity. He has written several widely-acclaimed books on the historical Jesus as well as many on the Apostle Paul and the New Testament epistles.

Wright has received both praise and criticism for his work. Anne Rice, the author of the Interview with a Vampire series, has credited Wright’s work on the historical Jesus with bringing her back to her Christian faith. Reformed theologian J.I. Packer has described Wright as “brilliant” and “one of God’s best gifts to our decaying Western Church.”

As Bishop of Durham, Wright has been a lightning rod for controversy from both conservatives who take offense with his political views, and from liberals who reject his traditional views on homosexuality.

As a New Testament scholar, Wright has faced criticism from both sides of the theological aisle. Liberal scholars, such as those who make up the infamous “Jesus Seminar” decry Wright’s work on the historical Jesus as much too conservative and traditional. Conservative scholars appreciate his strong defense of the cardinal doctrines of Christianity such as the bodily resurrection of Christ. But many conservatives of the Reformed persuasion are perplexed by Wright’s views on the doctrine of justification and the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. Several well-known theologians, such as D.A. Carson, Mark Seifrid, Guy Waters, and now pastor John Piper, have written extensively to refute the “New Perspective on Paul” that Wright advocates.

In our interview with N.T. Wright, we will ask questions that will help illuminate the current discussions within Reformed circles on the legitimacy of Wright’s exegesis of the New Testament texts.

Let’s face it – most of us live in a Baptist bubble. It gets worse when you work full-time in a local church and spend your only off day holed up at Southern Seminary. So I jumped at the chance to interview the not-so-evangelical religion reporter for the Louisville Courier Journal. Peter Smith is a writer the CJ and also has a blog on their website titled Faith & Works. He knows his subject well. We met on campus late in October to talk about the religious scene in Louisville and record this podcast. Some of his observations might surprise our normal Said at Southern readers. I learned a great deal from the conversation and I trust you will too. Here is a short list of topics:

• How do you define Christianity?
• Describe the religious landscape in Louisville?
• Why are the Evangelical groups getting stronger while Catholics and Mainline Protestants are closing churches?
• What do outsiders think about Southern Seminary?

No, this is not becoming an ecumenical podcast. But why not challenge ourselves to talk with smart people both inside and outside our camp? I’d love to get your feedback on the podcast. Feel free to write out your reactions on your own blog and leave a link in our comment section.

Here’s Peter’s description from his CJ blog:

Peter Smith has covered religion for The Courier-Journal since 2000. He’ll be blogging about religion and spirituality and how they intersect with our ethics, our work, our schools, our government and other areas of our lives.

He has more than 20 years of experience as a journalist and also worked on the “God beat” as a correspondent for Religion News Service in North America and Europe, where he wrote about papal trips and the revival of religion in the former communist bloc.

Owen Strachan is not your typical Southern Seminary student. He came to Louisville from Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. where he served as an intern under Dr. Mark Dever. He now serves as an assistant to Dr. Albert Mohler. And I should mention his father in law is the brilliant Bruce Ware. All this explains why Owen is both thoughtful and humble.

I wanted to hear Owen’s unique perspective on Southern Seminary. He will graduate this December with a Masters of Divinity. You can read his blog Consumed. Here are some topics we covered:

How did you come to Christ? What is the Gospel?
Why did you come to Southern Seminary?
What’s it like to work for Dr. Mohler?
What have you liked about Southern?
What have been your disappointments?
What advice would you give incoming seminary students?

I was privileged to get to know Dr. Lawless this semester. I was greatly encouraged by his humility, zeal for evangelism and godliness. He is Dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth at Southern Seminary.

Dr. Lawless has written several books including Membership Matters and Discipled Warriors. You can find his books on Amazon: Chuck Lawless. The Towers has also written a faculty profile on him.

This is the most important interview we’ve done yet.

This interview was recorded 9/10/2007. Dr. Lawless did a great job and said some really important things. Here is a brief list of questions:

• How would you summarize the Gospel?
• How do you appraise the current state of the American church?
• How can churches be more effective in their evangelism?
• Why are baptisms declining in the Southern Baptist Convention?
• What do you think is the future of the Church Growth movement?
• What do you expect the American church will be like in 20 years?

About Dr. Lawless from the Southern Seminary website:

William Walker Brookes Professor of Evangelism and Church Growth (1997); Dean, Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth; Director of Professional Doctoral Studies

Education:
* B.S., Cumberland College
* M.Div., Ph.D., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Dr. Lawless brings to Southern Seminary wide experience in church work, having served as pastor of two different congregations in Ohio. He also has served as a Lecturer in English at the University of Cincinnati. He has contributed articles to denominational periodicals and written Sunday School curriculum for LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Dr. Lawless is the author of five works, including Membership Matters, Spiritual Warfare, Discipled Warriors, and Making Disciples through Mentoring. He is a member of the Academy for Evangelism in Theological Education, the American Society for Church Growth, and the Evangelical Missiological Society.

I am fortunate to have Dr. Allison as my theology professor this year. While discussing the doctrine of creation, he mentioned the biblical role of man as a steward of God’s world. This idea implies that all children of Adam ought to have some level of concern about our natural environment. I asked Dr. Allison to meet with me to discuss these issues more in depth. He graciously agreed. I hope you will find this interview as helpful as I did. Here is the short list of my questions:

• How did you come to Christ?
• How would you summarize the Gospel?
• Why should Christians be concerned about the environment?
• Why are many Christians not more involved in these issues?
• What are the causes of global warming and should we be concerned?
• What are some specific ways that evangelicals can be more engaged in environmental issues?

If you want to learn more, read Dr. Russell Moore’s testimony before a Senate Committee. His report includes some great research into the Evangelical position on the environment.

About Dr. Gregg Allison from the Seminary Website

Dr. Allison comes to Southern from Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon, where he had taught theology and church history for nine years. He has also served as adjunct faculty at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, IL; Elgin Community College, Elgin, IL; Judson College, Elgin, IL; and Institute of Biblical Studies, Western Europe. Dr. Allison has 18 years of ministry experience as a staff member of Campus Crusade, where he worked in campus ministry as well as a missionary to Italy and Switzerland. He also co-pastored a church in Lugano, Switzerland. He is author of Getting Deep: Understand What You Believe About God and Why and Jesusology: Understand What You Believe About Jesus and Why, and he has five articles in The Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions. He is currently the book review editor for theological, historical, and philosophical studies, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, a position in which he has served for the last seven years. Dr. Allison is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society in which he serves on the editorial and membership committees and regularly presents papers at its national meetings.

Brad-Waggoner-Said.mp3

Here are some of the topics we discussed:

• How do you summarize the Gospel?
• How does LifeWay Research choose topics?
• In your opinion, will Calvinism continue its comeback in the SBC?
• What do you think will become of the PPL issues in the SBC?
• What are the most unhealthy trends in the American church?
• What do you think the SBC will be like in 20 years?

Join the conversation – leave your opinion in the comments.

Just for fun – here I am at the Billy Graham monument.

Who Is Brad Waggoner?

Brad Waggoner oversees LifeWay Research, E.C. Dargan Research Library, LifeWay missions, ministry development, and strategic projects as the vice president of LifeWay’s research and ministry development division. He also functions as LifeWay’s theologian in residence and academic liaison.

Waggoner came to LifeWay in 2006 as the inaugural director of LifeWay Research. Prior to coming to LifeWay, Waggoner served as dean of the School of Leadership & Church Ministry at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. He joined Southern’s teaching faculty in 1999 and assumed the deanship in 2001. During his time as dean, Waggoner developed and taught several classes on leadership and discipleship in addition to his administrative responsibilities.

He received a Master of Religious Education degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, a Master of Arts from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago and a Ph.D. from Southwestern.

…
As promised, here is the 44 minute conclusion of my interview with Derek Webb. Some topics include:

• Why has your music changed focus?
• The church and politics
• Who is influencing you?
• Do you call yourself am Evangelical?
• And much more …

You can find the fist part here – Derek Webb Podcast Part One. You can read our song by song review of The Ringing Bell under the category Derek Webb. You can buy Derek’s music on Amazon. Also check out the new Caedmon’s Call CD.

…

Last week, I drove down to Nashville to record a podcast with Derek Webb. His personality and humility made for a great interview. Webb is an increasingly influential voice in the evangelical world. I appreciated the chance to meet Derek and share some of our conversation here at Said At Southern. Pictured in the photo left to right: Trevin Wax from Kingdom people, Derek Webb and Tony Kummer. This is only the beginning of the interview, you can listen to part two here. Here are some notes from this part:

• How did you come to Christ?
• What is the Gospel?
• Why do you make music?
• What was the story behind you leaving Caedmon’s Call?
• What’s the future for you and Caedmon’s Call?

You can read our song by song review of The Ringing Bell under the category Derek Webb. You can buy Derek’s music on Amazon. Also check out the new Caedmon’s Call CD.

Podcast #1 – An Interview With Dr. Russell Moore on the Gospel, Culture and Evangelism

Russell-Moore-Said.mp3

…

Dr. Russell Moore was was kind enough to grant Said At Southern its first podcast interview. I pray that this audio will encourage you in the Gospel. Dr. Moore serves as Dean of the School of Theology, Senior Vice President for Academic Administration, and Associate Professor of Christian Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

Dr. Moore writes at Moore To The Point. He is the author of The Kingdom of Christ: The New Evangelical Perspective and co-editor of Why I Am a Baptist. He has written articles for various publications including Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, and SBC Life.

What did you think of the podcast? Join the conversation in the comments below.