A Beautiful Church

The mission of this podcast is to highlight the beauty and diversity of God’s Church – both in Chattanooga and the Church at large.
Meet Reverend Randy Jackson, a Chattanooga-area (north Georgia, to be specific) pastor who is, according to Adam, a “unicorn” of sorts: Randy is an African American ordained in the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA). In this episode, Randy shares the theological issue that led him to join the PCA and talks about what it’s like to pastor a diverse congregation.
After becoming a believer while in the military, Randy had to grapple with issues of race and racism in deciding if he wanted to continue in the Christian community. But it was the critical question of whether or not he could lose his salvation that steered him towards Reformed theology and the PCA.
Now, Randy is a Pastor at Grace PCA in Dalton, Georgia. Responding to the increasing population of Spanish-speakers, Grace chose to integrate Spanish into their services to allow Christians from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds to be a part of the same congregation. Listen in to this episode to hear more about Grace and how Randy has personally been impacted by his church.
About Adam Whitescarver

Adam is passionate about seeing God’s people possess vibrant prayer lives to help them make a difference in the sphere of influence God has given them. In ministry since 2001, Adam enjoys his family, teaching, singing, and reading a myriad of subjects. He and his wife, Stephanie, live in North GA with their four children.

Jump Through the Conversation:

• [1:01] Randy’s introduction and connection to Adam
• [2:03] Randy’s struggles as a new Christian
  • Dealing with other Christians
  • Concern about the stability of salvation
• [6:03] God’s sovereignty and prison ministry
• [8:19] How the issue of God’s sovereignty led Randy to Reformed theology and the PCA
• [9:27] How Grace PCA has become a multi-ethnic church
  • Incorporating Spanish-speaking people into their congregation
  • Diversity of pastoral staff
• [13:26] Cross-cultural ministry and the centrality of Christ
• [15:59] How Randy has been enriched by the culture of Grace PCA

Links and Resources:

• A Beautiful Church website
• Chattanooga House of Prayer website
• Give today
• Grace PCA website

Thanks for listening! Don’t forget to subscribe! If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show.

The mission of this podcast is to highlight the beauty and diversity of God’s Church – both in Chattanooga and the Church at large.

Is Scripture or philosophy (reasoning) more useful in defending the faith? For both Athanasius and twenty-first century Christians, the answer is, “it depends.” In this episode, the group looks at Athanasius’ use of philosophy in On the Incarnation and discusses why we should use the same approach today. Along the way, they discuss philosophy’s place in Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant doctrine.

Although Athanasius uses Scripture aggressively in the portion of the book addressed to the Jews, On the Incarnation starts out with more philosophical arguments. There is some discussion about whether or not Athanasius is doing this on purpose, but David quotes directly from the text to show how the author is intentionally referencing Greek philosophy to appeal to a non-Christian audience. The group agrees that reasoning from Scripture is useful only if the audience knows and adheres to Scripture, but because our culture is largely “biblically illiterate,” philosophical reasoning is more appropriate and more convincing. The Catholic church in particular has formally embraced the use of philosophy in apologetics.

Listen in to this conversation to hear more about Catholic and Protestant takes on philosophy and how Scripture itself promotes this form of reasoning.
About Adam Whitescarver

Adam is passionate about seeing God’s people possess vibrant prayer lives to help them make a difference in the sphere of influence God has given them. In ministry since 2001, Adam enjoys his family, teaching, singing, and reading a myriad of subjects. He and his wife, Stephanie, live in North GA with their four children.
Jump Through the Conversation:

• [0:44] Adam’s intro and disclaimers on episodes 5-8 (technically 6-9)
• [4:20] Significance of Athanasius using philosophy
  • [5:45] Addressing an un-Christian audience, similarly to modernity
  • [6:56] Shows Christian faith can go toe-to-toe with other schools of thought
• [8:04] Is Athanasius intentionally using philosophy?
  • [8:22] Issue of semantics
  • [9:41] Issue of how different traditions use reason and philosophy
  • [11:20] Identifying Athanasius’ audience
  • [12:30] Quotations of Athanasius’ use of philosophy
• [14:05] Brief aside on philosophy and Catholic dogma
• [15:07] Using truth as found in secular philosophy for reasoning to a secular or pagan audience
• [16:23] Protestant issue of only using Scripture
  • [17:34] Example of Nicene Creed wording
  • [18:41] Example of modern arguments
• [19:50] Adam’s summary and outro

Links and Resources:

• A Beautiful Church website
• Chattanooga House of Prayer website
• Give today
• On the Incarnation (Adam’s recommended edition)
• Joey Sherrard’s ministry
• Keith Kettenring’s ministry
• David Carter’s ministry

Thanks for listening! Don’t forget to subscribe! If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show.

The mission of this podcast is to highlight the beauty and diversity of God’s Church - both in Chattanooga and the Church at large.

On this episode of A Beautiful Church podcast, we’re talking to Father Kevin Rigdon who founded and serves at St Maria of Paris Orthodox Church in Cleveland, TN. He shares some interesting thoughts about what makes the Orthodox Church different including their “unit” service format, their hierarchy, and more. Fr. Rigdon dives into the difference between the western “legal (judge/jury)” paradigm and the eastern “hospital” paradigm and expresses the unique calling of their mission - their “mission” being a word they use to call their church.

Fr. Rigdon breaks down some of the challenges he and his mission have faced in living out this calling and perhaps one of the biggest challenges the western Church faces today. Listen in to our conversation and hear how a posture of thanksgiving and offering unto the Lord has continued to bless this community.

Note: This podcast was recorded earlier in 2021.
About Adam Whitescarver

Adam is passionate about seeing God’s people possess vibrant prayer lives to help them make a difference in the sphere of influence God has given them. In ministry since 2001, Adam enjoys his family, teaching, singing, and reading a myriad of subjects. He and his wife, Stephanie, live in North GA with their four children.

Jump Through the Conversation

• [2:00] Differences and appeal of Orthodoxy
• [3:50] Kevin’s backstory and how he became an Orthodox priest
• [9:29] Church location, service times and how to get connected
• [10:27] How Orthodox services happen in “units” and why liturgical anticipation happens frequently
• [14:21] The importance of understanding Orthodoxy
• [15:07] Additional ways to get connected and learn more about St Maria of Paris Orthodox Church
• [15:29] How St Maria of Paris Orthodox Church started
• [17:00] Difference between a mission and a parish and a breakdown of the hierarchy of the Orthodox Church
  • How Orthodoxy is sometimes mistaken for Catholicism.
  • Some recent statistics on the Russian Orthodox Church
• [24:42] The unique calling or responsibility of St Maria of Paris Orthodox Church, Being the Church, into two parts:
• 1. Kevin talks about how humans are the priests of creation. Our purpose is to offer the creation that God has given us back to God - to offer the matter of our lives (vocation, family, friends, enemies) to God in thanksgiving.
• 2. Being a hospital. Kevin dives into the difference between the western “legal (judge/jury)” paradigm and the eastern “hospital” paradigm.
• [34:52] Some challenges Kevin’s mission has faced in living out this calling and perhaps one of the biggest challenges the western Church faces today

Links and Resources:

• A Beautiful Church website
• Chattanooga House of Prayer website
• Give today
• St Maria of Paris Orthodox Church website
• Ancient Faith Radio

Thanks for listening! Don’t forget to subscribe! If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show.

The mission of this podcast is to highlight the beauty and diversity of God’s Church - both in Chattanooga and the Church at large.

Why should a twenty-first century Christian explore one of the oldest branches of Protestantism? In this episode of A Beautiful Church, Reverend Phil Hanner explains the importance of historical liturgical worship as practiced by the Anglican Church and, more specifically, at Anglican Church of the Redeemer in Chattanooga, TN. As Adam and Phil discuss both church history and the history of Redeemer, Phil makes the case for a worship experience that depends on a liturgy that can trace its roots back beyond the Apostolic age.

While Phil explains how liturgy keeps us focused on Christ and connected to God’s story, he and Adam discuss the differences between Anglicans and similar denominations, what services are like at Redeemer, how the Anglican Church changed with the Reformation, and more.
Note: This podcast was recorded earlier in 2021.

About Adam Whitescarver

Adam is passionate about seeing God’s people possess vibrant prayer lives to help them make a difference in the sphere of influence God has given them. In ministry since 2001, Adam enjoys his family, teaching, singing, and reading a myriad of subjects. He and his wife, Stephanie, live in North GA with their four children.

Jump Through the Conversation:

• [1:08] An overview of Anglican Church of the Redeemer
• [4:54] How worship at Redeemer emphasizes awe and reverence
• [10:14] How kids tend to respond at Redeemer
• [12:30] Church location, service times, connection information
• [14:38] History of Redeemer
• [17:29] The consistency/longevity of Anglican worship
  • How a familiar liturgy helps you to focus on God and fights against individualism
  • Observations on changes in church worship due to revivals and other events and how different worship styles might affect discipleship
• [25:58] The relationship between the Anglican Church of North America, Redeemer, and other Anglican churches
• [30:13] Differences between Anglicanism and Catholicism
  • Respect for the Catholic church and the necessary changes brought by the Reformation
  • Brief note about transubstantiation
  • Thoughts on John Calvin/Calvinism
• [35:11] Redeemer’s contribution to the body of Christ in Chattanooga
• [43:32] Prayer culture of Redeemer
• [47:48] Phil’s final exhortation to pray as a home

Links and Resources:

• A Beautiful Church website
• Chattanooga House of Prayer website
• Give today
• Anglican Church of the Redeemer website
• The Book of Common Prayer

Thanks for listening! Don’t forget to subscribe! If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show.

The mission of this podcast is to highlight the beauty and diversity of God’s Church – both in Chattanooga and the Church at large.

Although he grew up at Ridgedale Baptist Church, Doug Plumlee spent thirty years away from this Chattanooga, TN congregation before returning eight years ago as Senior Pastor. In this episode of A Beautiful Church, Doug tells Adam about his background, his church’s emphasis on community and outreach, and his vision for Ridgedale. That vision is centered around discipling believers to equip them to go into their communities as missionaries for Christ.

During this conversation, Adam and Doug discuss how Southern Baptist churches spring into action in times of crisis, the growing emphasis on prayer at Ridgedale, and what God is doing in Chattanooga and at Ridgedale specifically.

Note: this podcast was recorded earlier in 2021.
About Adam Whitescarver

Adam is passionate about seeing God’s people possess vibrant prayer lives to help them make a difference in the sphere of influence God has given them. In ministry since 2001, Adam enjoys his family, teaching, singing, and reading a myriad of subjects. He and his wife, Stephanie, live in North GA with their four children.
Jump Through the Conversation:

• [1:13] General information for Ridgedale Baptist Church and Doug’s background
  • Church location, service times, connection information
  • How Doug grew up at Ridgedale and how he ended up as Senior Pastor
• [4:29] Doug’s call to ministry while earning an electrical engineering degree
• [9:07] Ridgedale’s focus on making disciples
• [12:46] How expository preaching and community groups foster discipleship
• [17:12] Challenges to Doug’s vision of discipleship
• [20:41] Adam asks Doug what would have helped during his first years as pastor
• [24:53] How Ridgedale and Southern Baptist churches in general excel at crisis response
• [28:20] Ridgedale’s small groups
• [31:09] Adam’s experience listening to the Bible in lieu of other media
• [32:50] How Doug is trying to grow the prayer culture at Ridgedale
• [37:23] How God is using Ridgedale in this season
• [39:41] Doug’s observations on how God is using ChattHOP and the teamwork of various churches in Chattanooga
• [46:27] Doug’s encouragement for believers to identify their callings and then go out as missionaries for Christ

Links and Resources:

• A Beautiful Church website
• Chattanooga House of Prayer website
• Give today
• Ridgedale Baptist Church website

Thanks for listening! Don’t forget to subscribe! If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show.