Caleb Wait, Sola Media’s Director of Content, interviews Michael Horton on his new book, “Shaman and Sage: The Roots of “Spiritual but Not Religious” in Antiquity. Many preachers today appeal to headlines that announce a surge in spirituality as if this news offers the church encouragement. We tend to think of modern secular culture as hostile to spirituality—an atheistic world of soulless materialism. So if modern people now want spirituality, Christians often think, that must mean people will find their way toward Christianity. This thesis, among many others, is challenged by Horton in the first volume of his new series on the Divine-Self.    Listen in as Horton shares how this new intellectual history of “spiritual but not religious” as a phenomenon in Western culture is the biggest project he’s ever undertaken. Horton shows how ancient shamanist practices and philosophies appear in Plato, schools in Alexandria, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and more, revealing to us that modern practices and beliefs are far more ancient than we think.    SHAMAN AND SAGE: THE ROOTS OF “SPIRITUAL NOT RELIGIOUS” IN ANTIQUITY: https://www.eerdmans.com/9780802877116/shaman-and-sage/   CHECK OUT THIS MONTH’S OFFERS: FREE DOWNLOAD - Secular Spirituality: A Brief History Praying with Jesus: Getting to the Heart of the Lord's Prayer by Adriel Sanchez. Become a Partner to support the work of White Horse Inn as we apply the riches of the Reformation to the modern church. Subscribe to Modern Reformation magazine. Our May/June issue is “This Isn’t the Reformation You’re Looking For,” where we feature essays and articles about the “New Apostolic Reformation” (NAR) and how its vision of revivalism and enthusiasm is not the kind of renewal the church and culture needs.  For more information, visit us at whitehorseinn.org or email us at info@whitehorseinn.org.   Featuring:  Michael Horton, Bob Hiller, Walter Strickland, and Justin Holcomb  

Where does the spirituality of enthusiasm and the New Apostolic Reformation ultimately lead? Hosts Michael Horton, Bob Hiller, Walter Strickland, and Justin Holcomb show how ecstatic shaman-like spirituality wrought in enthusiasm results in an isolated life. While autonomous spiritual practices may free us from the external structures and authorities of religion, the hosts share how the ordinary means of grace is the only place where we find true freedom and rest in our spiritual lives.   CHECK OUT THIS MONTH’S OFFERS: Praying with Jesus: Getting to the Heart of the Lord's Prayer by Adriel Sanchez. Become a Partner to support the work of White Horse Inn as we apply the riches of the Reformation to the modern church. Subscribe to Modern Reformation magazine. Our May/June issue is “This Isn’t the Reformation You’re Looking For,” where we feature essays and articles about the “New Apostolic Reformation” (NAR) and how its vision of revivalism and enthusiasm is not the kind of renewal the church and culture needs.  RESOURCES MENTIONED:   The Triumph of the Therapeutic: Uses of Faith after Freud by Philip Rieff The Sixties Spiritual Awakening by Robert Ellwood The Narcissism Epidemic with Jean Twenge and Michael Horton  Generation Me with Jean Twenge and Michael Horton  For more information, visit us at whitehorseinn.org or email us at info@whitehorseinn.org.   Featuring:  Michael Horton, Bob Hiller, Walter Strickland, and Justin Holcomb  

The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is one of the fastest growing movements "within or on the periphery of American Christianity." Join Michael Horton, Bob Hiller, Walter Strickland, and Justin Holcomb as they discuss where this contemporary movement came from, what its tenets of dominionism, new apostles, and direct revelation are, why its teachings are so prominent in Contemporary Christian Music, and how they are connected to the old, esoteric tradition of enthusiasm. CHECK OUT THIS MONTH’S OFFERS: Praying with Jesus: Getting to the Heart of the Lord's Prayer by Adriel Sanchez. Become a Partner to support the work of White Horse Inn as we apply the riches of the Reformation to the modern church. Subscribe to Modern Reformation magazine. Our May/June issue is “This Isn’t the Reformation You’re Looking For,” where we feature essays and articles about the “New Apostolic Reformation” (NAR) and how its vision of revivalism and enthusiasm is not the kind of renewal the church and culture needs.  RESOURCES MENTIONED: Redemptive History and the New Testament Scriptures by Herman Ridderbos Counterfeit Kingdom: The Dangers of New Revelation, New Prophets, and New Age Practices in the Church by Holly Pivec, R. Douglas Geivett A New Apostolic Reformation?: A Biblical Response to a Worldwide Movement by Holly Pivec, R. Douglas Geivett    For more information, visit us at whitehorseinn.org or email us at info@whitehorseinn.org. Featuring: Michael Horton, Bob Hiller, Walter Strickland, and Justin Holcomb  

Martin Luther once said that, "Adam was the first enthusiast," and by "enthusiast" he doesn’t mean someone who is enthusiastic. The philosophy of enthusiasm is "god-within-ism," a belief and tendency to pit internal spirituality versus external texts, institutions, and authorities. In this episode, Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Walter Strickland, and Bob Hiller discuss how this "god-within-ism" has appeared in the church, from Montanists, to medieval monks, radical figures in the Reformation, Enlightenment philosophers, and contemporary movements today.   CHECK OUT THIS MONTH’S OFFERS: Praying with Jesus: Getting to the Heart of the Lord's Prayer by Adriel Sanchez. Become a Partner to support the work of White Horse Inn as we apply the riches of the Reformation to the modern church. Subscribe to Modern Reformation magazine. Our May/June issue is "This Isn’t the Reformation You’re Looking For," where we feature essays and articles about the “New Apostolic Reformation” (NAR) and how its vision of revivalism and enthusiasm is not the kind of renewal the church and culture needs.  For more information, visit us at whitehorseinn.org or email us at info@whitehorseinn.org. Featuring: Michael Horton, Bob Hiller, Walter Strickland, and Justin Holcomb  

Watch this conversation at YouTube.com/@WhiteHorse1990 Bob Hiller sits down with Adriel Sanchez to discuss the most famous prayer in history and his new book, Praying with Jesus: Getting to the Heart of the Lord’s Prayer. Adriel is the pastor of North Park Presbyterian Church in San Diego and the host of Sola Media’s radio program, Core Christianity.  Pastor Adriel shares how the Lord’s Prayer presupposes the gospel and the doctrine of the Trinity, and how prayer is itself a gift as well as a discipline that requires intentionality on the part of the Christian. Listen in as Bob and Adriel also walk through the petitions of our Lord’s Prayer and how practicing the prayer transforms our lives. (Episode SP017) ON THIS EPISODE: Adriel Sanchez is senior pastor of North Park Presbyterian Church in San Diego and cohost of the Core Christianity radio program. He is also the author of Praying with Jesus: Getting to the Heart of the Lord’s Prayer. Bob Hiller is the Senior Pastor of Community Lutheran Church in Escondido, California. He is also the author of Finding Christ in the Straw. CHECK OUT THIS MONTH’S OFFERS: Praying with Jesus: Getting to the Heart of the Lord’s Prayer by Adriel Sanchez. Become a Partner to support the work of White Horse Inn as we apply the riches of the Reformation to the modern church. Subscribe to Modern Reformation magazine. Our May/June issue is “This Isn’t the Reformation You’re Looking For,” where we feature essays and articles about the “New Apostolic Reformation” (NAR) and how its vision of revivalism and enthusiasm is not the kind of renewal the church and culture needs.

We can't go back to the church environments we grew up with, we can only go forward. So what would a healthy modern reformation and a Great Rechurching look like? Rather than wallowing in pessimism and longing to return to the church of yesteryear, Michael Horton, Bob Hiller, Justin Holcomb, and Walter Strickland discuss how the church today can reform and be marked by orthodoxy, love, and resilient joy.   CHECK OUT THIS MONTH’S OFFERS: The Great Dechurching: Who’s Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back? by Jim Davis and Michael Graham, with Ryan P. Burge. Become a Partner to support the work of White Horse Inn as we apply the riches of the Reformation to the modern church. Subscribe to Modern Reformation magazine. Our March/April issue is “The Head & the Heart,” where we feature essays, poems, and articles about how the Bible does not separate the “rational” mind and the “emotive” heart; rather, “In the Bible, the intellect, will, and emotions are all capacities that belong to the whole, integrated person.”   For more information, visit us at whitehorseinn.org or email us at info@whitehorseinn.org   Featuring:  Michael Horton, Bob Hiller, Walter Strickland, and Justin Holcomb  

If you go to church, do you know why you attend? Do you know why your friends and family have casually just stopped going to church? How can we talk about the necessity of the church in a way that is beautiful and life-giving, but goes beyond personal preference? In this episode, Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Walter Strickland, and Bob Hiller answer these questions and more as they discuss how Christians can reach out to their dechurched friends, family, and neighbors.   “When asked how willing they would be to go back to church, 51 percent said they are either somewhat willing or very willing—51 percent! Unsurprisingly, the reasons they would come back also represent a longing to belong. These dechurched evangelicals said they would come back if they made new friends (28%), if they move and want to make new friends (18%), if they became lonely and want to make new friends (20%), if their children want to go (16%), if their spouse wants to go (18%), if a friend invites them (17%), if there is a good pastor (18%), if they find a good community (17%), if they miss their church community (20%), or if they just find a church they like (14%). This group's high orthodoxy scores also inform other reasons they would come back: if they feel the distance from God (20%) or if God tells them to go back in some significant way (18%). The main takeaway here is that many dechurched evangelicals simply need a friend to invite them to church.” - The Great Dechurching: Who’s Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back? by Jim Davis and Michael Graham, with Ryan P. Burge, p. 28.   CHECK OUT THIS MONTH’S OFFERS: The Great Dechurching: Who’s Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back? by Jim Davis and Michael Graham, with Ryan P. Burge. Become a Partner to support the work of White Horse Inn as we apply the riches of the Reformation to the modern church. Subscribe to Modern Reformation magazine. Our March/April issue is “The Head & the Heart,” where we feature essays, poems, and articles about how the Bible does not separate the “rational” mind and the “emotive” heart; rather, “In the Bible, the intellect, will, and emotions are all capacities that belong to the whole, integrated person.” For more information, visit us at whitehorseinn.org or email us at info@whitehorseinn.org   Featuring:  Michael Horton, Bob Hiller, Walter Strickland, and Justin Holcomb  

What happened in American culture and in the church from the 1970s-1990s? What were the conversations and big concerns of that time when White Horse Inn recorded its first episodes? In answering some of these questions, churches can get their bearings as to what trends have impacted those who no longer sit in their pews and what to do about it.   “The early 1990s was an inflection point for American religion. Between the early 1970s and 1990s, the share of Americans who had no religious affiliation had only risen two points. But from that point forward, the nones would grow by a percentage point or two nearly every year through the following three decades.” - Ryan Burge, “‘OK Millennial’: Don’t Blame the Boomers for Decline of Religious America”   Michael Horton, Bob Hiller, Walter Strickland, and Justin Holcomb discuss how modern historical events and trends have impacted church attendance today and how to respond. CHECK OUT THIS MONTH’S OFFERS: The Great Dechurching: Who’s Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back? by Jim Davis and Michael Graham, with Ryan P. Burge. Become a Partner to support the work of White Horse Inn as we apply the riches of the Reformation to the modern church. Subscribe to Modern Reformation magazine. Our March/April issue is “The Head & the Heart,” where we feature essays, poems, and articles about how the Bible does not separate the “rational” mind and the “emotive” heart; rather, “In the Bible, the intellect, will, and emotions are all capacities that belong to the whole, integrated person.” For more information, visit us at whitehorseinn.org or email us at info@whitehorseinn.org Featuring: Michael Horton, Bob Hiller, Walter Strickland, and Justin Holcomb  

Justin Holcomb interviews Jim Davis and Michael Graham, authors of The Great Dechurching, to discuss why forty million Americans have stopped attending church in the past 25 years. Many attribute church decline to encroaching secular trends, abuse in the church, or spiritual deconstruction. While all of these trends have spiked in recent years, Davis and Graham, with the help of Ryan Burge, reveal that these factors are not the primary causes for the erosion of church attendance and share what the church can do to turn back those estranged from her.   CHECK OUT THIS MONTH’S OFFERS: The Great Dechurching: Who’s Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back? by Jim Davis and Michael Graham, with Ryan P. Burge. Become a Partner to support the work of White Horse Inn as we apply the riches of the Reformation to the modern church. Subscribe to Modern Reformation magazine. Our March/April issue is “The Head & the Heart,” where we feature essays, poems, and articles about how the Bible does not separate the “rational” mind and the “emotive” heart; rather, “In the Bible, the intellect, will, and emotions are all capacities that belong to the whole, integrated person.” For more information, visit us at whitehorseinn.org or email us at info@whitehorseinn.org Featuring: Justin Holcomb, Michael Graham and Jim Davis  

On this Easter Sunday, we join Paul at the Areopagus in Acts 17. Hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Walter Strickland, and Bob Hiller dive into Paul’s apologetic approach as he speaks to his pagan audience and how on Easter we will, like Paul, be mocked by some for preaching the resurrection of the dead, while others will want to hear more about its hope and promise.    CHECK OUT THIS MONTH’S OFFERS: Knowing the Bible: Acts Study by Justin Holcomb Subscribe to Modern Reformation magazine, and don’t miss this month’s issue, “The Head & the Heart.” Become a Partner to support the work of White Horse Inn as we apply the riches of the Reformation to the modern church.   For more information, visit us at whitehorseinn.org or email us at info@whitehorseinn.org   Featuring:  Michael Horton, Bob Hiller, Walter Strickland, and Justin Holcomb