There is such a thing as an optimal environment for everything in life. Optimal environments for raising children. Optimal environments for pets. Optimal work environments. Optimal health environments. And so on. There is one thing I’ve been learning with my wife as we explore growing our own food that stands out pretty clearly in my […]
Read More Optimal Church EnvironmentThe Age of the Shopping Mall Perhaps I’m dating myself here a little, but I remember when shopping malls were all the rage and acted as the primary place where people of all ages would come and spend their weekends. Friday nights, especially, were spent roaming the halls of the malls. These malls were packed […]
Read More COVID19 – Shopping Mall Churches Face the MusicMinistry is not only a pastor thing. In fact, it’s not only an evangelist thing. Or a teacher thing. Or a prophet thing. Or an apostle thing. It’s an everybody thing.
Read More Ephesians 4: Ministry, for the Rest of UsGeorge Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and more represent recent unjust deaths in America that have led to protests and riots across the entire United States. The phrase “I Can’t Breathe” was part of the last words George Floyd spoke as he died under the weight of a police officer who had his knee in his neck […]
Read More BONUS: I Can’t Breathe Pt 2George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and more represent unjust deaths in America that have led to protests and riots across the entire United States. The phrase “I Can’t Breathe” was some of the last words George Floyd spoke as he died under the weight of a police officer who had his knee in his neck while 3 other officers watched on and did nothing. “I Can’t Breathe” has become the new cry of the black community that has been struggling for as long as American History itself to find their place in society and be heard, seen, and treated equally. On this episode Brad and Brian talk about these events, the protests, the riots, and what it’s like to be a black person growing up in America. It’s a hard conversation, but a needed one that we hope you’ll take the time to listen to.
Read More S2 Ep007 – I Can’t Breathe (Part 1)Yesterday (05/06/2020), a new social media storm began to brew as social media everywhere (from Twitter to Facebook) erupted in outrage over the fact that the killers of Ahmaud Arbery still have not been arrested or charged since they killed him back in February of this year. The details resurfaced as new video evidence was […]
Read More Racism: Does God Really Not See Color?Imagine with me, for a moment, a Church where… there is no paid staff, and the pastor and other staff do not rely on the local church to provide for their families. there is a pastor, and other leaders are organically raised up from within the body – including future pastors of more churches and […]
Read More All Has Been Stripped Away, But Will We Simply Come?It’s Saturday night. I’m laying in bed, everyone is asleep, and two incidents from the week keep replaying in my mind involving each of my sons oddly (well perhaps not too oddly) leading me to some thoughts about discipleship: Incident 1 – Declan (4 years old) came into my room last week with his glasses […]
Read More Discipleship: Sunglasses and Bike Rides“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” James 1:19-20 [Brad] Hi, Brad Bates here, your friendly host of the Angry Christian Podcast, and today I’m doing a collaborative blog article here with […]
Read More Best Practices for Angry Christians on Social MediaWe are starting a new weekly segment called “Happy Hump Day, Tell Me Something Good Y’all” as we remind ourselves of the good things going on in the face of uncertainty and crisis. Join us!
Read More BONUS: Happy Hump Day, Tell Me Something Good Y’all! 03/25/2020Most churches are still putting a great deal of effort into making the 1 hour Sunday gathering viable over the internet for most of their church body. Some are making efforts to find discipleship opportunities outside of Sunday morning. And unfortunately, a great deal of people are still screaming that they want things to go back to the way they were.
Seeing all of these reactions, I can’t help but ask, should we go back?
Read More COVID19 Aftermath: The Church Cannot Go Back to EgyptAccording to Pew Research, about 15-20% of Christians in America are under the age of 30 leaving the mass majority of individuals identifying as Christian in America over the age of 30, with about 45-50% being over the age of 50.
Read More COVID19 – To Close or Not to Close – That is the QuestionI cannot hold others accountable for the wounds they did not inflict on me.
Read More Thoughts on Church HurtThere are many casualties with divorce that go far beyond just those who are splitting up. Join the Angry Christian Podcast, and guest host Cherie Bates, as we discuss just what those casualties are. If you are going through a divorce, been through a divorce, or thinking about a divorce, or know someone who has, this just might be an episode you’ll want to listen to!
Opening Music: “Angry Dance” by Simon Panrucker
Outro Music: “Clear Progress” by Scott Holmes
Support the Show! https://ko-fi.com/angrychristianpodcast
Read More [Season 2] Ep003 – The Casualties of DivorceWhen I was a kid, unbeknownst to everyone, I would sometimes wonder about what would happen to me if my parents ever got divorced. Like…which parent would I live with, what would it feel like to live in two different homes, how would my friends see them or me, and so many other questions. I […]
Read More Divorce and The Space Between the Broken ThingsThe Democrat Debate took place the night we recorded this episode and it got us thinking about some things. Does God have a political party? Is it fair to say “Not My President”? Is it possible to agree with those on the “other side” on various things without supporting their overall political platform? How do we get to a better place in our political discourse? Does the Bible have anything to say about politics? These questions and more we discuss in this episode of the Angry Christian Podcast.
Read More [Season 2] Ep002 – Not My PresidentI’ve got to admit that I do miss the predominantly black church. The big choir, the animated sing/preaching, the dancing during praise, the soulful southern gospel style of music — almost everything. Yes, it is easier to go and be with people that also love those things, were brought up speaking the same kinda slang […]
Read More Black Christian/White ChurchSticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me!
Read More Sticks, Stones, Rubber and Glue – Words Matter For Me and They Matter for YouCan you not with the “Jesus is the white man’s God”? Really, it’s so lame and easily refuted. This shows a serious lack of reading comprehension and an even worse victim complex. Everything is the white man’s fault somehow, even the spread of the Christian church. Not only has this been thoroughly refuted over and […]
Read More We Were ThereCut off. That’s what black history month reminds me of. This isn’t an aim at anyone specifically, but generally speaking, that’s how I typically feel about black culture. That’s nothing new. I’ve felt that way since I was very young; way before I ever met and had any sort of relationship with anyone of a […]
Read More Bastard III (Black History Month)Matthew 19:13-14 NLT – One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”
Read More Let the Children ComeI was tagged in a number of posts and comments yesterday, so some of you may know that I and a few other men had a gun drawn on us. If you’re unfamiliar with the full story, you can read about it here (read the comments too). This is not about that, not directly. On […]
Read More Murder Mill Musings #004Before The Mandalorian told us that “This is the way” as he protected that undeniably cute baby Yoda (spawning COUNTLESS memes), Jesus had already come before and shook up the world as he claimed and proved to be “the Way”, the Truth, and the life (John 14:6), and Paul who was once persecuting the followers of “The Way” was now claiming to be a follower of the teachings of “the Way” (Acts 24:14).
Read More This is “The Way”What is to follow is a response from me to the article, Why Churches Should Ditch The Projector Screens and Bring Back Hymnals that was posted to http://www.thefederalist.com back in June of last year (2019). I have seen this article numerous times before, and had debated on responding, but it seems to have resurfaced again, and so I felt a respectful push back would do the discussion some good. And that is what I intend to do.
Please note that this article is not intended to attack traditional churches, or solely support contemporary churches, but to directly address the points made by this author in his article. As a worship leader, I have a deep appreciation for all aspects of church musical worship, so I appreciate and see the value in it all.
Read More A Response to “Why Churches Should Ditch the Projector Screens and Bring Back Hymnals”I’ve started noticing a trend with some (not all or even most) Christians, especially male Christians, and even more specifically male Christians who would consider themselves “culturally engaged” or taking on cultural ideologies that conflict with Biblical principles and moral standards found in the Bible.
That trend is this…any time someone (like myself) mentions that we as believers need to love others better (not just those within the church, but also those outside of the church) and be kinder, more patient, and more gentle with people…there seems to rise up from the ranks of the individuals I mentioned above an immediate defensive posture, and their responses come across as almost a disdain for what is being said.
Read More When did the Fruit of the Spirit become trigger words for Christians?“We can never know about the days to come, but we think about them anyway.” Those are the opening lyrics to Carly Simon’s famous tune, “Anticipation”. I have been thinking a lot about that very thing this Advent season. As I write this it is December 24th, the last day of the Church’s celebration and […]
Read More Advent(ure)Some of the best holiday stories aren’t the ones you find on TV or in the movies…but right there in your home (or someone else’s home) surrounded by your friends and/or family. In this episode, we get to hear YOUR favorite holiday traditions and stories in our special holiday episode, “Our Happy Holidays”.
Stories and traditions from:
1. Nathan, NC
2. Brad, SC
3. Lucas, TX
4. Deborah, SC
5. Liz, SC
6. Cherie, SC
7. Christopher, SC
8. Rhylee, SC
9. Brian, IN
10. Jonathan, NC
11. Jamie, SC
12. Jonathan, NC
13. Braeden, SC
14. Meg, Host of “Letters From Home Podcast”
15. Andy, NC
16. Monica, NC
17. Averie, SC
18. Chris, Host of “Truce Podcast”
19. Declan, SC
20. Brad and Cherie, SC
21. Anna, SC
Music:
“Happy Holiday’s” by Borrtex
“Deck the Halls” by The HoHoHo’s
After watching the western church response to John MacArthur/Beth Moore, Kanye, then Kanye/Joel Osteen, and now Chick-fil-A I can confidently say that the reality is these folks get triggered just as easily as their liberal and millennial counterparts…they just get triggered over different things.
Read More Triggered: The Christian Outrage CultureAfter watching the western church response to John MacArthur/Beth Moore, Kanye, then Kanye/Joel Osteen, and now Chick-fil-A I can confidently say that the reality is these folks get triggered just as easily as their liberal and millennial counterparts…they just get triggered over different things.
Read More BONUS: Triggered – The Christian Outrage CultureTell us about your favorite holiday memories and/or traditions and we’ll feature it on our next episode, releasing Tuesday 11/26/2019!! Be sure to get them in by Friday, 11/22/2019 to get them included!!!
Read More Listener Submissions – Ep006 Our Happy HolidaysWe are a little over a week away from Thanksgiving…one of my all-time favorite holidays…because let’s face it…I LOVE FOOD!
But, over the years I’ve observed interactions between families–not just my own – I love my family!…but also from other families–and it is interesting to see how holidays, such as Thanksgiving, that should be bringing people together and filling homes and hearts with joy and fellowship…can be one of the biggest stresses on relationships in the existence of the world.
Read More 5 Things to Help Make the Holidays BrighterWhat do you Kanye West, Beth Moore, and John MacArthur have in common? They are all believers, and their recent actions have sparked a LOT of controversy in the Western Christian world over the last few weeks, and put a bright spotlight on a major issue facing the Church today…the ability to disagree with grace.
Intro Music: “Angry Dance” by Simon Panrucker
Outro Music: “Yours” by Brad Bates
You may not believe this, but I don’t agree with every Christian about every topic to come across the Church table. An even bigger shock is that every Christian doesn’t agree with me about every topic to come across the Church table. I mean they should…because I’m usually right…but that’s beside the point (totally joking!).
Read More Sticks and Stones – Disagreeing with GraceI used to be obsessed in a very unhealthy way with politics. It consumed my thoughts, my actions, my social media, my discussions, my arguments…it very literally consumed everything. I spent many years expressing my views about all things political, and it was exhausting. It’s Election Day 2019, and here are some of the thoughts running through my mind on the matter.
Read More Election Day Woes
