539: Megachurch Christmas Controversy & Answers in Exodus with Carmen Imes
The Holy Post
Phil Vischer
4.5 • 4.4K Ratings
🗓️ 14 December 2022
⏱️ 89 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A Texas megachurch is facing criticism after a viral TikTok video showed a rehearsal of its Christmas production with drummers flying over the crowd on wires. The church says it's simply offering its best to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Critics say it's an extravagant violation of Jesus' humble spirit. Who's right? New data says Americans are far more isolated and lonely than ever before, and it's not because of Covid. Is the church the solution or part of the problem? And a researcher offers three surprising explanations for why the decline of religion in the U.S. didn't start until the 1990s. Then, Old Testament scholar Carmen Imes answers questions about the book of Exodus. Why did God harden Pharaoh's heart? What does it really mean to take God's name in vain? And how do all of the details about the tabernacle apply to Christians today?
Patreon Bonus: Getting Schooled by Kaitlyn Schiess: Mary 101 - https://www.patreon.com/posts/75878590/
Holy Post merch store - https://www.holypost.com/shop
News Segment
0:00 - Intro
2:49 - Megachurch Christmas production
21:12 - Loneliness
39:01- Why Americans are leaving their churches
Sponsors
53:29 - Sponsor: Faithful Counseling
Get 10% off your first month at faithfulcounseling.com/holypost
54:35 - Sponsor: Biola University's Talbot School of Theology
Visit www.biola.edu/talbot for more information and to apply today.
Interview with Carmen Imes
BibleProject Classroom on Exodus - https://bibleproject.com/classroom/overview/exodus-overview/
Carmen Imes - https://twitter.com/carmenjoyimes
55:42 - Interview intro
57:16 - Why Exodus is important
58:55 - Pharoah's heart being hardened
1:03:58 - Taking the Lord's name in vain
1:10:54 - Tabernacle
1:19:05 - Golden calf story
1:26:05 - BibleProject Exodus course
Links mentioned in news segment:
Holy Post 529: Rapture Anxiety and Why Analog Discipleship is Better with Jay Y. Kim - https://www.holypost.com/post/episode-529-rapture-anxiety-why-analog-discipleship-is-better-with-jay-y-kim
"Texas Megachurch responds to backlash over opulent Christmas show" (Houston Chronicle) -
https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/texas-megachurch-tiktok-17616329.php
"Americans are choosing to be alone. Here's why we should reverse that" (Washington Post) - https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/23/americans-alone-thanksgiving-friends/
"Why Americans are leaving their churches" (Religion News Service) - https://religionnews.com/2022/12/01/why-americans-are-leaving-their-churches/
Other resources:
"Bearing God's Name: Why Sinai Still Matters" by Carmen Joy Imes - https://amzn.to/3uQbKKp
Carmen Imes on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/CarmenJoyImesPhD
Holy Post website: https://www.holypost.com/
Holy Post Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/holypost
The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to The Holy Post. A Texas mega-church is facing criticism after a viral TikTok video showed a rehearsal of its Christmas production with drummers flying over the crowd on wires. |
| 0:11.0 | Is this the right way to celebrate the birth of a humble savior? |
| 0:14.0 | Then new data says Americans are far more isolated and lonely than ever before, and it's not because of COVID. |
| 0:20.0 | Could the church be the solution, or is it just part of the problem? |
| 0:24.0 | And a researcher offers three surprising explanations for why the decline of religion in the US didn't start until the 1990s. |
| 0:31.0 | Then Old Testament scholar Carmen Eimes answers questions about the book of Exodus. |
| 0:36.0 | Here is episode 539. |
| 0:38.0 | Hey everyone, welcome to The Holy Post. This is Sky. I am not Phil. Phil informed us via Slack Channel earlier today that he has been sick over the weekend and has no voice. |
| 0:48.0 | And I feel bad because it's been going around. It's been really bad. You might remember a couple weeks ago I was the sick one. |
| 0:55.0 | Although I still made it on the show. I pushed through. |
| 1:00.0 | Oh, don't do that. That's not nice. |
| 1:02.0 | I'm just joking. |
| 1:04.0 | I am enjoying my Kaitlyn Shes. It's just the two of us today. |
| 1:08.0 | It's fun. |
| 1:09.0 | You think this is going to work? |
| 1:11.0 | I mean we have some experience doing this. |
| 1:13.0 | We do because we regularly record getting schooled with Kaitlyn or getting schooled by Kaitlyn Shes, which is a special show we do just for our Patreon supporters. |
| 1:22.0 | So Kaitlyn and I have some rapport. We can do this. |
| 1:25.0 | Yeah, totally. |
| 1:26.0 | Phil gave us some stories. We found some other stories. We got stuff to talk about. We've got a great guest. It's going to be a good show. It's the holiday season. |
| 1:32.0 | You can think of Phil as like the baby Jesus who's not quite here yet. |
| 1:37.0 | Oh no. And we're just waiting for his arrival and Advent is full of anticipation. So next week when he's back, we can all celebrate his return. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Phil Vischer, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Phil Vischer and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.