Faith Debate Blog
Faith Debate: December 6th, 2020
A Local Faith Based Movie Maker Shares Why and How He Made His New Film
There’s a new film this year that looks a lot like a Hallmark Christmas movie – bright lighting, rich colors, snow, lots of ornaments and Christmas music – but it covers much more serious subject matter than what you’d tend to find on that network. “Miracle on Christmas” focusses on steadfast love in marriage, forgiveness, reconciliation, redemption – and features a message of the hope that comes through Christ, Who is the reason for the season. Thomas Bonifield is the Writer/Director… and get this… he’s from Frederick.
Here are a few useful links:
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8Xvo0F0myU&t=7s
News Release: http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/5048884488.html
Movie Review: https://www.movieguide.org/reviews/miracle-on-christmas.html
The panel:
Troy Skinner. Pastor of Household of Faith in Christ.
Thomas Bonifield. Writer/Director of “Miracle on Christmas”. https://www.miracleonchristmas.com/
Link to Faith Debate podcasts on iTunes here. Stream, Share, Download, and Embed past shows using the WFMD “Audio Vault” here.
Faith Debate: November 29th, 2020
New Movie from a Man Who Graduated from Governor Thomas Johnson High School
Thomas Bonifield, who used to call Frederick home and graduated from TJ High School, is the Writer/Director of a brand new movie titled “Miracle on Christmas”. During last week’s Faith Debate show we discussed his personal stoy, and this show transitions into talking about the movie’s story. The film released earlier this month and its distribution footprint is broad, including on-demand rental, streaming, digital sales, and DVD sales. You can find it at Amazon, as well as at Walmart and Target.
This week examines the theme of the story and why it’s being told. Also, the lessons learned, the surprises and hiccups, the impact of coronavirus, and the behind-the-scenes process of making a dream a reality. There’s talk about the actors (Erin Bethea, Jason Burkey, Brett Varvel, and Micah Lynn Hanson – all of whom are Christians.) the producers (Kevan Otto and Danny Roth), the crew, and executive producer Ben Graham (who is part of the famous family of famous evangelist Billy Graham).
The panel:
Troy Skinner. Pastor of Household of Faith in Christ.
Thomas Bonifield. Writer/Director of “Miracle on Christmas”. https://www.miracleonchristmas.com/
Link to Faith Debate podcasts on iTunes here. Stream, Share, Download, and Embed past shows using the WFMD “Audio Vault” here.
Faith Debate: November 22nd, 2020
Man Who Grew Up in Frederick Does Good
In recent weeks we’ve been rather serious on the Faith Debate. And with good reason. There are lots of serious things happening this year. But now we’re heading into the holiday season. So, it’s temporarily time to shift gears and get you into the spirit of Advent season. There’s an uplifting, faith-based, family tale that stars Erin Bethea (“Fireproof”), Jason Burkey (“I Can Only Imagine” and “October Baby”) and Brett Varvel (“Play the Flute”). It tells a story of overcoming fears and doubts by relying on God, which is particularly timely in light of what the U.S. has endured this year. Thomas Bonifield is an independent filmmaker who graduated from Thomas Johnson High School. His movie is called “Miracle on Christmas”. In this episode our guest tells us his story (with upcoming episodes telling us the story of the movie).
The panel:
Troy Skinner. Pastor of Household of Faith in Christ.
Thomas Bonifield. Writer/Director of “Miracle on Christmas”. https://www.miracleonchristmas.com/
Link to Faith Debate podcasts on iTunes here. Stream, Share, Download, and Embed past shows using the WFMD “Audio Vault” here.
Faith Debate: November 15th, 2020
The Path Leading an SBC Church to Decide to Stay and Fight
Here’s a quote: “The Southern Baptist Convention is tanking rapidly. President J. D. Greear has asked for forgiveness from the LGBT community for ‘discrimination, injustice and abuse.’ Are you kidding? What abuse? What injustice? What discrimination? Are Christians to no longer ‘discriminate’ against sin?” These are words posted as the description for a YouTube video podcast (and as part of the Facebook page) called “For Such a Time as This”. The video features today’s guest, Pastor James Pittman, an ordained Southern Baptist minister of the Gospel, serving as Senior Pastor of New Hope Community Church in Palatine, Illinois. After announcing that his congregation was leaving the Southern Baptist Convention, there was a change of strategy, and James and his church find themselves holding out a New Hope for their denomination.
The panel:
Troy Skinner. Pastor of Household of Faith in Christ.
Jonathan Switzer. Founder of Crossed Bridges in Frederick, Maryland.
James Pittman. Senior Pastor of New Hope Community Church in Paletine, Illinois. And host of the “For Such a Time as This” YouTube (and Facebook) podcast.
Link to Faith Debate podcasts on iTunes here. Stream, Share, Download, and Embed past shows using the WFMD “Audio Vault” here.
Faith Debate: November 8th, 2020
The Fork in the Path that Faces the Southern Baptist Convention and Its Local Congregations
Woke Church. Critical Race Theory. Intersectionality. White Privilege. Black Lives Matter. White Fragility. Ethnic Gnosticism. Neo-Marxist Black Liberation Theology. Post Modern Cultural Marxism. Identity Politics. Social Justice Warriors. Systemic Racism. LGTBQ+ Rights. And so many more new words and phrases have entered our newscasts and entered many pulpits. There are so many different labels because there is so much complexity in how we got here. Some people prefer certain descriptors, much to the disdain of others who prefer their own certain descriptors. Call it what you want… there is a new so-called Social Gospel, and it is viewed as an enemy of the one true biblical Gospel by very many conservative theologians. One of these theologians is James Pittman, Senior Pastor of New Hope Community Church in the Chicagoland area of Illinois.
The panel:
Troy Skinner. Pastor of Household of Faith in Christ.
Jonathan Switzer. Founder of Crossed Bridges in Frederick, Maryland.
James Pittman. Senior Pastor of New Hope Community Church in Paletine, Illinois. And host of the “For Such a Time as This” YouTube (and Facebook) podcast.
Link to Faith Debate podcasts on iTunes here. Stream, Share, Download, and Embed past shows using the WFMD “Audio Vault” here.
Faith Debate: November 1st, 2020
The Path that Brought One Congregation to Announce It was Leaving the Southern Baptist Convention
There is a movement within the church gaining influence in recent decades. This movement has increased power in recent years, and has finally come to a pivot point for the life of Christ’s church within the past dozen or two months. It is a theological liberalism appearing to win the day even in traditionally conservative enclaves such as the Presbyterian Church of America, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, the Free Church, and the Southern Baptist Convention. James Pittman is the pastor of a Southern Baptist church in the western suburbs of Chicago. And he, along with his congregation, almost left the SBC last year. What happened and why? We begin to shed light on those questions today.
The panel:
Troy Skinner. Pastor of Household of Faith in Christ.
Jonathan Switzer. Founder of Crossed Bridges in Frederick, Maryland.
James Pittman. Senior Pastor of New Hope Community Church in Paletine, Illinois. And host of the “For Such a Time as This” YouTube (and Facebook) podcast.
Link to Faith Debate podcasts on iTunes here. Stream, Share, Download, and Embed past shows using the WFMD “Audio Vault” here.
Faith Debate: October 25th, 2020
The Path That Brought One Man to Becoming a Southern Baptist Minister
Pastor James L. Pittman, Jr. is the lead under shepherd for the congregation of New Hope Community Church in Platine, Illinois. That’s actually Troy’s old stomping grounds, as he grew up in a bunch of towns all around that area of suburban Chicago. And Pastor Pittman knows the Maryland neck-of-the-woods pretty well himself, having studied premed at Howard University in Washington, D.C. But geography is not why he’s on this edition of the Faith Debate. Theology is why he joins by telephone. It’s an issue of such great importance that it’s causing church splits, denominational division, and longtime friendships to be called into question. But before we get into all of that, we take a moment to let you know more about this minister of the Gospel.
The panel:
Troy Skinner. Pastor of Household of Faith in Christ.
Jonathan Switzer. Founder of Crossed Bridges in Frederick, Maryland.
James Pittman. Senior Pastor of New Hope Community Church in Paletine, Illinois. And host of the “For Such a Time as This” YouTube (and Facebook) podcast.
Link to Faith Debate podcasts on iTunes here. Stream, Share, Download, and Embed past shows using the WFMD “Audio Vault” here.
Faith Debate: October 18th, 2020
There’s a Whole New Vocabulary
“Critical Race Theory”, “White Privilege”, “Systemic Racism”, “Social Justice Warrior”, “Cultural Marxism”, “Intersectionality”, and a whole bunch of new terms have been added to the American pop-culture lexicon this year with the rapid ascendency of the “Black Lives Matter” slogan, organization, and movement. What do these new terms mean, and from whence did they come? Are they even new? Is it a political divide? A religious divide? A worldview divide? A cultural divide? What are faithful Bible believing followers of Christ supposed to do and think? For many years now, Adam “AD” Robles has been all over this issue like a tick on a sweet-blooded deer. And he’s back with the Faith Debate over the phone for a fourth go-round in this four-part series of shows.
The panel:
Troy Skinner. Pastor of Household of Faith in Christ.
Jonathan Switzer. Founder of Crossed Bridges in Frederick, Maryland.
Adam AD Robles. Host of the “AD” YouTube podcast, used to interact with cultural issues in the church.
Link to Faith Debate podcasts on iTunes here. Stream, Share, Download, and Embed past shows using the WFMD “Audio Vault” here.
Here to talk about it with Jon and me is podcaster and minister of the Good News, Adam AD Robles.
Faith Debate: October 11th, 2020
White Privilege
Perhaps you’ve heard about, or even been subjected to, “training” (at work or in school) that tells everyone that “all White people contribute to what many call ‘racism’” and that all Caucasians must lament their “white privilege”. And even further, all institutions of the Western World are systemically prejudiced… something called “systemic racism”. These are the claims, And they are increasingly the sorts of claims that are being heard within professing Christian churches… from ministers of the Gospel as they stand in the pulpit, even. One of these ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has a podcast and YouTube channel dedicated to warning against positions such as these. His name is Adam “AD” Robles.
The panel:
Troy Skinner. Pastor of Household of Faith in Christ.
Jonathan Switzer. Founder of Crossed Bridges in Frederick, Maryland.
Adam AD Robles. Host of the “AD” YouTube podcast, used to interact with cultural issues in the church.
Link to Faith Debate podcasts on iTunes here. Stream, Share, Download, and Embed past shows using the WFMD “Audio Vault” here.
Here to talk about it with Jon and me is podcaster and minister of the Good News, Adam AD Robles.
Faith Debate: October 4th, 2020
The Trump administration has taken a stand against “critical theory”.
The Executive Branch says it will cease and desist from using taxpayer dollars to promote: anti-American training specifically dealing with any form of “critical race theory” or “white privilege”, or that says the United States is an inherently evil country, or that any race is inherently racist or evil. Until this hit the news did you even know “critical race theory” was a thing? Even now, do you know what it is? Well, it’s an issue that’s been plaguing the Christian church for years, and people like Adam “AD” Robles have been following it and commenting on it for all the world to hear. Adam has a YouTube channel that he advertises as Uncompromised Christian Commentary.
The panel:
Troy Skinner. Pastor of Household of Faith in Christ.
Jonathan Switzer. Founder of Crossed Bridges in Frederick, Maryland.
Adam AD Robles. Host of the “AD” YouTube podcast, used to interact with cultural issues in the church.
Link to Faith Debate podcasts on iTunes here. Stream, Share, Download, and Embed past shows using the WFMD “Audio Vault” here.
Here to talk about it with Jon and me is podcaster and minister of the Good News, Adam AD Robles.
Faith Debate: September 27th, 2020
Theological controversy brings out the best and the worst in the Church.
If handled correctly, controversy sharpens the understanding of the message of Scripture and its application to the contemporary world, so the church can emerge from a period of theological discussion and debate with a much greater clarity on the issue at hand. However, if badly handled, contention over a point of doctrine can be destructive and harmful for the church, potentially leading to unnecessary division and ill-feeling between brothers and sisters in both biological families and the spiritual family of God. Just such a controversy is raging right now over what has been called the “Social Gospel”.
The panel:
Troy Skinner. Pastor of Household of Faith in Christ.
Jonathan Switzer. Founder of Crossed Bridges in Frederick, Maryland.
Adam AD Robles. Host of the “AD” YouTube podcast, used to interact with cultural issues in the church.
Link to Faith Debate podcasts on iTunes here. Stream, Share, Download, and Embed past shows using the WFMD “Audio Vault” here.
Here to talk about it with Jon and me is podcaster and minister of the Good News, Adam AD Robles.
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Sundays 9AM to 9:30AM
The Frederick Faith Debate is designed to be an open an honest forum for local faith community leaders to share and discuss their views of the truth. Lady Bird Johnson once said, “the clash of ideas is the sound of freedom”. In that spirit, the show seriously wrestles with important ideas… the participant often disagreeing with one another. The hope is that through this wrestling a better understanding of the truth will develop with regards to the most important issues facing the world.
In other words, The Frederick Faith Debate is home to conflict resolution on the issues that matter most. We can’t truly resolve anything without understanding. And we can’t gain authentic understanding without honesty. So, that’s what you get here. A safe haven for honesty. We share what we hold to be true and why. Where there’s disagreement, we hash it out. Because we know why we’re here, there’s no worry over hurt feelings. At the end, if we fail to persuade each other within the confines of our program’s allotted time, we will at least know not only where we stand, but the reasons that we camp out where we do.
Host Bio
Troy is a lifelong Chicago sports fan who worked at several Chicago radio and TV outlets before moving to Orlando where he worked at country music station WFIV as the morning sports anchor and afternoon disc jockey for three years. He then worked as a news reporter/anchor/producer at News Talk station WWNZ for several years.
Troy also served as the network producer of the Orlando Magic Radio Network for this NBA team’s first two years of existence. He also became the senior producer/sidekick of a daily sports radio show before then being offered the opportunity to host his own call-in sports radio program on a network of seventeen stations throughout the state of Florida. Affectionately known to listeners as “Mr. Cub”, Troy’s wife, Dina became known as “Mrs. Cub” after he proposed to her live on the air. (Their two children were later dubbed “Babies Cub”.)
Troy departed Orlando to become Executive Producer of WSYR in Syracuse. One year later he was named Assistant Program Director for News Talk WSYR and Sports Talk WHEN. One year after that he added the title of MAPs Director. (Marketing, Advertising, and Promotions Director.) After one more year Troy was named Program Director for both WSYR and WHEN; before adding the responsibilities of News Director, as well.
During his time in Syracuse WSYR was the recipient of numerous local and regional Associated Press awards, the Edward R. Murrow Award for news excellence, and the National Association of Broadcaster’s Crystal Award in recognition of service to the community.
Troy departed Syracuse to join the Affiliate Sales division of national program syndicator Westwood One. Then in 2001, Troy was in Frederick as a member of the WFMD/WFRE local sales team, where he was elevated to Local Sales Manager in 2004, General Sales Manager in 2007, and later to Director of Sales before leaving for a stint at WRBS radio in Baltimore, and then returning to WFMD/WFRE.
Troy holds a Master of Divinity Degree from Reformed Theological Seminary, and in 2004 began hosting The Frederick Faith Debate with Jonathan Switzer of Crossroads Valley Church and Crossed Bridges. Guests on the program have ranged from Buddhist to Baha’i. Roman Catholic to Eastern Orthodox. Atheist to Agnostic. Mormon to Muslim. Unitarian to Jewish. Charismatic to Presbyterian. Esoteric New Age Psychology adherent to Conservative Fundamentalist.