Lisa Harper's Back Porch Theology - AccessMore

Putting The Best Cookies Within Reach Oct 28, 2024

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology Alli and I have the pure joy of asking Dr. Howard – whose PhD is rooted in the New Testament so he’s a smarty-McTarty when it comes to Pauline theology - all kinds of questions about the more complex points and passages the book of Romans. Questions like, How can we reconcile Paul’s doctrine of justification by faith in Romans 3-4 with his view on the Law and good works in chapters 2 and 7? How does Paul’s concept of predestination and election in chapter 8 align with the broader themes of free will and human responsibility in this epistle? How can we explain – better yet model - Paul’s teaching that hope won’t disappoint with our friends, family, co-workers and neighbors who’ve all but lost theirs because of tragedy, hardship, loss, or abuse? And How can we hang onto the joy Paul preaches about while simultaneously leaning into the suffering he frames as part of our faith? One of the things we love most about Dr. Howard is that he delights in making profound theological concepts understandable to people who don’t have a bunch of academic degrees like him and he does that with contagious joy today. So please grab your favorite beverage, a yummy snack and your Bible – unless of course you’re practicing a routine with flaming batons – and come hang out on the porch with us. We’re really glad you’re here!

An Aussie, a Windbag, and The Wonder of Advent Oct 24, 2024

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On today's special episode of Back Porch Theology, I'm hanging out with my dear friend Christine Caine. You'll love listening to her because she has this Australian accent. I always tease her and say she could read the phone book and I'd rededicate my life to Christ. But Chris and I are focusing on Advent, the marvel and the miracle of Advent.You know, for more than a thousand years, Advent has been this really special time that's been set apart in the church calendar, which invites us to pause, to prepare, and to anticipate the arrival of our long awaited Messiah, King Jesus. The season of Advent gives us the time and the opportunity to, to prayerfully reflect on the wonder of Christ's glorious entrance into the world. It's a call to attentiveness. It's an opportunity to prepare the way for the Lord that begins in our own hearts. It's this time when the air around us almost feels thick with the expectation of the dawn of a new day. So I think you're going to love today's podcast. I think it'll help get your heart.

A Surf and Turf of a Sermon Oct 21, 2024

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re having the biblical equivalent of Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest that takes place on Coney Island every July Fourth. Because while we won’t be trying to gobble 62 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes like world champion Joey Chestnut did last summer, we are going to attempt to digest some of the major doctrinal themes found in the book of Romans in one single podcast! Speaking of Christian doctrine, Martin Luther - widely known as one of the key leaders of the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s – was a dutiful priest who almost drove himself crazy trying to live a life holy enough to please God. He spent hours in prayer every day, he fasted for so long and so often that it caused severe intestinal problems, and he even practiced self-harm, thinking that the discomfort and pain that resulted from intentionally wounding himself was a necessary penance for his sin. It wasn’t until he taught on the book of Romans that the Holy Spirit opened his eyes to divine grace – to the unmerited favor of Jesus Christ – and that’s what dramatically changed his personal life and gave rise to the Protestant church. Luther described Romans as, “The gate to paradise” because it’s what led him from practicing rote religion to experiencing a real relationship with our Creator Redeemer. We hope today’s conversation opens the gate for some of you to walk into a much closer relationship with Jesus, too. So please grab your favorite beverage a snack and a Bible – if you have one – and come prop your feet up on the porch with us.

The Compassionate Concrete That Paves The Romans Road Oct 14, 2024

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re getting granular about the divine, salvific grace Paul riffs on early in his letter to the Romans. We’re going to take a long pause in our collective amble down the Romans Road so as to marinate in the concept of justification. We’re going to do an in-depth review of how the sinless life and sacrificial death of Jesus Christ made it possible for rebellious, sin-riddled yahoos like us to be reconciled with a perfectly righteous God. Because all too often we church folk tend to volley multi-syllabic theological terms like “justification” and “sanctification” and “propitiation” amongst ourselves like innocuous doctrinal pickle balls without giving too much thought to the grief and gravitas they represent. In much the same way we blithely wear crosses as mere jewelry or prominently display it in the form of a hip tattoo, forgetting what that Roman torture device – equivalent to a medieval guillotine or modern-day electric chair, which I can’t imagine someone wearing as a fashion statement – represents…that the King of all kings chose to leave His throne in glory, condescend to human form and humble circumstances, only to be betrayed and abandoned by His closest friends and ultimately have stakes hammered into His feet and wrists so He could be suspended in the air like a human shish-kabob while a cruel mob jeered His torture and subsequent murder because Jesus knew His blood was the necessary price that had to be paid in order to justify – to make us right – with God. We’re not going to skip past the hard facts of what He sacrificed for our redemption today y’all because quite honestly doing so mitigates the miracle of our salvation. So please grab a great big mug of strong coffee and your Bible – unless of course you’re in the hot-wax stage of a manicure – and come ponder the audacious kindness of King Jesus on the porch with Alli, Dr. Howard and me.

Reverse Engineering Paul’s Epistle to the Romans Oct 07, 2024

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to mess with your beautiful minds just a wee bit by flipping to the end of the book of Romans before reading the beginning. But we’re not just messing with y’all to exasperate you like my nephew John Michael loves to do when he teases Missy. I promise there’s a redemptive method to our madness! We’re going to read Romans in reverse because if you don’t understand what Paul’s preaching toward the end of this theologically dense epistle, then the beginning and middle of the letter lose some of their doctrinal oomph. Dr. Scot McKnight, who’s a renowned New Testament scholar, seminary professor, prolific author and who purely by the amazing grace of God has become a Kerygma regular and a friend to Alli, Dr. Howard and me says this about reading Romans in reverse: One quick read of Romans 14-16 reveals the pastoral context of this letter, and no reading of Romans 1-11 that ignores 14-16 will catch the Pauline drift of why he is writing. In other words, our tendency to crush out on chapters 4-8 of Romans – what with all of its low-hanging theological fruit – while ignoring the latter part of Paul’s preeminent epistle is akin to eating the entire basket of tortilla chips before the hot queso gets to the table and then having nothing to dunk in that glorious goo…we’re missing out on the best part! So please grab your favorite beverage and your Bible – unless of course, you’ve got both hands halfway up a gourd in an attempt to DYI Fall centerpieces for your niece’s low budget wedding – and come hang out on the porch with Alli, Dr. Howard and me. We’re as happy as three hungry mice trapped in a cheese factory that we get to hang out with you today. And I apologize for the multiple cheese references but once I hear the word queso my dairy obsession tends to take over!

A 30,000 Foot View of Romans Sep 30, 2024

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Apostle Paul’s letter to the fledgling Christian church in Rome - which he wrote during the second half of the First Century - has often been hailed as the hub of Christian theology because in it he establishes the foundational walls of biblical orthodoxy. In fact, all you have to do is read the statement of faith listed on a few of your favorite Christian church or ministry websites to discover that the majority of our doctrinal beliefs as Christ followers have been mined from this New Testament treasure trove called the Book of Romans. However, Romans is broader and more nuanced than just a brilliant treatise on humanity’s need for salvation and justification, so we’re kicking off this rollicking adventure through Romans by pulling up on the proverbial nose of the plane for a 30,000-foot view to better understand the historical and sociological context of this profound epistle. So please grab a pumpkin cream cold brew – is it just me, or are coffee shops pulling out the pumpkin drinks earlier now? If memory serves me correctly, those fancy pumpkin flavored coffees didn’t use to debut until September so the whole gourd theme made sense in light of the Fall season, but now they start advertising pumpkin-juiced-java-lattes in July when the back of my thighs are still sticking to my hot car seat and my hair looks like Beetlejuice because of the humidity and it just feels wrong. If we’ve got any Back Porchers who are big dogs in the coffee industry, will you please tell the powers that be to push the pumpkin campaign back a few weeks, y’all – at least until projectile perspiration season is over? Well anyway, regardless of whether it’s squash infused or not, please grab your favorite cuppa Joe or tea, your Bible and a notebook because our excursion through Romans for the next several weeks is going to be chock full of so much good stuff it’ll be hard to hang onto without jotting a few notes! Then pull up your chair and join Alli, Dr. Howard and me on the porch – I can’t overstate how glad we are that you’ve chosen to hang with us today.

Recapturing Your First Love Sep 23, 2024

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Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology is part travelogue, part exegesis, part confessional, and part pinky swear because while we were visiting Ephesus on our trip tracing the missionary journeys of Apostle Paul this summer, I couldn’t help thinking about the Ephesians’ sad, downward spiritual trajectory recorded by John in Revelation chapter two when he describes those early Christians as “doing all the right things outwardly yet losing their first love.” Theologian A.W. Tozer said it well, albeit soberly, when he observed, “For millions of Christians, God is no more real than He is to non-Christians. They go through life trying to love an ideal and be loyal to a mere principle.” As our tour group walked along the rocky paths of those ancient ruins where Paul once preached and Timothy planted a church and John discipled new believers while keeping Mary, the mother of Jesus, company in her latter years, we found ourselves pondering what went wrong. What caused that group of once devoted Christ followers to lose their zeal and exchange a vibrant personal relationship with Jesus for rote religiosity? In much the same way a physical autopsy allows physicians and scientists to gain invaluable data that can lead to new, life-saving medicines and procedures, a spiritual post-mortem exam of how the church at Ephesus lost their first love can provide invaluable data for those of us who are committed to keep our love relationship with Jesus healthy and intimate. There will inevitably be both difficult and dry seasons on the Christian journey, but goodness gracious, I never want to be rightly accused as someone whose love for Jesus has faded and I’m sure you don’t either. So please grab your favorite beverage and a sharable snack – unless of course it’s kale chips, which I will happily abstain from – and pull your chair up on the porch with Alli, Dr. Howard, and me. Today’s going to be a good one, y’all.

The Posture of Expectant Hope Sep 16, 2024

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology Alli and I are delving into a facet of Christoformity – that is being shaped like Jesus – which doesn’t come naturally to either one of us and that is the art of waiting. Now if your wiring tends to be more high-speed like ours and you’re prone to cram a week’s worth of work on your daily to-do lists, please don’t skip out on this episode because not only can I promise it’s going to be a shame-free zone, I can also promise this conversation is jam-packed with encouragement and practical theology about pacing because the biblical context of waiting rarely refers to a complete cessation of activity. In other words, when God’s people waited in biblical narrative it wasn’t remotely stagnant or boring. In fact, both the Old Testament canon and the New Testament canon align the concept of waiting on God with the active posture of expectant hope. There’s a huge difference between spiritual stillness and a lethargic lifestyle, y’all! For Christ-followers waiting is less about drumming our fingers with impatience while we wait on someone who’s running late and more about our souls sighing with contentment and trust as we wait for our Creator Redeemer whose timing may not always match our expectations yet is always perfect! Increasing our capacity to wait on God is congruent with an increased confidence that He's always in the process of redeeming our inherent dignity as imago Dei; He’s always in the process of mitigating the evil that wounds and corrupts humanity; and He’s always in the process of decreasing the gap between the here and now and the Second Advent of Jesus Christ. So please grab a cup of decaf and your Bible, push any mental distractions to the edge of your mind, then take a seat on the porch next to us, prop your feet up and exhale – I have a feeling Holy Spirit’s going to take a load off lots of us today.

A Theology That Includes Tears Sep 09, 2024

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Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology is a vulnerable one y’all because we’re tiptoeing into the theology of tears. Crying used to make me uncomfortable. There was so much anger and chaos and sadness in my early childhood before my parents divorced that I subconsciously began using my blanket as a mini cape and tried to be Little Miss Sunshine. The way I figured it, my poor Mom and Dad already had their hands full of so much hard stuff they needed a daughter who was a self-sufficient smiler, not some needy crybaby. I was well into adulthood before I finally understood that my childish conviction that sad equals bad was way off base. Because sincere tears are God’s gift to express emotion where words fail. Those tiny rivers of salt coursing down our cheeks can help wash the debris of spent sorrow from our weary souls. They can even carry big balloon bouquets of sheer joy. And biblical narrative is quite literally soaked with tears. Ruth wept after her husband died and at the idea of being separated from her mother-in-law Naomi, Hannah wept because she was brokenhearted over her infertility, of course Job cried out to God over the death of his children and employees, along with the catastrophic loss of his health and wealth, Jeremiah wept so often over how the Israelites had forsaken the unconditional love of God and were foolishly looking for love in all the wrong places that he became known as the “weeping prophet,” the Psalmists were nothing if not emotionally vulnerable and the Sons of Korah – who were ancient worship leaders – even exclaimed that tears had become their food, Peter wept bitterly when he realized Jesus was right the night before when He soberly declared Pete would betray Him three times before the rooster crowed the following morning, an unnamed woman in the Gospels was so overwhelmed by the kindness and accessibility of Jesus that she washed His feet with her tears, and our Savior himself shed tears during His earthly life and ministry. One of my favorite writers Charlotte Bronte put it this way, “I believe while I tremble, I trust while I weep.” The bottom line is grief is not ungodly and is rather, biblically defensible as well as modeled by the Messiah Himself. We hope today’s conversation might be the beginning of real healing for some of you precious saints who’ve been bottling up your sorrow for far too long –...

The New Friend We Can’t Stop Smiling About Part Two Sep 02, 2024

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re stepping into some seemingly foreboding biblical territory that we’ve yet to venture into on this podcast, which is the Old Testament book of Daniel. If Daniel was on a geographical map, it’d probably be punctuated with huge mountains and treacherous rivers and volcanos because Daniel is one of the more complex books of Holy Writ. It takes place during a very tumultuous time period in Israel’s history, when many of the Southern Jews were swept away into captivity in Babylon, where young Daniel is soon catapulted from slave to sage because of his God-given ability to interpret the King’s nightmares. Daniel’s story ultimately spans the time-period of several Babylonian kings and includes sorcery, fiery furnaces, man-eating lions, mental illness, and an attempted coup or two. To call it a drama is a massive understatement! Plus, the book of Daniel includes lots of prophecy regarding God’s people, as well as an overarching eschatological – or “end time” – theme so it can be a unwieldy booger to interpret, much less figure out how it applies to Christ followers today. Which is why we’ve enlisted the help of our dear friend, Kristin Brewer, who co-wrote the production of Daniel for the Sight and Sound Theatre, which has just recently been released to movie theatres across the nation. So please grab your Bible, a beverage, and a tub of popcorn and come join us on the porch for a deep dive into the breathtaking adventure of Daniel, featuring the never-ending faithfulness of our Creator Redeemer!

The New Friend We Can’t Stop Smiling About Part One Aug 29, 2024

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Peanut butter and jelly, Starsky and Hutch, Chips and queso, Cagney and Lacey, tea and honey, Dolly and Jelly Roll…there are some partnerships that just make sense, like they were absolutely made for each other. Well on today’s bonus conversation on Back Porch Theology, we get to introduce y’all to a new friend that fits us like a glove called Sight and Sound Theatre. Sight and Sound – or S’squared, which is the cool nickname Alli and I have cooked up for them! – is an awesome organization with a purpose and passion for bringing stories to life that reveal the power of the Gospel. What began as one couple’s prayer and a single slide projector fifty years ago has since grown into two live theater locations, an online streaming platform, and a feature film studio, reaching audiences around the world with stories from the pages of scripture and history. And since there’s not much we love more here on BPT than telling stories about who God is and the faithful things He does, we fell pretty hard for these folks because showcasing His redemptive mercy is their primary motivation too! We can’t wait for you to meet them, so please grab your Bible and a cup of something iced and caffeinated – I don’t start drinking hot coffee until the weather starts cooling down because there’s just something about holding a steaming beverage while my sweaty thighs are sticking to the seat that grieves me – and come prop your feet up on the porch with us.

The Fulcrum of Failure Aug 26, 2024

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The older I get, the more convinced I am that admittedly flawed sinners are the most credible witnesses of the Gospel, because blemished believers can’t fake moral superiority. Our scars make it glaringly apparent that we couldn’t protect ourselves from harm. Authentic Christian warriors with scabby knees, bruised hearts, and even track-marked arms, who sometimes stumble yet always grab onto the arm of Holy Spirit in order to stand up again and again, exemplify the redemptive power of divine grace. We prove how miraculous and restorative the love of God really is. We know we can’t make it by ourselves and can only keep ourselves together because of the miraculous redemption King Jesus provided for us on the cross. In his book, Ruthless Trust, Brennan Manning wrote, “On the last day, Jesus will look us over not for medals, diplomas, or honors, but for scars.” Today on Back Porch Theology, Alli, Dr. Howard and I are rolling up our sleeves to show you our scars in the hopes they’ll help you lean more fully into the embrace of Jesus – the One with the loveliest nail prints in His hands and His feet.

Our House of Faith Has a Super Firm Foundation Aug 19, 2024

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to effectively swab the cheek of our belief system and do a DNA test to explore our spiritual ancestry. Alli, Dr. Howard and I are going to take you on a journey all the way back to the birth of Christianity and explore the foundations of our faith. We’re going to make several cool stops on this tour of biblical orthodoxy, including a visit to where Emperor Constantine put his hope in Jesus and discover how his salvation shifted the entire course of redemptive history. Then we’ll mosey on down to the Council of Nicaea – where a group of spiritual leaders first gathered to hammer out the core doctrines of our faith and kick heresies to the curb so this whole fledgling belief system called Christianity didn’t come flying off the rails. For those of you who are relatively new to Christianity or even those of you who’ve been walking with Jesus a long time but still feel a tad wobbly when it comes to understanding why we believe what we believe, today’s going to be like the spiritual version of a downward dog pose – it’s going to strengthen your core. So please grab a cold drink, a warm snack and your Bible and come hang out on the porch with us – we love getting to spend this time with you!
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Life Giving Language for Logophiles Aug 12, 2024

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If you could see Alli’s and my faces during our conversation on Back Porch Theology today, you’d see that we’re both wearing ear to ear grins because we get to spend the next forty-five or so minutes with y’all in one of our favorite playgrounds, which is the land of multi-syllabic theological terms! Now for those of you who aren’t as prone to wind-baggy-ness as we are, please, please, please don’t press delete yet - I promise there’s some awesome gold nuggets in the proverbial dirt we’re panning today! Because while a large theological vocabulary in itself isn’t exactly scintillating, the biblical truisms and characteristics of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit – the terms we’re going to talk about represent – are wildly encouraging for those of us who’re steadily stumbling further into divine grace. One of my favorite pretend and posthumous boyfriends – German theologian Dr. Helmut Thielicke – once said, “Unless a theology works at the margins of life, it’s not worth anything even if it makes sense at the easy center.” Some of the core Christian beliefs we’ll be riffing about today are like step-by-step directions regarding how to safely and joyfully navigate the messy margins of life with our faith not only intact but galvanized. Because God is not a proposition to be studied, y’all – He’s a Good Shepherd with whom we get to engage and follow! So please grab a tall, iced oat milk mocha with whip – or whatever your personal favorite go-go juice is – plus your Bible and a journal, then pull your chair right up here on the porch for some lively and life-giving conversation with us!
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Kicking Critical Spirits to the Curb Aug 05, 2024

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Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology is both confessional and convicting because we’re talking about the difference between discernment – which can be loosely described as the ability to tell the difference between right from wrong - and criticism – which is primarily focused on finding fault in others. A young Christian recently asked me, “What’s the difference between ‘seeing sin’ in someone else’s life and confronting it, and having a critical spirit?” I told her I thought the key distinction between recognizing and confronting behavior that’s ungodly in someone else and criticizing others is the posture of our own hearts. Are we aware of other people’s mistakes because they trust us and have confided in us, or have we appointed ourselves as the “moral police” so as to justify examining blemishes in everyone else’s behavior? First Corinthians chapter five explains that part of our job description as ambassadors of Christ is to help restore those who’ve been tripped up by sin back into a redemptive relationship with God, not try to elevate ourselves by exposing other people’s flaws! If you feel like you’ve taken more than your fair share of lashes from a sharp tongue or you’ve got a tendency to nit-pick others yourself, we hope you’ll get some much-needed relief today or maybe even a necessary but non-condemning course correction. So please grab your favorite drink, a snack, and your Bible then pull your chair up to the porch – we’re really happy we get to hang out with y’all.
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From Codification to Contextualization, Pejorative to Promissory, Rules to Relationship Jul 29, 2024

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re talking about this engaging, exciting, captivating, compelling, LIFE-GIVING, divine love story we call the Bible. Far too many of us have sat under pastors, priests, teachers, and spiritual leaders who’ve communicated God’s Word with the same level of passion a court reporter has when recording HOA litigation over a homeowner’s grass being one half of an inch above the neighborhood standard. While others of us have had the imperatives in God’s Word applied to our lives in such punitive ways that we can’t help thinking of it as a rigid book of rules that we’ll surely get whacked over the head with. However, both of those extremes are gross misuses of the Bible – it was never intended to be used primarily for discipline or for memorizing religious data, and it’s not just a collection of morality tales like Aesop’s Fables, either. From the very beginning, Scripture invites and impels us to lean into a real, loving relationship with God. Just as He breathed air into Adam’s lungs to jumpstart humanity, He breathed these words into being so that we could have LIFE and have it more abundantly. If you’ve secretly thought the Bible was a wee bit boring, or maybe just inscrutable like those teensy-weensy printed directions regarding how to set up your new Wi-Fi router, today’s episode is going to be a Little Mermaid moment for you – it’s going to open you up to a whole new world! So please grab a cup of iced coffee and your Bible – unless you’ve got both hands full trying to recoil the garden hose that your teenager put back on the reel all wonky and lopsided! – and come hang out on the porch with us.
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When Spiritual Giants Fall Jul 22, 2024

Living Called Instead of Driven Jul 15, 2024

Unlearning Inherited But Unbiblical Theology Jul 08, 2024

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Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology is part two with my dear friend, Kristi McClelland, because she’s kind of like a hot Krispy Kreme donut, one simply isn’t enough! Kristi’s a best-selling Bible teacher, author, and college professor – but I think the most fitting description of her is “revival coach” because she’s so saturated with Jesus that if you get anywhere near her, Gospel joy will inevitably slosh out on you! However, I should probably issue a good-natured warning before we dive in and let you know that Kristi and I are both very energetic, fast-talking windbags when it comes to matter of faith so you might want to tighten your seatbelts for this proverbial ride through all things redemptive because we’ll likely careen from raving about the beef jerky at Bucees to the practical theology of A.W. Tozer within the first few minutes! Frankly, if you’re listening to this while on a Peloton, you might pause and unclip out of those fancy biking shoes for a while because this isn’t going to be a passive-listening kind of podcast – it’s more of a hands in the air, hollering with glee gabfest because we’re exposing the difference between the performative, sin-avoidant, stale kind of religion some of us were brought up in and the vibrant, life-giving, Spirit-filled reality that an intimate relationship with Jesus gives us access to. So please grab some iced coffee and your Bible – unless you’re hanging onto a wakeboard rope with both hands realizing that you’re probably too old to be dragged behind a speedboat in your skirty bathing suit – oh wait, is that just me? - and come hang out on the porch with us.
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The Biblical Blueprint for Personal Freedom Jul 01, 2024

From Dutiful Submission to Glad Surrender Jun 24, 2024

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Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology is kind of a Christmas come early for me because we get to hang out with my dear friend Kristi McClelland, who’s a Bible teacher, author, scholar, college professor, massive Narnia fan, as well as a human colander who leaks Gospel joy everywhere she goes! We’re covering a wide range of topics today eventually landing in Luke’s Gospel account and let me encourage you to lean in and turn up the volume a tad because some of what may initially sound like extraneous small talk is riddled with spiritual gold. Her experience and explanation regarding the transition from dutiful submission to God’s will – that is obeying what He tells us to do through the imperatives in His Word and the guidance of the Holy Spirit – to surrendering to God’s will with peaceful agreement and anticipatory hope is a wise template for spiritual maturity and intimacy with our Creator Redeemer. This is another one of those “bring your notebook to the porch” episodes because much like you need two paper plates to carry the glorious weight of a burger and baked beans and corn on the cob and potato salad and a big slice of watermelon at a barbeque, the litany of biblical truisms Kristi shares are too heavy for most of us to carry with our memories alone! So please grab a tumbler of iced oat milk with a heavy splash of cream and mocha, or a Stanley filled to the brim with sparkling water and a squeeze of fresh lime, or whatever your favorite summer beverage is and your Bible – unless you’ve got both hands wrapped tightly around a steel wool scrubber trying to scrape barbeque grime off your Blackstone like I did this past weekend, of course – and come prop your feet up on the porch with us, we’re absolutely delighted to get to spend this time with you.

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The Secure Scaffolding of our Faith Jun 17, 2024

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re back in the saddle with Dr. Trevin Wax. Okay, that’s the first time I’ve ever employed the phrase “back in the saddle” and I think I kind of like it! Anyway, Trevin is an old friend and former colleague who just so happens to be a brilliant leader, academic scholar, and theologian. Much like our beloved Dr. Howard, God has given him the refreshing gift of putting the proverbial cookies of profound biblical truisms on the lower shelf so that laypeople like us can better enjoy, understand, and apply them. His latest book, The Thrill of Orthodoxy, is a fantastic read because he expertly contrasts the dull, regurgitated principles of heresy masquerading as modern religious enlightenment with the radical and redemptive truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We’re living in an era when personal preferences are often paired with a pretty picture and a catchy tune and presented as sound doctrine on social media. But no matter how many likes our particular viewpoints get, if they’re not built on biblical scaffolding, they’re not really true, they won’t stand the test of time, they won’t satisfy our hungry hearts, and they certainly won’t bring living hope to a lost world. Today’s episode is sort of like a second honeymoon for orthodoxy because it's going to help us recapture the radical beauty of sound doctrine and more importantly, it’s going to help us fall deeper in love with Jesus. Because remember, the end game of good theology isn’t to acquire more cognitive information about God; instead, it’s about developing a more intimate relationship with our Creator Redeemer and as a result learning to extend some measure of the unconditional love He lavishes on us to the precious people around us. So please take a couple of deep breaths, then grab your favorite beverage and snack, prop your feet up, open your Bible and come hang out on the porch with us. We’re really glad you’re here.

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Kerygma Summit Scholars Panel Jun 10, 2024

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You know those party game questions where you’re asked if you could have dinner with anyone – dead or alive – who would you choose? Well, this is my party game answer come true because I had the hugely undeserved privilege of sitting down with seven of my theological HEROES – Dr. Jim Howard, my spiritual mentor and a Denver Seminary professor; Dr. Lynn Cohick, distinguished professor of NT and director of Houston Theological Seminary, formerly the provost of my alma mater – Den Sem; Dr. Scot McKnight, acclaimed NT scholar, author of more than sixty books, who’s been a seminary professor for many decades and guest teaches at Oxford; Dr. Dorian Coover Cox, a world renowned expert on Exodus and Israel’s journey from captivity to Canaan and beloved professor of Old Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary; Dr. Eva Bleeker, a licensed counselor and chaplain, bereavement expert, and professor at Denver Seminary as well as one of the kindest, most empathetic scholars you’ll ever meet; Dr. Craig Keener, a palpably humble, albeit world renowned biblical scholar, author of the IVP Bible Background Commentary which is on the shelves of pretty much every minister I know as well as eight Bible commentaries, 37 books and over a hundred academic articles, he’s a professor in the doctoral program at Asbury Theological Seminary; and finally the gentleman who’s the main reason I chose the doctoral program at Denver Seminary, Dr. Craig Blomberg, who’s a world renowned NT scholar, has authored and edited many, many academic works like The Historical Reliability of the New Testament and Interpreting the Parables, he was on the translatory team for the most recent edition of the NIV Bible, has served as a research fellow at Cambridge and recently retired from Denver Seminary but continues to teach a few classes in his role as professor emeritus of the NT. The credentials held by this dream teaching team are unstinkin’ believable y’all but their humility, kindness, and generous willingness to help the rest of us fall deeper in love with Jesus eclipses their academic resumes. This perfectly numbered crew of seven scholars became a family of spiritual big brothers and sisters to us at Kerygma and I trust you’ll come to feel that way as well as they open your eyes even wider to the God who loves us more than we can ever ask or imagine. You’ll want to bring a notebook...

The Little Bird Who Changed My Life Jun 03, 2024

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All of the conversations we have the undeserved privilege of engaging in on BPT are special to Ally, Dr. Howard, and me because the point of our conversations – even if it takes a while for us to get there – is always the immutable goodness and compassion of our Trinitarian Creator Redeemer, God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit. However, this particular conversation which we taped live at Kerygma a few weeks ago with one of my all-time theological heroes, New Testament scholar Dr. Scot McKnight, is a very personal and poignant milestone for me because God used one of Dr. McKnight’s books – The Blue Parakeet – like a merciful scalpel in my life to cut away some corrosive shame that had compromised my mind and heart and ministry efficacy for decades. The back cover copy of The Blue Parakeet reads: In this bold, engaging reexamination of reading the Bible, Scot McKnight calls all Christians from both ends of the spectrum to stop taming the Bible and to let it speak anew to our hearts. In other words, his exegetical brilliance will recharge our passion for both reading Scripture and relating to God’s redemptive narrative in increasingly intimate and personal ways. If you’re a Bible banger like me and your Bible is one of those precious possessions you’d be sure to grab if your proverbial ship was sinking OR if you’ve secretly and guiltily thought the Bible was boring and have a hard time engaging with it, this conversation is right up your alley, baby! So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – whether the pages still stick together from so little use or whether it’s tattered and stained – that is unless you’re swinging a broom at those nasty cicadas, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us.

Modern Day Deborahs May 27, 2024

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology Alli and I have the profound privilege of hanging out with two women who are spiritual heroines to us – Dr. Dorian Coover Cox, a professor of Old Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, and Dr. Lynn Cohick, a Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Director of Houston Theological Seminary at Houston Christian University. I’ve known Dr. Cohick for many years because she was the provost at Denver Seminary and within five minutes of meeting her, I began plotting how to talk her into becoming one of my mentors! She’s one of the first people I shared my dreams about Kerygma to and has been part of it since the inception. In fact, I told her a few weeks ago that she’s now part of the proverbial living room furniture in my life, so she’d better never think about leaving! And while I’ve known of Dr. Coover Cox for years because she’s one of the spiritual mentors of BPT’s very own Dr. Howard, this year at Kerygma was the first time we got to hang out with her in person, and within 5 minutes she got grafted into the family too! Dr. Coover Cox is an expert on Exodus and Dr, Cohick is an expert on Ephesians so we’re going to glean from these two saints’ wisdom and camp out in those two books of Holy Writ today and let me encourage you to bring a notebook along with your coffee and your Bible, because you’re going to want to take notes on the porch today, baby!

How A Life Sentence Became Life Giving May 20, 2024

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During today’s episode – which is number 124, so we’re well past the two-year mark – I watched my “five-foot-twelve spiritual wing-woman” – it tickles me every time Alli says that but it’s a gracious exaggeration because she and I fly this plane called BPT together and I’d surely crash without her. Anyway, I watched my dear friend put her head on the table and weep because she was so overwhelmed by the palpable goodness of God. Alli’s a beautifully authentic woman y’all but she’s also a consummate professional and is rarely rendered mute. But you know how sometimes divine grace interrupts your consciousness in such a dramatic way that it forces a “selah” moment? A sacred pause when we can’t help but gape at God’s grace. Frankly, I think Christ-followers need to pause and gape at our Redeemer’s grace on a regular basis. In my experience, when too much time passes between gaping at grace sessions, our hearts become susceptible to the deadly virus of unbelief. Wonder is a necessary praxis if we want to actually experience the abundant life Jesus died to give us access to. We all need to be reminded of just how miraculous it is that the transcendent Creator of the Universe condescends to redeem and restore and unconditionally LOVE the likes of mistake prone yahoos like us. We recorded today’s conversation recently, at the very end of the Kerygma Summit here in Franklin, TN. It was kind of like our Swan Song of this year’s summit and it was the first time Alli met my friend Kyle. She said she’ll never be the same after hearing his story and I don’t think you will be either. So please grab a cup of coffee, your Bible, and a box of tissues and come gape at the amazing grace of God on the porch with us.
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A Wise Woman Once Said – Live from Kerygma ‘24 May 13, 2024

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Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology took place very recently at The Kerygma Summit here in Franklin, TN and this particular conversation was kind of the “chips and queso” moment of the whole weekend for me because I had the undeserved privilege of sitting down with some of my favorite female Christian leaders from around the country and gleaning from their collective wisdom. I framed the question that I posed to all of them like this: At sixty I know much less about God than what I thought I knew about Him at forty and what I pretended to know about Him at twenty. But what I now know to be true of God – namely His unconditional love and immutable faithfulness – I know in the very marrow of my bones. Then I asked each of them – many of whom are leading large ministries – what they now know to be true of God in the marrow of their bones. Their answers were gut-level honest, deeply encouraging, appropriately convicting at times, and always God and others honoring. This conversation was a living example of Psalm 68:11 - the Lord announces the word, and the women who proclaim it are a mighty throng. Plus, since these saints came from various streams of the church, it was also a master class in unity and it reminded me of Jesus’s response to John’s question in Mark 9: “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop because he was not one of us.” “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. Christian unity is not the same thing as uniformity, y’all. We don’t have to agree on every, single jot and tittle of what is theologically nuanced, but if we can agree on the fact that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way sinners like us can be reconciled with God, as well as the authority of God’s Word, we’re family. Remember the Bible also reveals that a divisive spirit is one of the six things that God hates (Proverbs 9) and whenever possible He calls us to be at peace and harmony with each other (Romans 12). Today’s conversation is going to be like spiritual Gorilla Glue, it’s going to fasten us tighter to our Creator Redeemer and tighter to the community of faith so please grab a cup of coffee or a glass of sparkling water with a wedge of lime or a thimbleful of wheatgrass juice and your...

Embodied Theology – Live from Kerygma ‘24 May 06, 2024

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Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology is a really special one and it’s especially rowdy too because it took place just a little over a week ago at The Kerygma Summit here in Franklin, TN where almost 1,500 women from across the country – as well as some other countries, I got to meet a lovely backporcher from Tanzania – gathered together to learn more about God and His Word. The teaching team at Kerygma this year was a veritable Who’s Who of Bible scholars, seminary professors and theologians including some of the engaging and enlightening friends we’ve previously connected with on the porch like Dr. Craig Keener and Dr. Scot McKnight. Brooke Ligertwood led worship all weekend, and y’all I can’t wrap words around what happened when she ushered us toward the throne room of Jesus on Friday night, except to say it felt almost transcendent. God’s Spirit revealed Himself to us in a way that left a redemptive mark on my heart, which I hope never fades. You know those moments in time when God effectively wipes the blurred glass that Apostle Paul says exists between us and Glory in a way that allows us to see Him more clearly? He made His presence so accessible this weekend, I’m still in kind of a discombobulated fog of wonder and gratitude. In retrospect, I should have taken off my shoes because it was just that holy. Well anyway, this conversation took place during the course of Kerygma, so I need to warn you that there’s a lot more ambient sound than usual because we were smack dab in the middle of a giant family of faith instead of a controlled studio environment. And I also want you to know that we delved into sensitive subject matter because I explained in detail about how God used a community of believers to save my life when I wasn’t sure I could keep living it. Which means some of the moments we’ll share today are too mature for little ears, therefore I encourage you to wait until after you’ve dropped the kids off at school to join us. That being said, please bring your Bible and a big cup of coffee – unless you’re up to your elbows in suds because that darling Doodle tangled with a skunk again - and come hang out on the porch with us!

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The Thrill of Orthodoxy with Dr. Trevin Wax Apr 29, 2024

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During today’s episode of Back Porch Theology, we’re sitting down with an engaging joyful scholar - which may sound like a juxtaposition but shouldn’t be - Dr. Trevin Wax. Trevin’s an old friend who’s got a long list of accomplishments including serving as a missionary in Romania, after which he went on to serve as the vice president of research and resource development at the North American Mission Board. He’s taught courses at Wheaton College and Cedarville University and has lectured at the prestigious Oxford University in the UK. He’s also the founding editor of The Gospel Project, published the Christian Standard Bible – which is one of my favorite translations - and has written a nightstand full of books. But what I appreciate most about Trevin is that he embodies the fact that being serious about matters of faith doesn’t equate to being overly serious about oneself. As Christ followers, of course, we’re called to marinate in God’s Word like those ancient Berean Christians, but arrogance and academic elitism are not spiritual gifts! That being said, Dr. Wax is known for dropping wisdom bombs everywhere he goes, so you’ll probably want to bring a notebook or journal along with your Bible to the porch today, plus something yummy and caffeinated like a non-fat mocha with whipped cream – I’ve never used thrill and orthodoxy in the same sentence but when I order a non-fat mocha with whipped cream I feel like those two juxtaposed terms enhance each other to the point of making my coffee almost Keto! We’re going to have a great conversation today, y’all – thanks so much for choosing to hang out with us.

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Don’t Look Back with Christine Caine, Part 2 Apr 22, 2024

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology, we’re continuing our spiritual adventure with the always feisty and biblically faithful Australian, my dear friend Christine Caine. Chris and her husband Nick helped me navigate the arduous process of adopting Missy, so it didn’t surprise me when my daughter began to speak English that she proclaimed Chris to be her favorite Aunt! Mind you Missy’s got several favorite aunts and my actual sister Theresa is appropriately at the very top of her list, but I love the fact that the Caine family and Harper girls are so interwoven, Missy assumed she and Chris were related when she was little! And I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll feel like she’s part of your family of faith after hanging out with us on the porch today too, because spending time with Chris inevitably means feeling closer to Jesus, as well as being inspired to share the glorious good news of His unconditional love in the hopes of welcoming more image bearers into our stumbling toward grace community! I often paraphrase church father and theologian Lesslie Newbiggin who referred to the congregation as the most effective hermeneutic of the Gospel - in other words, we can see and understand who our Savior is and who He’s called us to be as His ambassadors more clearly through the lens of genuine relationship with other Christ followers. Remember 90-plus percent of the biblical imperatives – that is those instructions and parameters scattered throughout Scripture explaining how we should live as people who’ve been redeemed and perfectly loved by God – are set in the context of community. But before we dive into this Gospel elucidating, community-building conversation with Chris, I need to make a qualification. If you haven’t yet had the privilege of meeting this feisty Bible teacher, best-selling author, and global anti-human trafficking leader, not only does she have an Australian accent, she talks fast so listening to her is like drinking from a firehose! Therefore, you might want to grab a double expresso or an extra-large glass of something caffeinated and your Bible – oh and if you’re driving or on the Peloton, please pull over or hop off the bike for the next little while because trying to do anything thing else while listening to Chris is like trying to play Twister while ice skating – it’s just not a good idea. Please bring...

Don’t Look Back with Christine Caine, Part 1 Apr 15, 2024

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Since we’re right around the corner from The Kerygma Summit ’24 where 1,500 ministry leaders and Bible-loving chicks from three different countries are gathering here in Franklin, TN for a 3-Day spiritual boot camp, I thought it’d be fitting to spend today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology with one of the most gifted Bible expositors and evangelists I’ve ever met, who just so happens to be one of my best friends, Christine Caine. And I can’t wait for y’all to lean into this episode because Chris is going to wrap historical context and practical theology around one single verse in the Gospel according to Luke that can have a resurrective kind of impact on our future. In Luke 17:32, Jesus spoke three interesting words: "Remember Lot's wife." We don’t know her name, history, or all the details of her story. All we know is that when she was fleeing Sodom and Gomorrah with her husband Lot and their two daughters, she intentionally disobeyed God’s clear command to not look back and was consequently zapped into a pillar of salt, making her the first Scary Spice several millennia before the girl band borrowed that moniker. Mrs. Lot is one of the more infamous women in biblical narrative and out of the 170 women referred to in Holy Writ, she's the only one Jesus told us to remember. If you’re feeling stuck this season – mired in all-too-familiar feelings of shame, discouragement, resentment, unforgiveness, apathy or just wishing the reality of your life bore more resemblance to the life of your dreams, I believe today’s conversation could be the catalyst Holy Spirit uses to lift you out of the spiritual doldrums and back into the hope-filled future God promises for all of us through the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah. So please grab a cup of your favorite beverage and your Bible – unless you’re weaving through a herd of anxious cows on a scooter of course – and come hang out on the porch with us.

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God’s Word Is The Antithesis of Hate Speech with Dr. Craig Keener: Part 2 Apr 08, 2024

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Today’s episode of Back Porch Theology is a continuation of the hope-fertilizing conversation Alli and I got to have with Dr. Craig Keener – a world-renowned New Testament scholar, and commentarian, who currently serves as a professor at Asbury Theological Seminary. Dr. Keener is one of our heroes of faith, who by the way has graciously agreed to be on the teaching team at Kerygma ’24 at the end of April so we’re over the moon about that! He’s widely respected for his scholarship – he’s got a Ph.D. from Duke – but even more so for his gentle compassion. And it’s in that spirit of kind humility that Dr. Keener dismantles the vitriolic yet increasingly popular claims that the Bible and those who order their lives by the promises and parameters prescribed in it are racist, misogynistic, and imperialistic. Mind you, people claiming to know God have often behaved despicably and His Word has been used to promote all kinds of horror throughout history. However, when people use God’s Word to promote the mistreatment, marginalization, and murder of others, they’ve twisted and distorted it into something God Himself never intended because evil is not divinely causative. So grab a cup of coffee and your Bible and come hang out on the porch with us.

Embodied Devotion with Dr. Craig Keener: Part 1 Apr 01, 2024

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Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology took place in Wilmore, KY, on the campus of Asbury Theological Seminary, because Alli and I had the phenomenal privilege of spending time with one of our favorite – and I mean one of the most favorite of all our favorites – Bible scholars, Dr. Craig Keener. I quote or cite Dr. Keener all the time because his book on hermeneutics, his commentaries on the New Testament, and his classic Bible Background Commentary are some of the sturdiest scaffolding I’ve built my Christocentric belief system on. He’s the one I paraphrase every time I say, “If you get out of the Bible what you were expecting to get out of the Bible, you need to raise your expectations!” because Dr. Keener is among the wise saints who’ve taught me that the redemptive truisms in this divine love letter we call the Bible are always bigger and better than our finite human minds can comprehend! His life’s work proves that Scripture isn’t a flat text to memorize or a proposition to study, but it provides a way for us to engage with the only true God who sees us and loves us, and is always in pursuit of our hearts. For Alli and I, getting to spend the day with Dr. Keener felt like being junior high kids who love singing in the choir but aren’t particularly melodic, yet we got invited to harmonize with Pavarotti! And the best part about this conversation wasn’t even the wisdom bombs he humbly dropped, y’all - it was how his heart is surely bigger than his extraordinary brain because even though Dr. Keener is a world-renowned New Testament scholar, almost every time he talked about the love Jesus has lavished him with, his eyes welled up with tears. I’m telling you, this man walks with God and just being in his presence helped us lean more fully into our Savior’s embrace. So please grab a cup of coffee (or one of those fancy electrolyte-enhanced waters) and your Bible – unless you’re picking dog hairs off your black jeans, of course – and come spend some time on the porch with us.

Scratch and Dent Sacrifices Mar 25, 2024

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology, we’re going to take a ride in the caboose of the Old Testament book of Malachi so as to get up close and personal with the spirit of entitlement. In this post-exilic era, God’s people were so discouraged and bitter, and prideful that they were down to the last dredges of their faith. As a result, they brazenly questioned God’s goodness and began putting scratch and dent sacrifices in His offering plate. And while their rotten behavior is certainly a fly in the ointment of redemptive history, I’m grateful their story and God’s merciful response was recorded because if we’re honest, I think most of us have been guilty of giving God secondhand stuff we don’t want anymore and pretending it’s a sacrifice, too. The temptation to keep the best for ourselves and give God leftovers didn’t die with the ancient Israelites...the spirit of entitlement is still alive and kicking hard in modern Christendom. Sir C.S. Lewis wisely wrote in his classic book The Screwtape Letters, “Men are not angered by mere misfortune but by misfortune conceived as injury.” Goodness gracious, that dog will hunt, won’t it? How often have we perceived that we haven’t been treated the way we deserve to be treated? How often have we secretly resented giving more than we received? How often have our hearts poked out their bottom lip over a relational return that was paltry compared to our emotional investment? And how has that kind of entitled, egocentric thinking exhausted our peace, gratitude, and intimacy with Jesus? Today’s episode is going to be a liberating sort of spiritual heart bypass for some of us, y’all so grab an extra-large cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re practicing for your part-time job as a mime, of course – and come hang out on the porch with Alli, Dr. Howard and me.
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Dr. Howard in the Hot Seat, Part 2 Mar 18, 2024

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology Alli and I are back at Belle’s house with a gaggle of friends because we had such an engaging, provocative, and revelatory time last week when we got to ask Dr. Howard hard questions about God, that we unanimously agreed we wanted an encore! I mean it’s not every day you get to honestly process what sometimes feels like a gaping hole in your faith with someone who has five earned degrees and a PhD from Dallas Theological Seminary. Another one of my theological heroes, Helmut Thielicke, who I won’t get to meet until Glory because he passed away in 1986, said this: “Unless a theology works at the margins of life, it’s not worth anything even if it makes sense at the easy center.” I’m sixty years old now and in my experience, life can be a whole lot of things – it can be breathtakingly beautiful, excruciatingly hard, messy, wonderful, devastating, delightful, surprising – but I’ve rarely found life to be easy. At least not for long. And thankfully our Creator Redeemer doesn’t expect us to pretend like it is. Our Heavenly Father invites us to bring everything to Him – including our questions – nowhere in His Word will you find the command to curate your emotions and only present the optimistic, compliant parts to Him. God created us to be His image bearers, not soulless automatons. Those of you saints who still have questions about things like the nature of the Trinity, or the historical reliability of Scripture, or the sole sufficiency of faith in Jesus for the atonement of sins, or whether there’s a literal heaven, you’re very welcome to join our motley crew of Christ followers. So please grab a cup of your favorite caffeinated beverage and a Bible – if you have one - and come hang out on the porch with us.

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Dr. Howard in the Hot Seat, Part 1 Mar 11, 2024

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology Alli and I are hanging out with a gang of girlfriends in Belle’s living room - if you’re new to the porch, Belle’s like everybody’s favorite aunt, and we’ve had a neighborhood Bible study at her house every week for almost 15 years in a row so I’m pretty much a piece of the furniture there now. The theme of this taped-with-a-lively-group episode is hurling some spicy, dicey, I probably wouldn’t feel comfortable asking this in church theological questions at Dr. Howard so he can help us process conundrums like: Since God is sovereign and has already laid out the boundary lines of our lives, why do we pray? What’s the difference between that and fatalism? How do you describe the trinitarian nature of our Creator Redeemer to a new believer or non-Christian? Why does God allow suffering and how can I hang onto hope in the ensuing silence? If you’ve ever wished you knew a brilliant, accessible, kind biblical scholar who would help you untangle some complicated issues about God, today’s conversation is curated especially for you! So please grab a cup of coffee – or if you’re like me, a splash of coffee with your cream! - and your Bible – unless you’re hiding in the pantry of an Airbnb because you desperately needed a break during what’s become an especially loud and messy Spring Break – and come put your feet up on the porch with us!

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Giving Away The Fear of Not Fitting In Mar 04, 2024

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology, we’re taking a road trip to the First Christian Church of Colossae, which was started by an unlikely pastor named Epaphras who got saved while tagging along with a friend who had an extra ticket to an Apostle Paul Crusade at the Ephesus Arena! This church started out with a bang but then came perilously close to veering off course and getting stuck in the high weeds of religious syncretism. That is until their spiritual uncle Paul wrote them a gentle but firm course correction letter. And the affectionate tone of his communication to the Colossians becomes even more poignant when you remember that great apostle was writing from a prison cell where he was unjustly held captive as a result of his unwavering Christian faith. Speaking of that world-changing apostle who had a blinding encounter with Jesus after which he dedicated the rest of his life to sharing the Gospel and ultimately wrote half of the books in our New Testament canon – Pastor Levi and Jennie Lusko, worship-leading power couple, Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes, and I would like to cordially invite you to join us on an immersive Bible study and worship experience through Italy, Turkey, and Greece where we’ll be tracing some of Paul’s most significant missionary journeys as we dive deeply into several of his New Testament epistles this summer. It’s called The Incomparable Cruise based on another letter he penned from prison called Ephesians where Paul proclaims: I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. Can you imagine how mind-blowing and heart-expanding it’s going to be to explore the book of Ephesians in Ephesus, the book of Romans in Rome, and visit the very spot in Athens where he preached the epic sermon that’s recorded in Acts 17? Goodness gracious, I’m so excited about this trip that I can hardly sit still here in the studio! If you’re interested in joining Levi, Jennie, Kari, Cody, and me for this floating revival on the Mediterranean Sea July 13th-20th, 2024, please check out the link in my Instagram, the link in today’s show notes or go to inspirationtravel.com and search The Incomparable Cruise. But first, how about grabbing a cup of coffee...

Intellectual Humility: Giving Away the Need to Always Have the Right Answer Feb 26, 2024

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During today’s episode on Back Porch Theology, we’re talking about intellectual humility, which could be loosely described as giving away the need to always have the right answer. I spent way too many years afraid that someone would look under the hood of my life and discover everything I was ashamed of. During those years that I was consumed with shame, I used what modest intellect I have as a deflector shield. And posing behind my need to be perceived as always having the right answer robbed so much of my peace as a young Bible teacher. I was scared that making a public mistake regarding the WORD OF GOD would brand me as a fraudulent heretic forever. Here’s the deal y’all, as Christ-followers of course it behooves us to imitate those ancient Bereans from the book of Acts, who received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. However, it also behooves us to remember that when you filter the divinely inspired and inscripturated Word of God through the finite minds of men and women, it’s bound to be distorted at some level. Now please hear me, I’m not at all saying we have a license to be irresponsible – anything but – however, as a sixty-year-old, mistake-prone Bible teacher I’ve learned that intellect without humility equals insufferable arrogance, which is the antithesis of Christoformity – of having a Jesus-shaped life! Speaking of Jesus-shaped living and intellectual humility, if you haven’t already please check out our upcoming Kerygma Summit April 25-27, here in Franklin, TN. It’s a curated, 3-day intensive – basically a Bible study boot camp saturated with belly laughs – where a whole bunch of us from all over gather together and learn from a dream team of seminary professors, theologians, and ministry leaders so that we can better understand, emulate and communicate God’s Word. I don’t have time to tell you everyone who’s on the teaching team for this third Kerygma Summit but y’all it is a veritable Who’s-Who of modern-day theological heroes and heroines, among them they’ve published something like 300 books, Bible studies, and commentaries. Several of them have even served on translation teams – which means they’ve translated the original Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic into English - for specific versions of the Bible, including the NIV and ESV, isn’t that cool? But the coolest thing about...

The Epilogue Effect Feb 19, 2024

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology, we’re going to be swimming in the cleansing waters of divine restoration and double portions. Isaiah 61:7 says: Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours. And that extravagant promise permeates biblical narrative: liars with infertility problems ultimately become fathers of theocracies; wimpy young men trembling in wine barrels become mighty warriors who lead successful military campaigns, and Benedict Arnolds get forgiven and picked to preach sermons where thousands get saved. God’s generous grace is miraculously, exponentially restorative! If you’ve got mistakes in your backstory, today’s episode is going to supercharge your hope. If you don’t have any mistakes in your backstory, please do not pass “Go” or collect $200 before calling a Christian counselor or a physician because honey, you are either delusional or have amnesia. Thankfully, there’s a third option, how about grabbing a cup of coffee and your Bible and hanging out with us instead? Welcome to Back Porch Theology, y’all.

Theological Anthropology of Generosity Feb 12, 2024

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The title of today’s episode is The Theological Anthropology of Generosity, and while that’s admittedly a lofty mouthful (which underscores the fact that Alli and I are both certified logophiles), the main point of today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology is that God is the genesis of generosity. Quite frankly, as created beings, it’s almost impossible to understand, much less extend, authentic compassion – to effectively give yourself away, which is the overarching thematic umbrella this year here at BPT – until we recognize that our Creator Redeemer is the original author and perfect model of generosity. The book of Genesis reveals that immediately upon breathing life into Adam and Eve, at the dawn of humanity, He gave them everything they needed. Unfortunately, soon afterward in that same Edenic paradise, a slithery intruder - who is the enemy of our soul also known as satan - planted an insidious seed of doubt in Eve that God was holding out on her and Adam. And humanity has been predisposed to doubt our Creator Redeemer’s beneficence – the fact that He will provide everything we need for life and godliness – ever since. If your foundational security has ever been bullied by feelings of scarcity – if your peace has ever been compromised by the fear that you or those you love won’t have enough of what you need, whether that be finances, food, attention, or affection – then today’s conversation is bound to add some spiritual rebar to your emotional scaffolding. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you tried on one of those pythonish, body-slimming bathing suits and sprained your thumb trying to pull that puppy off, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us.

Generosity Under Fire Feb 05, 2024

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology Alli and I are talking about generosity under fire – in other words, how we can keep giving sacrificially giving even when we feel like a tube of toothpaste that’s been rolled so many times, there’s nothing left in the tube. Should our physical and financial resources be the final arbitrator of our generosity or should we maintain a “what’s mine is yours for the glory of God” posture when like the widow of Zaraphath, we’re down to our last bag of flour and bottle of oil. John Wesley, a renowned church father, and theologian, once preached: “When the Possessor of heaven and earth brought you into being and placed you in this world, he placed you here not as a proprietor, but as a steward.” In other words, if you’ve given your heart to Jesus, you’re supposed to give Him everything else too. No matter what name is listed on the title of your car or registered under your Apple ID, our stuff, our time, and even the ever-changing emotions that flow through our hearts and minds, they’re on loan to us to use for God’s kingdom purposes. Everything we have can be used as an asset in the preeminent business of loving God and loving people. Conversely, anything we’re hanging onto tighter than we’re holding onto Jesus can become an idol. Today’s going to be like a teaspoon of wasabi, y’all – it’ll probably go down spicy and might just make your eyes water. So please grab a tumbler of iced coffee and your Bible – unless you’re holding onto a bouquet of helium balloons for a clown friend, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

Hermeneutics and Holy Fire Jan 29, 2024

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology, Dr. Howard, Alli and I are happily diving into the seemingly heady subject matter of hermeneutics. Hermeneutics comes from the Greek word hermeneutic, which means “to translate” or “to interpret.” And in the context of Judeo-Christianity, hermeneutics refers to the science of interpreting the Bible and is the branch of theology that deals with the principles of exegesis. In the same vein, the term exegesis is etymologically related to the Greek word meaning “to guide” or to “lead out.” Therefore, the basic definition of exegesis is to draw knowledge out of something and in the Judeo-Christian context refers to how Christ's followers can understand and apply the holy Scriptures. Now before you hurl one of your earbuds against the wall in frustration because this is all starting to sound as confusing as the garbled voiceover from an old Godzilla movie, hang with me a minute longer and listen to what Peter said about Paul’s New Testament writing: His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16). Even more startling is a verse in John’s Gospel account where surely the Pharisees’ faces got beet red when Jesus admonished them for being clueless Bible bangers with His observation in John 5:39: You pore over the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them, and yet they testify about me. In other words, those First Century religious elitists had pretty much “mastered” the text of Torah but they’d missed THE MESSIAH in the process! Unfortunately, modern Bible readers can get way off course and still miss Jesus in the text if we dive into Scripture without first praying for discernment, considering the author’s original audience, the socio-historical context, the literary format, and several other factors of sound biblical interpretation. It’s entirely possible to diligently study God’s Word – even memorize portions of it – and misappropriate or distort His promises. So while it’s not necessary to remember the academic definition of terms like hermeneutics or exegesis, much less how to spell them, it is important for us to learn how to wipe the fog off our proverbial lenses before we read this awesome, authoritative, supernatural love story called the Bible. I...

God Never Gives Up On You with Max Lucado: Part 2 Jan 22, 2024

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology, we get to continue our conversation with Max Lucado about giving away our agenda so that we can lean more fully into God’s redemptive plans for our future. And as scary as it may sound to loosen your grip on your agenda – maybe because you’ve had to take care of yourself for so long it’s hard to fully trust in God’s faithfulness – Max will help all of us believe bigger in God’s providence and protection by venturing into the deep weeds of a colorful Old Testament narrative about a scoundrel named Jacob. If you feel like much of your life has been an uphill struggle and you’ve had to fight for anything good – and maybe, as a result, you’re just flat worn out and don’t have much more “get up and go” left in your bedraggled heart - this episode is tailor-made for you because as Max poetically writes: Our God is the God of those who struggle and scrape, sometimes barely making it, hanging on for dear life. We don’t have to be strong to be saved. We don’t have to be perfect to be redeemed. We simply need to trust the God of Jacob, believing in a God who sticks with the unworthy and underachievers until we are safely home. He is the God of second chances and new beginnings. You can take a deep breath and relax your shoulders y’all, because you’re able to be rinsed with genuine encouragement. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re live-streaming a makeup tutorial, of course – and come relax on the porch with Max and me.

God Never Gives Up On You with Max Lucado: Part 1 Jan 15, 2024

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology, we get to hang out with one of my all-time favorite pastors and spiritual mentors, Max Lucado. Several years ago, Time magazine declared him to be “America’s Pastor” for good reason. Even though he’s sold 92 MILLION books and they’ve been translated into 54 languages worldwide, he’s one of those incredibly kind and humble shepherds who still smells like sheep! And today he’s going to bless us with some brilliant Old Testament exegesis wrapped in gentle humor. Remember, our overarching theme here on BPT for 2024 is “The Year of Giving Yourself Away” and I don’t think there’s anyone I trust more when it comes to teaching us how to give away our own agendas so that we can lean more fully into God’s redemptive plans for our futures than Max. So please grab a cup of your favorite caffeine and your Bible, unless you’re already cutting out homemade Valentines for your kid’s school because your brain was momentarily hijacked last August when you volunteered to be their homeroom parent for an entire year! – and come hang out on the porch with Max and me.

Can Self-Care and Selfless Coexist? Jan 08, 2024

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology, we’re going to run further and faster in the thematic lane of giving ourselves away and talk about the healthy tension between self-care and selfless. One of my favorite pretend theological boyfriends, St. Augustine, said “Charity is a virtue which, when our affections are perfectly ordered, unites us to God. For by it, we love Him.” In other words, generosity for the sake of Christ actually accelerates our awareness of His unconditional love. Therefore, giving yourself away in a healthy, biblical context comes with the penultimate payoff of increased intimacy with God. It’s what can never honestly be said about the stock market – choosing to live a generous, God and others-oriented lifestyle also means our investment comes with a perfectly secure dividend. Which is the theme of Jesus’s message in Luke chapter 6: Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Speaking of pouring, how about pouring yourself a big cup of coffee and grabbing your Bible - unless you’re still trying to figure out how to fit those newfangled LED Christmas lights back into the box they came in so you can finally cram all of the holiday trimmings back into the attic until next November, of course – and come hang out on the porch with Alli, Dr. Howard and me!

An Open-Handed and Open-Hearted Life Jan 01, 2024

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I’m so stinkin’ excited about today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology because it’s going to be a banner year here at BPT and the banner over all 53 episodes of BPT in 2024 is: “The Year of Giving Yourself Away”! We’re going to delve deeply into what it means to live Christoformic lives – how to be shaped like Jesus in everything we do. We’re going to explore the theology of generosity. We’re going to get real and raw about what we need to loosen our grip on in order to be more merciful and less miserly when it comes to giving away our time and our own agendas and our forgiveness. How can we emulate Jesus’s proclamation in Mark’s Gospel account right before His compassionate, healing encounter with blind Bartimaeus when our Savior said, I didn’t come to be served, but to serve. To give my life away as a ransom for many. Scripture makes it clear that as Christ-followers we’re called to care for widows and orphans – the poor and the powerless – yet sometimes our own orphan spirits and scarcity mindsets rob us of the transformative blessings God promises to those who live open-handedly and open-heartedly. Which means we’re going to be really purposeful this year about pursuing a more intimate relationship with God through the revelation of His Word and Holy Spirit, which will lead to a lifestyle riddled with generosity. And we’ve got a surprise for you toward the end of ’24 because we’re going to take a great, big heart-expanding and belly-laugh-inducing BPT field trip to practice generosity with some precious image bearers who are in desperate need of some intentional care and kindness. Now besides grabbing a cup of coffee and your Bible as we begin this episode, we also need you to turn up the volume a tad because Alli and I recorded this New Year’s episode in the Dominican Republic and there’s a pretty rowdy gang of roosters and chickens in the background, welcome back to the porch, y’all.

Christmas 365 Dec 25, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology, the whole gang – Alli, Dr. Howard, Belle, and I - have gathered together to celebrate Christmas! We’re talking all things Yule with y’all – okay, I know that was so cheesy but eggnog and fruitcake tend to activate my dorky sentimental side! And while we are going to take a stroll down memory lane today, we’re also going to talk about how the miracle of the Incarnation should inform and permeate the other 364 days of our calendar. J.I. Packer explained the magnitude of Christmas like this: It is here, in the thing that happened at the first Christmas, that the profoundest and most unfathomable depths of the Christian revelation lie. ‘The Word became flesh.’ God became a man; the divine Son became a Jew; the Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless human baby, unable to do more than lie and stare and wriggle and make noises, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child. And there was no illusion or deception in this: the babyhood of the Son of God was a reality. The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as this truth of the Incarnation. I’ve thought about Dr. Packer’s observation often these past few weeks of Advent – about how our holy, transcendent Creator Redeemer condescended to earth in a suit of skin to be born in a Bethlehem barn. Australian theologian John Nolland actually refers to the Incarnation as the divine condescension. I can’t quite wrap my mind around a love so vast that it compelled the King of all kings to lay down His ruling scepter in glory and lower Himself not only to human form but ultimately to be nailed to a cross. King Jesus became like us in order to rescue and redeem us. Goodness gracious, Christmas is SO MUCH BIGGER than December 25th y’all! So please grab a spiced apple cider, a peppermint mocha, a tumbler of eggnog, or some other Yuletide beverage concoction and your Bible – unless you’ve got both hands on an electric knife and are making a mess out of what was a beautiful holiday ham mere moments ago, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

How The Light of Christmas Eclipses Gloom Forever Dec 18, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re exploring a messianic prophecy in the Old Testament to excavate a treasure worth more than all the gold in Ft. Knox, all the pearls in Japan, all the cheese in Wisconsin, and all the turkey legs at Dollywood! Isaiah chapter 9 is one of the most memorable of all the Old Testament prophecies and it’s especially familiar during the Christmas season. However, like the old adage says, unfortunately sometimes familiarity breeds contempt. Most of us have heard the “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given” part of Isaiah’s promise recited so many times that we’re prone to miss the breathtaking miracle at the beginning of the passage which proclaims: But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. Despite all the perky taglines of commercials this time of year and the endless photos on social media depicting perfectly matched, professionally lit, smiling families with Labradoodles, ‘tis also the season of anguish for many because sometimes the public celebration serves as a poignant reminder of private grief – of the stocking that’s missing from their mantle or the chair that’s going to be empty at this year’s Christmas dinner table. Isaiah’s Advent announcement isn’t pithy positive thinking or sloppy sentimentality – instead, he acknowledges the gloom, the inherent darkness that came with the Fall – but he juxtaposes our human pain against the backdrop of divine hope, just listen to verse 2 of chapter 9: The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. I believe today’s conversation is going to breathe fresh hope into someone’s flagging sails, so please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible– unless you’re currently driving one of those itty-bitty cars in a holiday parade down Main Street, of course – and come spend some quality Christmas-is-right-around-the-corner time on the porch with Alli, Dr. Howard and me.
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Color Us Gobsmacked and Grateful Dec 11, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’ve got the whole gang in the studio – Alli, Dr. Howard, Belle – from Ring My Belle – and me – and we’re going to spend some time gawking at God’s faithfulness and how He’s gotten us to our 100th episode – which is today, December 11th! We’re two years into this podcast adventure and we’re still pinching ourselves that we get to do this and get to do it together. One of my favorite, long-dead church fathers – those ancient spiritual leaders that I like to refer to as my pretend theological boyfriends – Bernard of Clairvaux – said this: “I preached myself, and the scholars came and praised me. I preached Christ, and the sinners came and thanked me.” We’ve certainly made some mistakes and shared lots of shenanigans in the studio while recording the first 99 episodes of BPT, but it’s been a profound privilege to attempt to make Jesus the Hero of every podcast leading up to this centennial celebration. And we’re beyond grateful that y’all consistently carve the time out of your days to lean into His unconditional love for us on the porch. Honestly, when Alli and I started, we thought our listeners would be comprised of her husband Jonathan, and my mom, Patti. Thank you for enlarging our dreams and better yet, our community. Now most of y’all know the drill - please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’ve gotten all Pinteresty this season and need both hands to finish those dadgum handmade ornaments before Christmas is over, of course – and come hang out on the porch for this super special praise party with us.

Why Bread and Boaz are Key Characters in the Christmas Story Dec 04, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology, Alli and I are still neck-deep in all things Advent but the itinerary we’re taking to the Christmas creche is much more scenic than Waze would route you. We’re going all the way back through the family tree of Jesus to a little boy named Obed, who was also born in a little town called Bethlehem, in the Old Testament. The New Testament gives us two accounts of the genealogy of Jesus – Matthew starts with Abraham and works forward, while Luke works backward from Jesus to Adam. But neither of these Gospel writers gives us as many redemptive details as the Book of Ruth. She and Esther are the only two women who have an entire book of the Bible dedicated to them and Ruth’s story reads like a colorful prelude to the miracle of Christmas, complete with a baby born in Bethlehem, the House of Bread. Surely, you’ve sung about this little town and how still we see it lie, but today you’re going to find out why a tiny village in the Middle East means that you don’t have to spend Christmas alone, ever. So grab a cup-a-joe and your Bible – unless you’ve got both hands full of popcorn and fresh cranberries because you’ve watched too many episodes of Little House on the Prairie or have spent way too much time on Pinterest! – and come prop your feet up on the porch with Alli, Dr. Howard, and me!

Misfits, Miracles and A Manger Nov 27, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology Alli and I are happily diving into all things Advent! And we’re focusing on a few ancient outliers in biblical antiquity who would naturally have been invited to clean out stalls in some First Century barn but would never have been invited to anyone’s party. Well, anyone except the Creator of the Universe! What does it mean for us today that 2,000 years ago God chose a group of outliers with a reputation for petty thievery, who were nomadic, illiterate, maligned in rabbinic literature, and scorned by most everybody else to be the very first humans – besides Joe and Mary, of course - to witness the Incarnation? Why is it so significant that God chose the least of us to greet the One who came to rescue and redeem all of us? We’re making a life-giving visit back in time to that original nativity scene in Bethlehem and our proverbial tour bus comes complete with a spoiler alert because Dr. Howard is also going to exegete a passage in Revelation that rivals Dr. Luke’s birth narrative but that’s not until the end of this episode so you’re going to have to hang out with us the whole time! Which means you’d better grab a mega mug of coffee and your Bible –unless you’re hot-gluing a rope headband on a bathrobe for some precious punkin’ in your life who’s been chosen for the super-important - albeit non-speaking – role of a shepherd in the church Christmas play, of course - and come sit for a spell on the porch with us!

The Praxis Of A Well-Place Thank You Nov 20, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology Alli and I are diving into one of my favorite passages about thanksgiving found in the synoptic gospels. One of our theological heroes, the late, great Dr. Tim Keller, said: “It’s one thing to be grateful. It’s another to give thanks. Gratitude is what you feel. Thanksgiving is what you do.” In other words, thanksgiving is not simply the warm fuzzy feeling that bubbles up in Americans when we gather around a table laden with Turkey, sweet potato casserole, and cornbread stuffing in late November – mind you there is something truly glorious about a heap of hot, mashed sweet potatoes topped with brown sugar and melted marshmallows – but rather for Christ-followers the world over, thanksgiving is about developing the joyful discipline of celebrating the beneficence and compassion of our Creator Redeemer. And deliberate, actionable gratitude is a double blessing, y’all because it’s not just fruit of the Spirit, it’s fuel from the Spirit because the praxis and posture of giving thanks supernaturally propels us into deeper intimacy with God. Today’s conversation has the potential to transform your emotional trajectory so please grab a cup of coffee with a generous splash of Hazelnut creamer, and your Bible – unless you’re currently shelling pecans for homemade pie, of course – and come hang out on the porch with Ally, Dr. Howard and me.

What’s Your I.Q. (Interruptibility Quotient)? Nov 13, 2023

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Today on Back Porch Theology, Ally and I are continuing the conversation about sanctification – the ongoing process of becoming less like who we were before we fell in love with Jesus and more like Him. One of my pretend theological boyfriends, ancient theologian and church father Thomas Chalmers, uses the phraseology of the expulsive power of the new affection to describe spiritual maturity. He reasoned that the further we fall in love with Jesus, the less room there is for ungodly affections and entanglements in our hearts. He wrote, “We know of no other way by which to keep the love of the world out of our hearts than to keep in our hearts the love of God.” Much like the theme last week, Chalmers emphasized how sanctification is less about remediating our behavior and more about recognizing our belovedness. Checking off every item on some spiritual to-do list doesn’t have the power to transform our hearts and minds into the shape of Jesus, y’all! However, leaning into His unconditionally loving embrace will absolutely fertilize personal holiness and fuel our desire to obey the imperatives of God’s Word. Speaking of the symbiotic relationship between love and sanctification, in John’s Gospel account Jesus declared that people will recognize we’re His disciples by how well we love each other, which means we’re going to connect the dots between sanctification and community today too, baby! So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re rinsing your bougie yet clogged espresso machine out with stinky vinegar, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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What Does It Mean to Be Shaped Like Jesus? Nov 06, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology Alli and I are dipping our toes into the transformative waters of sanctification. Sanctification initially presents in the Old Testament as a thing/object that is “set apart as sacred” – such as the Sabbath Day or utensils used for worship ceremonies in the Temple. However, in the New Testament, the concept of sanctification reflects the idea of how ragamuffins like us - who’ve put our hope in Jesus - are being progressively conformed into His image. In his book “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” from the iconic Narnia series, C.S. Lewis explains sanctification through a stinker of an adolescent named Eustace: It would be nice and fairly nearly true, to say that 'from that time forth, Eustace was a different boy. To be strictly accurate, he began to be a different boy. He had relapses. There were still many days when he could be very tiresome. But most of those I shall not notice. The cure had begun. The “cure” C.S. Lewis wrote about wasn’t transactional, it was relational. I will surely step on some prim and proper toes with this assertion but sanctification is not primarily the embodiment of biblical ethics, nor is it accelerated by checking off more items on some proverbial religious “to-do” list. Spiritual maturity is less about our remediating our behavior and more about recognizing our belovedness. So please take a deep breath and relax – you’re not about to get a sanctimonious smackdown or lectured about how unholy you are! Now grab a steaming cup of coffee or apple cider or pumpkin spiced something and your Bible – unless you’re up to your elbows in alpaca wool because you thought handknit Christmas stockings would be a breeze, of course – and come hang out on the porch with Ally, Dr. Howard and me.

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Alert and Anxious Are NOT Emotional Cousins – Continuing Our Candid Conversation About Current Events Oct 30, 2023

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Today on Back Porch Theology Alli, Dr Howard and I are continuing our candid discussion about the current conflict in Israel and how to best respond as concerned Christ-followers. In doing so, we’re going to peruse a relevant passage in Mark’s Gospel account that had First Century folks every bit as concerned about the conflict brewing in their culture as we are today. The overarching takeaway from this colorful chapter in Mark - which includes the same type of apocalyptic imagery that we’re seeing on newsreels right now – is that we need to be alert and prayerful, but we don’t have to be afraid. What’s currently going on in Israel has lots of armchair quarterbacks predicting eschatological consequences and we know that can be both confusing and disconcerting. But we want to encourage you to hang on to hope because while Jesus Himself said He didn’t know the exact hour of His return, the second advent, He did tell us that He’ll be coming back with God the Father and they’ll bring the conclusive end to the war between good and evil. When they come back for us, they’ll usher in the reign of perfect peace that all of humanity longs for and His peace will reign forever. There will be no more wars or rumors of wars. No more horrific abuse or human trafficking. No more dying or crying. But in the meantime - in this messy middle, the already but not yet time - as in we're already saved but not yet glorified - we have to stay alert, don’t let satan’s scaly dragon tail catch you off guard and cause a big bruise. Be ready to jump to the aid of others who are in danger of getting whacked by him too. We don’t have to live as victims, y’all because Jesus has already ensured the victory! So grab a cup of coffee, or an oat milk chai, or some fancy green juice and your Bible – unless you’re walking around the same circle in an increasingly claustrophobic corn maze - and come hang out on the porch with us.

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Why Did God “Choose” Israel? – A Candid Conversation about Current Events Oct 23, 2023

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Today on Back Porch Theology Alli, Dr Howard and I are having a candid conversation about the current, seemingly eschalating war in Israel and the Gaza area. We’ll be leaning on Dr. Howard’s academic expertise to explain the significance of how early in biblical history God established Israel as a theocracy – that is a people group He singled out for His favor and so as to represent the kind of convenant relationship He wants with all of humanity. Then we’re going to delve into why Israel’s favored status in biblical narrative still matters in our modern era. Please know we’re not going to tell you what to think – goodness gracious, there so many differing eschatalogical viewpoints and prophecies regarding how conflict in the Middle East may or may not usher in the end times, I don’t think anybody needs another incindiary op-ed. What we do need to be reminded of, however, is that when the disciples were alarmed about wars and rumors of wars during His incarnate ministry, Jesus encouraged them to be alert. In Mark 13, He actually counsels His follwers to be alert 5 separate times…what He does not encourage them to feel is fear. There’s a big difference between being alert and being anxious, between staying informed and staying amped up by 24 hour news reels. Regardless of what’s going on in the world, if you’ve put your faith in Jesus Christ, the New Testament describes us as His ambassadors, agents of reconciliation, and people of actionable prayer - and to that end we’re not simply to be consumers of hope, we’re supposed to be carriers of hope too, y’all. Handwringing is not an option for Christfollowers, no matter how messy life gets. So grab a cup of coffee, or hot chocolate, or some fancy vitamin B infused water and your Bible – unless you’re raking up a ginormous pile of Fall leaves for the neighborhood kids to hurl their little sticky, precious selves into - and come lean into safe community on the porch with us.

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A Special Prayer For Israel Oct 20, 2023

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In this special bonus episode, Lisa shares a guided prayer as we prayer for Israel and what's happening in Gaza. Join us as we lift of those in the Middle East.

Awake My Soul and Sing with Brooke Ligertwood, Part 2 Oct 16, 2023

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During today’s Back Porch Theology session, I’ll be the one alternately laughing and crying because we have the pure joy of continuing a soul-stirring conversation about the heart of worship with none other than my dear friend, Brooke Ligertwood. Romans 12:1-2 says: Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. And those verses Paul penned are a great description of worship because it's not simply the songs of faith we sing in church or in the car or listen to while we’re gutting out a few more minutes on the elliptical at the gym – instead the act of worship should encompass the entirety of our lives when we’re living in obedience to God! I’ve learned so much about the wholistic – 24/7 - nature of biblical worship through Brooke. She’s one of the preeminent worship leaders of our modern era, she leads tens of thousands of people toward the throne of Jesus in stadiums all over the world, and she’s written or co-written some of the most God-honoring, faith-galvanizing, biblically rooted worship songs that are sung in almost every stream of the Christian faith including What a Beautiful Name, King of kings, Awake My Soul, Who You Say I Am, and A Thousand Hallelujahs. Christ-followers across the globe are familiar with her music, but what some people don’t know about Brooke is that she’s a passionately devoted student of God’s Word, a voracious reader of theology – we’re rabid fans of some of the same long dead church fathers like Saint Augustine, Brother Lawrence and Blasé Pascal - and in fact, Brooke is so serious about biblical fidelity that runs all of her lyrics by theological scholars before recording them. Every single time I have the pure joy of hanging out with Brooke, I walk away more in love with Jesus and today is no exception so please grab a great big mug of coffee or hot chocolate or green juice, and your Bible – unless you’re trying to get ahead of the Christmas curve and stuck in the attic untangling last year’s tangled strands of lights, of course – and come relax on the porch with us.
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Awake My Soul and Sing with Brooke Ligertwood, Part 1 Oct 09, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to wade into the refreshing, invigorating, cleansing and sometimes even healing waters of worship. According to theological scholars – in the context of our Judeo-Christian belief system - worship is the reverential response of creation to the all-encompassing magnificence of God. In biblical narrative, worship includes activities like bringing an offering or sacrifice to God, bowing down in deference and obeisance, and of course proclaiming His transcendent holiness, omnipotent power, and compassionate faithfulness through song. It’s what Moses models in Exodus 15:11 when he asks in awed wonder: Who is like you, O Lord? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? When it comes to worship leaders, it’s probably not too much of a stretch to call King David the perennial favorite because he wrote almost half of the 150 Psalms, all of which were originally written as songs – s-o-n-g-s. That means Dave’s tunes were all over some kind of ancient Spotify! And when it comes to modern-day worship leaders, our guest on BPT today is a perennial favorite, as well. She’s written and co-written some of the most God-honoring, faith-galvanizing, biblically rooted worship songs of this era that are consistently belted out in communities of faith all over the world including What a Beautiful Name, King of kings, Awake My Soul, Who You Say I Am, and A Thousand Hallelujahs. But what I love and respect most about my dear friend Brooke Ligertwood isn’t her Grammy-award winning musical genius or her gorgeous voice, it’s her humility-soaked heart. All it takes is a few minutes in her company and you can tell this woman spends a lot of time at the feet of Jesus. I think you’ll find yourself leaning more fully into His presence after hanging out with her today, too. So please grab a cup of coffee on this glorious Fall day, and your Bible – unless you’re learning the the ancient art of henna and practicing on a brave friend with indelible ink, of course! – and come prop your feet up on the porch with us.

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Suffering and the Formation of Hope Oct 02, 2023

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During today’s episode of Back Porch Theology, Alli and I are continuing a joy-saturated conversation with Dr. Curt Thompson, who’s a board-certified, practicing psychiatrist who loves God and His Word and His people. Dr. Thompson’s expertise in connecting neurobiology with biblically sound theology has been a game changer for me and his latest work – which connects suffering and the formation of hope – has helped me lean further into God’s restorative, healing compassion with regards to some of my oldest and deepest wounds. Just listen to this excerpt from his latest book, The Deepest Place: The creation of beauty and goodness out of carnage – the resurrected Jesus in the wake of crucifixion – opens the door to the most durable formation of hope. Hope that is sustainable because it has emerged from crucifixion, from suffering. Contrary to what some of us were taught in church, we don’t have check our emotions at the door of biblical fidelity – God wants us to bring everything – all of our disappointment and loneliness and shame and the fear that if someone actually looks under the hood of our life, they’ll leave - to His throne of mercy - pretending you’re okay is actually not a fruit of the Spirit, y’all! This episode is packed with potential freedom so please grab a cup of coffee or a tumbler of your favorite, albeit exorbitantly priced but oh so yummy - cold-pressed juice, and your Bible and come prop your feet up on the porch with us!

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Emotional Wholeness and Spiritual Maturity Sep 25, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology Alli and I are diving in deep with Dr. Curt Thompson, who’s a board-certified, practicing psychiatrist who loves God and His Word and His people. I first met Dr. Thompson about ten years ago through a mutual friend who gave me one of his books called Anatomy of the Soul. I was immediately intrigued by the title because that’s my favorite description of the Psalms, written by ancient church father, John Calvin, and I was also intrigued by how Curt connects his medical expertise in neurobiology with Christocentric theology. Dr. Walter Brueggemann, who’s a world-renowned Bible scholar, describes him as having remarkable agility between neuroscience and theological verities. In other words, God has given this incredibly kind man a gift to help the rest of us better understand what Paul was talking about in Romans when he encourages Christ-followers to renew our minds. This conversation blew redemptive gales of fresh wind in the sails of my heart and I really think it’s going to do the same for y’all. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible –unless you’re hollowing out a huge gourd for a Fall centerpiece, of course - and come allow your great, big, beautiful – albeit possibly weary - heart to exhale on the on the porch with us!

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Lessons In The Lunchroom Sep 18, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to explore one of my favorite pastimes, which is gathering around a table with a group of dear friends, sharing a great meal, and talking until the cows come home or someone starts flicking the lights! All too often meals in our post-post-modern culture are harried affairs that involve more staring at phone screens than looking at and listening to each other. Or else we’re gobbling fast food in the car while juggling a business call on Bluetooth. But gathering and eating and talking around the table was highly valued during the incarnate ministry of Jesus Christ. Table fellowship was the centerpiece of first century culture and community in the Ancient Near East. In his book, Tell It Slant, author and theologian, the late great Dr. Eugene Peterson, puts it like this: Jesus taught in the synagogues and preached in the temple, but settings of hospitality seemed to be Jesus’ venue of choice for dealing with kingdom matters. Case in point, one of the most beloved stories in the gospels – the feeding of the five thousand – revolves around a massive fish and chips miracle; the jaw-dropping salvation of a wee little man named Zacchaeus took place when Jesus invited Himself to Zach’s house for lunch; and the poignant scene where a profoundly grateful woman washed His feet with her tears, dried them with her hair, and anointed them with oil from her alabaster box took place during a dinner party. Gathering around a table is often a harbinger for healing in the four gospel accounts. If you enjoy sharing a great meal with great friends – today’s episode is going to fit you like a glove. More importantly, if you ache to be welcomed to a meal with a group of folk who treat you like a friend, we pray Holy Spirit uses the next forty-five minutes or so to remind you that you always have a seat at God’s table. And His invitation isn’t simply to share a meal, y’all - it’s to move in and find your home in His unconditional love. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re picking burrs out of your naughty Goldendoodle puppy’s fur, of course – and come hang out on the porch with Ally, Dr. Howard, Belle and me.

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Prioritizing Play Sep 11, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to have an absolute – albeit perhaps convicting for the busy beavers among us – blast because we’re going to be exploring the biblical imperative of play. Dr. Brian Edgar, a professor at Asbury Seminary, explains it this way: Just as in everyday life work without play makes one dull, in the Christian life service without a playful relationship with God leads to spiritual dullness. Could it be that in the theological framework of school, our Creator Redeemer places as much value on recess as He does on reading, writing and arithmetic? Is it possible that enjoying something God created so much that we burst into belly laughter could foster as much intimacy with Him as Bible study? What would it look like to truly take our faith seriously but ourselves not so much? Today’s convo is riddled with giggles and doesn’t contain quite as many multi-syllabic theological terms as usual, but it’s a seriously important issue to consider how we can better embody the authentic joy that Jesus died to give us access to. Quite frankly, I think our lack of genuine, demonstrative joy is one of the biggest blemishes on the bride of Christ today and unfortunately is one of the reasons our witness doesn’t resonate with the watching world. So please grab of cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re dusting that super gross top side of your ceiling fans, of course – and come hang out on the porch with Ally, Dr. Howard and me.

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The Rebar of Spiritual Maturity Sep 04, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to excavate what could loosely be called one of the crown jewels of the Hebrew Scriptures because out of all the passages of the Old Testament that are referenced in the New Testament, Psalm 110 is the one that’s repeated the most often. Jesus uses it in Matthew’s Gospel account to confuse a crew of condescending Pharisees; Peter uses it as one of his main points when he preached the very first post Easter sermon from the Southern Steps of the Temple during the festival of Pentecost after which thousands of people put their hope and faith in Jesus Christ as the resurrected Messiah; and the author of Hebrews devotes almost an entire chapter to this petite Psalm that was a perennial favorite of early Christians. However, it can be perplexing if you don’t understand the prophetic nature of David’s ancient lyrics. Which is why Ally, Dr. Howard and I are going to do our very best to wipe the fog off this biblical windshield because it’s one of the keys to having a solid theological scaffolding and it’s foundational to maintaining our hope about the future. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re biting your fingernails because you just watched your sixteen-year-old pull out of the driveway and head toward school without you for the first time, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us.

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How Do We Know When God Says Go Aug 28, 2023

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We’ve titled today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology – How Do We Know When God Says Go – because we’re using the seasonal theme of “Back to School” to talk honestly about transition. Whether it’s graduating from one grade to the next, leaving home to strike out on our own, changing careers, saying goodbye to a relationship or a loved one, moving from one neighborhood to another, one city to another, one state to another or even from one country to another, we’re all going to come face to face with change on a regular basis whether we’re comfortable with it or not! So what does this divine love letter called the Bible reveal about when to leave and when to stay? Why are there 74 Selahs – or sacred pauses – in biblical narrative and when are we supposed to put our own proverbial cars in neutral instead of racing ahead? How can we learn to lean into the curves of this wild ride called life, especially when we can’t see around the corner of our circumstances? Speaking of wild rides, Ally and Dr. Howard are back in the BPT house today after taking their own summer breaks, which means this convo is going to be both rowdy and rooted in a deep love for each other, as well as for God and His Word. So please grab a cup of coffee – I’m still drinking mine iced because even though we’re cruising toward Fall, it’s still hot and humid in Nashville - and grab your Bible – unless your hands are sticky from braising brisket for a late summer barbeque, of course, and come kick up your feet on the porch with us!

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If God Is Perfectly Good Then Why Did ________ Happen? E.J. Gaines, Part 2. Aug 21, 2023

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Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology is the final episode, – the compelling caboose, if you will - of our sizzling summer series called If God Is Perfectly Good Then Why Did ______ Happen? The brilliant spiritual diamond we’ve been examining from all kinds of angles is theodicy – which means the vindication of our Redeemer’s absolute goodness and providence in view of the existence of physical and moral evil. And the facet we’re going to gaze at today reflects our responsibility as Christ-followers to pursue unity in this wildly diverse community called humanity. Despite lots of Christian’s comfort zone, homogeny is not a characteristic of the New Covenant. In fact, the “every tribe and tongue” part of John’s glorious vision in Revelation negates our natural tendency toward tribalism. Following Christ’s ascension in the New Testament, it becomes increasingly clear that avoiding our own version of Samaria is no longer an option, nor is keeping our head in the proverbial sand. As Elie Wiesel (pronounced El-ee Wee-zell) soberly observed in his classic book “Night,” which recounts his experience in Auschwitz during the Holocaust, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Since Alli’s still unpacking boxes after she and Jonathan moved to a new house, my brilliant spiritual brother E.J. Gaines graciously agreed to guest host another episode. And quite frankly, there’s not too many people I respect more when it comes to dealing with difficult topics like theodicy and reconciliation with wisdom and grace. So please grab a cup of iced coffee and your Bible – unless you’re anxiously attempting to park a chunky, rental RV into a skinny parking space on what you thought would be an epic family road trip, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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If God is Perfectly Good Then Why Did ________ Happen? E.J. Gaines, Part 1. Aug 14, 2023

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Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology is the second to last episode of our sizzling summer series called If God Is Perfectly Good Then Why Did ______ Happen? The weighty and wonderful biblical truism we’ve been exploring is theodicy – which means the vindication of our Redeemer’s absolute goodness and providence in view of the existence of physical and moral evil. Frankly y’all the fact that the infinite, all-powerful Creator of the Universe allows us to question His character when we can’t see around the corner of our finite human circumstances underscores the immutability – the changelessness – of His compassion. A God who was anything less than perfectly good would surely fry fussy, fickle followers like us into grease spots of oblivion! Now since Alli - my five-foot-twelve spiritual wing-woman – is still up to her ears in bubble wrap, we’ve got another great guest host this week and I can pretty much guarantee you’re going to love the brilliant baritone of my spiritual brother E.J. Gaines! So please grab a cup of iced coffee and your Bible – unless you’ve got a white-knuckled grip on a shopping cart and are currently fending off other crazed parents in your quest to fill your child’s school supply list, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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If God is Perfectly Good Then Why Did ________ Happen? Hillary Scott, Part 2. Aug 07, 2023

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Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology is the fourth episode of our sizzling summer series called If God Is Perfectly Good Then Why Did ______ Happen? We’re continuing our trek deep into the wild and wooly territory of theodicy – which is the vindication of our Redeemer’s absolute goodness and providence in view of the existence of physical and moral evil. Hillary Scott is back as our guest co-host because Alli’s playing hooky for a few more weeks – okay, okay, she’s not really playing hooky, she’s on a mission to unpack the last of what seemed like a mountain of moving boxes so as to get her family settled into a new house, and get their youngest son settled into a new school. And speaking of mission that’s the direction we’re headed today under the canopy of theodicy. In other words, what does it look like to lean into God’s kingdom purposes and live missionally when we feel like we’re languishing in a hot mess? How can we maintain momentum and keep moving forward into our own redemptive history and not get permanently stuck in disappointment or sorrow? So please grab a cup of iced coffee and your Bible - unless your hands are still clasped over your eyes after watching too much Shark Week, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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If God is Perfectly Good Then Why Did ________ Happen? Hillary Scott, Part 1. Jul 31, 2023

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Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology is the third episode of our sizzling summer series called If God Is Perfectly Good Then Why Did ______ Happen? The spiritual rink we’ve been skating in for a few weeks is theodicy – a fancy word which simply means the vindication of our Redeemer’s absolute goodness and providence in view of the existence of physical and moral evil. In other words, how do we hang onto the fact that God is for us when everything in our life seems to be falling apart? If today’s episode was a song lyric, it could aptly be titled A Broken Hallelujah. Or if country music’s your thing, Jesus Take The Wheel. Speaking of country music, since Alli’s still in the midst of moving to a new house, we’ve recruited some really spectacular guest hosts to ride shotgun for the next few weeks and today’s is none other than my dear friend and the sweetest member of the 9-time Grammy-award winning trio, Lady A, Hillary Scott! So please grab a cup of iced coffee and your Bible - unless you’re in the backyard catching lightening bugs with your favorite kiddos, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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If God is Perfectly Good Then Why Did ________ Happen? Kyle Hebert, Part 2. Jul 24, 2023

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Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology is the second episode of our sizzling summer series called If God is Perfectly Good Then Why Did ______ Happen? The refreshing spiritual topic we’ve been swimming in is theodicy – a multi-syllabic theological term that means the vindication of our Redeemer’s absolute goodness and providence in view of the existence of physical and moral evil. And in this episode of our series, we’re going to focus on the freedom that accompanies trusting more fully in God’s immutable – unchanging – compassion. I don’t know about you, but true freedom didn’t come quickly or easily for me. Even though I put my faith in Jesus as my Savior when I was a little girl, it took me a very long time to trust Him as my Liberator. Even as an adult with a seminary education, I spent years bound by chains of shame. I deeply resonated with what Pastor Steve Brown wrote in his book: A Scandalous Freedom, “The similarity between real freedom and the freedom experienced by many Christians is the difference between the taxidermist and the veterinarian; while you do get your dog back, one collects dust while the other jumps, slobbers and barks.” Our sincere hope and fervent prayer is that God uses this conversation to help at least one precious saint finally shake loose from the formaldehyde of religiosity, shame, or paralyzing guilt. Alli is in the middle of her move and will be back with bells on soon, but Kyle Hebert – whose contagious joy captivated so many of you last week – has graciously agreed to guest host again. So please grab a cup of iced coffee and your Bible, unless you’re frantically clinging to a giant, inflatable couch-looking thingie while some sadistic boat-driver slings you mercilessly across a lake, of course, and come hang out on the porch with us.

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If God is Perfectly Good Then Why Did ________ Happen? Kyle Hebert, Part 1. Jul 17, 2023

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Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology is the first episode of our sizzling summer series called If God Is Perfectly Good Then Why Did ______ Happen? We’re going to dive deeply into the biblical truism of theodicy – which is the vindication of our Redeemer’s absolute goodness and providence in view of the existence of physical and moral evil. The term theodicy was coined by a brainiac German dude named Gottfried Leibniz almost 300 years ago when he combined two Greek words theos – which refers to God – and dee-kay – which is the name of the Greek goddess of justice and therefore represents a sense of moral order. So the etymological scaffolding of theodicy is the framework through which we justify our Heavenly Father’s divine mercy in a human milieu that includes horrific immorality and cruelty. And since Alli - my five-foot-twelve spiritual wing-woman – is in the middle of moving to a new house, we’ve recruited some really spectacular guest hosts to ride shotgun because hers are big shoes to fill! And today’s guest host – my friend Chaplain Kyle Herbert – is uniquely equipped to testify how to hang onto hope during an especially long and dark night of the soul because he did 31 years of hard time – 22 of those at Angola, the infamous maximum-security prison in Louisiana. My spiritual brother Kyle’s joyful story of restoration - of learning to lean fully into God’s absolute goodness despite being incarcerated for over three decades - will leave you gob-smacked by divine grace. If your heart isn’t rejoicing by the end of this episode, you need to get an EKG, baby! So please grab a cup of iced coffee and your Bible – unless you’re picking a banjo at a summer bluegrass festival, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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Controversies, Conundrums, and Redemptive Biblical Constructs Jul 10, 2023

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Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology is sort of like a great big, super friendly food-fight because Dr. Howard let Ally and I hurl any question we have about biblical conundrums and controversies at him without any advanced notice! If you’re new to this motley crew of a podcast – where we’re serious about our faith but not so much about ourselves – Dr. Howard is one of my professors and spiritual mentors in the doctoral program at Denver Seminary where I have the distinction of being one of their oldest and slowest-to-finish-my-thesis students. Furthermore, Doc H has five earned degrees, including a PhD from Dallas Theological Seminary, so he’s a brilliant academic who’s well versed in both Old and New Testaments, but he’s also a pastor and he loves to put exegetical cookies on the lower shelf so that everyone can enjoy them. The bottom line is: while today’s episode includes a few multi-syllabic theological terms, it’s more about leaning further into the unconditional love of Jesus than it is about accumulating cognitive information about God. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible - unless you’re pitting avocados for homemade guac, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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The Spiritual Oxymoron of Rest and Rebellion Jul 03, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to mosey into a subject matter that is most definitely not my strong suit, and that is the theology of rest. Now if you’re like me and haven’t quite figured out that busyness isn’t a spiritual gift, don’t press delete yet because I promise we’re not taking you on a guilt trip today! Instead, we’re going to consider the wonderful and wide continuum of biblical rest, because it’s not a one-size-fits-all concept. And frankly, even if you’re convinced that slowing down isn’t programmed into your personality type, there are lots of ways besides a complete cessation of physical activity for us to enjoy the divine gift of restoration and replenishment. Don’t forget, the first time the word rest appears in biblical narrative is early in Genesis 2 - before original sin crept into the Garden resulting in the fall of creation. That means rest is not an accommodation for human weakness and is instead part of God’s perfect plan for our blessing, protection, perseverance, and enjoyment. If you’ve been defined as a Type-A, an over-achiever, rest-challenged, or an Enneagram 1 or 8, just breathe and unclench, we’re in this together baby and I promise this conversation isn’t going to taste like medicine! So please grab a cup of coffee (and feel free to make that a double espresso!) and your Bible – unless you’re bringing home the bacon and frying it up in a pan, of course – and come hang out on the porch with Alli, Dr. Howard and me.

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Infinitely Better Than All the Rest Jun 26, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re continuing our trek through the lush theological landscape of Hebrews, that awesome New Testament treatise that highlights the glorious juxtaposition of the supremacy and accessibility of King Jesus! If you listened to last week’s episode, you probably remember that Hebrews was likely preached as a sermon before it was recorded as a book. And the original audience was a group of beleaguered Jewish Christians who were getting pummeled literally and figuratively in their ancient polytheistic culture. Which led them to consider apostacy – which means, they were seriously considering jettisoning the “Jesus” aspect of their belief system and just going back to the “Jehovah” part to try to stem the tide of abuse that was being afflicted on them. Which is why their pastor patiently explains what a massive mistake turning their back on the Messiah would be, how once you’ve experienced the unconditional love of Jesus, nothing – no spiritual leader, religious icon, or church tradition – can satisfy your soul. He uses contrast, and seven specific affirmations describing Jesus’s purpose and personhood, to prove that He is infinitely better than all the rest! Today is jam-packed with practical encouragement y’all, so please grab a cup of coffee, a yummy snack, and that divine love story we call the Bible – unless you’re shelling peas with your mama, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us.

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The Closeness of King Jesus Jun 19, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to hike into the beautiful New Testament landscape of Hebrews, a book that was probably originally preached as a sermon to a group of battle-weary believers who were seriously considering throwing in the proverbial towel because their faith journey was much more difficult than they had anticipated. As a result, their pastor – and the anonymous author of Hebrews - gathered them together for a much-needed come-to-Jesus meeting to remind them that once you’ve tasted intimacy with Him, nothing else will satisfy our hungry hearts. He enthuses that while King Jesus is the perfectly transcendent Son of God, He is also miraculously accessible. In other words, while our Savior is of the exact same divine substance as God the Father, He chose to be imminent. He chose to condescend from Glory and become an empathetic High Priest that people could reach out and touch instead of some faraway, ethereal entity. If your tail’s been dragging a bit lately because of difficulty at work, or dissension at home, or just plain old garden variety disappointment and dissatisfaction with the season of life you find yourself in, we believe today’s conversation will put some practical hope back in your tank. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re massaging your temples after gulping a Slurpee and getting a brain freeze, of course – and come hang out on the porch with Alli, Dr. Howard, and me.

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Revelation for the Rest of Us Jun 12, 2023

A Chain-Breaking Kind of Bath Jun 05, 2023

A Safe Place to Exhale May 29, 2023

If You Snooze, They Lose May 22, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to peruse a parable about 10 Bridesmaids that Jesus taught on the Mount of Olives – that beautiful hill overlooking Jerusalem - during a series of messages called The Olivet Discourse, which He preached just prior to the first Easter. And while this symbolic tale is set in the context of a wedding party, it’s more of a warning than a warm and fuzzy love story so it’s important to note that our Savior was only talking to His disciples when He shared this sober, eschatological story. This conversation takes place in an intimate family meeting Jesus has with the Twelve less than a week before His crucifixion and resurrection. Only a few days before Peter, James, and John will mirror the exact same unprepared posture depicted by the bevy of sleeping beauties when they fall asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane, even after Jesus implored them to stay awake for His sake. Remember, our Redeemer didn’t just save us from, He saved us for. For sharing the Living Hope of the Gospel to the image-bearers we have the privilege of rubbing shoulders with because one day those precious people who don’t yet have a real relationship with Jesus will run out of days to run into His outstretched arms. Today’s podcast is about being both compassionate and ready for our divine Bridegroom’s return, so please grab a ginormous cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re cutting up potatoes for a crawfish boil, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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Orthodoxy Versus Op-Ed May 15, 2023

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Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology is going to be a little more animated than usual because we had the pure joy of recording it with a redemptively rowdy sisterhood of Jesus-loving chicks from 46 states & three countries at our recent Kerygma Summit here in Franklin, TN! And it was especially fitting to have this conversation in the middle of a cohesive community of ministry leaders from almost every stream of Christianity because we hurdled over the wee fences of our doctrinal differences and got real and raw about the damage caused by disunity and denominational tribalism within the Body of Christ. Our biblical theology must be reflected by compassionate sociology y’all or our proclamations of faith sound like discordant noise to the world around us. Theologian Francis Schaeffer underscored how believers must pair kindness and humility with a biblical worldview when he wrote, “Biblical orthodoxy without compassion is surely the ugliest thing in the world.” Ancient church father Augustine expressed the same theme beautifully when he wrote, “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” And our Savior said it best in Mark’s gospel account: For the one who is not against us is for us. For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward. Today’s podcast is kind of like spiritual wasabi, it has the potential to cleanse the palate of your heart, but it’s got some bite to it, too! So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible - unless you’re vacuuming pet hair out of your couch cushions, of course – and come hang out on the porch with Alli, Belle, Dr. Howard, and me!

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Anxiety Doesn’t Set the Agenda Anymore May 08, 2023

How Corny’s Conversion Rocked the World May 01, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology – the second of three podcasts we recorded live in Israel - we’ll discover how one of Peter’s prophetic dreams was fulfilled in a beautiful city overlooking the Mediterranean called Caesarea By The Sea, or Caesarea Maritima. This bustling harbor town on the coast of Israel was one of the most prominent cities in the ancient Roman world, built by Herod to schmooze his patron, Augustus Caesar, and it’s also where Pontius Pilate spent most of his down time. Remember Roman rulers were from Italy so unlike the Jewish citizens they governed, they much preferred the coast of Israel to the dusty hills of Jerusalem. But Caesarea By The Sea isn’t simply a gorgeous place to soak in the sun and enjoy the surf, it’s also a significant city in biblical history because it’s where the first post-Easter Gentile conversion takes place, meaning it’s where God’s merciful plan to redeem all of humanity – not just Israel – begins to take shape. Which means if you love Jesus and you’re not Jewish, it’s the very spot you can trace your spiritual DNA back to! Therefore, today’s going to be a family reunion of sorts, so please grab a big ole’ cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re practicing Around The World on your yoyo, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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Wonder on the Water Apr 24, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology – the first of three podcasts we recorded live in Israel - we’re diving deep – pun intended – into a pair of maritime miracles that took place on The Sea of Galilee, which is also referred to as The Sea of Tiberias, Lake Gennesaret, and Lake Kinneret in biblical narrative. During His earthly ministry Jesus lived, preached, and performed the majority of His miracles near the Sea of Galilee and in its neighboring towns. Mary Magdalene was from Migdal – a fishing village on The Sea of Galilee and three of the disciples were born in the shoreline city of Bethsaida. However, despite its most familiar moniker, the Sea of Galilee is actually a fresh-water lake. It’s about 12 miles long, 8 miles across at the widest and it’s shaped like a harp. And while its waters are neither salty like an ocean or crystal clear like a mountain stream, Galilee has seen more divine grace per gallon than any other body of water in the world! Our hope is that you feel refreshingly soaked by some as a result of our conversation today. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re alphabetizing your spice rack, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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Bearing Chains Because Apr 17, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re exploring how hardship and revival are like peanut butter and jelly in biblical narrative – in other words, they’re often sandwiched together. And Apostle Paul’s life exemplifies the symbiotic relationship between hardship and revival, which he testified to while imprisoned at the end of Acts when he said, “It is for the hope of Israel that I’m wearing this chain.” (Acts 28:20). In other words, Whatever hardship I have to endure pales next to the supernatural hope I’m preaching here, y’all – JESUS is the Messiah we’ve been longing for since the beginning of time and I’m gonna keep sharing this message until there’s no more breath in my lungs! The joy of watching other people’s eyes widen and faces light up like Christmas trees when they heard about the unconditional love of Jesus made all the unfair bumps and bruises he experienced while preaching about it worth the cost. In the spiritual milieu, difficult labors lead to miraculous births! Today’s conversation is going help some of us take bigger risks for the sake of the Gospel so fasten your seat belts, grab a super-sized cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or getting spray-tanned for a beach trip, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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When Jailers Become Jesus Freaks Apr 10, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re talking about a true story in Acts that sounds like some kind of crazy Quentin Tarantino script. It involves a fortune teller, human trafficking, crooked policemen, an earthquake, and a jailhouse revival. Honestly, when people tell me they think the Bible is boring it’s all I can do not to burst out laughing because this divine love story is more engaging than anything that ever came out of Hollywood! And the theme of the text we’re exploring today is wildly counter-cultural because it reveals how our spiritual ancestors were honored to be dishonored for the sake of the Gospel. Their sacrificial humility reminds me of what Therese of Lisieux said soon before her death in 1897: “My God I choose all! I do not want to be a saint by halves, I’m not afraid to suffer for You, I fear only one thing: to keep my own will, so take it, for I choose all that You will.” Bending our will to His is the opposite of bondage, y’all – it actually leads to breakthrough. I have a hunch this is going to be a chain-breaker of a conversation so please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or putting together an IKEA armoire, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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Our Ongoing Need to Be ReGospeled Apr 03, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to explore an argument that broke out among Jewish believers and Gentile converts to Christianity in the First Century that threatened to split the early church like an overripe watermelon. This chapter of church history recorded in the book of Acts is formally called “The Jerusalem Debate” and the hugely significant spiritual truism came out of those ancient theological fisticuffs is still a foundational wall of orthodox Christianity today. Early church fathers described it as: solo fide, which in Latin means “faith alone.” In other words, the Old Testament guidelines that the Jewish believers in Acts were so fired up about getting non-Jewish Christian converts to abide by couldn’t save them then and it sure can’t save us now because no human being has the capacity to attain moral perfection. Mosaic Law underscores our need for a Messiah. Furthermore, our gratitude for God’s grace – not the attempt to justify it – has to be the motive behind Christian morality, otherwise good doctrine and good behavior will soon digress into smug moralism, self-righteousness, judgmentalism, and even worse. Today’s conversation about our on-going need to be “re-Gospeled” is bound to be lively and hopefully life-giving so please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or wrapping banana leaves around a deceased pig for a backyard luau, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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From Murder to Mission Mar 27, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to spend some quality time with Apostle Paul, the chief bully of ancient believers who was so gob-smacked by grace on the way to Damascus that he experienced a radical conversion, went on to write at least 13 of the 27 books in the New Testament, and laid the foundation for what we now call systematic theology. Eminent Pauline scholar F.F. Bruce describes his dramatic transformation from anti-Christian crusader to Christian missionary like this: "With astonishing suddenness the persecutor of the church became the apostle of Jesus Christ. He was in mid-course as a zealot for the law, bent on checking a plague which threatened the life of Israel, when, in his own words, he was ‘apprehended by Christ Jesus’ and constrained to turn right round and become a champion of the cause, which up to that moment, he had been endeavoring to exterminate, dedicated henceforth to building up what he had been doing his best to demolish.” Paul’s striking turn-about proves that in the spiritual realm old dogs can most certainly learn new tricks and more importantly, our Savior can mold the hardest of human hearts into the beautiful shape of God and others-honoring humility. I think today is going to provide some much-needed fresh encouragement for those of you who’ve been tempted to give up praying for a precious, albeit hard-hearted, loved one in your corner of the world. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or cleaning the keyboard of your laptop with a Q-tip, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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What’s Mine is Yours Mar 20, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to talk about the spirit of radical generosity that permeated the early church in the book of Acts. Those ancient Christ-followers were so gifted at giving, they made Santa look bush league! In fact, the very first time the Greek word koinonia – which means a close fellowship between people, emphasizing what is common between them and is defined by participation, sharing, and contribution – is used for the first time in the New Testament in the book of Acts to describe the benevolent community that existed among Christ-followers. Andrew Murray, who was a Scottish missionary, pastor, and author in the late 19th & early 20th century framed the theme of today’s conversation with his keen observation: The world asks, "What does a man own?" Christ asks, "How does he use it?" Whether at home, work, or church – true community is a place where people are generous and devoted to one another’s well-being. And if you haven’t found a community quite like that, we hope this episode might just motivate you to start one! So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or spray-painting Pickleball lines in your driveway, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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When Following Him is Your Only Option Mar 13, 2023

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During today’s episode of Back Porch Theology we’re stepping into new theological territory after spending the last 8 weeks in our “Wild About Jesus” series where we explored His perfectly simultaneous divine and human nature – otherwise known as the hypostatic union – His historicity, His early life, His empathy, His atoning death and His absolute superiority as the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. Focusing on who Jesus is – shoring up the cornerstone of our orthodoxy, if you will – compelled us to ask ourselves the question posed by one of my favorite modern thinkers and theologians, Francis Schaeffer: How Should We Then Live? Because what we believe to be true about our Redeemer can’t simply recline in our minds as cognitive, spiritual information but must generate a Christophormic, Jesus-shaped, response to the world around us! Our sociology should reflect our theology! Which is why we’re going to spend some time in Acts - following the progression of those first Christ-followers who went from walking along beside incarnate Jesus – surely accumulating lots of information about Him along the way - to changing the course of history with the radical message of God’s unconditional love after witnessing that very first Easter. We’re about to put some serious skin in the game, y’all, so please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or organizing your junk drawer, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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Jesus is THE KING of all kings Mar 06, 2023

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During today’s episode of Back Porch Theology we’re going to talk about the most epic of all tattoos, which is the one John describes as being on Jesus’ thigh when He comes thundering through the sky on a white horse to claim His bride in Revelation 19: King of kings and Lord of lords. This divine, indelible ink includes not one, but two titles, that herald Jesus’ supremacy and authority over ever other king, emperor, president, prime minister, general or any other kind of ruler the world has ever seen. And those superlative titles are especially interesting when we remember that during the latter part of the first century when the book of Revelation was written, the Caesars were fond of being called king (Greek basileus) and lord (Greek kyrios) so when John shares that spoiler alert about Jesus coming back for us with a “King of kings and Lord of lords” tat – he’s letting us know that the victory of good over evil is a sure thing and that we can rest in the ultimate sovereignty of our Savior. Take a deep breath, baby, because our future is golden! So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or weaving Alpaca wool, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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Jesus Was a Captivating Storyteller Feb 27, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to talk about how captivating Jesus was as a communicator. Although our Savior was omniscient, He wasn’t obnoxious. He didn’t expound on Torah with elitist, multi-syllabic, proprietary language to prove His other-worldly intellect, instead He told stories. He talked about transcendent things like God and the Kingdom of Heaven with imaginative language and compelling metaphors that engaged His first century audience. In fact, almost half of His sermons were in parabolic – or story – form. The bottom line is, we wouldn’t be tempted to play Candy Crush on our phones if we were listening to Jesus preach! Plus, His stories are just as engaging and relevant today as they were two thousand years ago. In fact, I found myself so enthralled by one while preparing for this episode that I skipped dinner last night, which could almost qualify as a modern-day miracle. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or rolling homemade sushi, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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Our One and Only Atonement Feb 20, 2023

What a Smiling God Brings to a Wounded World Feb 13, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re discussing all things anthropomorphic – which in the theological realm involves the oft feeble attempt to use human context and metaphor to describe what is divine and transcendent. And we’re doing so to responsibly frame the thesis that our Creator Redeemer is not uniformly angry or solemn but instead expresses sheer delight within the perfect Trinitarian “perichoresis” kind of relationship that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit enjoy with each other, and also with us - His prone to wander people. If you grew up like me with the wrong assumption that the Bible is an altogether somber rulebook and our Savior is an unsmiling grump, then today’s episode might just help you understand how orthodox Christianity and the concept of a smiling Savior are not mutually exclusive! Praise God, some of y’all are gonna get free today, baby! So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or grinding your own wheat, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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He Has Always Been Our Only Hope Feb 06, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology – the fourth in our “Wild About Jesus” series – we’re going to talk about how Apostle Paul compared the Christ to the dude who started that whole fig-leaves-for-pants trend when he referred to our Savior as the “Second Adam.” Which sounds like he was casting Jesus as a sort of new and improved “version” of mankind, doesn’t it? Like adding Christological chorizo to queso or something to make it better. But that’s not Paul’s point at all, y’all. Instead, his systematic compare-and-contrast language leads to the theological truism that Jesus was God’s original gameplan to redeem humanity all along. We’re going to be pounding nails to shore up some awesome doctrinal scaffolding today y’all, so please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or trying not to fall over while peeling off a pair of Spanx in the narrow stall of a public restroom, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us.

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A Well-Documented Life Jan 30, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology – the third in our “Wild About Jesus” series – we’re going to talk about the fact that Jesus is a proven historical figure. In fact, there’s overwhelming evidence about the work and person of Jesus Christ from numerous non-Christian sources from the earliest centuries of the Common Era! In his book, The Reason For God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism, pastor and theologian Dr. Tim Keller writes about a man who told a pastor he’d be happy to believe in Christianity if the pastor could give him a watertight argument for its legitimacy. The pastor replied, "What if God hasn’t given us a watertight argument, but rather a watertight person.” Dr. Keller goes on to say that faith and certainty grow as we get to know more about Jesus – who He is and what He did. If someone you love has serious doubts about the historicity of Jesus and you feel like you’ve hit a dead end when it comes to talking with them about Christianity, today’s conversation might help you re-engage with them. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or changing the oil on your John Deere, of course – and come hang out on the porch with Ally, Dr. Howard and me!

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The Whole Enchilada Jan 23, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology – the second in our “Wild About Jesus” series – we’re going to dive deep into the Christological doctrine concerning our Savior’s absolute deity and His perfect humanity, which is summed up in the term – hypostatic union. That fancy phrase dates all the way back to the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD, where it was determined that the Son of God was of the exact same substance as God the Father, as well as being indisputably human simultaneously! That despite our Redeemer’s habit of hugging on lepers and hanging out with disreputable sinners so as to save them, His compassionate relationship with flawed humanity in no way meant Jesus was a lesser form or diluted derivative of Yaweh. Dr. J.I. Packer says it best: He took humanity without the loss of deity. This truism is a foundational wall of biblical orthodoxy, y’all so please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or hand-painting quail eggs, of course – and come hang out on the porch with Ally, Dr. Howard and me!

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When God Goes to School Jan 16, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology – which is the very first episode of our second season so please forgive Ally, Dr. Howard and me if we sound gob-smacked with grateful joy but we just can’t help it because we’re over the moon that we get to continue this adventure with y’all - we’re going to begin an 8-week series that revolves around our Redeemer so we’re calling it “Wild About Jesus.” We’re gonna put the “Christ” into “Christocentric” baby! Now for those of you who’ve just recently joined this spiritual shindig, please know our goal here on Back Porch Theology is to dive into substantive biblical exegesis and spiritual formation but not be too stuffy in the process. That’s why we call it Back Porch Theology – because while you can hang with your friends on the front porch, those places tend to be all neat and tidy in light of their visibility to neighbors and passersby. But the Back Porch is a place where you can totally relax with your closest friends and talk and rock to your heart’s content. Plus, remember the Greek root words of theology are theos, which refers to God, and logos, which refers to words or conversation. So theology was never meant to be a boring, academic pursuit, it was meant to be lived! The bottom line is, here at BPT we’re all about having honest, biblically sound conversations about God, punctuated by lots of stories and a belly laugh or two - it's a pretty safe place to learn more about our Creator Redeemer and hopefully lean more fully into your relationship with Him. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or cutting your own bangs, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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Back Porch Theology Goes Home-Christian Tour to Israel-March 21-31, 2023

Happy Anniversary, Baby! Jan 09, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to sift back through the rapture and rupture of our first year of podcasting – we can hardly believe this is our 52nd week of BPT! We’re going to revisit some really cool theological concepts like orthodoxy, orthopraxy and orthopathy and I will surely mispronounce a multi-syllabic term or two because if you’ve spent even a short amount of time hanging out on the proverbial porch with us, you know that bloopers are a big part of our repertoire! But there’s a biblical method to our happy madness today as well, because in Revelation 12, the evil one is depicted as an angry dragon because our Savior’s sword is poking out of his nasty, scaly chest so that lying lizard knows his time is short. Revelation 12 also explains that the devil is defeated by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. In other words, when we talk about the good things God has done and is doing, we effectively plunge King Jesus’ sword deeper into his evil chest! Therefore, Ally and Dr. Howard and I are going to thoroughly enjoy some lizard torture today, because we’re gob-smacked by the grace God has lavished on us, as well as the gift of community He's given us with y’all and we can’t wait to TEST-TI-FY all about it! So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or doing the Electric Slide with your small group, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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Back Porch Theology Goes Home-Christian Tour to Israel-March 21-31, 2023

More Solution Than Resolution Jan 02, 2023

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology Ally and I are beginning 2023 with fresh resolve to lean more fully into the love of Jesus Christ! Our goal is to grow in our devotion to God, as well as to have more wisdom regarding how to prune that which (and those who) diverts or distracts us from Him. According to recent polls, losing weight is a perennial top ten New Year’s resolution and I hope to drop a few pounds myself…but man, how much more fulfilling would it be to drop ten or fifteen pounds of toxic, emotional baggage, y’all? So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or still peeling off the Spanx from that New Year’s Eve party, of course – and come hang out on the porch with Alli, Dr. Howard, Belle and me!

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Back Porch Theology Goes Home-Christian Tour to Israel-March 21-31, 2023

The Best Belated Christmas Gift Ever Dec 26, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to dive into the joy-saturated stories of Anna and Simeon, two geriatric saints who never gave up hope that they’d meet the Messiah before they met their Maker. And we’re going to compare and contrast the solo Simeon warbled after meeting 7-week-old baby Jesus with Mary’s Magnificat – the gorgeous praise chorus she sang after Gabriel gave her the shock of a lifetime by proclaiming that although she hadn’t graduated from high school yet, Yaweh had chosen her to carry the Christ! You’re gonna be so stoked when you find out how those two ancient songs reveal the supernaturally comforting Trinitarian-nature of that first Advent! This episode might just help banish your post-Christmas blues better than chips and queso, y’all – which is a huge endorsement coming from me. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or secretly dragging your Christmas tree to some vacationing neighbor’s backyard burn pile, of course – and come hang out on the porch with Alli, Dr. Howard and me!

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Back Porch Theology Goes Home-Christian Tour to Israel-March 21-31, 2023

The Sacred Sound of Silent Nights Dec 19, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to peruse the 400 Silent Years between the Old Testament and New Testament – which is formally called the Intertestamental Period – when God’s voice was not recorded. It’s tempting for us to associate silence with sadness, even badness, especially during seasons like Christmas when it seems the world around us is in an emotionally noisy, celebratory mood. However, biblical narrative kicks our assumption to the curb because over and over again in Scripture silence is the prelude to a miracle. Plus, learning to trust God’s sovereign mercy while waiting in the quiet often led to a wonder that far exceeded our ancestor’s faith. Abraham and Sarah became parents to Issac – the beginning of the theocracy of Israel – when Abe was 100 years old and surely at least a smidge deaf in one ear; Issac and Rebekah prayed for children for two decades before giving birth to those infamous twins, Jacob and Esau; Manoah and his wife gave birth to Samson when they were so old, they were on daily statins and wearing bifocals; and when Elizabeth got pregnant with John the Baptist – the human symbolism of Christmas Eve because he was the forerunner of the Christ – she was advanced in age, meaning she’d spent long seasons wondering if God was immune to her anguish. The deepest hope often grows in the darkest places. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or bridling a reindeer, of course – and come hang out on the porch with Alli, Dr. Howard and me!

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Back Porch Theology Goes Home-Christian Tour to Israel-March 21-31, 2023

Recovering the WONDER of Christmas Dec 12, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to explore a passage in Luke and expose the awe-deprivation that has permeated modern Christendom. Then we’re going to take off our spiritual Spanx and have a real and raw conversation about how we can recover the wonder we used to have at Christmas when we were absolutely undone by the truism of Immanuel – of God. With. Us. Remember when your eyes welled up whenever you sang, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing, GLORY to the newborn king?” What happened to the starry eyes we used to have only for Jesus? One of my spiritual mentors, Pastor and Professor Scotty Smith, wryly observed that far too many Christ-followers are like Cinderella with amnesia. Some of us have forgotten that believing in Jesus swings the door wide open to a glorious adventure and mystery greater than our imaginations could possibly conjure up! We. Have. Been written into the lead role of an epic, divine love story called Christianity, y’all – which as Sir C.S. Lewis exclaimed: “Is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.” Our jaws should still be hanging open over the inscrutable fact that the only true God who CREATED THE WORLD WITH HIS WORD condescended from glory to make His grace accessible to us! Today is our wake-up call to WONDER… so please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or trying to superimpose your mother-in-law’s head on that dancing digital elf, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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Tucked Away Treasures Dec 05, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to talk about some of the less prominent features – the “tucked away treasures” in the Christmas story that illustrate the fact that nothing and no one is insignificant to God. Even the quietest - often overlooked - details of this love story we call the Bible bellow the attentive compassion of our Kinsman Redeemer! From Joseph’s gentle and generous assent to becoming an adoptive father, to the astral projection that compelled a crew of wise men to pack their bags and begin a 1,000 mile trek to meet a foreign toddler, to the royal specificity of an ancient substance called frankincense that’s still royally pricey today if you’re one of those passionate essential-oilers, the minutia of Christmas was miraculous. And while they weren’t loud, blow-your-hair-back kind of supernatural stuff, the finer points of the birth narrative we’re perusing today changed the course of history. Reminds me of what a wise dude named Zechariah said a long time ago, “Don’t despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.” If you’re feeling unseen, irrelevant, or unappreciated today, be encouraged this one’s especially for you! So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or untangling Christmas lights in the attic, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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The Unlikely Ambassadors of Advent Nov 28, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to explore a colorful passage at the beginning of Matthew’s gospel account to help prepare our hearts for the miracle of Christmas during this, the first week of Advent. Because despite what retailers would like us to think, the Advent has nothing whatsoever to do with shopping! The word “Advent” comes from the Latin word adventus, which means arrival or coming. In the 4th and 5th Centuries, Advent marked the season of preparation for the baptism of new Christians at the January feast of Epiphany. During that ancient season of preparation, Christ-followers spent 40 days in penance, prayer, and fasting to prepare for the baptisms of new believers at Epiphany. It wasn’t until the Middle Ages, that Advent was solely connected with Christmas. And while joy is certainly one facet of Advent, there is a necessary sobriety to this season as Deitrich Bonhoeffer explained in his observation: "The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come." Bonhoeffer’s assertion that only those cognizant of their own flaws can actually celebrate Christ’s coming aptly describes the biblical characters we’ll be hanging out with today because their true stories sound like they’ve been ripped from the tabloids! They’re pretty unusual – if not very unlikely - ambassadors of Advent but they provide glorious proof that perfection is not a prerequisite to be adopted into the family of God! So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or feeding a giant Tupperware of cranberry sauce into the garbage disposal, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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The Thanksgiving Stretch Nov 21, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to use a uniquely American holiday that involves consuming copious amounts of dead bird and marshmallow-slathered root vegetables as a springboard to talk about the global spiritual fruit of gratitude. Our hope is that this conversation will be beneficial to all Backporchers - whether you live in Nashville, Nairobi, New York or New Zealand! And the passage we’re going to dive into is non-traditional as well. More often than not Christians turn to the New Testament when the topic is eucharisteo – that’s the original Greek word the English word “thanksgiving” is translated from – but we’re going Old Testament today to talk about how unlike the Thanksgiving holiday we celebrate here in America the last Thursday in November, gratitude is supposed to be an on-going, everyday expression of faith for Christ-followers. One of my theological heroes – Sir G.K. Chesterton – who wrote the classic book, “Orthodoxy” – said it well in this keen observation: “When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.” So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or have your hands in the nether-regions of a frozen Turkey, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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Cup Your Ears and You’ll Hear the Cheers Nov 14, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to get real and raw about those seasons in life when we seriously consider throwing in the towel. Or at least whacking an adversary with a wet one! In John 10:10 our Redeemer, King Jesus, promises us abundant life – but He never promised that it would be easy. As a matter of fact, in John 16 Jesus confided that in this life, we’ll actually have some trouble. So how do we keep running the race so as to win the prize as Paul admonishes? How do we keep on keeping on when life knocks the wind out of both our sails and our lungs? Well, there’s a couple of divine diamonds at the tail end of Hebrews we’re going to excavate today that we believe will help those of us who feel like we're running on fumes to get refueled in every sense of the term, so please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or knitting Christmas prayer shawls, of course – and come hang out on the porch with Alli, Dr. Howard and me.

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Editing the Scary Out of Eschatology Nov 07, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to talk about an eschatalogical passage toward the end of Mark’s gospel that at first glance comes across as alarming. Remember eschatology is just a fancy, multi-syllabic, theological term that refers to the doctrine of end times or last things. And regardless of what your personal or your denomination’s doctrinal view of eschatology is - whether you’re pre-trib, mid-trib, post-trib, amillenial or just confused about all the trib-talk because your only association with that term is from the Hunger Games - far too many believers associate the end times only with ominous and apocalyptic and stockpiling lentils from Costco. However, there’s a revelatory nugget in Mark’s gospel that promises the return of Christ will be infinitely more glorious than gloom and doom. Mind you, we’re not advocating for Christians to quit stockpiling lentils, we just hope you’re doing so because you’re throwing an awesome Fall party for all your neighbors wherein everybody’s bellies will get full from the wonderful soup you make with those ancient grains and their hearts turn toward Jesus because of the stories you’re compelled to share about how Jesus has redeemed your life as we occupy well until He comes back for His bride by loving the image-bearers around us! So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or milking the family cow, of course – and come hang out on the porch with Alli, Dr. Howard and me.

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Recovering Discarded Dreams Oct 31, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to talk about a heart-warming story in Mark’s Gospel narrative that involves a man named Bart, who much like the little engine that could of children’s literature, persevered through significant adversity and by doing so, experienced both the miracle of physical and emotional healing. We’re also going to talk about a Greek word that’s used in the original telling of Bart’s story – epitimao – which means, “to command with the implication of a threat” and how some of us have laid down God-authored dreams because of the cold water others have poured on our proverbial fires. Our deep hope is that the Holy Spirit will use today’s conversation to spur some of you to pick up a divine dream you prematurely discarded and that much like Caleb, you’d begin to realize your latter years will be even better than your former and that our compassionate Creator Redeemer is not through writing the redemptive chapters in your story! Today might just be the day that real hope barges back into your battered heart, so please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or getting a head start on hanging Christmas lights, of course – and come hang out on the porch with Alli, Dr. Howard and me!

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God’s Habit of Picking the Last, First Oct 24, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to explore the miraculously cohesive band of brothers Jesus chose to be His disciples, and how they modeled unity not uniformity. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a group of men in the Ancient Near East who were more diametrically opposed with regards to cultural views and societal norms. The Hatfields and McCoys might’ve had more things in common than the original twelve! And in light of Jesus intentionally choosing exactly a dozen raggamuffins to follow Him – which many scholars say is a nod to the orginal twelve tribes – we’re heading back to the Old Testament today too to highlight a hapax legomenon (which means a word or expression that’s only used once in a linguistic context or entire text) that pretty much proves the adage, “God doesn’t always call those who are equipped, but He always equips those He calls!” So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or hollowing out a decorative gourd, of course – and come hang out on the porch with Alli, Dr. Howard and me!

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Clouds, Fire, Angels, and a Fantastic Fourth Man Oct 17, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to tackle all things theophany – which is a form of divine revelation where God’s miraculous presence is made visible and recognizable to mere humans. Some of the most familiar theophanies in Holy Writ are the flaming topiary through which God affirmed and called a stuttering Moses to lead Israel out of captivity, as well as the cloud by day and pillar of fire by night that accompanied the Israelites through the wilderness wanderings. However, we’re going to focus on some really cool, less familiar theophanies today because there’s loads of theological significance regarding the nature of our trinitarian God to glean from biblical theophanies and Christophanies – which are theophanies that have a human form – but they also have the capacity to spur our faith and fertilize some old-school awe over the fact that our Creator Redeemer loves us so much that He condescends to make Himself unmistakable to us. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or French-braiding your show horse’s tail, of course – and come hang out on the porch with Alli, Dr. Howard and me.

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Beggars at God’s Banquet Table Oct 10, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to continue exploring the Old Testament historical narratives, as well as the biblical significance of both banquets and barren places. We’re going to talk about what it really means to be adopted into God’s family and assured a seat at His family table. And Dr. Howard’s going to give us a much more hopeful and holistic understanding of the theological term soteriology because putting your hope in Jesus Christ is so much better than a one and done moment at youth camp or a single step on some ethereal ladder of religiousity! The supernatural atonement Jesus made available to us through His suffering and subsequent death on a cross, followed by His bodily resurrection is a 360-degree experience of divine grace – He really is making all things new, y’all! So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or participating in a hotly contested thumb war, of course – and come hang out on the porch with Alli, Dr Howard and me.

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Back Porch Theology Goes Home-Christian Tour to Israel-March 21-31, 2023

Pride Always Goes Before an Epic Fail/Fall! Oct 03, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology, we’re going to dive into a crazy Old Testament family drama more colorful than an episode of Yellowstone and in so doing we’re going to highlight what Dr. A.W. Tozer said many years ago: It takes humility to worship God acceptably. There’s a lovely little Hebrew word in the Old Testament pronounced kah-vode that can mean two things: “glory” as in God’s glory, and “weight” as in the waistline of someone who’s been indulging in too many Krispy Kremes. And this one little word packs quite a punch in our convo today because it leads us to the conclusion that human shoulders aren’t nearly broad enough to carry the weight of God’s glory – spiritual leadership and Christian celebrity are not remotely synonymous. As my friend Christine Caine wisely and soberly says, “If the light on you in brighter than the light of Christ in you, it has the potential to kill you.” So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or in the final stages of putting together a Lego replica of the Millennium Falcon, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us.

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Back Porch Theology Goes Home-Christian Tour to Israel-March 21-31

Is Happiness the Absence of Sadness? Sep 26, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology, we’re going to wrestle with the question: “Is true happiness actually the absence of sadness” and in so doing we’re to delve into the theological territory of “theodicy.” We’re also going to talk openly and honestly about the false assumption that when you put your hope in Jesus, He’ll make life easier – possibly even painless. The Biblical text and compelling true story we’re diving into is found in the Old Testament Historical book of First Samuel. And since it goes without saying that Alli & I are rabid Dr. Tim Keller fans, we’ve chosen this quote from Dr. Keller as the tantalizing intro for today’s convo on the porch: “While other worldviews lead us to sit in the midst of life’s joys, foreseeing the coming sorrows, Christianity empowers its people to sit in the midst of this world’s sorrows, tasting the coming joy.” So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or practicing math on an abacus, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us.

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The Beautiful Fruit Within Biblical Boundaries Sep 19, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to delve into a very colorful Old Testament story that illustrates the symbiotic relationship between blessing and boundaries. History proves over and over again that without the life-giving promises AND parameters of Scripture, we lose our bearings – ultimately our identity and our dignity. Now speaking of boundaries, because the historical context of the Biblical narrative we’re going to peruse in this episode is spicy – it reads more like HBO than the Hallmark Channel - I want to encourage y’all to make sure there aren’t any little ears listening along with you. Please make sure your kids, grandkids, neighbor’s kids or pre-teen passersby are out of earshot, then grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or arranging a charcuterie board, of course – and come hang out on the porch with Ally and me.

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When God’s People Lose Their Groove Sep 12, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to lean into another Psalm, which if you listened to last week’s episode, you know entails listening intently to one of the tunes on God’s proverbial Spotify list since all of the Psalms were originally penned as song lyrics. The particular Psalm we’re focusing on today is Psalm 42, which is a bluesy kind of tune and technically classified as a Psalm of Lament. It’s also essentially an engraved invitation to mature into a more honest relationship with our Creator Redeemer. To trust Him enough to confess our disappointment, grief, and despair as a raw and unfiltered act of worship. Because from our emotional ashes, God can build a pathway to more secure hope, deeper joy and steadfast peace. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible, unless you’re driving or sheering sheep of course, and come hang out on the porch with us.

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The Lyrics of Our Lives Sep 05, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to exhale into a green Scriptural pasture that church father and ancient theologian, John Calvin, described as “an anatomy of all parts of the soul.” The Psalms. Every emotion in the human continuum is expressed somewhere in these 150 Psalms that were all originally composed as songs. These biblical lyrics record both the dancing and the weeping of God’s people. As a matter of fact, they contain more bluesy kind of tunes than anything else, proving that our Savior doesn’t require us to sanitize our emotions or cull out the dark ones before we approach Him. God’s love for us is immutable…it doesn’t change regardless of what kind of emotional season we’re in. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible, unless you’re driving or docking a boat of course, and come hang out on the porch with us.

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The Great Name Exchange Aug 29, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to apply John’s observation in Revelation 12:11 where he tells us that satan - that lying lizard whose sole purpose is to rob, steal, kill and try to destroy humanity – is defeated by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. In other words, when we talk about how God compassionately pulled us out of pits we dug ourselves and how He’s currently revealing His grace and faithfulness, we effectively twist the sword in that nasty dragon’s chest. The enemy of our souls simply can’t stand it when we talk about how good our Creator Redeemer is, y’all – our God stories are his kryptonite! And today’s testimony-teller is none other than my five foot twelve sister from another mister, the Shirley to my Laverne, the Laurel to my Hardy, the Oats to my Hall – well, you get the picture. Today’s all about Alli! So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible, unless you’re driving or pumicing your heels of course, and come hang out on the porch with us.

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Boxing With God Aug 22, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to dive into the twelfth book of the Minor Prophets & the very last book ~ in canonical order ~ of the Old Testament, Malachi. Or as one of my Italian friends teasingly transliterates: Malachee! This post-exhilic book is unique in its format, which scholars describe as rhetorical disputation ~ which basically means a literary debate. In other words, this OT narrative depicts the Israelites ~ our spiritual ancestors ~ with their fists raised in the air fussing with the Creator of the Universe. Yet, despite their flagrant disobedience, Malachi also underscores God’s immutable ~ which is a fifty-dollar word that simply means unchanging ~ compassion. If you’re anything like me and struggle with trust ~ maybe because you’ve been abandoned or deeply wounded in the past, I think today’s conversation might help you lower your guard with God. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible, unless you’re driving or doing origami of course, and come hang out on the porch with us.

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Personal Not Perfunctory Aug 15, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to explore the second half of Hosea’s prophetic story, which reveals the difference between the often emotive charade of counterfeit repentance – which may look and sound like someone who’s contrite yet whose behavior remains sinful and self-indulgent - and the posture of a believer who’s truly turning from spiritual rebellion back toward a right and reconciled relationship with God. The biblical model of repentance has never been primarily about assuaging our guilt, much less about getting attention or sympathy y’all; instead, it’s about the honest awareness of how our sin separates us from our Savior, followed by a humble appeal for God’s mercy. Which is surely the only thing powerful enough to repair the chasm we create between us and our Creator Redeemer when we choose to give anyone or anything other than God the lion’s share of our attention and affection. The takeaway from today’s pitstop in the Minor Prophets might include a smidge of conviction, but mostly we’re going to marinate in the miracle of God’s kindness, which Apostle Paul tells us facilitates repentance. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible, unless you’re driving or juggling cacti of course, and come hang out on the porch with Ally, Dr. Howard and me.

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Majoring on the Minors Aug 08, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to begin exploring a 12-book section at the tail end of the Old Testament called The Minor Prophets. I used to think they were called “minor” prophets because the men who wrote them were diminutive, Paleo-eating kind of men but the real reason these twelve books are referred to as the “minor” prophets is simply that they’re not as long-winded as prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah! Yet in spite of their brevity – most are no more than a few chapters in length – the Minor Prophets are full of passion, intrigue and unforgettable images of God. And my favorite image of God is presented in the very first book of the twelve Minor Prophets – a shocking love story that serves as a biblical harbinger of the Gospel about a good guy named Hosea – whose name literally means “Yaweh has rescued” or “salvation” - and a bad girl named Gomer. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible, unless you’re driving or shaping a bonzai tree of course, and come hang out on the porch with us.

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The Reign of Grace Aug 01, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology, I have the HUGE privilege of introducing you to one of my living heroes of faith – the man who introduced me to grace. I’ve been attending church since I was in utero and have been reading the Bible – or having it read to me - from my earliest memories but the concept of grace – of God’s unmerited favor - was always like wet soap to me – it was hard to hang on to. Until I moved to Nashville at the age of 21 and began attending a church led by a Birkenstock wearing pastor named Scotty Smith. It’s not hyperbolic to say that the Holy Spirit used Scotty to create a seismic shift in my heart toward Jesus – the long season I enjoyed as a member of his church, and ultimately as one of the students he mentored at Covenant Theological Seminary is what built the spiritual scaffolding that supports my belief system, as well as the intimacy I now have with Jesus. I love and respect this man so much that if I had a son, I’d probably name him Scotty – of course, that implies getting married and having this old jar of clay restored back to its pre-menopausal vitality, so I digress! The bottom line is, I’m beyond happy to have Pastor and Professor Scotty Smith here today so please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible, unless you’re driving or shelling peas of course, and come hang out on the porch with us.

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How Jesus Amens What God Says About Women Jul 25, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology, we’re continuing our “Sizzling Summer” series with more hang time on the porch with biblical culturalist, Professor Kristi McLelland. Her first visit to BPT was so revelatory and resonate that we begged her to come back so that we could keep swimming in life-giving passages like Genesis 2 and Luke 8 and Romans 16 that prove the significant – not subjugated - role women play in biblical narrative, in Jesus’ incarnate life and ministry, as well as Apostle Paul’s and the early churches’ mission to share the Living Hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. Now since this is a part-two kind of message and this episode compliments the one before like queso does chips – they’re much better in tandem! Therefore, if possible, please listen to last week’s episode “What God Says About Women” first and then grab a ginormous cup of coffee, a notebook, your favorite pen, your widest grin and your Bible – unless you’re driving or tying macrame knots for a plant hanger of course! – and come hang out on the porch with us.

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What God Says About Women Jul 18, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology, we’re kicking off our “Sizzling Summer” series by getting up close and personal with an awesome chick whose job title is: biblical culturalist. Her training at Dallas Theological Seminary, coupled with her extensive boots-on-the-ground training in multiple Middle Eastern countries with world-renowned archeologists, historians and rabbis have honed her incredible gift of helping others better understand the historical, cultural and linguistic context of Scripture. Every single time I have the privilege of hanging out with this particular professor, I not only learn something new about God and His Word, I find myself falling even more in love with Jesus! Much like Miracle Gro accelerates the growth of tomatoes in my garden, I guarantee Kristi McLelland will accelerate your hunger for Holy Writ! So please grab a big cup of coffee, a notebook, your favorite pen and your Bible – unless you’re driving or tweezing your brows, of course! – and come hang out on the porch with us.

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A Tale of Two Rooms Jul 11, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Backporch Theology we’re going to talk about the massive shift that took place in that motley crew of disciples in the 50 days between Passover and Pentecost. And in so doing we’re going to talk about the difference between performance and devotion. How spiritual disciplines like reading the Bible or engaging in worship can either be dutiful smokescreens that hide the broken, numb and even angry places in our hearts and minds or they can actually be the genuine overflow of a believer who remains cognizant of the cross and therefore finds themself gobsmacked with gratitude by what Jesus has already done for us through His sacrificial death on the cross and glorious resurrection. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or eating freshly steamed crab-legs, of course! – and come hang out on the porch with us.

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The Supernatural Security That Comes With So Jul 04, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Backporch Theology we’re going to talk about the genesis of relational evangelism and how Jesus modeled relational intimacy. Our Savior wasn’t some aloof, pensive carpenter apprentice who always wore a contemplative expression and spoke in hushed tones, He was a supernatural ROCKSTAR when it came to relating with people from wildly diverse backgrounds. We’re also going to talk about the deep comfort and transformational security we can draw from a tiny little adverb in John’s Gospel account that’s all too often overlooked. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or peeling some string cheese, of course! – and come hang out on the porch with us.

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The Sophomore Class of the Hall of Faith Jun 27, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Backporch Theology we’re going to honestly discuss seasons when you feel like you’ve just flat run out of faith. I so appreciate late great church father and theologian Charles Spurgeon, who admitted there were seasons in his life when he felt like he was in a dungeon underneath a castle of despair. Perky is not a spiritual fruit, y’all but God’s Word does have a lot to say about perseverance. I think this episode is going to be especially encouraging for those of you who’re feeling like you’re in a season when the hope has all but been pummeled out of you and you’re down to the very fumes of faith. We’re going to explore the stories of several stumbling saints like Gideon and Samson whose real-life struggles give us some deeply assuring takeaways about how our Creator Redeemer responds when His sons and daughters on their last legs. So please grab a cup of coffee with an extra spoonful of sugar and your Bible – unless you’re driving or chatting with a neighbor via Morse code, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us.

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The Trinity Isn’t Like the Beatles, Huh Mom? Jun 20, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Backporch Theology, we’re going to basically do happy dances in the studio recounting some of the amazing things God did at our Kerygma Summit a few weeks ago. And then after a few minutes of old-school testifying about the GREAT things He has done we’re going to dive into the tricky waters of trinitarian theology. St. Augustine himself admitted the Trinity was a mystery, difficult for the finite human mind to grasp and yet rather than being some obscure doctrinal issue we can secretly scootch to the edge of our belief system, is the foundational wall of our Christian belief system, the very heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, it matters today every bit as much as it mattered in the 4th century when it was the focus of the Nicene Council and the Council of Chalcedon when ancient church leaders were first grappling with each other and the Holy Spirit to figure out what were the bedrock imperatives and standards of biblical orthodoxy! So please grab a big cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or eating bugles of your fingers, of course! – and come hang out on the porch with us.

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A Compassionate Compulsion Jun 13, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Backporch Theology we’re going to debunk the idea that faith should be a private matter displayed and discussed only among like-minded individuals toting quilted Bible covers and clad in pastel sweater sets. We’re also going to explore two evangelistic accounts in the Book of Acts that clarify the difference between contextualizing the Gospel out of sincere respect for the culture of the people we get to share the Living Hope of Jesus Christ with and capitulating to culture, which all too often equates Christian evangelism with self-righteous or mean-spirited proselytizing. Dr. D.T. Niles – a gifted and humble ecumenical leader and evangelist from Sri Lanka who passed away in 1970 - taught that compassion must be the catalyst for sharing how we came to find ourselves in God’s embrace and his simple definition is my all-time favorite, “Evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread." So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or practicing the yo-yo, of course! – and come hang out on the porch with us.

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Uphill Glory Jun 06, 2022

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During today’s episode on Backporch Theology we’re going to discuss how choosing not to pay the high price of discipleship will ultimately cost us the abundant life Jesus promises in John 10:10. Christianity isn’t a spectator sport, y’all, it’s participatory and actionable and sometimes even downright dangerous, leaving believers with bloodied expectations and bruised hearts. Our Savior wasn’t being hyperbolic when He said, “In this world you will have trouble.” But Dietrich Bonhoeffer – who is perhaps the most prolific of leaders when it came to preaching and modeling the willingness to sacrifice everything for the sake of Christ – exemplified the, “But take heart because I have overcome the world” part of Jesus’ proclamation when he preached these words right before he was hanged in 1945 as a result of his faith in God and passionate opposition to the Nazi regime: “This is the end - for me, the beginning of life.” Today’s conversation might just be both convicting and compelling so please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or making balloon animals, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us.

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An Ode to Essential Oils May 30, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Backporch Theology we’re going to peruse parabolic symbolism, as well as Jesus’ admonition to stay faithful and alert during a seemingly delayed Parousia, which is a fifty-dollar seminary word with a super simple definition! And we’ll do so by exploring part of the Olivet Discourse toward the end of Matthew’s Gospel, which underscores how every single step of our lives – even the especially long and arduous ones – will reveal themselves to be inherently valuable when viewed through the lens of a perfectly consummated relationship with our Creator Redeemer. In other words, even when it’s hard to stand firm in the messy middle of our walk of faith, it will all be worth it in the end. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or working as a mime, of course! – and come hang out on the porch with us.

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Miracles Happen on Empty May 23, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Backporch Theology we’re going to explore the theological concept of God’s self-sufficiency, which means He possesses within Himself every quality, ability and divine attribute endlessly. In other words, God wants for nothing and lacks nothing; He is complete in and of Himself. Yet when we pair His self-sufficiency with our lack thereof, a miraculous amalgamation occurs allowing us to dance upon the very waves we thought might drown us! Speaking of waves, we’re also going to wade into the wild waters of pneumatology, which is the branch of theology concerned with the Holy Spirit. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or thumb-wrestling, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us.

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Who’s Trending In Heaven May 16, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology, we’re going to explore the juxtaposition between choosing to live a relatively anonymous life so as to make Jesus the Hero of our stories and the reality of living in an age where the proliferation of social media seems to reduce individual image-bearers to their selfie angles, number of followers, or how rhythmic they are on Tic Toc. Please know we aren’t going on any anti-social media rants today, but we are going to get really rowdy about the spiritual value of humility! And we’re going to do so by examining the rich lives of some women who are somewhat obscure in biblical history but are surely famous in Heaven, starting with a dynamic duo in Exodus that I don’t think has gotten nearly enough press through the ages, which might be a result of their oh so unfortunate names: Shiphrah and Puah! So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or baiting a fishhook, of course! – and come hang out on the porch with us.

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The Underrated Beauty of a Basement May 09, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Backporch Theology we’re going to talk about how trusting God in the dark is imperative if we want to walk in the light. In Luke chapter 12, we find the verse: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” That term “little flock” in verse thirty-two is so unique, this is the only place it can be found in the entire Bible. It comes from a double diminutive word coupling in Greek and can literally be translated: little, little flock. Most commentaries skip right over that tender phraseology but from where I’m standing it’s what really drives the point of why we don’t have to be ruled or rocked by fear home. Little, little flock. Only a Shepherd who absolutely adores His sheep would use that term. And that’s the Shepherd I’ve finally learned to run to when I’m scared. If you’ve ever struggled with fear or anxiety, I really hope you’ll grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or parasailing of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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Long Words, Leaky Minds and the Unconditional Love of God May 02, 2022

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During today’s episode of Backporch Theology, Allison gleefully traps me into a proverbial corner and attempts to squeeze out every drop of the good stuff I can possibly remember from my doctoral program at Denver Seminary! Mind you, I’m 58 years old now, so every part of my body leaks including my brain but we’re going to start with the parameters of biblical orthodoxy, delve into lots of theos – theology, theocracy, theophanies, theocentrism – and we’ll spend some time exploring the difference between the Greek word gnosis – that can loosely be defined as “head knowledge” – and epignosis – a term Paul uses often in the New Testament, that can loosely be defined as heart knowledge or knowledge with understanding. This is going to be one of those really fun, really fast, drinking from a firehose kind of conversations so please grab a double espresso and your Bible – unless you’re driving or hand-jiving of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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Steady As The Rock of Ages Apr 25, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Backporch Theology we’re going to talk about the immutable – which is a fifty-dollar word that simply means “unchanging” – love of Jesus Christ. How He really is the friend who sticks closer than a brother. And not only is His devotion to us immutable – it doesn’t wax and wane like the moon or ebb and flow like ocean waves or shrink and swell like my feet on a long flight - it’s not based on our deservedness, either. Thankfully, Karma and divine compassion aren’t remotely related! My platonic theological crush, C.S. Lewis says it best, “God loves us: not because we are loveable but because He is love, not because He needs to receive but because He delights to give.” So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or practicing for the handbell choir of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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The Galvanizing Grace of Gratitude Apr 18, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Backporch Theology, we’re going to wade into the refreshing waters of eucharisteo – which is a Greek word sprinkled throughout the New Testament that means “to give thanks.” There have been numerous scientific and psychological studies that back up the Bible’s encouragement to develop our gratitude muscle – it’s actually been proven that people with higher gratitude levels show more activity in the hypothalamus, which leads to improved rest, less physical discomfort, and lower stress and anxiety, y’all. That means the conversation we’re about to have might just lead to the best night’s sleep you’ve had in a long time, baby! So grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or doing Pilates of course – and come hang out on the porch with us.

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Ripped Hearts and Raised Hands Apr 11, 2022

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Theology, we’re going to explore the theological concept of theodicy, which is defined as: the vindication of divine goodness and providence in view of the existence of evil. In other words, our Creator Redeemer is good and does good even when our lives are anything but. I once had a surgeon tell me I was a bad patient because I tried to gut it out instead of being honest about the. pain I was experiencing. He said my stubborn refusal to admit how much I hurt reflected my lack of trust in his competence as a healer. Here I was thinking it was heroic of me to hang tough when all I’d done was put distance between myself and the kind doctor whose main goal was to mitigate my pain! What would it look like to actually admit our ache, trust in God’s goodness, and lean into His presence even when it feels like our heart’s in pieces? We’re about to dive deep into that question, so please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or deboning fish, of course! – and come hang out on the porch with us.

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A Little Girl, A Big Wall and God’s Extravagant Grace Apr 04, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to dive deep into the pool of desire and talk about how to get our emotional needs met by Jesus. Brennan Manning wrote: The deepest desire of our hearts is for union with God. From the first moment of our existence our most powerful yearning is to fulfill the original purpose of our lives – “to see Him more clearly, love Him more dearly, follow Him more nearly. We are made for God, and nothing less will satisfy us.” We’re also going to have a blast digging into two Greek words – homoousios and hypostasis – which are the building blocks of the foundational walls of Biblical orthodoxy. If you don’t have a firm grip on these two concepts, your theological scaffolding is going to come crashing down faster than a bowling ball help up by Twizzlers! So grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving, or cleaning fish of course! – and please come hang out on the porch with us!

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Exposing the Myth of a Milquetoast Messiah Mar 28, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Backporch Theology we’re kicking off the conversation with a profound observation from my imaginary theological boyfriend, the late great A.W. Tozer who said, “Left to ourselves we tend immediately to reduce God to manageable terms.” About 15 years ago I came to the sad realization that I’d unwittingly sanitized and emasculated Jesus into a mild-mannered, passive, kinda guy not unlike the Biblical iteration of Clark Kent, which left me less than compelled to worship Him! Today we’re embarking on a journey to reimagine the REAL Jesus – He’s the Prince of Peace AND He comes with a sword to cut away everything that threatens our intimacy with Him; He embraces lepers and flips tables. He is infinitely more compelling, interesting, mysterious, and provocative than our flannel graph boards of old have allowed us to depict Him. So grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or rock-climbing of course – and please come hang out on the porch with us!

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What’s Wasabi Got to Do With It? Mar 21, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Backporch Theology, we’re going to consider the gentle command found at the top of Hebrews chapter 3: Consider Jesus. In other words, think about our Savior. Focus your attention on our Redeemer. Concentrate on the King of all kings. This simple command to meditate on our Messiah is the answer to every tangled relational web we’ve ever been caught in, every steep circumstantial hill we have to climb up, and every deep valley of depression that has left us gasping for hope. Plus, Jesus’ not so gentle attributes of majesty, power and authority extend well beyond our finite human comprehension so we hope to jumpstart some good, old-fashioned awe and wonder on today’s podcast too! So grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or practicing with your roller derby team of course! – and please come hang out on the porch with us.

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How a Benedict Arnold in His Birthday Suit Became a Biblical Hero Mar 14, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Backporch Theology, we’re going to explore how God’s supernatural sovereignty reconciles with our human understanding of the time and space continuum and we’re also going to explore a story in Mark’s Gospel account that proves Romans 8:28 – all things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose – is not hyberbolic but 100% true! We really can trust that God’s providence will never take us to a place where His grace will not be sufficient for us even in those dark seasons when we can’t see around the corner of our circumstances, y’all. So grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or enjoying a manicure – and please come join us out here on the porch with us.

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A Different Kind of Love Story Mar 07, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to talk about the difference between simply being delivered from our sins and God truly delighting in us. There’s a memorable scene in the movie Notting Hill when Julia Roberts says to Hugh Grant: Don’t forget, I’m also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her. The only time I’ve ever identified with Julia Roberts is when I watched her character, Anna Scott, speak those words of unrequited love to a man who’d essentially just explained that she wasn’t worth the trouble of pursuing. I know what that feels like. But that’s so not the Gospel, y’all. In fact, according to the Bible, our divine bridegroom King Jesus is utterly mad about us and might even get a little weak in the knees when He sees us!

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Back Porch Theology sponsored in part by Dwell Bible App. Save 30% off Dwell for Life at DwellApp.io/LisaHarper.

Loving More People, More Feb 28, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to dive into some divine drama in the book of Acts and talk about risky faith, radical love and the willingness to kick comfort to the curb for the sake of the Gospel. Dr. Martin Luther King once lamented how the church used to be a thermostat that had the power to change the temperature of culture, but how it was losing its urgency and efficacy and was becoming a thermometer that simply measured the climate of culture. I think it’s time for Christ-followers to turn off our passivity, turn up our spiritual passion and get to work fanning the flames of revival in this great, big beautiful and broken world, don’t you?

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Back Porch Theology sponsored in part by Dwell Bible App. Save 30% off Dwell for Life at DwellApp.io/LisaHarper.

Minding the Gap Between Faithfulness and Faking It Feb 21, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re talking about the necessary synergy between orthodoxy – that is what we believe to be true of God – and orthopraxy – that is how we live in light of what we believe to be true of God. Obviously, we’re all sinners and nobody’s faith walk is flawless this side of glory but the gap between what we profess and how we live is a seedbed of hypocrisy that has the power to shred communities and families, as well as empower those who insist Christianity isn’t credible because its practitioners are a bunch of liars and fakes. And frankly, y’all, our detractors have some valid points. If what we believe to be true of God is simply printed on a mission statement and hung on a wall but isn’t lived out with conviction, authenticity and love, then our faith isn’t legitimate.

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Back Porch Theology sponsored in part by Dwell Bible App. Save 30% off Dwell for Life at DwellApp.io/LisaHarper.

Who's Got Your Back Feb 14, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re talking about how God’s redemptive plan for humanity is set in the context of community. Our Creator Redeemer is a trinitarian God – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit - and since we were made in His image, we are divinely hard-wired for relationship. Plus, the huge majority of biblical imperatives are about “we” instead of “me.” The bottom line is we’re much better together and Western Culture’s tendency to over-privatize Christianity inevitably leads to loneliness and faith-fatigue.

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Back Porch Theology sponsored in part by Dwell Bible App. Save 30% off Dwell for Life at DwellApp.io/LisaHarper.

You Have to Peel Off Your Spiritual Spanx If You Want to Be Held By Jesus Feb 07, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to explore the cultural context of a familiar story in John’s Gospel account, which includes one of my favorite Greek words in the entire New Testament cannon…this is one of two passages that taught me how to linger in God’s embrace.
We’ll also be chatting with one of my favorite seminary professors, Dr. Jim Howard, about the concept of imago Dei, and how every single human being, regardless of ethnicity, gender, culture or creed is made in God’s image and therefore inherently valuable and worthy of respect. It’s going to be great, galvanizing conversation, so grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving, of course! – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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Back Porch Theology sponsored in part by Dwell Bible App. Save 30% off Dwell for Life at DwellApp.io/LisaHarper.

We Will See God Blurry Until We Get Better At Saying “I’m Sorry" Jan 31, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re peeling off our emotional Spanx and diving deep into a couple of Psalms to talk about the necessary sacrament of confession. Of saying, “I’m sorry.” In his book, A Sacred Sorrow, Artist and theologian Michael Card explains it this way, “There can be no worshipful joy of salvation until we have realized the lamentable wilderness of what we were saved from.” So grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving, of course! – and come hang out on the porch with us!

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Back Porch Theology sponsored in part by Dwell Bible App. Save 30% off Dwell for Life at DwellApp.io/LisaHarper.

Having a High View of Scripture and a Low View of Yourself Is Biblically Indefensible Jan 24, 2022

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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology, we’re going to explore an encounter in Luke’s Gospel account that illustrates how the heart of God is moved by the wounds of humanity…how our ache accelerates His compassion. We’re also going to have an awesome encounter of our own with one of my favorite seminary professors, Dr. Jim Howard, who will explains how human dignity is a uniquely Judeo-Christian concept. So grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving, of course! – and come hang out on the porch with us.

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@BackPorchTheologyPodcast
@LisaDHarper
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Back Porch Theology sponsored in part by Dwell Bible App. Save 30% off Dwell for Life at DwellApp.io/LisaHarper.

God’s Unmerited Favor Often Tilts Toward The Unlikely and Unqualified Jan 17, 2022

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Before we begin our very first conversation, I want you to know that it’s a bit of an anomaly – kind of like me eating kale or pausing between sentences – because normally we’ll be doing deep dives into biblical narrative and chewy theology but since this is our first podcast date, I thought it’d behoove us to get to know each other before we start really tangoing with sacred text. In other words, this is kind of like the handshake before the hug. So please grab a cup of coffee – unless you’re driving, of course! – and come hang out with us on the porch.

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@BackPorchTheologyPodcast
@LisaDHarper
@AllisonAllen
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Back Porch Theology sponsored in part by Dwell Bible App. Save 30% off Dwell for Life at DwellApp.io/LisaHarper.

Introduction to Lisa Harper's Back Porch Theology Jan 07, 2022

Liberty University can help you get there. Learn more here.
Brought to you in part by Better Help. Click here to get 10% off your first month.
Learn more about Operation Christmas Child here.
The Marvel and Miracle of Advent Bible Study can be purchased here.

Discover the way ahead at Indiana Wesleyan University. Learn more here.

Find your nearest Operation Christmas Child drop off location here.

You're invited to hang out on Lisa Harper's back porch and enjoy conversations about all things Jesus, theological anthropology, biblical orthodoxy, Spanx, the merits of Tex-Mex and more!
We believe this podcast will help you dive deeper into God's word, understand that the gospel is good news for everyday life, not just when viewed in the light of eternity, and that God is for us, that He's always been in the process of redeeming our inherent value as imago Dei and restoring us into a vibrant, intimate relationship with Him.
And rest assured, this won't be a one-sided conversation because throughout the podcast, Lisa will be inviting friends, including some brilliant theologians and academics to join her in substantive but decidedly unstuffy segments. So come on, y'all grab some coffee or sweet tea and make sure to subscribe so you can join us on the back porch every week, the fun starts Monday, Jan 17!

Follow Us On Instagram!
@BackPorchTheologyPodcast
@LisaDHarper
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