Marc Jolicoeur
marcjolicoeur.bsky.social
Marc Jolicoeur
@marcjolicoeur.bsky.social
Pastor @MonctonWesleyan, prof @Kingswood, researcher @WorshipResearch, writer, runner, podder, married outta my league & fathered two exceptionals.

https://linktr.ee/marcjolicoeur
There’s just something about elevation, verticality, “mountain-top experiences” that seem to be the language of the divine for humans. But… is God not also with us in the valley? Checkout ep 89 of the pod with @revniebauer.bsky.social :

youtu.be/C6QfpEWd0F0?...
From Eden To Zion: How Elevation Can Help Us Better Read The Bible (ep 89 with Michael Niebauer)
YouTube video by Marc Jolicoeur
youtu.be
November 14, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Can strawberries & bannock be “communion”? Could smoke ever substitute for water in Christian baptism? While striving to ensure our rituals are simultaneously faithful and meaningful, what (if any) are our non-negotiables?
October 23, 2025 at 1:25 AM
In ep 87 of the Jolly Thoughts Pod @mburtwrites.bsky.social & @kkramermcginnis.bsky.social (co-authors of “The Myth Of Good Christian Parenting”) argue that understanding our children as ALSO our siblings (in Christ) makes a big difference. What do you think? (link in bio)

youtu.be/6P5f1cj0H5k?...
The Myth Of Good Christian Parenting - Jolly Thoughts ep 87 (with McGinnis & Burt)
YouTube video by Marc Jolicoeur
youtu.be
October 10, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Who was John the Baptist? You might feel like you already know the answer, or you might not even care about that question, but either way, @religionprof.bsky.social’s recent pair of works (Christmaker and John of History, Baptist of Faith) will very likely change your mind.

youtu.be/eZxKrFZqquk?...
Who Was John “The Baptist” to Jesus “The Christ”? || Conversation with James F McGrath
YouTube video by Marc Jolicoeur
youtu.be
August 8, 2025 at 12:23 PM
When in Rome… Don’t Necessarily Do As The Romans Do (especially if you’re a Christian).

In ep 84 of the Jolly Thoughts pod I sit down with an absolute classic(ist), Dr Nadya Williams, who unloads a ton of 🤯 insight about the way culture has impacted the Church.

Listen wherever you pod (video 👇)
June 20, 2025 at 8:06 PM
What if your memory wasn’t… your memory?

youtu.be/uri4XmDNViU?...

(@mikecosper.bsky.social, ep 7 of The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea maaaaaay have broken me 😬)
Memories, Faulty Memories, and Imported Memories
YouTube video by Marc Jolicoeur
youtu.be
May 30, 2025 at 7:00 PM
I don’t ALWAYS talk about the Ship Of Theseus (though, admittedly, I do seem to talk about it an inordinate amount…), but at least in this instance, @bmietana.bsky.social seemed to think it was relevant. religionnews.com/2025/04/15/c...
Chris Tomlin's 'First Hymn,' resurrects the oldest hymn ever found
(RNS) — A new documentary details a project to revamp an 1,800-year-old hymn for a modern audience. The Oxyrhynchus Hymn is the oldest surviving Christian hymn with musical notation — and was rewritte...
religionnews.com
April 15, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Reposted by Marc Jolicoeur
Got to write about ancient papyrus, Egyptian rubbish heaps, megachurch worship, Martin Marty and the Ship of Theseus all in the same story

religionnews.com/2025/04/15/c...
Chris Tomlin's 'First Hymn,' resurrects the oldest hymn ever found
(RNS) — A new documentary details a project to revamp an 1,800-year-old hymn for a modern audience. The Oxyrhynchus Hymn is the oldest surviving Christian hymn with musical notation — and was rewritte...
religionnews.com
April 15, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Reposted by Marc Jolicoeur
"Most Christians today don’t know the worship songs that Jesus sang." @marcjolicoeur.bsky.social explains why the Psalms have nearly vanished from modern church music—and what that means for our theology. 🎙� Full episode: buff.ly/41fePmV <a href="/hashtag/TBMpodcast" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link">#TBMpodcast #BiblicalMind #HebraicThought
The Contemporary Worship Music Pipeline, or "Where Did The Psalms Go?" (Marc Jolicoeur) Ep. #189 | The Biblical Mind
Who decides what worship songs we sing in church? It turns out, worship music is a massive industry, and the way songs make it from a Nashville songwriting room to a Sunday morning service might…
buff.ly
February 27, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Reposted by Marc Jolicoeur
Who’s really deciding what worship songs we sing on Sundays? 🎶 Dr. @marcjolicoeur.bsky.social reveals how four major churches dominate modern worship music.
📺 Watch: https://buff.ly/4iAhnDt
🎧 Listen: https://buff.ly/41fePmV
📖 Read: https://buff.ly/4gZF5rh
#BiblicalMind #HebraicThought
The Contemporary Worship Music Pipeline, or "Where Did The Psalms Go?" (Marc Jolicoeur) Ep. #189
Who decides what worship songs we sing in church? It turns out, worship music is a massive industry, and the way songs make it from a Nashville songwriting r...
buff.ly
February 27, 2025 at 2:15 PM
When someone hints at or reveals their pain, is our natural reaction to lean INTO or AWAY from that vulnerability? In this conversation, Natasha Dongell shares part of her experience of loss, and helps us think through grief as an opportunity for connection.

marcjolicoeur.substack.com
February 12, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Would Jesus have been born if He weren’t (as the carols say) “born to set” His people “free”? Matthew Bates & I chat about this & much more in this ho-ho-holiday ep of the Jolly Thoughts pod:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pk9...
Why The Gospel? || Conversation with Matthew Bates (ep 77 of Jolly Thoughts pod)
YouTube video by Marc Jolicoeur
www.youtube.com
December 23, 2024 at 3:46 PM
WHY THE GOSPEL? // Beyond music-genres and theo-debates, “the gospel” is first & foremost a political declaration. Matt Bates schools me thereupon in the most recent CHRISTmas episode of the Jolly Thoughts podcast. 🎅🏻✝️🙏

marcjolicoeur.substack.com
December 20, 2024 at 1:47 PM
Ep 76 of the Jolly Thoughts Pod with the unduplicatable Mike MacNeil wherein we chat about politics, remote-access villages, Jordan “B” Peterson, and the difference between PRIVATE & PERSONAL.

youtu.be/LCsBtzgwChw?...
Holy Spit! Conversation with Mike MacNeil (Episode 76 of the Jolly Thoughts Podcast)
YouTube video by Marc Jolicoeur
youtu.be
December 6, 2024 at 10:13 AM
“Being told to participate - while in fact being unable to participate - is deeply dispiriting to worshipers, especially worshipers with anxiety…” (pg 152 of Worship In An Age Of Anxiety) …
Worship In An Age Of Anxiety
Ep 72, featuring a conversation with J Michael Jordan about his new book, church gatherings, anxiety, and whether or not Pixar gets it right.
marcjolicoeur.substack.com
September 9, 2024 at 12:45 PM
In case anyone ever doubts how hardcore I have been about Contemporary Christian Music… …Behold, my mountain bike’s brand name. (paging doctors Freud & @drleahpayne.bsky.social )
August 23, 2024 at 7:16 PM
If slaves had such an integral hand in the creation of the Bible, how did the Bible end up being viewed as "pro-slavery"? @candidamoss.bsky.social has thoughts:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aumq...
Expanding Our Reading Partners: Conversation with Candida Moss || Ep 71 of the Jolly Thoughts Pod
YouTube video by Marc Jolicoeur
www.youtube.com
August 19, 2024 at 2:19 PM
On ep 71 of the Jolly Thoughts pod, @candidamoss.bsky.social walks us through her latest book (God’s Ghostwriters) and shares how expanding our view of who we’re reading the Bible WITH can have a massive impact on our view of its meaning. Link in bio.
August 17, 2024 at 1:17 PM
My recently-posted conversation with David Bennett has garnered some of the longest “watch times” of any reels I’ve ever posted. If interested, you can watch the full conversation on my YouTube channel:
Conversation with David Bennett (Ep Sixty-Nine of the Jolly Thoughts Pod)
David Bennett is a self-described “celibate gay Christian”, but goodness… he is so much more than that! He’s an author, a theologian in residence, with a Ph...
www.youtube.com
August 5, 2024 at 11:26 AM
Coffee, Music, God.

My conversation with Epoch Coffee’s mastermind and Jewish trumpeter extraordinaire, Conor Conway.

t.co/m7O0or69iQ
Marc Jolicoeur (aka Jolly Thoughts) | Substack
A repository for reflections on life, God, the Bible, and other miscellany. (https://linktr.ee/marcjolicoeur for more). Click to read Marc Jolicoeur (aka Jolly Thoughts), a Substack publication. Launc...
t.co
July 2, 2024 at 11:23 AM
"Being a pastor is not a right anyone can have. Some things are disqualifying even if love and forgiveness take place." David Drury

daviddrury.substack.com/p/repentant-...
On the Restoration of Ministers
We need to talk about reporting the inappropriate relationships of ministers, some of the most extreme cases, and our processes of responding.
daviddrury.substack.com
June 20, 2024 at 12:25 PM
“Nothing else distinguishes the unjust & just more than this, that in adversities the unjust man complains & blasphemes because of impatience while the just man is proved by patience.”

- Cyprian, circa 250 AD
June 15, 2024 at 5:49 PM
The difference between being “in the groove” and “in a rut”?

Perspective.
June 13, 2024 at 11:40 AM
The (hypothetical) Year of Jubilee as described in Leviticus 25: if it had been practiced, would it have been a) progressive or b) conservative?
June 7, 2024 at 12:57 AM