Podcast
The Common Good Podcast
Hosted by Brian From · EN
The idea of “the common good” has a rich history within the Christian church. It’s the notion that, as we pursue Jesus in our lives and in the lives of others, we are fulfilling God’s purposes for His creation. This pursuit can be messy. It means rolling up our sleeves and creating space for hard conversations about real issues that impact our lives. Things like parenting, marriage, finances, politics, art, and culture. On The Common Good, Brian From creates space to have these conversations, to sit with the big questions that we all have, to sometimes disagree, but to always look for the chance to create common good, by following after Jesus. Brian welcome listeners to join them in these conversations, to bring their own questions, hopes, and struggles, and to ultimately share in a journey to see God’s design for all of us fulfilled.
119episodes
Episodes
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Juneteenth, Spurgeon's Last Words & Casting Your Anxiety on a Father Who Cares
6d ago00:57:40Tap to summarizeOn Juneteenth, Brian From walks through the history behind the holiday — the more than two-year gap between the Emancipation Proclamation and the day Union troops finally reached Galveston, Texas to declare freedom for 250,000 enslaved Texans — and what it means for the church to commemorate and remember well. A Johnson & Johnson executive says a cure for certain cancers could realistically be within reach in the next decade, and Brian roots that hope in something deeper: our ultimate hope isn't the eradication of disease, but the eradication of sin and death through Christ. Ahead of Father's Day, a moving reflection on the "fathers in the faith" who shape us beyond our biological dads, paired with the extraordinary final words ever preached by Charles Spurgeon before his death. Three San Francisco Giants pitchers wrote a Bible verse about God's covenant on their caps during Pride Night, sparking backlash — Brian walks through what happened and why he thinks they handled a genuinely difficult moment with restraint. A look back at Matt Chandler's 2021 warning against churches becoming ideologically uniform rather than spiritually unified. The story of Jonah, reframed as a story about judgmentalism and the failure to recognize our own desperate need for grace. And a closing word from 1 Peter 5 on casting anxiety on a Father who genuinely cares for you.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Toy Story 5, Robin Hood Gets Dark & Young Washington with Adam Holtz
6d ago00:09:36Tap to summarize31 years after the original Toy Story changed animation forever, the franchise returns with a fifth installment that's better than the much-maligned fourth — and surprisingly timely. Adam Holtz from Plugged In joins Brian From to break down the plot: Woody is now part of a street toy gang after kids traded toys for screens, and the story leans hard into questions about childhood, isolation, and what happens when a tween's parents finally hand over a tablet. Then a hard pass: The Death of Robin Hood starring Hugh Jackman is a deeply cynical, blood-soaked reimagining where Robin Hood was never noble to begin with — "Graveheart" might be the more honest title. But there's a genuine recommendation in the mix: Young Washington from the Irwin brothers (the team behind Woodlawn and Jesus Revolution), a well-made historical drama about a young, unproven George Washington trying to earn the woman he loves and the respect of his country decades before the Revolution. Full reviews at pluggedin.com before you head to the theater this Fourth of July weekend.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Jermaine Wilson's Story of Fatherhood Restored
6d ago00:09:09Tap to summarizeJermaine Wilson learned how to be a father in prison. Born into a generational cycle of incarceration — his mother was 15 when she had her first child, his father in and out of his life — Jermaine committed his first crime at 12 and was sentenced to three years for drug possession at 20, leaving behind an eight-month-old son. Ahead of Father's Day, he shares with Brian From how Prison Fellowship's discipleship program and Angel Tree gift initiative became the turning point: a single Christmas present, delivered on his behalf by a local church, reconnected him with his son after months of silence and reopened a relationship he thought might be lost for good. Jermaine talks candidly about learning to depend on his Heavenly Father in order to become a present, prayerful father himself, and about his current work as Mission Ambassador for Prison Fellowship, advocating for second chances and ministering to incarcerated men and women across the country. His message to any dad who feels like he's already failed: God doesn't make mistakes, He makes miracles — and as long as you have breath, it's not too late to show up.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →What Good Fathering Actually Looks Like with Dr. Danny Huerta
6d ago00:09:46Tap to summarizeGirls who were close to their dads at 16 or 17 had better mental health at age 33 — a finding from a 17-year longitudinal study. Boys with close relationships with their fathers are three times less likely to struggle with behavioral issues, anxiety, or depression. Ahead of Father's Day, Dr. Danny Huerta, VP of Parenting and Youth at Focus on the Family, joins Brian From to unpack what he calls "the dad effect" — and the research backing it up. Danny walks through what good fathering actually looks like in practice (hint: not perfection, but intentional presence, self-control, and consistent guidance), offers five mindsets dads can grow into, and gets personal about the hard transition of watching his own kids leave home and get married. He also has a direct word for dads who feel like they've already dropped the ball: you're not alone, and it's never too late to ask your kid the question, "What's one thing you wish I knew about you?" Find Focus on the Family's dad resources, including a parenting report card and a seven traits assessment, at focusonthefamily.com/dad.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Sci-Fi, Faith & Andrew Gillsmith's Our Lady of the Artilex
6d ago00:09:44Tap to summarizeTired of science fiction that leaves readers feeling cold, empty, and convinced the universe is indifferent to human life, Andrew Gillsmith set out to write something different. His new novel Our Lady of the Artilex — set 250 years in the future, where androids begin reporting apocalyptic religious visions and the Vatican sends a neuroscientist-turned-exorcist to investigate — is his attempt to bring genuine theological weight back into speculative fiction. Brian From talks with Andrew, a Catholic convert with a data science background, about the question behind the book: can AI imitate the soul? Andrew's answer is a clear no — AI isn't conscious, doesn't have a will, and isn't made in God's image — but he's careful to explain just how convincingly it can mimic those things, and why that mimicry is dangerous precisely because humans (and even birds, as one wild study shows) are biologically wired to respond to it. They also dig into Pope Leo's recent encyclical on AI, why the church shouldn't be afraid but should be discerning, and the looming push to merge AI with transhumanist ideas that reduce human consciousness to mere computation. Find the book at ourladyoftheartilex.com or wherever books are sold.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Storms, the Widening Racial Divide & Teaching Others to Pray
1w ago00:40:31Tap to summarizeTornadoes hit southern Illinois and Wisconsin, flooding threatened the South and East Coast, and Brian From uses the chaos to name something most of us don't admit: control is one of the great idols of our day, and weather has a way of stripping it bare. From there, a candid look at a Relevant Magazine piece showing the gap between Black and white American Christians isn't closing — it's widening, both politically and in church attendance patterns — and why Jesus's prayer for unity in John 17 makes this an issue the church cannot shrug off as just "politics." A new study on what married couples actually have in common reveals it's narrower than people think — mostly shared values and moral foundations, not personality — and why that's exactly what makes marriage both fun and hard. JD Vance gets pressed on The View about what Christians are willing to excuse in their politicians, and Brian argues the question deserves an honest answer regardless of which side it's aimed at. The Knicks' championship parade becomes a meditation on celebration as a core posture of the church. McDonald's brings back fried apple pie for America's 250th birthday. And a closing reflection on prayer — not just praying ourselves, but modeling and teaching others how to pray, because the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Screens, Service & Raising Kids Well with Jesse Florea
1w ago00:09:08Tap to summarize"I'm bored" — two words every parent hears within days of summer break starting. Jesse Florea, editor-in-chief of Focus on the Family's magazines, joins Brian From to talk about why kids today struggle with boredom more than previous generations (hint: it's largely about how screens train the brain to crave constant stimulation), and what parents can actually do about it. Jesse shares Focus on the Family's summer challenge encouraging kids to serve others — five acts of service, memorizing scripture, donating outgrown clothes and toys, writing encouragement cards — and makes the case that some boredom is healthy, even necessary, for kids to develop problem-solving skills. He and Brian also dig into why neighborhood free play has all but disappeared, the role of technology in isolating families even when they're together, and why VBS, sports camps, and structured social time matter more now that "go outside and play" doesn't really work the way it used to. Jesse closes with a simple, practical tip: be like Jesus, and ask your bored kid good questions instead of just handing them a screen. Learn more about Clubhouse, Clubhouse Junior, Brio, and Focus on the Family magazine at focusonthefamily.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Tracking Your Adult Kids, Bitterness & Two Kinds of Content
1w ago00:58:29Tap to summarizeIt's been 32 years since the OJ Simpson car chase captivated the nation, and Brian From takes a trip down memory lane while reflecting on how the moment became a cultural touchpoint for an entire generation. Then: a fascinating NPR piece on the more than half of parents who now track their 18-to-25-year-olds on their phones — is it healthy connection or a new kind of surveillance? A candid, personal segment on two sins Brian says don't get talked about enough: envy and bitterness, including his own recent struggle holding onto bitterness after being hurt by people he trusted. The Supreme Court halts the execution of a death row inmate who became a Christian ministry leader during 26 years of incarceration, raising hard questions about transformation, redemption, and the death penalty. A new flip phone blocks social media and browsers at the system level — and people are buying it. A study finds one in three young adults are heavy smartphone users driven by FOMO and low self-control. And Tim Challies offers a simple but convicting filter for everything you consume online: does this content exist to bless you, or does it exist to serve the one who made it?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Fatherhood, Mentorship & the Crisis with Russ Ewell
1w ago00:10:39Tap to summarizeNearly half of young men today say they feel like failures — and Pastor Russ Ewell of Bay Area Christian Church says the solution isn't complicated, but it does require intentionality. Brian From sits down with Russ ahead of Father's Day to talk about what's driving the crisis among young men, why mentorship has fallen off, and what fathers and churches can actually do about it. Russ draws from decades of working with young men ages 12 to 30 across nine church campuses in Silicon Valley, making the case that the questions young men are asking — Will I be loved? Who am I? What's my purpose? — aren't being answered well by social media, economics, or a culture that has quietly stopped investing in boys. A practical, honest conversation for dads, pastors, and anyone who cares about the next generation of men.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →The Power of Expectation & the Unconditional Love of God
1w ago00:56:54Tap to summarizeWords matter — and a post-fight interview at a White House UFC event where a fighter dropped F-bombs, thanked Jesus, and then spread a conspiracy theory about Michelle Obama is Exhibit A. Brian From doesn't let it slide, and his point isn't political: when you claim the name of Jesus publicly, how you speak and how you treat people reflects on Him. From there, a meditation on Ephesians 3:20 and the power of expectation — do you still believe God is doing immeasurably more than you could ask or imagine, or has your faith quietly settled into apathy? Brian makes the case that awe is the fuel of a growing faith, and walks through what that looks like from Moses at the burning bush to Peter at the miraculous catch of fish. A heartfelt reflection on two young Wheaton College alumni lost in a Lake Michigan drowning tragedy. And a closing devotion on the unconditional love of God — not just that He loves you, but that the unconditional part is the part most of us struggle to actually believe.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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