One day last week, I jumped in my car and headed to work. Things seemed normal until the light in front of me turned red and I hit the brakes. Nothing happened. I hit them again - still nothing.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama made headlines recently by criticizing our “call-out culture.” It was timely and delivered with the kind of unambiguous clarity that’s typically absent from stressed out politicians trying to tow the party line.

Over the course of the past week, I've been captivated by the Kanye West story. In case you’re unfamiliar, he’s the infamous hip hop star turned radical follower of Jesus and bold proclamation evangelist.

It's been a stunning turnaround.

If you’re like me, you’ve probably asked yourself in the last few weeks, “Who is Greta Thunberg?”

For a long time, I woke up feeling anxious. I would run through the list of possible causes, and as the busyness of the day kicked in, the anxiety would settle into the background - it wouldn’t be gone, just less dominating.

A few days ago, the Provoke & Inspire team conducted a focus group with eight unchurched young people from the Twin Cities. When the idea was first proposed, I had my reservations. I was in the middle of a crazy summer touring season and frankly, I wasn’t sure if it would work. Yet despite my hesitations, we moved forward.

*This blog post is a follow-up to Episode 157 of the Provoke & Inspire Podcast: “Should Followers of Jesus Be Watching Game of Thrones?"*

To listen to the full episode click here.

*This blog post is a follow-up to Episode 152 of the Provoke & Inspire Podcast: “Rachel Hollis and the Age of Me - Featuring Courtney and Jodi Pierce."*

To listen to the full episode click here.

*This blog post is a follow-up to Episode 149 of the Provoke & Inspire Podcast: “Episode 149: I’ll Admit It, I Want to Be Famous but so Do You!"*

To listen to the full episode click here.

*This blog post is a follow-up to Episode 145 of the Provoke & Inspire Podcast: “Episode 145: Are We All Addicted to the Internet? If So, What Can Be Done About It?"*

To listen to the full episode click here.