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Welcome to the very first episode of Courier Conversations for Women, a new faith-based podcast from the Baptist Courier designed to encourage, equip, and disciple women through the truth of God’s Word. Hosted by Mary Margaret Flook, reporter and social media manager at the Baptist Courier, alongside Hannah Miller, trustee and experienced podcaster, this inaugural conversation introduces the heart, vision, and biblical foundation of the show.

In this episode, Mary Margaret and Hannah share their personal stories—from singleness to marriage and motherhood, missions, homeschooling, and ministry—and explain why this podcast exists: to magnify Jesus Christ and help women grow deeper in their love for Him. Drawing from Scripture, biblical counseling principles, and real-life experiences, they discuss how the glory of God shapes everyday life, womanhood, relationships, parenting, purity, patience, and spiritual growth.

Rather than offering feel-good advice, Courier Conversations for Women is rooted firmly in Scripture as the ultimate “plumb line” for truth, helping listeners apply God’s Word practically in every season of life. Whether you’re single, married, a mom, or navigating a new chapter, this podcast aims to encourage discipleship, deepen delight in Christ, and point women back to the gospel as the source of true joy and transformation.

🎧 Subscribe for monthly episodes and join the conversation by emailing courierconversations@gmail.com
with questions or topic ideas. Follow the Baptist Courier on social media for updates and more Christ-centered content for women.

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How do songs shape what we believe? In this episode, we explore how theologically-rich, Christ-centered songs form Scripture, strengthen faith, and guide churches toward gospel-centered worship. From Holy, Holy, Holy to A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, we unpack why certain hymns endure and how they disciple believers long after Sunday morning.

We also address a key question for pastors and worship leaders: Should we sing songs from sources with questionable theology? We discuss stewardship and why a song’s origins matter.

You’ll hear trusted recommendations—from the Gettys and Sovereign Grace to Indelible Grace and modern Scripture songs—plus a simple grid for evaluating lyrics and building a stronger, more intentional song list.

If you care about worship that matures believers and magnifies Christ, listen in, share with your worship team, and join the conversation.

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A lot of churches have deacons. Far fewer have a clear, biblical vision for what deacons actually do. We sit down with Dr. Tony Wolfe—Executive Director-Treasurer for the South Carolina Baptist Convention and first author in our Courier Publishing 1821 line—to reframe the deacon’s office around four essentials that change how a church lives: lead by example, serve the people, support the pastor and staff, and protect the peace.

Tony shares how a simple, practical training he created in 2017 grew into a globally used resource and now a revised, expanded book designed for any church size. We explore Acts 6 as the prototype for deacons, why unity in John 17 is mission-critical, and how 1 Timothy 3 should be read as character in motion, not a one-time checklist. We also get honest about the “deacon board” problem—how corporate language formed corporate habits—and why shifting to “deacon body” helps restore an organic, relational, service-first culture.

You’ll hear step-by-step counsel for pastors navigating de facto elder-deacons, including why changing documents without changing culture backfires, how to win buy‑in through relationships, and what a year of meaningful deacon training can look like in monthly meetings or an annual retreat. We get practical on conflict too: deacons as early responders who defuse tensions before they explode, applying Matthew 18 with wisdom, and keeping the congregation’s peace as a precious, fragile asset that amplifies witness.

Along the way, Tony highlights robust appendices—encouraging your pastor, passing the torch, caring for widows and orphans, and a thoughtful treatment of deacons and deaconesses. If you’re ready to move from managing meetings to mobilizing servants, this conversation gives you language, frameworks, and next steps you can use this month.

If this helped you, follow the show, share it with a fellow leader, and leave a quick review so more churches can find it. Then tell us: which of the four essentials will you focus on first?

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A lot of people feel the cultural ground shifting and want a faster fix. We explore a different path with Dr. Hunter Baker—one rooted in Baptist history, biblical ecclesiology, and a hard-won vision of religious liberty that helped shape the American constitutional order. We talk candidly about why Christian nationalism is attracting younger men, how state-church fusion looks powerful but weakens doctrine over time, and why a free church holds its nerve best when public pressure rises.

We trace the Baptist distinctives that matter here: believers’ baptism, congregational governance, and the conviction that coerced faith isn’t faith. That theological core leads to a civic stance—keep church and state institutionally separate so the church can preach, disciple, and, when necessary, correct the state. Along the way, we revisit what “liberalism” originally meant: liberty under law, free speech, free press, and limited government—an ecosystem where the gospel can persuade rather than be policed. We contrast Europe’s state-church legacy with America’s free-church vitality, and we wrestle with Obergefell-era conscience conflicts, where the question isn’t who wins a headline but whether the state will force Christians to commit impious acts.

Patriotism gets its due, too. Gratitude for a nation that helped defeat totalitarianism is right and good; worship of the nation is not. We draw practical lines between civic love and idolatry, clarify the two domains—sword of steel for the state, sword of the Spirit for the church—and offer a sane, principled definition of Christian nationalism so the term isn’t a catchall insult. By the end, you’ll have a clearer framework for faithful citizenship, resilient churches, and a public witness that refuses both coercion and retreat.

If this conversation helps you think more clearly about church, state, and conscience, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a five-star review to help others find us.

WEBSITES:

https://baptistcourier.com/

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INSTAGRAM:

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What if the strain so many churches feel isn’t from weak people but from worn-out structures? We sit down with Phil Newton and Rich Shadden, co-authors of Mending the Net: Rethinking Church Leadership, to explore how biblical polity—rooted in a plurality of elders and distinct deacon service—repairs the holes that exhaust pastors, confuse authority, and limit pastoral care. Drawing from Scripture and Baptist history, we unpack why elders/pastors/overseers are one office, how deacons support the ministry of the Word, and why this model strengthens accountability, guards against personality-driven ministry, and scales care to meet real needs across a congregation.

Together we trace the decline of elder plurality in the last century and recover evidence from confessions and association minutes that show this approach was common among earlier Baptists. Phil and Rich make a practical, pastor-tested case: elder leadership within congregationalism is not elder rule; it’s shepherding under Christ and with the church’s oversight. We walk through the distinctions between elders and deacons, the benefits of parity and shared responsibility, and how multiple shepherds bring diverse gifts—preaching, counseling, administration—into a unified team that keeps the Word central.

For pastors and members ready to act, we lay out a patient roadmap: teach the Bible’s pattern across the pulpit, classes, and conversations; invest in faithful men as a pipeline for future elders; and implement changes carefully through bylaws and transparent processes. Whether you’re leading a church with a long single-pastor tradition or planting with plurality from day one, this conversation offers clarity, courage, and concrete steps to build healthier churches for the long haul.

If this episode helped you rethink leadership, subscribe, share it with your team, and leave a review so others can find it. Then tell us: what part of your church’s structure needs mending first?

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A wave of headlines brought Mormonism back into the spotlight, so we pressed pause on our usual format and sat down with Travis Kearns to map the LDS system from the ground up. We start where everything begins for Latter-day Saints—authority—noting how the King James Bible sits alongside the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, and, crucially, “continuing revelation” from living prophets. When newer words can overrule older ones, the result is a timeline of truth where the latest General Conference talk carries the most weight. That lens reframes every doctrine that follows.

From there we explore the LDS view of God and creation: Elohim as an exalted man of flesh and bone, Heavenly Mother, and a universe of many gods ruling their own “spheres.” Creation isn’t out of nothing but the organizing of eternal matter. We contrast that with historic Christian teaching on God’s uncreated, eternal nature and creation ex nihilo. Then we walk step by step through LDS salvation—faith, repentance, baptism by immersion, laying on of hands for the Holy Ghost, sacrament, tithing, temple marriage, temple work, obedience to the Word of Wisdom—and how “grace after all we can do” aims not merely at forgiveness but at exaltation in the celestial kingdom. The famous Lorenzo Snow couplet frames the aspiration: “As man is now, God once was; as God is now, man may be.”

We also open the hood on LDS leadership and life: the President/Prophet, First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve, stakes and wards, lay-led worship with short talks, and why priesthood authority is the backbone of belonging. We clarify polygamy’s 1890 end for the mainline church, note the many fundamentalist breakaway groups, and outline LDS last-days expectations—including the very practical habit of home food and water storage. Finally, we offer a gracious way to engage missionaries: point to Jesus as our once-for-all great high priest and sole mediator who makes earthly priesthoods and temples unnecessary, and let the gospel’s finished work do what it always does—save.

If this deep dive helped you think clearly and speak kindly, follow the show, share this episode with a friend, and leave a quick review so more listeners can find it. Have a question or a story from your own LDS conversations? Send it our way and join the dialogue.

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A moment of public forgiveness stunned millions and reminded us of something ancient: grace is not cheap, sentimental, or soft on justice. We sat down to unpack why forgiveness sits at the heart of the Christian gospel, how Scripture frames it, and what it demands of us when wounds feel unhealable. From 1 Corinthians 15 to Matthew 18, we trace the Bible’s logic of mercy—penal substitution, the release of personal debt, and the call to forgive “seventy times seven”—and we talk honestly about how hard that is without the Spirit’s help.

We don’t blur categories. Forgiveness and reconciliation are related but not identical. You can release someone from personal debt even if they never repent, while reconciliation requires truth, repentance, and rebuilt trust. We explore why civil consequences remain, how to live at peace “so far as it depends on you,” and what it looks like to refuse revenge while still pursuing justice. Along the way, we remember historical examples—from church shootings to missionary martyrs—where grace interrupted the cycle of vengeance and made the gospel visible to a watching world.

This conversation moves from headline moments to daily discipleship: marriages strained by betrayal, friendships bent by slander, and church conflicts that test our witness. We offer a practical, Scripture-shaped path to forgive from the heart, pray for offenders, and keep our eyes on Christ who forgave us first. If you’re wrestling with whether forgiveness is naïve or necessary, you’ll find clarity, courage, and hope here.

If this resonates, follow the show, leave a five-star review, and share this episode with someone who needs encouragement to choose grace today.

WEBSITES:

https://baptistcourier.com/

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What does biblical church leadership look like? In this thought-provoking episode of Courier Conversations, host Jeff Robinson sits down with veteran pastors Phil Newton and Rich Shadden to discuss their new book "Mending the Nets: Rethinking Church Leadership" published by Courier Publishing.

The conversation dives deep into the biblical foundation for elder plurality in Baptist churches—a practice that may surprise many modern Southern Baptists but actually has deep historical roots in Baptist life. Newton, who served as a pastor for over four decades and now mentors pastors through the Pillar Network, explains how the metaphor of "mending nets" applies to church leadership: many churches have good leadership components but need biblical realignment rather than complete reconstruction.

Shadden, senior pastor at Park Avenue Church in Memphis since 2011, offers compelling reasons for why God prescribes plurality in church leadership: it maximizes pastoral care, prevents personality-centered ministry, and provides essential accountability. Together, they tackle common objections and questions: Aren't elders just a Presbyterian concept? If we have deacons, why do we need elders? How do multiple elders work alongside a senior pastor?

Most valuable for church leaders are the practical insights on implementing elder plurality in churches with different traditions. Newton and Shadden emphasize patience, consistent biblical teaching, and intentional development of qualified men—a process that might take years but yields healthier churches and sustainable ministry. Their wisdom comes not from theory but from having successfully navigated these transitions in their own pastoral contexts.

Whether you're a pastor considering this leadership model, a church member curious about biblical church governance, or someone interested in Baptist history and theology, this conversation provides both theological depth and practical guidance. Subscribe to Courier Conversations for more discussions that inform and inspire Baptists and beyond.

WEBSITES:

https://baptistcourier.com/

https://courierpublishing.com/

INSTAGRAM:

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https://www.instagram.com/courierpublishing1821/

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