Good Books for Good Churchmen

An image of a man sitting in a large church by himself.

In this episode of Salty Believer Unscripted, Bryan Catherman and Josiah Walker recommend good books for the man or woman in the pew. What books help people be good churchmen and women? SBU has a new intern (Daniel the Intern), which prompted this conversation. If you’re in church and you want to grow in your Christian walk, this episode offers some books other than the Bible to help you. Find this episode wherever you get podcasts, or listen here:

Subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted on your favorite podcast app, or use these links:
RSS FeedApple Podcasts | iTunes  | Amazon Music | Audible | Player FM | iHeartRADIO | Pocket Casts | Castbox | Podbean | Spotify | Podcast Addict | Pandora | YouTube

What is Hospitality?

Welcome mat, stating, "Be Our Guest" on it.

Most people think hospitality is opening your home to others and eating with them, and it is. It’s not less than that, but it is so much more. What is hospitality? Is hospitable thinking what causes a church to seem friendly to new people? Is there a way for those who don’t have a home to open up and be hospitable? In what ways do we miss it and not even realize that rather than being hospitable, we become clicky? Is there a more robust way to think about hospitality that may cause us to do this better? These are the questions Josiah Walker and Bryan Catherman discuss in this episode of Salty Believer Unscripted. Listen to this episode wherever you get podcasts, or listen here:

Subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted on your favorite podcast app, or use these links:
RSS FeedApple Podcasts | iTunes  | Amazon Music | Audible | Player FM | iHeartRADIO | Pocket Casts | Castbox | Podbean | Spotify | Podcast Addict | Pandora | YouTube

Teaching Well from OIA Preparation

Good preparation for Bible study is essential, but it’s not over until the class is taught. We have to get the Word of God right, and we have to get it across. How do we go from a good Observation-Interpretation-Application (OIA) study or a robust Charles Simeon Trust worksheet on the pathway to leading a class? In this episode of Salty Believer Unscripted, Josiah Walker and Bryan Catherman discuss how to go from preparation to the teaching moment. It’s not as easy as it looks. They chat about what has worked and has not worked well for them. Listen to this episode wherever you subscribe to Salty Believer Unscripted, or listen here:

Subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted on your favorite podcast app, or use these links:
RSS FeedApple Podcasts | iTunes  | Amazon Music | Audible | Player FM | iHeartRADIO | Pocket Casts | Castbox | Podbean | Spotify | Podcast Addict | Pandora | YouTube

The New Bible Study Bookmark

On this episode of Salty Believer Unscripted, Bryan Catherman and Josiah Walker discuss a simple tool for good Bible study. It’s the new Bible study bookmark. Using the OIA Bible study method, this bookmark makes it easy to study the Bible anywhere for any amount of time. It’s simple and reproducible. One side is a Bible study, and the other is a discipleship pathway to make that easy, too! Learn more about this simple tool by listening to the podcast. Listen wherever you get podcasts, or listen here:

You can also download the bookmark here:
Front (The Bible Study) PDF PNG
Back (Discipleship Questions) PDF PNG

Subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted on your favorite podcast app, or use these links:
RSS FeedApple Podcasts | iTunes  | Amazon Music | Audible | Player FM | iHeartRADIO | Pocket Casts | Castbox | Podbean | Spotify | Podcast Addict | Pandora | YouTube

The Nuts and Bolts of Printed Bibles

On this episode of Salty Believer Unscripted, Josiah Walker and Bryan Catherman discuss the nuts and bolts of printed Bibles. When picking a Bible, what should we think about the binding, paper quality, number or ribbons, font size, red letter, and even the $300-500 Bibles? Journaling Bibles? What about cross-references? Double or single column? Goat skin? There are many things we don’t often discuss when selecting a Bible, but these things are good to consider. Listen to this episode of Salty Believer Unscripted wherever you get podcasts, or listen here:

Subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted on your favorite podcast app, or use these links:
RSS FeedApple Podcasts | iTunes  | Amazon Music | Audible | Player FM | iHeartRADIO | Pocket Casts | Castbox | Podbean | Spotify | Podcast Addict | Pandora | YouTube

Picking a Christmas Devotional

Do you read a regular devotional? How about a special Christmas devotional? In this episode of Salty Believer Unscripted, Josiah Walker and Bryan Catherman discuss devotionals and how to pick one. They also consider devotionals for Christmas. Do they help you get into the Christmas spirit? Do they bring something else? How do you bring in more devotional materials when time is short? These are some of the many questions they attempt to answer in this episode. Listen to this episode wherever you get podcasts, or listen here:

Subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted on your favorite podcast app, or use these links:
RSS FeedApple Podcasts | iTunes  | Amazon Music | Audible | Player FM | iHeartRADIO | Pocket Casts | Castbox | Podbean | Spotify | Podcast Addict | Pandora | YouTube

How to Find a New Church

When you move to a new city, you need to find a new church. This is not always an easy task. How do you do it? What should you look for? What should you avoid? Any tips? This is the topic of this episode’s conversation. Listen to Salty Believer Unscripted wherever you get your podcasts or listen here:

Subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted on your favorite podcast app, or use these links:
RSS FeedApple Podcasts | iTunes  | Amazon Music | Audible | Player FM | iHeartRADIO | Pocket Casts | Castbox | Podbean | Spotify | Podcast Addict | Pandora | YouTube

The Real David Platt Documentary

Upset members at McLean Bible Church made and released a YouTube documentary aimed at David Platt. They may be right, or they may be wrong. Is making a documentary the right way to handle their concerns? Should Christians who are not members of McLean Bible Church watch the documentary? How should Christians think about these kinds of documentaries? What about other similar documentaries like “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill,” “Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed,” or “The Making of a Minister” series? That’s the topic of conversation for this episode of Salty Believer Unscripted. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or listen here:

Subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted on your favorite podcast app, or use these links:
RSS FeedApple Podcasts | iTunes  | Amazon Music | Audible | Player FM | iHeartRADIO | Pocket Casts | Castbox | Podbean | Spotify | Podcast Addict | Pandora | YouTube

A Theology of Voting in the USA

Does the Bible have something to say about elections? What and how should a Christian think about his or her ballot? Should these questions be dealt with from the pulpit on a Sunday morning? If so, how? Some believe politics and the pulpit should never mix. Others argue that no verse in the Bible says politics is off-limits. Should Christians have a theology of elections and voting? If so, what should that theology be? What Scriptures speak to such a theology?

The Elders of Trinity Church (Holdrege, Nebraska) asked Bryan Catherman to address what the Bible says about voting and elections through three mini-sermons that would equal an entire sermon when heard together. It was a challenging and sensitive task. The result is a theology of voting in the USA. What does the Bible say? How should the Bible inform Christians on the topic? How should a local church handle these topics? Right or wrong, Trinity attempted to address a problematic topic in a time when many Christians have many questions.

This video (mini-sermon series) collects all three of Catherman's questions: 1. What does the Bible say about voting? 2. What does the Bible say about ballot measures (or initiatives)? and 3. What does the Bible say about selecting our government leaders?

What Does the Bible Say About Selecting Government Leaders?

What does the Bible say about electing government leaders? Bryan Catherman preached from Jeremiah 29:4-7, 11-14 on November 3, 2024, at Trinity Church, Holdrege, Nebraska. This mini-sermon is the third part of a 3-part series designed to explore a theology of elections. The leadership at the church desired to have the topic of elections discussed from the pulpit on Sunday mornings, and the result was three shorter sermon parts over three weeks. This sermon is the third of three, specifically dealing with the question, “What does the Bible say about the selection of government leaders?” Watch on the SaltyBeliever.com YouTube channel, or watch here:

Comparing the ESV and CSB Study Bibles

In this episode of Salty Believer Unscripted, Bryan Catherman and Josiah Walker compared the English Standard Version (ESV) and (Christian Standard Bible) CSB Study Bibles. They used them both together for a few weeks to prepare sermons and study side by side. Which one is better? Why? What are the strengths and weaknesses of these two Study Bibles? If they could only have one, which would they choose? This is the topic of the conversation. Listen to Salty Believer Unscripted wherever you get podcasts or listen here:

Subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted on your favorite podcast app, or use these links:
RSS FeedApple Podcasts | iTunes  | Amazon Music | Audible | Player FM | iHeartRADIO | Pocket Casts | Castbox | Podbean | Spotify | Podcast Addict | Pandora | YouTube

What Does the Bible Say About Ballot Initiatives?

The Bible doesn’t say that faith and politics must not be mixed, but it’s a difficult issue in the church, none-the-less. A healthy way to approach the controversial matters is to take them on when they come up in a book as the preacher preaches through that book. But this is not alway a reality and on occasion, the preacher may need to deviate from his series to tackled and issues the congregation is facing.

On this particular Sunday, the Elders of Trinity Church determined that the 2024 elections, including a ballot initiative regarding abortion, warranted special attention. But rather than cutting away from the series, they determined that a mini-sermon on the topic for three weeks might be more appropriate. Therefore, Pastor Bryan Catherman took about 15 minutes before the regular sermon time to preach the next sermon in a topical mini-series seeking to answer three questions. The first question: "What does the Bible say about voting?" (See that sermon here). The second question and the topic of the video below: “What does the Bible say about ballot measures?”

Evaluating the 3 Circles Gospel Sharing Method

In this episode of Salty Believer Unscripted, Bryan Catherman and Josiah Walker respond to an email offering a critique of the 3 Circles gospel sharing method. It’s valid to take a deep look at the method and understand its strengths and weaknesses. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this popular evangelism method? Listen to Salty Believer Unscripted wherever you get podcasts or listen to this episode here:

See the 3 Circles Gospel sharing method here:

Subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted on your favorite podcast app, or use these links:
RSS FeedApple Podcasts | iTunes  | Amazon Music | Audible | Player FM | iHeartRADIO | Pocket Casts | Castbox | Podbean | Spotify | Podcast Addict | Pandora | YouTube

What Does the Bible Say About Voting?

It's election season, and the tension is rising in churches again. Should matters of politics be discussed in church? If not, why must this topic of life in America be off-limits? If yes, how should these significant matters be addressed? Is there any biblical guidance to help us think about voting in America?

Ideally, the healthier approach to dealing with any controversial matter (including voting) is to approach it exegetically, as the preacher is preaching through books of the Bible. A preaching plan that primarily takes a church through entire books of the Bible will ensure that the problematic issues aren't skipped over as they come up. However, a topical approach may occasionally be needed to address an event or issue that particularly impacts a community. Apart from church calendar times (like Christmas and Easter), preachers should use this option sparingly because deviating from a book to an event can cause the events to drive the pulpit rather than God's Word. The Sunday after 9-11-2001 is an easy example of a time when the preacher should have considered deviating.

On this particular occasion, the Elders of Trinity Church determined that the 2024 elections, including a ballot initiative regarding abortion, warranted special attention. Therefore, Pastor Bryan Catherman is taking 10 minutes before the regular sermon time to preach a topical mini-series seeking to answer three questions. The first question: "What does the Bible say about voting?" Here's his answer.

The Christian Cancel Culture

Should a minister be canceled when he stumbles? How big does the sin need to be to disqualify him today? How big to disqualify him from any future ministry and all past ministry? At what point should Christians cancel preachers, pastors, and ministers? Join Josiah Walker and Bryan Catherman as they discuss the cancel culture within the Christian community. What is cancel culture and how do Christians engage in this behavior? What brings cancel culture into the culture of Christians? How does grace, restoration, and redemption apply? More specifically, is Steve Lawson’s past, present, and future ministries all canceled? Is this the story of Alvin Reed? Ravi Zacharias? HillSong? Mark Driscoll? This is the topic of conversation for this episode of Salty Believer Unscripted. Listen wherever you get podcasts or listen here:

Subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted on your favorite podcast app, or use these links:
RSS FeedApple Podcasts | iTunes  | Amazon Music | Audible | Player FM | iHeartRADIO | Pocket Casts | Castbox | Podbean | Spotify | Podcast Addict | Pandora | YouTube

One Resource Other then the Bible?

If you could only have one Bible Study resource other than the Bible (and prayer or the Holy Spirit) what resource would would be best? That’s the question for this episode of Salty Believer Unscripted? Bryan Catherman and Josiah Walker discuss their answers to the question. Listen wherever you get podcasts or listen here:

Subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted on your favorite podcast app, or use these links:
RSS FeedApple Podcasts | iTunes  | Amazon Music | Audible | Player FM | iHeartRADIO | Pocket Casts | Castbox | Podbean | Spotify | Podcast Addict | Pandora | YouTube

Bible Study Tools: Bombarding Questions

The bombarding question tool is a Bible study tool that should be deployed every time we approach a text of Scripture. Not only does it help us learn to be more observant, it tips us off to other tools that may be helpful for the passage of study. In this video, Bryan Catherman explains what this tool is and why it is so valuable to good Bible study.

If you found this video helpful, you can find many more like it under the Classes and Reflections tab. Or you can subscribe to the SaltyBeliever.com YouTube channel and never miss a video.

Bible Study Tools: Read & Re-read

When it comes to good Bible study, you’ve got to read, and read again, and re-read it again. Take it slow. Try it fast. Pull back and read the context and big picture. Get up close, even studying a single word. Ask questions. Read again. The first and most important Bible study tool (after prayer, of course) is the "read & re-read tool." God's Word comes to us in written form, so we need to read it. And then we need to read it again. Then again. There are a few different ways we should read. In this video, Bryan Catherman discusses the value of reading and rereading when you study the Bible.

If you found this video helpful, you can find many more like it under the Classes and Reflections tab. Or you can subscribe to the SaltyBeliever.com YouTube channel and never miss a video.

False Gospels: The Good Person Gospel

Join Bryan Catherman and Josiah Walker as they discuss the “Good Person Gospel.” Moralism is prevalent in Christianity. Having good morals is an outworking of the saving work of Jesus, but those morals are powerless to save a soul from death to life. The Good Person Gospel might be the most detrimental false gospel hurting the Church in America today. What is it? How can we identify it? Where does it differ from the gospel of the Bible? They answer these questions and many more in this episode of Salty Believer Unscripted. Listen wherever you get podcasts or listen here:

Subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted on your favorite podcast app, or use these links:
RSS FeedApple Podcasts | iTunes  | Amazon Music | Audible | Player FM | iHeartRADIO | Pocket Casts | Castbox | Podbean | Spotify | Podcast Addict | Pandora | YouTube

The Way to Better Bible Study

Bad Bible study usually starts with a bad process, which produces lousy results. A good Bible study begins with a good process, which has a far greater potential to produce fruitful results. How should I study my Bible? How can I study the Bible better?  

Bryan Catherman is starting a series of videos to share better tools for good Bible study, but first, he must set a foundation. The foundation is a proper pathway to approach the Bible. The process is not magical or super spiritual; it's just common sense for reading. Yet, for some reason, sometimes Christians will throw out all the simple practices and do crazy things with God's word. A good study path helps protect us from getting in the weeds with our Bible study.  

Here’s Bryan demonstrating why it’s important to use a good process and then walking viewers through a good pathway:

Nothing here is new. Howard Hendricks wrote an excellent book that's been a top seller for years.  Living by the Book: The Art and Science of Reading the Bible is well worth your time if you want to learn to study the Bible better. The Charles Simeon Trust also provides helpful resources for better Bible study. Their “First Principles” online course is a sound place to start. You can also find many of these principles in David Helm's book, Expositional Preaching: How We Speak God's Word Today.