Pastors Thad and Will discussed the definition and practice of biblical hospitality. The conversation was prompted by Pastor Will's observation of declining newcomer retention at the church, which he attributed to the challenges of being in a temporary, less welcoming location during the building renovation. They defined biblical hospitality as the "love of strangers" (philoxenia), a command to intentionally welcome others into one's life, home, and church. They contrasted well-meaning but often ineffective practices, like forced meet-and-greet times, with more effective, practical steps. These included congregants intentionally introducing themselves to unfamiliar faces, arriving early and staying late, and prioritizing visitors over existing friends on Sunday mornings. The pastors concluded by framing hospitality as a reflection of the gospel, where God welcomed outsiders into His family, and urged listeners to practice it not just at church but in all areas of life.

Brian and Will discussed the importance of congregational singing in a local church. They outlined several key reasons, including glorifying God corporately, preparing hearts to receive the sermon, building unity within the church, encouraging struggling members while also humbling the comfortable, serving as a witness to unbelievers, and acting as a rehearsal for eternity. They supported their points with numerous scriptural references and personal anecdotes from their pastoral ministry.

Brian, Thad, and Will, discussed the topic of cryptids in response to a listener's question. They explored the reasons people believe in such creatures, linking it to a distrust of institutions, a search for community, and psychological needs. They analyzed the topic from a Christian perspective, concluding that believers should remain reasonable, avoid sensationalism and conspiracy theories, and focus on the primary mission of the church. They argued that getting caught up in such topics could damage a Christian's reputation and be a poor stewardship of time. While remaining open to the possibility of undiscovered species, they ultimately categorized belief in cryptids as a distraction from core faith matters.

in this episode, Pastor Will addressed a congregation member's question regarding West Hills' interpretation of "pornea" as biblical grounds for divorce. Will explained that the question arose from a recent church meeting concerning a member's divorce. He analyzed the term "pornea" from the biblical texts of Matthew 5 and 19, rejecting both overly narrow interpretations (defining it only as physical adultery) and overly broad ones (including any lustful thought). He presented the church leadership's consensus view, defining biblically-permissible grounds for divorce under "pornea" as sexual immorality characterized by persistence, unrepentance, and/or egregiousness. Will stressed that there was no black-and-white rule, and that these situations required case-by-case wisdom, discernment, and the guidance of church elders. He concluded by emphasizing that God's ultimate desire was for repentance and marital restoration whenever possible.

The most contentious discussions centered around the doctrines of grace (Calvinism), with all three pastors agreeing it was tier two but acknowledging they had "card carrying Armenians" in their church who disagreed [10:54] [14:22]. The virgin birth generated significant debate, with Thad placing it in tier one due to theological implications for Christ's sinlessness and divine nature [17:06] [18:00] [18:15], while Will placed it between tiers one and two [21:51] [21:58], and Brian suggested tier two [15:22] [16:03].

In the third installment of their "Theological Triage" series, Brian, Will and Thad engaged in a discussion to categorize various Christian beliefs and practices into three tiers of theological importance. The tiers were defined as: Tier 1 (essential to the gospel), Tier 2 (important enough to separate churches over), and Tier 3 (areas where Christians could disagree within the same church).

The pastors analyzed a range of topics including church attendance and membership, diversity, social justice, the role of politics from the pulpit, the historical Adam, women's roles in teaching, worship styles, sermon length, Bible translations, and alcohol consumption. Throughout the conversation, they often distinguished between the purely theological importance of an issue and its practical, functional impact on the unity and culture of a specific church community.

Brian, Thad, and Will—held a discussion on the concept of "theological triage," a method for categorizing theological doctrines based on their level of importance. They defined a three-tiered system: Tier 1 for issues essential to salvation (gospel issues); Tier 2 for urgent doctrines that are important enough to cause separation into different churches if disagreed upon; and Tier 3 for secondary issues where disagreement is permissible within the same church.

They then applied this framework to a series of theological topics, including baptism, same-sex marriage, justification by faith, and speaking in tongues, debating which tier each topic belonged to and discussing the practical implications for church unity, membership, and leadership.

Welcome to ask the pastors a segment of the West Hills Podcast. We have the opportunity to ask your questions and receive biblically grounded, pastorally sensitive answers from our pastoral staff. My name is Brian, I’m your host. I’m joined by our lead pastor Will. Hey and Pastor Thad. Hello. And today we’re continuing call this I think part three kind of focusing on one of our listeners. Emma sent in these questions. Part three, I’m a new Christian, how do I live like it? And just a wonderful list of questions. And we talked beforehand going online that we would limit our responses to five minutes,