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politics

The World’s Still Ending; At Least There’s Good TV

January 13, 2021 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

In the Season 3 premiere of the Your Sunday Drive podcast, we talk about the mass of issues related to the events at the Capitol in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021.

Protesting vs. rioting. Similarities and differences to BLM. Trump’s culpability. The role of Christian nationalism. Cancel culture, deplatforming and free speech. The continued siloing of media and cultural echo chambers. Is there a “third way” and what’s the role of Christian faith?

Then we change gears to discuss current favorite TV shows, Cobra Kai in particular, and why engaging pop culture at a time such as ours may be vitally important.

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: blm, capitol, christian podcast, church, Cobra Kai, drive, free speech, inauguration, insurrection, january 6, mandalorian, parler, politics, pop culture, riot, Trump

Plot Twist! Why We’re Thankful for 2020

November 20, 2020 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

Between the pandemic, social upheaval, political turmoil, etc., 2020 has obviously been a challenging year. In this Thanksgiving episode of the Your Sunday Drive podcast, we flip the script and explain why – plot twist! – we’re thankful for 2020.

We start with some reactions to the current election drama and positive spins on this year’s political and media-related issues. Then we discuss a bunch of things we’re thankful for, such as kids’ resilience, the goodness of people, possible fruitful changes to work culture, and “small things” to appreciate such as video games (including an impromptu aesthetic discussion about the definition of art 🙂 ).

Finally, we examine how hard times, our view of God, trust and thankfulness are all intertwined in the Bible.

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: 2020, Bible, biden, christian podcast, church, culture, drive, election, Faith, God, Jesus, Pandemic, politics, Thanksgiving, Trump

Election Final Thoughts; Year’s Best Shows; Tolkien on Stories

October 28, 2020 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

With one week left before the 2020 election, we present some final thoughts, hot takes, questions, hopes and more.

We also share about some of our favorite shows and other media of 2020, asking the question “how can we redeem the time spent on such things?”

Finally – to help answer this question – we look at J.R.R. Tolkien’s “On Fairy Stories” and the idea that stories have three essential parts, all of which mirror the gospel.

All this (and more) in a new episode of the Your Sunday Drive podcast:

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: biden, boys, Christian, christian podcast, church, culture, election, fairy stories, last kingdom, Lord of the Rings, NeXT, oxenfree, Pandemic, politics, tolkien, Trump, utopia

Trump v Biden Debate; Ravi Zacharias Scandal

October 2, 2020 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

your sunday drive podcast

We respond to this week’s (crazy? disheartening?) “debate,” asking questions about what leadership in this country looks like, and whether Christians need to be wary of the idol of politics.

We also discuss the allegations against the late Ravi Zacharias and how the church should respond when leaders fail.

Finishing the theme of leadership, we listen to a portion of Dr. Francis Collins’ recent Templeton Prize acceptance address, where he discusses what individuals can do to fight polarization, even without ideal leaders.

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: 2020, abuse, biden, christian podcast, church, corinavirus, covid, culture, debate, francis collins, politics, ravi zacharias, scandal, templeton, Trump

Life at a Distance

August 18, 2020 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

Mandy Polzin and Rob Shade join us for a roundtable discussion about our post-pandemic, more-distanced lives.

Questions include: How are we experiencing doing work, school, church and life-in-general more remote, digital and online? What are the pros and cons of technologies like Zoom? Is there some sense in which church specifically needs to be physically present and in-person? What does the pandemic teach us about what humans are like? What perspective can our faith give us?

Also, FYI, Laura was not mad about Matt’s bad joke. She says “I’ll talk about hairstyles anytime you want 😀”

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: christian podcast, church, covid, drive, online, Pandemic, politics, pop culture, remote, school, work

Boys State – Political Gamesmanship

August 13, 2020 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

Can 1,100 high school senior boys form an efficient state government? Each summer, the American Legion sponsors week-long camps known as Boys State (as well as separate Girls State) in every state that bring together a wide mix of high school students to learn what goes into elections and government. In Boys State, filmmakers Jesse Moss and Amanda McBride take us to the 2018 version of Boys State in Texas. As these young men play out the process of party politics, it reveals some interesting things about our political system. The film was awarded the Grand Jury Prize for documentary at Sundance Film Festival this year.

Ben Feinstein

The film opens with a title card with a quotation from George Washington’s Farewell Address: “[Political parties] are likely to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government.” Boys State is geared around a two-party system, although not ideologically based, as with Democrats and Republicans. Instead these young men are randomly divided into two parties, Federalist and Nationalist. It is up to each party to determine its platform, issues, and select candidates for an election. In essence, the parties are teams vying to win a political game.

The film focuses on four key characters as the week plays out. Ben Feinstein is a Reagan loving conservative. He’d like to join the armed services, but as a double amputee that’s not possible. Perhaps he’ll try for the CIA or FBI. Steven Garza is a progressive son of immigrants. After the Parkland school shooting he organized a gun control march in Houston. Robert MacDougall is good looking, athletic, outgoing—a typical high school A-lister. His dream is to go to West Point. RenĂ© Otero is an African-American who has only recently arrived in Texas from Chicago. Ben becomes the Party Chair for the Federalist. RenĂ© is his counterpart for the Nationalists. Steve and Robert are rivals for the Nationalist gubernatorial nomination.

Steven Garza

As the week plays on, we watch as the political process becomes more and more like real life. There are chaotic party meetings with challenges to leadership, there are smear campaigns, there are rousing speeches, an admission from one candidate that he will say what he thinks others want to hear, even if it is different than his own beliefs, and an example of a would be leader who wants to work cooperatively, but will maintain his integrity.

Because this is Boys State with rooms full of 17 year-olds, there is a lot of testosterone in the room. And because it is Texas, the predominant ideology is conservative, especially in terms of issues relating to guns and abortion. It would be interesting to see what issues would come up and how they would be handled at Girls State and in blue states.

Robert MacDougall

One of the things that attracted the filmmakers to Texas Boys State was that the year previous, the Texas Boys State government voted to secede from the US. That issue is brought up again in this film, and it is interesting to see how the student leader dealt with the issue to prevent another such occurrence.

A cynical viewer might watch the film and be discouraged that the political gamesmanship puts so much emphasis on winning per se over ideas and character. But there are also signs of hope. Steve, in one of his wonderfully crafted and impassioned speeches, asks his listeners to be united and show the adults how things can be done. Perhaps he seems a bit idealistic, but as we head into the current political season, Boys State might make a good primer for us to use in considering the way we see real politicians acting. Will we see them with cynical eyes, or have idealistic hope in what could be?

René Otero

After a virtual theatrical opening, Boys State will be streamed on Apple TV+.

To hear audio of our interview with directors Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine, click here.

Photos courtesy of Apple Originals.

Filed Under: AppleTV+, Featured, Film, Reviews Tagged With: documentary, politics, Sundance Film Festival

What’s the Deal With 2020? Hamilton, Cancel Culture & Legacy

July 23, 2020 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

your sunday drive podcast

2020 is nuts. Pandemic. Polarization. Social upheaval. The election. We try to put our arms around where the year is and where it might head next, seeking how we might respond from a Christian perspective.

Everyone is talking Hamilton (again). We discuss this cultural juggernaut in terms of its artistic value, how it relates to our current climate, what it says about legacy, and more.

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: 2020, cancel culture, christian podcast, church in drive, Hamilton, history, Legacy, Lin Manuel Miranda, Pandemic, politics, religion, washington

Black Lives Matter; Remembering Ravi Zacharias

June 3, 2020 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

your sunday drive podcast

In this new episode of the Your Sunday Drive podcast, we discuss the current unrest following the death of George Floyd, including conversation about Black Lives Matter vs. “All Lives Matter,” protests vs. looting, the role of social media and politics, biblical examples (including Jesus flipping tables) and frameworks for understanding justice, value, etc.

We then take a brief moment to reflect on writer/speaker Ravi Zacharias, who passed away recently, sharing some takeaways and highlights of Ravi speaking.

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: Black Lives Matter, christian podcast, culture, george floyd, Jesus, police brutality, politics, protest, ravi zacharias, riot, Temple, Trump, your sunday drive

Christian Rebels? The Pandemic & Pop Culture Nostalgia

May 15, 2020 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

your sunday drive podcast

Mid-pandemic, with many questioning and resisting government authorities and policies, we ask: Can Christians be rebels? Are there biblical and/or historic church models for us to follow, such as Jesus and the apostles, the prophets, American civil rights leaders?

Many are more immersed in pop culture currently than ever before – particularly in nostalgia for old shows, movies, etc. What are the positives and negatives of nostalgia? How does it relate to spiritual matters and to the “Christian rebels” topic?

All this and more (! 🙂 ) in this episode of the Your Sunday Drive Podcast.

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: Bible, christian podcast, covid, Government, lock down, Lord of the Rings, Pandemic, politics, pop culture, Power, quarantine, rebel, resident evil, Romans, the office

Who Would Jesus Vote For?

March 3, 2020 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

your sunday drive podcast

Finally, the “answer” to the question on everyone’s mind: Who would Jesus vote for?

In this one-year-anniversary, Super Tuesday episode of the Your Sunday Drive podcast, we discuss the different economic and governmental systems vying for votes this year, and ask some key questions: What are the basic differences between right and left economic systems? Does capitalism or socialism or some other -ism best fit human nature? Are there biblical principles to help us understand these options? Are there governmental models in the Bible and do they apply here and now? How do we weigh economic vs. social/moral concerns?

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive



Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: capitalism, christian podcast, church, democrat, economics, election, Government, Jesus, politics, Republican, socialism, super tuesday, Trump

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