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A lot of people feel the cultural ground shifting and want a faster fix. We explore a different path with Dr. Hunter Baker—one rooted in Baptist history, biblical ecclesiology, and a hard-won vision of religious liberty that helped shape the American constitutional order. We talk candidly about why Christian nationalism is attracting younger men, how state-church fusion looks powerful but weakens doctrine over time, and why a free church holds its nerve best when public pressure rises.

We trace the Baptist distinctives that matter here: believers’ baptism, congregational governance, and the conviction that coerced faith isn’t faith. That theological core leads to a civic stance—keep church and state institutionally separate so the church can preach, disciple, and, when necessary, correct the state. Along the way, we revisit what “liberalism” originally meant: liberty under law, free speech, free press, and limited government—an ecosystem where the gospel can persuade rather than be policed. We contrast Europe’s state-church legacy with America’s free-church vitality, and we wrestle with Obergefell-era conscience conflicts, where the question isn’t who wins a headline but whether the state will force Christians to commit impious acts.

Patriotism gets its due, too. Gratitude for a nation that helped defeat totalitarianism is right and good; worship of the nation is not. We draw practical lines between civic love and idolatry, clarify the two domains—sword of steel for the state, sword of the Spirit for the church—and offer a sane, principled definition of Christian nationalism so the term isn’t a catchall insult. By the end, you’ll have a clearer framework for faithful citizenship, resilient churches, and a public witness that refuses both coercion and retreat.

If this conversation helps you think more clearly about church, state, and conscience, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a five-star review to help others find us.

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What if the strain so many churches feel isn’t from weak people but from worn-out structures? We sit down with Phil Newton and Rich Shadden, co-authors of Mending the Net: Rethinking Church Leadership, to explore how biblical polity—rooted in a plurality of elders and distinct deacon service—repairs the holes that exhaust pastors, confuse authority, and limit pastoral care. Drawing from Scripture and Baptist history, we unpack why elders/pastors/overseers are one office, how deacons support the ministry of the Word, and why this model strengthens accountability, guards against personality-driven ministry, and scales care to meet real needs across a congregation.

Together we trace the decline of elder plurality in the last century and recover evidence from confessions and association minutes that show this approach was common among earlier Baptists. Phil and Rich make a practical, pastor-tested case: elder leadership within congregationalism is not elder rule; it’s shepherding under Christ and with the church’s oversight. We walk through the distinctions between elders and deacons, the benefits of parity and shared responsibility, and how multiple shepherds bring diverse gifts—preaching, counseling, administration—into a unified team that keeps the Word central.

For pastors and members ready to act, we lay out a patient roadmap: teach the Bible’s pattern across the pulpit, classes, and conversations; invest in faithful men as a pipeline for future elders; and implement changes carefully through bylaws and transparent processes. Whether you’re leading a church with a long single-pastor tradition or planting with plurality from day one, this conversation offers clarity, courage, and concrete steps to build healthier churches for the long haul.

If this episode helped you rethink leadership, subscribe, share it with your team, and leave a review so others can find it. Then tell us: what part of your church’s structure needs mending first?

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A wave of headlines brought Mormonism back into the spotlight, so we pressed pause on our usual format and sat down with Travis Kearns to map the LDS system from the ground up. We start where everything begins for Latter-day Saints—authority—noting how the King James Bible sits alongside the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, and, crucially, “continuing revelation” from living prophets. When newer words can overrule older ones, the result is a timeline of truth where the latest General Conference talk carries the most weight. That lens reframes every doctrine that follows.

From there we explore the LDS view of God and creation: Elohim as an exalted man of flesh and bone, Heavenly Mother, and a universe of many gods ruling their own “spheres.” Creation isn’t out of nothing but the organizing of eternal matter. We contrast that with historic Christian teaching on God’s uncreated, eternal nature and creation ex nihilo. Then we walk step by step through LDS salvation—faith, repentance, baptism by immersion, laying on of hands for the Holy Ghost, sacrament, tithing, temple marriage, temple work, obedience to the Word of Wisdom—and how “grace after all we can do” aims not merely at forgiveness but at exaltation in the celestial kingdom. The famous Lorenzo Snow couplet frames the aspiration: “As man is now, God once was; as God is now, man may be.”

We also open the hood on LDS leadership and life: the President/Prophet, First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve, stakes and wards, lay-led worship with short talks, and why priesthood authority is the backbone of belonging. We clarify polygamy’s 1890 end for the mainline church, note the many fundamentalist breakaway groups, and outline LDS last-days expectations—including the very practical habit of home food and water storage. Finally, we offer a gracious way to engage missionaries: point to Jesus as our once-for-all great high priest and sole mediator who makes earthly priesthoods and temples unnecessary, and let the gospel’s finished work do what it always does—save.

If this deep dive helped you think clearly and speak kindly, follow the show, share this episode with a friend, and leave a quick review so more listeners can find it. Have a question or a story from your own LDS conversations? Send it our way and join the dialogue.

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https://bobslone.com/home/podcast-production/