Why the Church Still Matters (Podcast) with Dr. Carmen Joy Imes

Are you questioning the value of investing in church life? Are you asking yourself, “Why get up and go to a building with people I barely know? Can’t I just listen to praise songs on my own and find a YouTube sermon from a pastor I like?”

These are good and legitimate questions. Many people in their 20s and 30s have come to see church as more of a problem than a solution.

Does the church still matter?

Dr. Carmen Joy Imes

Dr. Carmen Joy Imes (PhD, Wheaton) is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Biola University. She is the author of a new book, Becoming God’s Family: Why the Church Still Matters (InterVarsity Press, 2025).

Previously, she published Bearing God’s Name: Why Sinai Still Matters and Being God’s Image: Why Creation Still Matters.

In our conversation, we discuss:

* Russel Moore recently wrote, “We now see young evangelicals walking away from evangelicalism not because they do not believe what the church teaches, but because they believe the church itself does not believe what the church teaches.” We see this as very true, and hear Dr. Imes’s response and recommendations.

* The story of Pentecost in Acts 2 is a dramatic and important moment in the initiation of the New Testament church, but Carmen Imes takes us back to the basis of why Pentecost means so much. We learn from the Old Testament the information that explains what really happened at Pentecost.

* We can learn principles from the Old Testament stories that informs how we relate to God and people in the church today.

* As Americans, we swim in a culture of individualism and consumerism. Instead of independence, Perhaps we need to teach ourselves and our children how to be interdependent. The Bible actually informs how Christians can become interdependent.

* The Letter to the Hebrews has a lot to say about the importance of the local fellowship of believers. We discuss how this Hebrew mindset can help us to connect with others in community.