Shows / The Common Good Podcast
The Common Good Podcast
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…
Episodes
- The Common Good Podcast
The Life-Changing Impact of Angel Tree Camp: Steve Collins on Hope for Children of Incarcerated Parents
Summer 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…
- The Common Good Podcast
Bible Belt Harder Than London? & The Utter Horror of Small Sins
Back 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…
- The Common Good Podcast
Was America Really Founded on Christian Faith? Zach Mettler on America 250
Before 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…
- The Common Good Podcast
Young Washington, Minions & Monsters with Paul Asay of Plugged In
It'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…
- The Common Good Podcast
What the State of the Bible Report Found with John Plake
The 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…
- The Common Good Podcast
Christian Patriotism, the Loneliness Epidemic & Renting Dogs by the Hour
America 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…
- The Common Good Podcast
Word-Centered Church with Pastor Mike Holloway
People 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…
- The Common Good Podcast
How Suffering Leads to Hope, Supreme Court Rules on Women's Sports & America Turns 250
It'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…
- The Common Good Podcast
Proper Christian Patriotism & the Redemption of John Mark
A 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…
- The Common Good Podcast
Rethinking How Christians Tell Stories About Land with Ben Norquist
Why does the word "Appalachia" conjure a specific image in your mind, even if you've never been there? Ben Norquist, co-author of Every Somewhere Sacred…
- The Common Good Podcast
Should Kids Be in the Worship Service? OJ Simpson's Legacy & America's Obsession with Ranch
World Cup visitors have discovered something unexpected about American culture: ranch dressing. Brian From opens with that lighthearted detail before diving…
- The Common Good Podcast
Texas Bible Mandates, the Vance Watergate Comment & Why No One Drifts Into Godliness
JD Vance said that if Watergate happened today, it would barely be a 12-hour news story — and Brian From's response isn't relief, it's concern, because…
- The Common Good Podcast
Supergirl Goes Dark with Adam Holtz
Before reviewing movies was an internet cottage industry, Plugged In was doing it as a four-page newsletter to youth pastors back in 1991. Adam Holz joins…
- The Common Good Podcast
The Giants Controversy with Paul Batura
Three San Francisco Giants pitchers wrote Genesis 9 — God's covenant sign of the rainbow — on their caps during Pride Night, and the backlash has…
- The Common Good Podcast
Wesley Martin's Story of Recovery and Redemption
"I'm good, he's over there, I'm over here" — that's how Wesley Martin once described his relationship with God, the same distant dynamic he had with his…
- The Common Good Podcast
Essentials, Envy & Belonging to Christ
As America's 250th birthday approaches, Brian From tackles a genuinely tricky question for pastors: how patriotic should a Sunday worship service actually be?…
- The Common Good Podcast
Ending Fatherlessness with Jeff Ford
Jeff Ford leads Man Up and Go, an organization dedicated to ending fatherlessness by championing healthy biblical masculinity — and his story starts with…
- The Common Good Podcast
Sin's Consequences & Trusting God When Life Is Hard
"Judge not, lest ye be judged" might be the most misapplied verse in scripture. Brian From walks through Rachel Gilson's piece at the Gospel Coalition…
- The Common Good Podcast
Pixar Parables, the World Cup & Why God Allows Suffering
What does it actually mean to worship? Brian From makes the case from Romans 11 and 12 that worship is far bigger than singing or a Sunday gathering &mdash…
- The Common Good Podcast
Raising Resilient Kids & Doing Everything as Unto the Lord
Two Father's Day moments from the US Open stick with Brian From — a 17-year-old amateur inviting his dad to caddy the final hole, and Wyndham Clark's…
- The Common Good Podcast
Juneteenth, Spurgeon's Last Words & Casting Your Anxiety on a Father Who Cares
On Juneteenth, Brian From walks through the history behind the holiday — the more than two-year gap between the Emancipation Proclamation and the day…
- The Common Good Podcast
Toy Story 5, Robin Hood Gets Dark & Young Washington with Adam Holtz
31 years after the original Toy Story changed animation forever, the franchise returns with a fifth installment that's better than the much-maligned fourth…
- The Common Good Podcast
Jermaine Wilson's Story of Fatherhood Restored
Jermaine 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…
- The Common Good Podcast
What Good Fathering Actually Looks Like with Dr. Danny Huerta
Girls 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…
- The Common Good Podcast
Sci-Fi, Faith & Andrew Gillsmith's Our Lady of the Artilex
Tired of science fiction that leaves readers feeling cold, empty, and convinced the universe is indifferent to human life, Andrew Gillsmith set out to write…
- The Common Good Podcast
Storms, the Widening Racial Divide & Teaching Others to Pray
Tornadoes 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…
- The Common Good Podcast
Screens, Service & Raising Kids Well with Jesse Florea
"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…
- The Common Good Podcast
Tracking Your Adult Kids, Bitterness & Two Kinds of Content
It'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…
- The Common Good Podcast
Fatherhood, Mentorship & the Crisis with Russ Ewell
Nearly 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…
- The Common Good Podcast
The Power of Expectation & the Unconditional Love of God
Words 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…
- The Common Good Podcast
A Christian Approach to Banking with Aaron Caid
Only 38% of Gen Z can answer basic financial literacy questions — making them the least financially literate generation on record. And even baby boomers…
- The Common Good Podcast
Why Gen Z Is Chasing the Past & What They're Really Looking For
The top ten grossing movies of 2025 include four sequels, two reboots, and two live-action remakes. The only film with a genuinely original premise is Sinners…
- The Common Good Podcast
What Do You Do When God Feels Silent?
The Knicks came back from 29 down in the NBA Finals, and Brian From turns it into the question of the hour: how do you keep going when every circumstance is…
- The Common Good Podcast
Disclosure Day & Among Us with Adam Holtz of Plugged In
Steven Spielberg has made five movies about aliens, and his newest — Disclosure Day — might be his most theologically provocative yet. Adam Holtz…
- The Common Good Podcast
Four Ways to Actually Help Someone Who's Suffering
When someone you love is hurting, the worst thing you can do is blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. Brian From opens up about a well-meaning woman at…
- The Common Good Podcast
The True Vine, Apologetics & Your Calling Is a Zigzag
A CEO who interviews some of the world's most powerful people sat down with a Christian apologist and said something that stopped Brian From cold: "One of the…
- The Common Good Podcast
Christian Energy Drinks & the AI Jesus
There are now Christian energy drinks called Yahweh and Agape, and for $1.99 a minute you can pray with an AI avatar of Jesus. Brian From unpacks both as…
- The Common Good Podcast
He-Man, Paul Rudd & the Summer Blockbuster Scorecard with Adam Holtz of Plugged In
Adam Holtz is back from a 2,500-mile California-to-Colorado road trip and ready to talk summer movies. First up: Masters of the Universe, the new He-Man origin…
- The Common Good Podcast
The Commodification of Christianity & What a Gen Z Skeptic Sees That We've Missed
A Gen Z writer who describes herself as new to the Christian faith wrote something that should stop every church leader cold: "I worry we're not finding God…
- The Common Good Podcast
Pride Month, Table Flipping & the Good Shepherd
A new Lifeway study finds that 76% of American Christians believe God wants them to prosper financially — and among younger churchgoers, that number…
- The Common Good Podcast
Christians & Global Politics with Robert Joustra
Christians have done plenty of thinking about faith and domestic politics — poverty, abortion, local justice. But almost no one has systematically asked…
- The Common Good Podcast
The Newsboys Story with John James
He helped build one of the biggest Christian bands of the 1990s, toured America with a dream of using music to point people to Jesus — and at the height…
- The Common Good Podcast
Cynicism, Identity & the Thorn in Your Flesh
Brian From opens with a full report from one of the biggest weekends of his family's life — his son Jackson winning a regional baseball championship and…
- The Common Good Podcast
Gig Eva, Clean Comedy & What Makes You Wealthy
A Pennsylvania man demolished his own house with an excavator after his wife said the marriage was over — which is a wild story, but also a useful case…
- The Common Good Podcast
Women, Wealth & Faith with Julie Wilson
184 trillion dollars is changing hands over the next two decades — and 70% of it is coming to women who, by and large, don't feel ready for it. The…
- The Common Good Podcast
The Breadwinner, Backrooms & D-Day with Paul Asay
Adam Holtz is temporarily indisposed (Paul Asay's version of events involves a closet), so Paul steps in from the Plugged In team at Focus on the Family to run…
- The Common Good Podcast
Faith, Family & the Quiet Revival with Tim Goeglein
The lowest marriage rates, the lowest fertility rates, and more babies born to women in their 30s than their 20s — something is going on in America, and…
- The Common Good Podcast
AI, Loneliness & Fleeing Sin
In 1982, theologian John Stott predicted that as electronic networks made personal relationships "ever less necessary," the fellowship of the local church…
- The Common Good Podcast
Overcoming the Fear of Sharing Your Faith with Mark Teasdale
Most Christians believe in evangelism. Very few actually do it — and the fear isn't hard to understand. Mark Teasdale, president of United Theological…
- The Common Good Podcast
Seven Virtues for Chaotic Times with Alan Noble
Everything is shifting under our feet — social norms, acceptable speech, cultural standards — and the result is a generation drowning in anxiety…
- The Common Good Podcast
AI Pastors, Enhanced Games & Half of America Has No Fun
A new survey says 48% of Americans feel the fun has disappeared from their lives — and the number one thing they call "fun" is watching more TV. Brian…
- The Common Good Podcast
Ministry, Education & Detroit with Bishop Charles H. Ellis III
What does a church with over 300 ministries actually look like — and how does one congregation build that kind of reach? Bishop Charles H. Ellis III…
- The Common Good Podcast
Costly Grace, Chess, and the Summer Ahead
Do you follow God because He's worthy of worship, or because of what He can give you? Brian From lands on that question after a Sunday sermon about Eli and…
- The Common Good Podcast
The Importance of Remembering
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- The Common Good Podcast
Pray to the Lord of the Harvest and America Needs a Better Gospel Than Christian Nationalism
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- The Common Good Podcast
How to Establish a Real Relationship with God with Pastor Peter Philippi
What's actually standing between most people and a genuine relationship with God? Pastor Peter Philippi, author of You and God: How to Establish a Personal…
- The Common Good Podcast
Tim Keller's Most Powerful Message & 8 Myths About Heaven
The Knicks trailed by 22 points with seven minutes left and a 0.1% chance of winning. They won in overtime. Brian From takes that improbable comeback and turns…
- The Common Good Podcast
AI Loneliness, Resentment & the Non-Anxious Generation
Mark Zuckerberg thinks AI companions can solve the loneliness crisis. Researchers say it may actually make it worse — and the church needs to pay…
- The Common Good Podcast
Commencement Season, Play, and What the Dying Never Ask For
It's graduation season, and Brian From mines the best commencement wisdom making the rounds — Eric Church's six guitar strings as six pillars of life…
- The Common Good Podcast
Two Kinds of Churches Actually Growing in America
What do non-denominational and Pentecostal churches have in common — and why are they the only two categories of American Christianity consistently…