The confirmation hearings begin Monday, March 20, for Judge Neil Gorsuch, President Trump's nominee to the US Supreme Court. On this episode of Cross & Gavel, Mike Schutt talks with Oklahoma Baptist University professor Christopher McMillion about the process and the politics of the hearings and the future of the Court with a Justice Gorsuch in the place of Justice Scalia, who passed away last year.

This is Part One of two episodes featuring Dr. McMillion, and Part Two, "The Joys of Federalism," will upload March 28.

Dr. Christopher McMillion is a graduate of Baylor University. He did his master's and doctoral work at the University of Notre Dame, earning an M.A. in Political Science and his PhD in the field of Constitutional Studies and Political Theory. In his scholarship, he focuses on constitutional law, federalism, and American political thought. He is particularly interested in the connections between political theory and the American constitutional and political experience. He also serves as a manuscript referee for American Political Thought. Chris and his wife Heather have three children. 

Mike Schutt is host of Cross & Gavel. He is Associate Professor of Law at Regent University, and he directs both Attorney Ministries and Law Student Ministries for the Christian Legal Society. Email him at mschutt@clsnet.org.

"Serious Christians seem to be homeless politically," says Hunter Baker, a political science professor at Union University. In the wake of the Obergefell decision and the rise of Donald Trump, it is appearing less and less likely, accruing to Baker, that the Republican party will stand as barrier to a rapidly advancing secularist agenda. 

Join Dr. Baker and host Mike Schutt as they ponder whether it might be time for serious Christians to explore a third party option along the lines of a European-style Christian Democratic Party. "It might be good to have a political party with an understanding of human solidarity that is a Christian understanding of human solidarity," suggests Baker. 

Would it be possible to import such a concept to this country? What might it involve? What are some objections? Listen in and find out!

Hunter Baker, J.D., Ph.D. serves as a university fellow and and associate professor of political science at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. He is the author of three books (The End of Secularism, Political Thought: A Student's Guide, and The System Has a Soul), has contributed chapters to several others, and has written for a wide variety of print and digital publications. He is the winner of the 2011 Michael Novak Award conferred by the Acton Institute and has lectured widely on religion and liberty. 

Mike Schutt, the founder and host of Cross & Gavel Audio, serves as Associate Professor of Law at Regent University and as director of Attorney Ministries for the Christian Legal Society. 

Millions of Americans-- especially young Americans-- seem to be enamored of Bernie Sanders and his socialist promises. August Huckabee, Dean of Students at Worldview at the Abbey, wonders what the allure might be. Listen to August and host Mike Schutt as they "feel the Bern." 

Worldview at the Abbey is a bridge-year program for high school graduates in Canon City, CO. For more information on Worldview at the Abbey, visit www.worldviewbridgeyear.com.

The Cross & Gavel podcast is a project of the Christian Legal Society's Institute for Christian Legal Studies. Host Mike Schutt directs Attorney Ministries and Law Student Ministries for CLS.