White Horse Inn Blog

On the previous edition of White Horse Inn, the hosts discussed the problems associated with a “try it, you’ll like it” approach to the Christian faith. But does the Christian faith make a practical difference in a person’s life? Should converts to Christianity expect to experience real transformation? How should we think about remaining sin? Will Christians continue to struggle with habitual sins, or is that possibly a sign that they are not really true believers? The hosts tackle these questions and more on this edition of the program (originally aired June 22, 2008).

Why do so many contemporary churches or best-selling Christian books focus almost exclusively on practical application rather than doctrinal truth? Why do most Christians prefer to talk about their own testimonies or changed lives, rather than arguing for the truth of the Christian faith? On this edition of White Horse Inn, the hosts take a look at the philosophy of pragmatism and its effects on contemporary Christian thought and practice (originally aired June 15, 2008).

On this special edition of the White Horse Inn recorded before a live audience at the Desiring God conference in Minneapolis, the hosts continue their discussion of the marks and mission of the church, based on the words of the Great Commission, and also take questions from the audience.

Back in June, Michael Horton talked with Tullian Tchividjian about his soon-to-be-released book Jesus + Nothing = Everything. This book was just released on October 31 and we would like to highlight again this great conversation between Mike and Tullian. (Note: this WHI program also contains a fascinating discussion with Thabiti Anyabwile on his conversion from Islam and his current ministry.)

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Many churches in our day put a lot of emphasis on “being the church” or living missionally. Other churches focus on the worship experience, spiritual formation, or the pursuit of various social and political agendas. What is the mission of the church? How are we to make disciples of Jesus Christ? Turning to the Great Commission itself and various passages that unpack it, this special live edition of White Horse Inn, recorded at the Desiring God conference in Minneapolis, focuses on disciple-making through the marks of the church that Christ himself ordained.

Responding to Michael Horton’s review of his new book, The King Jesus Gospel, Professor Scot McKnight offered further remarks. So we recorded a White Horse Inn interview with Scot. It’s a good discussion for us to have and we’re grateful to Scot for keeping the conversation going. The full interview will be available to our WHI partners and excerpts will be aired in a few months on the White Horse Inn.

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Have you grown impatient with your church’s seemingly endless quest for being hip and relevant? Have you become weary of “meaningful worship services” that say more about radio dial preferences than biblical fidelity? Are you irritated by the constant flow of shallow, superficial, and even narcissistic books that stock the shelves of evangelical bookstores? On this program, Michael Horton talks about these issues and more with Notre Dame sociologist Christian Smith who describes his conversion to Roman Catholicism in his recent book, How to Go from Being a Good Evangelical to a Committed Catholic in 95 Difficult Steps. Mike also talks with Christian about his other new book, Lost in Transition.

There are currently over a billion Muslims in the world, and according to many that number is likely to double over the next twenty years. How are we to reach this group with the gospel of Jesus Christ? What kinds of things do we need to know in order to be effective in our witness toward Muslims? On this program, Michael Horton discusses these questions with Fikret Böchek, who recounts his fascinating conversion from Islam and his current ministry among Muslims in Smyrna, Turkey.

Is sound theology only for people who have their act together? How is the gospel of free justification relevant to people who struggle with utterly broken lives? Michael Horton discusses this issue with Elyse Fitzpatrick, coauthor of Counsel from the Cross: Connecting Broken People to the Love of Christ. Mike also talks with Elyse about the problem of moralistic parenting as she addresses it in her new book, Give Them Grace: Dazzling Kids with the Love of Jesus.