Theology on Mission

What happens when church leadership shifts from pulpits to platforms? In this episode, Dave Fitch and guest co-host Gino Curcuruto unpack Carl Trueman’s article, “Goodbye Big Eva, Hello Gig Eva,” exploring how evangelical culture has moved from the conference stage to the influencer feed, and what that means for the church.Together, they trace the shift from “Big Eva” (celebrity pastors and large conferences) to “Gig Eva” (independent online influencers shaping faith outside accountability or community). The conversation wrestles with how this new ecosystem forms pastors, congregations, and the public imagination of what “church” even is and calls for a recovery of embodied, local, presence-based ministry.🎙️ In This Episode:The difference between Big Eva and Gig Eva—and why both shape the church’s imaginationHow digital influence redefines leadership, authority, and credibilityThe danger of disembodied discipleship and social media “theology”Why pastors must resist measuring faithfulness by metrics or clicksHow to reclaim embodied church in an age of platform-driven ministry📌 Highlights:[00:07:00] “Big Eva” as the era of celebrity pastors and conference platforms[00:10:00] “Gig Eva” as the rise of influencers without local accountability[00:17:00] How online perception replaces real discipleship[00:24:00] The lure of success, self-promotion, and burnout in ministry[00:33:00] Embodied church as the faithful alternative to the gig economyThe future of the church isn’t in virality, it’s in presence. Faithful ministry grows from local soil, not from algorithms. The way forward is slow, small, and deeply relational.📖 Resources Mentioned:“Goodbye Big Eva, Hello Gig Eva” by Carl Trueman (First Things)The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl R. TruemanReckoning with Power: Why the Church Fails When It’s on the Wrong Side of Power by David FitchThe Strategically Small Church by Brandon O’BrienThe Glass Church and The Church Must Grow or Perish by Gerardo Marti & Mark MulderTable Philly ChurchFitch’s Provocations (Substack)What does it mean to lead faithfully when “success” is measured by followers, not fruit? How can your church move from digital performance to embodied presence?

Two weeks after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Dave Fitch and Mike Moore process the grief, confusion, and cultural fallout surrounding his death. Beyond the tragedy, they explore what Charlie Kirk symbolized in American Christianity—and what his influence reveals about the modern church’s failures in discipleship, community, and cultural engagement.Fitch argues that Kirk’s rise, and the polarization surrounding him, exposes an empty ecclesiology: a Christianity shaped more by individualism and ideology than by the life of the local church. Together, the hosts ask hard questions about power, influence, and the role of the church in a politically divided age.Charlie Kirk as a Cultural Symbol (Part 1): https://substack.com/home/post/p-173936722 Charlie Kirk is a Cultural Symbol (Part 2): https://davidfitch.substack.com/p/charlie-kirk-is-a-cultural-symbol 🎙️ In This Episode:The difference between Charlie Kirk the person and Charlie Kirk the cultural symbolHow antagonism replaces real conversation in our political and religious discourseThe church’s failure to disciple young people and engage complex moral questionsWhy “influencers” are filling the space the church has vacatedHow individualistic faith leads to political idolatry📌 Highlights:[00:05:00] Why Charlie Kirk became a master signifier of political identity[00:10:00] How antagonism keeps us from addressing real issues on the ground[00:15:00] The influencer as a substitute for the church[00:22:00] The hunger of young men for direction and discipleship[00:27:00] From personal faith to political power: how individualism fuels Christian nationalismCharlie Kirk’s rise and death reveal both the brokenness of our political moment and the vacuum left by the church’s retreat from public discipleship. Until the church reclaims its call to embody the presence and power of Jesus in community, political idols will keep filling the gap.

Russell Moore kicks off Season 11 with an honest and wide-ranging conversation about the fractured state of American evangelicalism. From his own departure from the SBC to his reflections on revival, integrity, and biblical authority, Moore offers both critique and hope. Dave and Mike push into what needs preserving, what needs reimagining, and where we might see life again in the dry bones of evangelical witness.Whether you’re nostalgic for the church you grew up in, disillusioned by it, or daring to believe something new is possible—this episode offers wisdom, challenge, and a reminder of the gospel’s power to revive.🎧 In This Episode:The danger of using Christianity as a means to an endWhy “personal” doesn’t have to mean “individualistic”Scripture as encounter vs. informationWhat real revival might look like todayRecovering wonder, hope, and moral credibility in the church🛠 Resources Mentioned:Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America by Russell MooreThe Russell Moore Show – podcast from Christianity TodayReckoning with Power: Why the Church Fails When It's on the Wrong Side of Power by David FitchCenter for Public Theology at Christianity Today

What happens when expository preaching meets jazz improvisation? In this musical and moving conversation, Dave Fitch and Mike Moore welcome Mark Glanville, pastor, jazz pianist, and author of Preaching in a New Key, to explore how preaching can meet the needs of post-Christian communities. From shifting cultural landscapes to the crisis of plausibility in faith, this episode unpacks how the preacher’s voice, imagination, and presence can open up space for beauty, belonging, and belief. 🎙️ In This Episode: Why a 1970s preaching manual is still #1 on Amazon—and why that’s a problem What a “crisis of plausibility” means for modern preaching Why Scripture must be heard as a communal word, not just an individual one How preaching can surprise people into faith through beauty and truth What jazz, blues, and the Psalms can teach us about crafting sermons today 📌 Highlights: [00:07:00] Faith in a post-Christian city: what’s changed since the Bible-under-the-arm days [00:13:00] The power of preaching to restore trust in Scripture [00:22:00] From “you” to “we”: how preaching shapes the beloved community [00:36:00] Why preaching from your humanity is not optional—it’s essential [00:39:00] Blues as a metaphor for the church: grief, joy, and solidarity 💡 Takeaway: Preaching today is less about having the right answers and more about being fully present—bringing Scripture to life with the imagination, lyricism, and beauty that awakens faith. In a culture suspicious of authority, the ironic authority of wisdom is what opens hearts.

Is leaving evangelicalism really a departure—or just a shift within the same framework? In this provocative episode, Dave Fitch and Mike Moore wrestle with the deep similarities between evangelical and post-evangelical spaces. Are we just switching teams while playing the same game? From the role of the self in faith to justice work and power structures, they explore what truly changes (and what doesn’t) when people move from white evangelicalism to progressive or mainline Protestant spaces. 🎙️ In This Episode: Why leaving evangelicalism doesn’t necessarily mean leaving evangelical ways of thinking. The modern self: how both fundamentalist and progressive Christianity center personal identity. Justice as something we do vs. justice as something Jesus is doing. The trap of power: why both evangelicals and progressives wield authority in similar ways. How a neo-Anabaptist vision could reshape discipleship and engagement with culture. 📌 Highlights: [00:05:00] Does moving from evangelical to post-evangelical really change anything? [00:13:00] How both camps center faith around the individual self. [00:21:00] Justice work: Are we doing it for people or with people? [00:32:00] Power dynamics: Why both evangelicals and progressives assume an expert posture. [00:37:00] A vision beyond the binaries: toward a new way of being the church. 💡 Takeaway: Shifting theological or political stances doesn’t automatically transform the way we engage culture, power, and justice. Without rethinking the self, mission, and power dynamics, we risk reinforcing the very systems we hoped to escape.

What if the way forward in our polarized world begins at the table? In this compelling episode, Dave Fitch and Mike Moore sit down with Dan White Jr., author of Love Over Fear, to discuss the art of engaging in difficult conversations. They explore how compassion, curiosity, and a theology of the table can heal divisions in our churches, neighborhoods, and beyond. 🎙️ In This Episode: Dan White Jr. shares how the Kineo Center equips weary leaders to find healing. The four transformative practices for depolarized conversations. Stories of profound breakthroughs during “depolarization dinners.” How Jesus’ table practices challenge the powers of polarization and invite kingdom living. 📌 Highlights: [00:05:00] Dan introduces the Kineo Center as a space for healing weary leaders. [00:12:34] The Power of Conversation in Polarized Times [00:17:00] The origins of Love Over Fear: lessons from a politically divided church. [00:29:00] Four practices for depolarized conversations, including compassionate curiosity and subversive stories. [00:29:33] Techniques for Depolarization [00:41:00] A theology of the table: how Jesus confounds the powers of polarization. 💡 Takeaway: The practice of kingdom living starts at the table, where power shifts from winning arguments to mutual transformation. In a polarized world, Christians are called to disrupt division and embody Christ's love through listening, storytelling, and trust in God’s presence. 📖 Additional Reflection: How can you use the table as a space for transformation and reconciliation in your community?

What is the deepest emphasis of the prophets in the Bible? Prophets beyond Activism insightfully challenges the common progressive narrative that the prophets of ancient Israel were primarily concerned with social justice. Instead it daringly offers more life-giving ways of engaging the prophetic books for the causes of justice. The assumption that the prophets of ancient Israel were primarily concerned with social justice so permeates the thinking and the discourse of progressive Christianity that it might be considered an interpretive orthodoxy. For example, progressives characterize prophets as those who speak truth to power and “prophetic preaching” as social critique. Yet, they often do so without explanation or consideration of alternative views. Timestamps: 01:54 Introducing Dr. Julia O'Brien 03:05 Prophets as Activists Orthodoxy 09:06 Biblical Ventriloquism and Social Justice 13:46 Challenges of Interpreting Prophetic Texts 20:14 The Role of Prophets in Modern Social Justice 45:37 Concluding Thoughts and Final Remarks

The good news is bigger and better than we imagined. Is the gospel good news for us today? Many Christians—especially young Christians stepping into a world and a church devastated by division, scandal, and abuse—are asking this question and deciding it simply isn’t. For many, it seems like our faith has little to offer the world around us. Our gospel has become too small—it looks nothing like the Jesus who embodies good news in the flesh. How do we recover this gospel? When we turn to the parable of the prodigal son—a story of elaborate parties, upside-down kingdoms, and reunited families—we can hear in Jesus’ own words a clear presentation of what he is doing, of a truth that is bigger and better than we’ve imagined. In these pages, author and pastor Jonny Morrison invites us on a journey to help us find ourselves and Jesus in the welcoming arms of this familiar parable, zooming out to show how this story shapes the entire story of Scripture. Along the way we discover the radically inclusive power of the gospel that upends religions, disrupts empires, heals the wounded, and empowers the marginalized. This is, after all, Jesus’ news to tell, and when we truly listen to him tell it, we can be found again in the surprising, disarming, challenging gospel that is truly good news. Timestamps: 02:18 Johnny Morrison's Background 03:57 Discussing Prodigal Gospel 05:12 The Gospel and Its Implications 13:41 Challenges in Communicating the Gospel 15:25 The Need for an Entry Point 16:17 Metaphors for Articulating the Gospel 16:46 The Prodigal Son as a Gospel Metaphor 19:03 Personal Stories and the Gospel 23:34 Challenges and Reservations 26:10 Concluding Thoughts and Recommendations