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Prayer is, at all times, more than we expect and less that we expect. Through self-reflection and communing with the Divine we see God in new ways and see ourselves through a lens of the eyes of the Divine as well. I hope you enjoy this convo with Justin and Scott.
A conversation on what it could look like to speak prophetically for today's culture, as a follower of Christ. More importantly-some honesty on how to be mindful not to become the new "christian machine" in doing so.
Evil and all the problems it brings is the crucial point for all people. We turn away entirely angry at whatever God couldn't prevent it. But what if God Can't?
We like to think of ourselves, Americans, as the audience of the stories of the Bible. Tending to relate to the main characters of the Bible and often glossing over the fact that the Bible is written to a people that are underfoot of oppressive, militaristic, super-powerful nations. So America...we need to begin to wrestle with the fact that we aren't Israel we are most likely Babylon.
If we stop using the Bible as a weapon, if we literally stop throwing it at peoples heads trying to knock some Jesus into them...what would that look like? What if we were called to Survive the Bible?
America is the greatest country on the planet! We are a bastion of hope and freedom! We are a Christian nation! Or are we?
This week I chat with John Dominic Crossan about Christmas and the birth of Christ. His views though are ones that in part resonate easily but at the same time hold my mind in tension.
As you listen and watch people discuss faith and God it always turns to "this says this!" or "you're taking that wrong". But what if we embraced the mystery? What if we reconnect to the mystical aspects of our faith?
This week I chat with John Mark McMillan about what it looks like to be honest in music and how that impacts the way we think about and talk about God.
So much of what we argue about is entirely, usually, worth it. But how do we do so while actually coming from a foundation of moral ethics. What does the term moral ethics even mean?
We all want good things don't we? I know I do but here is the thing...that's not life. Life is messy, sometimes hateful, and often overwhelming. So how then do we search for God and find that God is indeed much better than good?
Prayer. We are all called to do it and regardless of our religion we all do some form of it. Meditation, Contemplative, Centering, there are many methods. But when it comes to most "western church" all we do is petitionary prayer. In and of itself this may not be wholly wrong but what does it say about God when He doesn't answer?
So many of us suffer from stress and anxiety and the world that we live in continues to press us down. How do we truly find peace and how do we see the Kingdom of God in a way that we can embody it and share it with those in our lives. Listen in as Brandon and I discuss just that.
What is the narrative of scripture? How does liberation and oppression impact us today and tomorrow? How do we live out a call to be a prophetic voice in todays world?
Too many people are overwhelmed and holding onto deep suffering, unable to catch their breath in a world that tells them to fake it till they make it. As the pressure of fear, pain, anxiety, and anger build, sooner or later these individuals are going to explode that’s no way to live.
So much could be said about Óscar Romero as he was so many things to so many people. But some stories are best laid out with purpose and intention.
In this series of bonus episodes Paul Thomas reflects on the life and ministry of Saint Óscar Romero by way of providing context to this time in history of El Salvador.
It’s time to take it back by reclaiming the poetry of the ancient tradition of Scripture. And that’s what The Butterflies in God’s Stomach is all about. The Bible is so much more than piles of text of which we get dogma...it's a love story.
Does your church practice inclusion in a way that is truly self evident? What does that even mean? If I'm inclusive what do I need to change and what, if anything, will that mean for my comfort zones? Join Pastor Brandan and I in this conversation.
What does it look like to actually focus on what it means to truly follow Christ. To look past just the text of the Bible and look for the heart of the gospel. When we are able to do this something shifts and the world cannot remain the same as it was yesterday; and this is good.
Too often, our honest questions about faith are met with cold confidence and easy answers. But false certitude doesn't result in strong faith—it results in disillusionment, or worse, in a dogmatic, overweening faith unable to see itself or its object clearly. Pastors and our church leaders are no different.
What does the future of Christianity look like? If you're like me you see seismic shifts in our religious groups and wonder where they lead too. Brian McLaren and I discuss...
Turn on the TV at any moment in time and you'll see we have an obsession with the image of our bodies, but why? Are we not just the way we should be? What does life look like if we somehow transform ourselves to a different measurement of beauty? Should we even care too?
The story of creation and how this universe that we swirl around in is ordered is something that has always bubbled in my head. Each time I think I have it figured out I learn something new that entirely shifts my perspective. Can a historical study of the Old Testament help?
Question: Pain, heartache, fear...where do these leave us? Answer: Falling; continuously away from our core being and what we were created to be. So how do we stop? Well, we fall, the opposite way.
How do the books of Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Ruth, Lamentations, and Esther impact the daily rhythms of your life? I'll be honest to say they usually don't because I forget they are there and because our churches don't regularly preach them; this must be addressed!
How do we learn to speak about God and the Divine in our world today when all words seem to have precious little meaning? Without using "church-speak" are you able to have an open conversation about the faith you profess?
You have a voice. And you have God's permission to use it. But how do we do so in a wise way? How do we find our purpose and the message that we are called to preach and then once we do, how do we speak and engage in a way to meet others in a place of understanding.
What is it like to actually practice our faith? How often do we sit in contemplation and meet God where He already is in true searching and in a truly Earthshaking moments of worship? Aaron and I discuss what it means to enter into the current of life that is practice-based worship of the Creator of all things.
Raise your hand if you think that you are nailing prayer? Good...now keep it raised if you feel like you are praying from a position of happiness, contentment, and joy? This is the goal, or one of the goals, of prayer. How do we do this? Rabbi Evan Moffic and I discuss.
What is God like? What is salvation like? What, then, is humanity like? Perhaps we are all depraved, born this way, perhaps we are simply wounded and know not any better. Is it possible though that what we are is more? A conversation on the Beautiful Gospel