Real Talk
Real Talk is a podcast presented by Reformed Perspective focused on having meaningful and honest conversations with subject experts about the various challenges and issues facing the Reformed church community. Hosted by Lucas Holtvluwer and Tyler Vanderwoude, Real Talk aims to inform your discussions and inspire you to have challenging but important conversations with fellow Christians in the spirit of brotherly love.
Episodes

Monday Jul 17, 2023
Ep. 76 - Real Talk Turns Three!
Monday Jul 17, 2023
Monday Jul 17, 2023
We've got a fun more casual episode for you this week! With Lucas visting Tyler in Alberta, we thought it would be fun to do an anniversary episode celebrating Real Talk turning three. Joining us are our lovely wives (and Annelise - Lucas and Elle's newest addition), as we chat about the last couple episodes while reminiscing on our favourite epsiodes from the last three. We're grateful for God's guiding hand and for all the support we have received from you our listeners! THANK YOU! Looking forward to the next three years!
If you have been helped or encouraged in any way by Real Talk would you do us a solid by leaving a five star review wherever you listen to/watch the podcast? This would be greatly appreciated as this helps us reach more people with this important content.
00:00 - Intro
02:36 - Ep. 74 Review - Eschatology
07:40 - Ep. 75 Review - Eschatology
25:05 - Favourite episodes
A BIG THANKS TO OUR OFFICIAL SPONSOR, TRIVAN! WE APPRECIATE YOU HELPING US MAKE THIS CONVERSATION POSSIBLE. BE SURE TO CHECK THEM OUT AT WWW.TRIVAN.COM
To keep up with the podcast, check out our website: https://www.realtalkpodcast.ca/
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, clips, and more! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReformedRealTalk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reformedrealtalk/
We'd love to hear from you. Please send us your questions, comments, or other feedback at reformedrealtalk@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! If you liked what you heard, please share this podcast with your family and friends!

Monday Jul 03, 2023
Ep. 75 - World Gone Woke - Rev. Greg Bylsma
Monday Jul 03, 2023
Monday Jul 03, 2023
Hope you all are enjoying the Canada/Independence Day long weekend! We have a great new episode for you. Pastor Greg Bylsma joins us for this one as we chat about 'woke culture'. In a world gone woke, there seems to be many reasons to fear but Pastor Greg encourages us how to live for Christ in a time such as this. We chat about what 'woke' actually means, how the Church should deal with this and how individually as Christians we should engage with the world around us.
We hope this episode is as informative and encouraging for you as it was for us!
0:00 - Intro
4:30 - What is woke ideology
9:44 - Expressive Individualism
22:10 - Parsing through the truths
29:55 - Book Recommendations
32:00 - How should the church deal with this?
40:00 - How should we deal with this individually?
53:00 - Common lies we accept
56:00 - How should we prepare?
1:07:00 - Worry for the youth?
1:15:00 - Finding joy in suffering for Christ
1:17:00 - Withdraw or engage?
1:24:00 - Where do we go from here?
A BIG THANKS TO OUR OFFICIAL SPONSOR, TRIVAN! WE APPRECIATE YOU HELPING US MAKE THIS CONVERSATION POSSIBLE. BE SURE TO CHECK THEM OUT AT WWW.TRIVAN.COM
To keep up with the podcast, check out our website: https://www.realtalkpodcast.ca/
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, clips, and more! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReformedRealTalk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reformedrealtalk/
We'd love to hear from you. Please send us your questions, comments, or other feedback at reformedrealtalk@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! If you liked what you heard, please share this podcast with your family and friends!

Monday Jun 19, 2023
Ep. 74 - Are we in the End Times? - Rev. William Boekestein
Monday Jun 19, 2023
Monday Jun 19, 2023
We're back with a new episode for you. Lucas is joined by Rev. William Boekestein to chat about Eschatology - a big word that just means the doctrine of the End Times. This is not a topic widely preached or talked about in our circles but is incredibly important to understand. We chat about the idea of personal eschatology - what happens after we die?, the different views of the end times, and final judgement. We hope that this episode is informative and inspires you to have your conversations about Eschatology.
Be sure to check out Pastor Will's book, The Future of Everything to learn more!
0:00 - Intro
04:00 - What is Eschatology and why should we care?
5:40 - How do we make sense of Prophecy?
9:50 - Personal Eschatology
20:30 - Pre/Post & Amillenialism
31:50 - Judgement Day
38:55 - Hell
42:40 - Heaven
46:00 - Application
A BIG THANKS TO OUR OFFICIAL SPONSOR, TRIVAN! WE APPRECIATE YOU HELPING US MAKE THIS CONVERSATION POSSIBLE. BE SURE TO CHECK THEM OUT AT WWW.TRIVAN.COM
To keep up with the podcast, check out our website: https://www.realtalkpodcast.ca/
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, clips, and more! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReformedRealTalk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reformedrealtalk/
We'd love to hear from you. Please send us your questions, comments, or other feedback at reformedrealtalk@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! If you liked what you heard, please share this podcast with your family and friends!

Monday Jun 05, 2023
Ep. 73 - RTR #5 - Jon Dykstra
Monday Jun 05, 2023
Monday Jun 05, 2023
Coming back at you with another Real Talk Round Up! Jon Dykstra joins us for this one as we reflect on the last three episodes. Listen to the end to hear Jon's top 5 book recommendations for graduates. We hope you enjoy today's episode!
Top 5 books for graduates:
Grace and Truth Paradox - Randy Alcorn
Just Do Something - Kevin DeYoung
The Christian Counsellor's Commentary on Proverbs - Jay E. Adams
John: An Expositional Commentary - R.C. Sproul
Death by Living - N.D. Wilson
A BIG THANKS TO OUR OFFICIAL SPONSOR, TRIVAN! WE APPRECIATE YOU HELPING US MAKE THIS CONVERSATION POSSIBLE. BE SURE TO CHECK THEM OUT AT WWW.TRIVAN.COM
To keep up with the podcast, check out our website: https://www.realtalkpodcast.ca/
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, clips, and more! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReformedRealTalk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reformedrealtalk/
We'd love to hear from you. Please send us your questions, comments, or other feedback at reformedrealtalk@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! If you liked what you heard, please share this podcast with your family and friends!

Monday May 22, 2023
Ep. 72 - How In The World Did We Get Here? - Rev. Jim Witteveen
Monday May 22, 2023
Monday May 22, 2023
Happy Victoria Day to all our Canadian listeners!
On today's episode we brought on fan favourite, Pastor Jim Witteveen to talk about his new book, How in the World did we get here? This book highlights the earthly forces and movements the devil is using to try accomplish his purposes. We know we have the final victory in Christ yet it is important for us to be informed of the evil works at play so we can be on guard and fight the battles of spiritual warfare. Be sure to check out this book here!
We hope you enjoy this episode and pray that it informs and encourages you to live boldly for Christ. We'd love to hear your thoughts!
A BIG THANKS TO OUR OFFICIAL SPONSOR, TRIVAN! WE APPRECIATE YOU HELPING US MAKE THIS CONVERSATION POSSIBLE. BE SURE TO CHECK THEM OUT AT WWW.TRIVAN.COM
To keep up with the podcast, check out our website: https://www.realtalkpodcast.ca/
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, clips, and more! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReformedRealTalk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reformedrealtalk/
We'd love to hear from you. Please send us your questions, comments, or other feedback at reformedrealtalk@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! If you liked what you heard, please share this podcast with your family and friends!

Monday May 08, 2023
Ep. 71 - Faithfulness in Public Life - Al Siebring
Monday May 08, 2023
Monday May 08, 2023
We have a new episode for you with Al Siebring. Al has served in a variety of public roles including as the Mayor of North Cowichan, BC. He might be most well known to you as the host of ARPA’s previous podcast enterprise, Lighthouse News. We chat about his experiences in the public life and the importance of staying faithful in this work.
0:00 - Intro
3:00 - Al’s experience & career
25:00 - The Michener Award (for Investigative Journalism)
33:00 - Bias in the media
36:00 - Charles and Diana
41:00 - Ted Byfield
43:00 - Lighthouse
50:45 - Municipal Politics
1:04:00 - COVID
1:13:00 - Advice for being involved into politics
1:17:00 - Consulting
1:22:30 - What makes a good leader?
A BIG THANKS TO OUR OFFICIAL SPONSOR, TRIVAN! WE APPRECIATE YOU HELPING US MAKE THIS CONVERSATION POSSIBLE. BE SURE TO CHECK THEM OUT AT WWW.TRIVAN.COM
To keep up with the podcast, check out our website: https://www.realtalkpodcast.ca/
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, clips, and more! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReformedRealTalk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reformedrealtalk/
We'd love to hear from you. Please send us your questions, comments, or other feedback at reformedrealtalk@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! If you liked what you heard, please share this podcast with your family and friends!

Monday Apr 24, 2023
Ep. 70 - Why Should We Baptize Babies? - Rev. James Zekveld
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Here is part 2 of our series on the marks of the true church. In this episode, we're looking at the sacraments. Joining Tyler for this chat is Rev. James Zekveld, a missionary and pastor in Niverville, MB. We start with a general outline of what the sacraments are and then go into the baptism discussion. We cover arguments for both paedobaptism and credobaptism and why the covenant matters!
0:00 - Intro
06:10 - What is a sacrament?
10:00 - Roman Catholic sacraments
14:00 - Why do we only do it on Sunday?
23:30 - What do we believe Baptism is?
40:20 - Baptism vs Profession of Faith
47:30 - Arguments for Paedo and Credobaptism
1:17:00 - Importance of the Covenant
1:22:00 - Feelings and Symbolism
A BIG THANKS TO OUR OFFICIAL SPONSOR, TRIVAN! WE APPRECIATE YOU HELPING US MAKE THIS CONVERSATION POSSIBLE. BE SURE TO CHECK THEM OUT AT WWW.TRIVAN.COM
To keep up with the podcast, check out our website: https://www.realtalkpodcast.ca/
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, clips, and more! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReformedRealTalk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reformedrealtalk/
We'd love to hear from you. Please send us your questions, comments, or other feedback at reformedrealtalk@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! If you liked what you heard, please share this podcast with your family and friends!

Monday Apr 10, 2023
Ep. 69 - RTR #4 - Truth & Reconciliation
Monday Apr 10, 2023
Monday Apr 10, 2023
Time for a Real Talk RoundUp! RP's chairman on the board, Bruce DeBoer and fellow board member, Pastor Jim Witteveen are joining us for this conversation. We catch up on the last three episodes as well as touch on a recent article Pastor Jim wrote for Reformed Perspective covering the topics of Residential Schools & Truth and Reconciliation. Check it out here on page 29 of the magazine:
Truth & Reconciliation is possible, but not as it is being popularized
We also have a special update from Bruce on the work for Reformed Perspective. Be sure to let us know what you think of this episode and any feedback/ideas you may have for us at Real Talk or Reformed Perspective, please don't hesitate to reach out. We're grateful for your support and listenership.
0:00 - Intro
4:00 - Covid 19 & Mental Health
18:50 - To Preach or to Lecture
29:00 - IVF & Embryo Adoption
40:00 - Truth and Reconciliation Article
53:40 - Reformed Perspective Update
A BIG THANKS TO OUR OFFICIAL SPONSOR, TRIVAN! WE APPRECIATE YOU HELPING US MAKE THIS CONVERSATION POSSIBLE. BE SURE TO CHECK THEM OUT AT WWW.TRIVAN.COM
To keep up with the podcast, check out our website: https://www.realtalkpodcast.ca/
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, clips, and more! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReformedRealTalk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reformedrealtalk/
We'd love to hear from you. Please send us your questions, comments, or other feedback at reformedrealtalk@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! If you liked what you heard, please share this podcast with your family and friends!

Monday Mar 27, 2023
Ep. 68 - IVF & Embryo Adoption - Justina Van Manen
Monday Mar 27, 2023
Monday Mar 27, 2023
We have an interesting yet difficult episode for you today. We know this is a sensitive topic but we hope it will be helpful for you in understanding more about this complex topic.
Justina Van Manen from CCBR joins us for this conversation where we discuss the history of IVF, it's regulation and the risks and dangers associated with it. On the other side, we also discuss snowflake adoption and the opportunity it presents for Christians. Be sure to let us know what you think of this episode!
0:00 - Intro
5:19 - History of IVF
10:00 - Regulations
17:00 - Dangers and Risks
29:00 - Snowflake Adoption
A BIG THANKS TO OUR OFFICIAL SPONSOR, TRIVAN! WE APPRECIATE YOU HELPING US MAKE THIS CONVERSATION POSSIBLE. BE SURE TO CHECK THEM OUT AT WWW.TRIVAN.COM
To keep up with the podcast, check out our website: https://www.realtalkpodcast.ca/
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, clips, and more! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReformedRealTalk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reformedrealtalk/
We'd love to hear from you. Please send us your questions, comments, or other feedback at reformedrealtalk@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! If you liked what you heard, please share this podcast with your family and friends!

Saturday Mar 25, 2023
Ep. 67 -To Lecture or to Preach? - Dr. Cornelis Van Dam
Saturday Mar 25, 2023
Saturday Mar 25, 2023
Hopefully, this will be part one of a new series examining the Marks of a True Church. For this episode, we dive into what is the pure preaching of the Gospel. To help us with this we brought on Dr. Van Dam, emeritus professor of Canadian Reformed Seminary.
We discuss what is preaching, how it differs from lectures and speeches, who can preach, and who is preaching for. We also hone in on what about preaching in a missional context - is the preaching for the lost or the found??
Be sure to let us know your thoughts on this episode!
0:00 - Intro
8:40 - Preaching in the OT vs NT
15:30 - Calling to preach
19:20 - Lecture vs. Sermon
22:00 - Why is preaching a mark of the true church
27:50 - Structure of a sermon
35:30 - Preaching to the flock
40:30 - Room for interaction?
44:00 - Sermon Evaluating
56:00 - The tenure of a preacher
1:07:00 - Preaching in a missional context
A BIG THANKS TO OUR OFFICIAL SPONSOR, TRIVAN! WE APPRECIATE YOU HELPING US MAKE THIS CONVERSATION POSSIBLE. BE SURE TO CHECK THEM OUT AT WWW.TRIVAN.COM
To keep up with the podcast, check out our website: https://www.realtalkpodcast.ca/
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, clips, and more! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReformedRealTalk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reformedrealtalk/
We'd love to hear from you. Please send us your questions, comments, or other feedback at reformedrealtalk@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! If you liked what you heard, please share this podcast with your family and friends!