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.
170episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Character in Politics, the Key to Happiness & Biohacking Your Way to Forever
Jul 700:38:37Tap to summarizeThe US goes down four to one to Belgium, ending another World Cup run in the round of sixteen — the same place they've been stuck for five straight tournaments. Brian From turns the disappointment into a question about barriers: do you accept them, or do you keep pushing? A disturbing story out of Maine where a Senate candidate facing serious assault allegations is being debated not on the grounds of character but on electability — and Brian names the problem plainly: character must matter, regardless of which party's candidate it is. A rich meditation on Luke 5 and the four friends who tore a hole in a roof to lower their paralyzed friend right in front of Jesus — and what it means to have people in your life who will carry your mat when you can't get there yourself. Brian Johnson, the world's most famous biohacker spending a million dollars a year trying to live forever, has been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease — a reminder that no amount of money or discipline outsmarts mortality. A four-year-old girl caught on tape naming her future husband at a pretend wedding, and it turned out to be her real one 25 years later. Unexpected car and sump pump bills arrive simultaneously, and Brian gets honest about anxiety and finances. And C.S. Lewis via Jen Oshman at the Gospel Coalition: aim at happiness and you'll miss it; aim at heaven and you'll get earth thrown in.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →The Life-Changing Impact of Angel Tree Camp: Steve Collins on Hope for Children of Incarcerated Parents
Jul 700:09:23Tap to summarizeSummer camp can be a life-changing experience—but for children with an incarcerated parent, it can be so much more. Brian Fromm talks with Steve Collins, Senior Program Manager of Angel Tree Camping at Prison Fellowship, about how Christian summer camps are bringing hope, healing, and the love of Christ to thousands of children across the country. Steve explains the unique challenges these children face, why trauma-informed care is essential, and how a single week at camp can build confidence, foster belonging, and introduce kids to the transforming message of the gospel. They also discuss the lasting value of Christian camping for all children and how listeners can support this important ministry. Learn more about Angel Tree Camping and Prison Fellowship's work with families impacted by incarceration at PrisonFellowship.org.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Bible Belt Harder Than London? & The Utter Horror of Small Sins
Jul 601:06:19Tap to summarizeBack from a wet Fourth of July weekend — Brian From opens by reflecting on what unexpected circumstances (a flooded basement, a broken sump pump, a car with no airflow) reveal about how poorly we handle the loss of control, and where our theology has to meet us in those moments. Then a genuinely surprising Gospel Coalition piece arguing that Nashville — the buckle of the Bible Belt — may actually be a harder mission field than secular London: not because of hostility, but because of comfort. When the question isn't whether God exists but what the church will do for you, and when churches line up like thirty-one flavors on a single street, something gets lost. Two uplifting weekend stories: a Phoenix police officer who rented a movie theater for a hundred middle schoolers and asked only that they pay it forward someday, and John Krasinski's moving account of how his mother's three-year deadline — and last-minute extension — put him on the path to booking The Office. A challenging Tim Challies piece on why small sins may actually reveal our rebellious hearts more clearly than big ones. Brian preaches on the story of John Mark — the disciple who deserted Paul, was written off, and ended up being called "useful" decades later — as a picture of how God redeems failures. Science inches closer to a cancer "kill switch." Americans of all ages are spending measurably less time socializing. And a closing meditation on rest — why God himself rested not from weariness but to set a pattern, and why Christians who feel guilty resting may be missing one of God's best gifts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Was America Really Founded on Christian Faith? Zach Mettler on America 250
Jul 300:09:47Tap to summarizeBefore the fireworks and the barbecue, Brian From sits down with Zach Mettler of Focus on the Family's Daily Citizen to dig into one of the most contested questions in American history: what role did faith actually play in the founding of this nation? Zach makes the case that you simply cannot understand the founding without understanding Christianity's essential role — tracing it back not to 1776 but to 1607, when the English settlers at Cape Henry knelt in the sand, prayed, and planted a cross before establishing Jamestown. The Bible was the single most cited source among the founding fathers according to a landmark 20th century study, and the Declaration of Independence references God five times — making it as much a theological document as a political one. Zach also engages honestly with the complications: founding fathers on a spectrum from orthodox Christians like John Jay to heterodox figures like Jefferson, the irreconcilable tension of declaring all men equal while holding slaves, and what we do with that legacy. He closes with what Os Guinness calls the civilizational choice before America right now: recommit to its founding principles, find something else to root itself in, or decline. Find Focus on the Family's documentary Faith in America on YouTube or at thedailycitizen.org.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Young Washington, Minions & Monsters with Paul Asay of Plugged In
Jul 300:09:38Tap to summarizeIt's Fourth of July weekend, it's a hundred degrees outside, and Paul Asay from Plugged In joins Brian From with a perfect excuse to sit in air-conditioned darkness for two hours. First up: Minions and Monsters, the latest entry in the franchise that somehow keeps going — fun and frenetic as always, but parents should know there are some darker spiritual elements from a spell book and at least one real swear word that feels out of place. Then a genuine recommendation for the holiday weekend: Young Washington, a historically grounded action film about George Washington before the wigs and the dentures, back when he was just a Virginian colonial trying to make his name in the French and Indian War. Paul — who reads presidential biographies for fun — calls out the liberties it takes while vouching for its historical core, and notes a welcome faith element alongside the battle sequences. For streaming at home: Enola Holmes 3 on Netflix brings Sherlock's younger sister to the altar while Moriarty tries to ruin the wedding. And in a delightful bonus, Brian puts Paul on the spot about what he's actually watching — the answer involves Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas, and a 1952 western that Paul still hasn't forgiven for its famously annoying kid. Full reviews at pluggedin.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →What the State of the Bible Report Found with John Plake
Jul 300:10:43Tap to summarizeThe American Bible Society has been taking the temperature of America's relationship with scripture for 16 years, and the honest summary from editor-in-chief John Plake is this: it's complicated. Bible use has been slowly eroding since the 1970s, and while there's a "movable middle" of 74 million curious but unengaged Americans who represent real opportunity, things aren't simply getting better. The newest chapter of the State of the Bible report focuses on AI — specifically, how Americans are using it to try to understand scripture. The findings are nuanced: biblically literate people tend to use AI effectively because they can identify when it gets things wrong, while people with no biblical background are most likely to be misled without knowing it. John makes a pointed observation: following Jesus is not a do-it-yourself task, and a chatbot is no substitute for a community of people faithfully walking together. He also shares the tangible benefits of Bible engagement backed by the data — lower anxiety, better close relationships, higher human flourishing scores across the board — and closes with three practical steps for anyone who's been putting off engaging with scripture. Find the full report at stateofthebible.org and a personalized starting point at nextstep.bible.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Christian Patriotism, the Loneliness Epidemic & Renting Dogs by the Hour
Jul 200:38:48Tap to summarizeAmerica turns 250 this weekend, and Brian From draws on Russell Moore's piece about Johnny Cash and Roger Williams to land on the right frame for Christian patriotism: love your country, celebrate it, hang the flag, watch the fireworks — but remember which is which. You have a Lord, you have a kingdom, and while you're proud to be American, your primary citizenship is in heaven. Then a sobering look at Gallup data showing loneliness among 18-to-44-year-olds at its highest level since the pandemic, what causes it to spiral into shame and self-isolation, and why the only way out is the uncomfortable step toward vulnerability and connection. A viral story about two climbers who scaled to the very top of the Empire State Building's antenna to get engaged — and are now facing jail time. China's new dog rental platform where you can lease someone's pet by the hour. And the competitive nature of online relationships — how performative digital culture makes deep connection nearly impossible, and what it would look like to be genuinely for other people instead. Brian closes with Teddy Roosevelt's famous "man in the arena" quote, applied not to politics but to faith, family, marriage, church, and mission: the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, not the one on the sideline critiquing everyone else.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Word-Centered Church with Pastor Mike Holloway
Jul 200:10:33Tap to summarizePeople are showing up to Walking on Water Bible Church in Westland, Michigan and texting their pastor afterward to say: "I've been in church for 10 years and no one has ever pushed me to learn the books of the Bible." Pastor Mike Holloway joins Brian From to talk about what happens when a church decides to make the Word of God — not inspiration, not entertainment — the foundation of everything it does. That means Christian education before Sunday service, 26-week certificate programs working through systematic theology and the essentials of the faith, challenges for members of every age to memorize the books of the Bible, and formal debates with atheists, Muslims, and other false teachers in the public square. Pastor Mike's simple conviction: the right information brings about the right transformation. He also speaks directly to anyone who hasn't opened their Bible in a while and doesn't know where to start — and closes with a word for anyone who feels like hope is out of reach. Find Walking on Water Bible Church at wowbc.org, services Sundays at 11:15 AM.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →How Suffering Leads to Hope, Supreme Court Rules on Women's Sports & America Turns 250
Jul 100:58:28Tap to summarizeIt's July 1st — the halfway point of the year and the official start of Q3. Brian From opens with the domino chain in Romans 5:3-5 that most comfortable American Christians would rather skip: suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope. In a culture that idolizes comfort, this is genuinely countercultural news. The Supreme Court ruled six to three that states may bar biological males from competing in women's and girls' sports, returning the issue to state law in the same way Dobbs returned abortion — and Brian walks through what that actually means practically. A sobering new study shows the percentage of regular churchgoers identifying as pro-life has dropped from 63% to 43% in just two years, with no significant difference now between church attendance and likelihood of supporting or choosing abortion — a discipleship crisis, not a political one. Ninety percent of pastors recommend counseling to their congregations, but only 9% go themselves, and Brian challenges pastoral culture directly. Christian college students share their honest takes on how to celebrate America 250 well. Michigan's legislature unanimously passes a bill allowing kids to run lemonade stands without permits. Happy Bobby Bonilla Day. And a closing reflection from Brian's former co-host Ian Simkins on the miracles that only come slowly, and why mistaking slow for absent is one of the great dangers of an impatient faith.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Proper Christian Patriotism & the Redemption of John Mark
Jun 3001:05:21Tap to summarizeA popular tarot card reader with nearly a million followers deleted her entire platform after coming to faith in Christ, saying simply, "Jesus Christ has saved my life." She lost 30,000 followers overnight, and Brian From holds her story up as evidence that God is still doing the kind of dramatic, costly transformation we read about in the book of Acts. As America's 250th birthday approaches, Brian digs into what proper Christian patriotism actually looks like, drawing on Augustine and Daniel Darling's guidance: love your country, give thanks for it, work for its renewal, but keep that love rightly ordered beneath love for God. Meanwhile in England, King Charles is redefining his role from "Defender of the Faith" to "protector of space for faith" — a shift Albert Mohler calls a window into where post-Christian secularization eventually leads. Two pieces wrestle honestly with the gap between the Christianity we market and the Christianity we actually live: one on why Christians should stop pretending faith is easy, and another making the case that doubt, far from disqualifying you, can actually deepen and strengthen genuine faith. Venezuelan churches step up to fill gaps the government can't after the devastating earthquake. And Brian closes with a personal reflection on John Mark — the disciple who failed, was written off by Paul, and was later called "useful" by that same Paul — as a picture of how no one's worst moment has to be their final chapter.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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