This is Empires of the Future, conversations to encourage the Church in a time of change.

The Revival of the Ipod

Is there a good use for old(er) tech? For many, that answer is turning out to be “absolutely”. Tired of the many distractions that come with using a cellphone for everything, many are picking up their old devices again seeking the peace and quiet that was associated with many kinds of old tech. In particular, iPod sales are surging, and since both of the hosts of this podcast appreciate the utility of the iPod, it prompted a conversation about the devices we use and whether or not they’re using us.

https://apnews.com/article/ipod-music-streaming-iphone-a6a010a1d9001abb0580b7a1cebe9c13

"The Empires of the future will be Empires of the Mind." - Winston Churchill

This is Empires of the Future, conversations to encourage the Church in a time of change.

Should we use AI in Christian Worship?

The predictions concerning the capabilities of Artificial Intelligence are as varied as they are confusing. It may bring on an age of plenty. It may take every human job, eventually. It may open up opportunities undreamt of by previous generations, if it doesn’t kill us all. And it may do some mixture of all these things in just the next few years.

There is a temptation in the church to take one of two positions on this: either it won’t happen and I don’t want to know about it, or it may signal the end of the world. Faithful christians cannot assume just because a massive change is coming that we won’t need to make major adjustments to it. This podcast is our first effort in trying to do that. Here we discuss how much change A.I. is likely to bring in the church in particular, what uses we should avoid and what uses we could (with some care) engage with. The technology is not going away, but like so many other technologies, it holds promise and peril already, and certainly more in the future.

We use Ross Douthat’s recent article for the New York Times on changes in the workplace more as a jumping-off point for this discussion, but it is provided here: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/opinion/ai-jobs-employment.html

"The Empires of the future will be Empires of the Mind." - Winston Churchill

This is Empires of the Future, conversations to encourage the Church in a time of change.

The Lure of Danger and the Price of Achievement

Alex Honnold is a name some of us have come to know in the past few years for his death-defying climbs of both man-made and natural wonders. His "free solo" climb of natural wonder El Capitan with no safety gear leads us to ask important questions about danger, challenge, and achievement, while also considering sports of various kinds and how they fit into a life well-lived. We use Rusty McKie's article at the Gospel Coalition as a reference point.

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/achieve-die-reflections-free-solo/

"The Empires of the future will be Empires of the Mind." - Winston Churchill

This is Empires of the Future, conversations to encourage the Church in a time of change.

Don’t Have it Your Way, Against Consumer Spirituality

How should someone formulate his (or her) view of the world? In an article by Brett McCracken for The Gospel Coalition, he documents the emergence of what he calls “metamodern” Christianity. This is not “modern”, meaning dedicated to an abstract idea of truth and pointed toward “progress”. It is also not “post-modern”, dedicated to feelings and dismissing notions of truth in favor of viewing the world as only consisting of power dynamics. It’s somewhere between the two. In contrast, christians should be a people dedicated to God almighty, to loving Him first and others second and seeking to live lives of sacrifice and love after our Savior Christ who gave himself for us.

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/challenge-opportunity-metamodern-christianity/

"The Empires of the future will be Empires of the Mind." - Winston Churchill

This is Empires of the Future, conversations to encourage the Church in a time of change.

Seven Reasons to Celebrate Advent

What is Advent? Many christians struggle with the busyness and the feelings of loss that often accompany the lights and trees at this time of year. How should a Christian feel about how we “do” Christmas in our consumeristic age, and how do we make sure Christmas stays about what it should be about, the birth of Christ? In this episode we examine an article by Ryan Shelton for Desiring God which gives us seven reasons to incorporate the sense of longing that Advent brings into our Christmas experience.

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/seven-reasons-to-celebrate-advent "The Empires of the future will be Empires of the Mind." - Winston Churchill

This is Empires of the Future, conversations to encourage the Church in a time of change. We are at the front end of a wave of churches closing in the United States. But what does it mean when a local church closes its doors? What can be done about it? In this episode, we examine an article from Axios.com by Russell Contreras and consider these questions and more.

https://www.axios.com/2025/10/03/us-churches-close-religious-shift-christians

"The Empires of the future will be Empires of the Mind." - Winston Churchill

This is Empires of the Future, Conversations to Encourage the Church in a Time of Change

Tyler Robinson and the Violence of Pornography

The availability and depravity of porn is among the many challenges and toxic elements of the twenty-first century, but one that many adults are not aware of in terms of its subtlety and propensity to twist young minds. The connection between Tyler Robinson, the alleged assassin of Charlie Kirk, and hardcore pornography provides an opportunity and a milestone for us to stop and consider the dangers of pornography in our day. What is the hope for anyone caught in the net of porn? Who can free us from its grip? We consider all this in this episode of Empires of the Future.

"The empires of the future will be empires of the mind." - Winston Churchill

https://firstthings.com/tyler-robinson-and-the-violence-of-porn/

Smart glasses are coming. This new technology will enable not only easier interaction with the internet and augmented reality, but a greater capability to record everything we see, whether people around us might know it or not. We talk about all this in this episode of Empires of the Future, dealing with this article by Austin Gravley for the Gospel Coalition.

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/churches-smart-glasses/

"The Empires of the Future will Be Empires of the Mind"

- Winston Churchill