Reid S. Monaghan

Reid S. Monaghan

Reid Monaghan received a Bachelor of Science in Applied Computer Science with a minor in Physics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While at UNC he also competed on the wrestling team for the then perennial ACC Champion and top ten Tarheels. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Apologetics, a multidisciplinary degree involving Philosophy, Biblical studies, and Theology.

After college, he spent eight years serving alongside his wife Kasey on the college campus with the ministry of Athletes in Action. He pioneered the Athletes in Action campus ministry at Virginia Tech and was the director there from 1998-2004. During his final two years on AIA staff Reid also served as regional director for the Mid-Atlantic and Ivy League schools. From 2004-2008 Reid was on the staff of Fellowship Nashville where he started a work with young adults called Inversion, preached in the Sunday rotation and taught classes in theology and Christian Apologetics.

Along with a team of friends, Reid planted Jacob’s Well, a theologically driven and culturally engaged church in Central New Jersey. He also pioneered the Acts 29 Network in the state of New Jersey, served on the Northeast lead team, and as director for church planter assessment for the US South Central Network. Reid continues to consult and coach church planters as part of his ministry.

He is a traveling speaker where he addresses students and athletes on various campuses throughout the United States. He has spoken to college students at such institutions as Brown, Princeton, Yale, Wake Forest, Rutgers, UNC Chapel Hill, and Virginia Tech. In addition to his campus work he has spoken in chapel services for the Tennessee Titans, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the New York Football Giants.

He has long been engaged with the task of bringing the gospel to people in culture in clear, relevant and compelling ways combining theological vision, apologetics, Christian thought and popular culture.

Some of his greatest joys in life are from the gifts God has given him in his wife Kasey (married 1996), and his kiddos Kayla (arrival 2001), Kylene (arrival 2003), and Thomas Reid (arrival 2006).

Reid has a limited number of dates each year to speak in various venues. His areas of strength are with Christian apologetics, athletes, biblical preaching, family life and worship, college students, and ethnically diverse audiences. Please contact us via our Speaker Request Form if you would like Reid to come and serve with your church or campus ministry.

Episode 175 - Kill em with Kindness

Episode Video

Show Notes

Works Referenced

  • William Shakespeare - Taming of the Shrew, Act IV, Scene 1, the character Petruchio says:

    “This is the way to kill a wife with kindness; And thus I’ll curb her mad and headstrong humour.”

  • Spurgeon, Charles Haddon. The Kindness of God Leading to Repentance. Commentary on Romans 2:4. In The New Park Street Pulpit, Vol. 6. London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1860.

    The kindness of God leads us to repentance. It is not the thunder that softens, but the sun. It is not the law that melts, but the love.

  • Adam Grant on Kindness

    One of the most reliable ways to improve our mental health is to help others. After being randomly assigned to do just 3 acts of kindness a week, people felt significantly less depressed, anxious, and lonely. Lifting others up elevates us too. Giving shows us that we matter.

    https://x.com/adammgrant/status/1871601199910420591?s=61&t=I4ij8eKOHUgedR_RITMhXw

Scripture Referenced

Romans 12:19-21

[19] Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” [20] To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” [21] Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Matthew 7:12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

God is Kind

Romans 11:22

[22] Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.

Love demonstrated!

God is Kind to Us in the Gospel

Ephesians 2:7-10

[7] so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. [8] For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9] not a result of works, so that no one may boast. [10] For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Titus 3:4-7

[4] But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, [5] he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, [6] whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, [7] so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Romans 2:4

[4] Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

Go and Do Likewise

Luke 6:35-36

[35] But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. [36] Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

Philippians 4:14

[14] Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.

Acts 28:1-2 - Paul on Malta

[1] After we were brought safely through, we then learned that the island was called Malta. [2] The native people showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold.

We Become More Like Jesus

Galatians 5:22-23

[22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

[4] Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant [5] or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; [6] it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. [7] Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

2 Timothy 2:24-25

[24] And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, [25] correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,

Episode 174 - The Honor Games

Episode Video

Show Notes

Works Referenced

Scripture Referenced

  • Matthew 7:12

  • Romans 12:9-13

  • Romans 27:2

Episode 173 - Show Up!

Episode Video

Show Notes

Scripture Referenced

Matthew 7:12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Old Testament

    • God with our first parents in the garden (Genesis 1-2)

    • Sin as separation from God (Genesis 3)

    • Pillar of Fire, Cloud – God with and leading his people (Exodus 13, 14)

    • The ancient tabernacle – the presence of God among the people in the camp (Exodus 26)

    • Moses’ confidence in the Exodus was only if the presence of God went with the people (Exodus 33:12-16)

    • Promise of presence – I will be their God, they shall be my people (Ezekiel 37:15-28)

    • The Temple – where God’s presence dwelled (2 Chronicles 5)

New Testament - JESSE Cover

Episode 171 - Doing Difficult Things

Episode Video

Show Notes

Scripture Referenced

  • John 14:15

  • 1 John 5:3

  • Romans 8

  • Matthew 7:12-14

  • Genesis 12:1-3

  • 1 Peter 3:9

  • Philippians 2:1-4

  • 1 Corinthians 13

  • 2 Corinthians 4:17, 18

Book Review Referenced

Episode 170 - Strength and Courage

Episode Video

Show Notes

Scripture Referenced

  • Numbers 13:30-32; Numbers 14:6-9

  • Joshua 21:43-45

  • Joshua 1:1-9

Resources Referenced

  • Hill and Walton, “Joshua” A Survey of the Old Testament, 217

  • The Gate of the Year a selection from a Poem Called "God Knows" by Minnie Haskins.

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:"Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown". And he replied: "Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way". So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night.And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.

Episode 169 - Successes and Setbacks with Kids

Episode Video

Show Notes

Scripture Referenced

  • Isaiah 46:8-1

  • Proverbs 21:31

  • Romans 8:28

  • Psalms 103:1-5; 136:1; 144:15

  • James 1:2-4

  • 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Books Referenced

"Overwhelmingly, the evidence showed that those who accomplished great things generally combined passion with perseverance."

"Whenever we get swept under by life’s dramas, large and small, we are forgetting that no matter how bad the pain gets, no matter how harrowing the torture, all bad things end.”

Episode 168 - Curiosity Grows the Kids

Episode Video

Show Notes

Scripture Referenced

[7] You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. Deuteronomy 6:7

[29] “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. Deuteronomy 29:29

Link Referenced

Book Referenced

Episode 167 - Free Guy, Simulationism and Living in the Matrix

Episode Video

Show Notes

Movies Referenced

Philosophical Concepts

Scriptures Referenced

  • Creation - Genesis 1, 2

  • Glitch - Genesis 3

  • GameWorld/History - Isaiah 46:8-11

  • God enters the game - John 1

  • Makes a bunch of NPC's alive - John 3:5-8, Colossians 2:13-15

  • Gives us a knowledge of what's true and good and really going on - Ephesians 1:7-12

Episode 166 - Life, Storms, and Firm Foundations

Episode Video

Show Notes

Scripture Referenced

  • Matthew 7:24-27

  • Psalm 69:1-3, 14-16

  • 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

  • Psalm 124 (quoted without reference)

  • Psalm 29:10,11

Books Referenced

  • For Augustine's reflections on the Summon Bonum see On the Moral Teaching of the Catholic Church, On the Nature of the Good, Book 19, The City of God

  • The phrase Beauty and Barbed Wire can be found in John Lennox, Where is God in a Coronavirus World?

Episode 165 - My Guy, AI

Episode Video

Show Notes

Show Notes

Books Referenced

Links Referenced

Episode 164 - Aliens, Man

Episode Video

Show Notes

Scripture Referenced

  • Genesis 1;

  • Psalm 19

  • John 1:1, 14

  • Philippians 2

Links Referenced

Episode 162 - Christianity and the Environment

Episode Video

Show Notes

Scriptures Referenced

  • The universe and the Earth are created by God. Creation implies ownership. (Psalm 24:1,2)

  • We are called to care and cultivate the world as God created and placed humanity in dominion over creation. (Genesis 1, 2)

  • The creation is a gift and kindness from God to us. The earth provides for our needs for food, air, water, and shelter. (Genesis 9:3; Acts 14:15-17)

  • We should work and employ creation for human flourishing, multiplication, and honoring God. (Genesis 1, 3, Genesis 9:7)

Books Referenced

  • Norman Geisler, Christian Ethics, Options and Issues

  • Wendell Berry, The World-Ending Fire: The Essential Wendell Berry

  • Christopher Camuto, Hunting from Home: A Year Afield in the Blue Ridge Mountains 

  • TM Moore, Consider the Lillies, A Plea for Creational Theology

Helpful Links

Episode 161 - Is Christianity Racist?

Episode Video

Show Notes

Scripture Referenced

  • Genesis 1; Genesis 9; Deuteronomy 24; Psalm 8;

  • Matthew 5:21-26; Luke 6:27-31; Ephesians 2; Revelation 7; James 2; Galatians 3:23-29

Books Referenced

  • Demon Unrest by Erik Larson

  • Six Frigaites by Ian Toll

  • Empires of the Sea by Roger Crowley

  • How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind by Thomas Oden

Links Referenced

Episode 158 - Cultural Apologetics and Fault Lines

Episode Video

Show Notes

Scripture Referenced

  • 1 Peter 3:15;

  • Colossians 4:2-6;

Links Referenced

Episode 157 - The Trustworthy Word - Part 2

Episode Video

Show Notes

Reviewish - Dune Part 2

Scripture References

Fulfillment of Messianic Prophecies

  1. Human Race – Born of Woman, Genesis 3:15

  2. Ethnic Group – Abraham, Genesis 12:3

  3. Tribe – Judah, Genesis 49:10

  4. Dynasty – David, 2 Samuel 7:12

  5. Manner of Birth – Virgin, Isaiah 7:14

  6. Birthplace – Bethlehem, Micah 5:2

  7. When he would die – Approx AD 33, Daniel 9:24

  8. Way he would die – Isaiah 53

Psalm 19:7–11

[7] The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; [8] the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; [9] the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. [10] More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.[11] Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. (ESV)

2 Timothy 3:14–17

[14] But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it [15] and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. [16] All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, [17] that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (ESV)

Psalm 119:105 - Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Books Recommended

Episode 156 - The Trustworthy Word - Part 1

Episode Video

Show Notes

Scripture Referenced

  • Exodus 24:1-4

  • Jeremiah 30:1,2

  • 2 Timothy 3:16, 17

  • 2 Peter 1:19-21

  • Exodus 20:16, Psalm 15:2

  • Ephesians 4:25, Revelation 22:15

Books Referenced

  • Scaling the Secular City by JP Moreland,

  • Jesus and the Eyewitnesses : The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony by Richard Bauckham

Reviewish

  • The Deep Learning Revolution by Terrence J. Sejnowski