Wouldn’t life be simpler if everyone just agreed with you? Maybe—but God didn’t build His kingdom that way. In Part 2 of …Who Needs Enemies?, Barry looks at why God intentionally created us with different gifts, personalities, and callings, and why even the people who drive us crazy may have something we need. Plus, what […]

We spend much of our lives trying to outrun our adversaries, but what if they’re actually one of God’s gifts? In Part 1 of the …Who Needs Enemies series, Barry explores why opposition isn’t always something to avoid. From the courtroom, where justice depends on opposing sides, to the political arena, where differing viewpoints can […]

In Part 2 of our exploration of Psalm 115, Barry concludes his look at the responsibilities a lawn gnome cannot fulfill, but you can. God has given us mouths to act so that his unseen presence becomes unmistakably visible through our praise—in other words we need to stop being like an idol and start acting […]

Barry takes a deeper dive into the lawn gnome theology of Psalm 115 as he revisits gratitude. Gratitude is one of those things we know we’re supposed to have: say “yes ma’am” and “yes sir” and remember to send thank-you notes. But this psalm shows us that gratitude is more than a simple courtesy; that […]

What do lawn gnomes, ancient idols, and our everyday lives have in common? More than you might think. Barry explores one of the sharpest—and funniest—critiques of idolatry, showing why the things we trust inevitably shape who we become. This ancient psalm reminds us that in our attempts to seek the objective existence of God, we […]

In the previous episode, Barry walked us through the process and tools he uses to interpret the Psalms. This time, we put those tools to work on Psalm 114, and uncover its tropes, motifs, parallels to find much more than a story about mountains, rocks, and runaway seas. If you’ve ever wondered what it looks […]

The sea runs away, a river changes direction, and mountains start hopping like sheep. Welcome to Psalm 114. Barry explores one of the Bible’s most colorful psalms while giving pointers on how to read Psalms in general. Beneath all the geological excitement lies a masterclass in biblical poetry. We’ll explore tropes, motifs, parallels, and why […]

Psalm 113 is a reminder that God is both higher than we can imagine and closer than we expect. In this episode, Barry discusses the Exodus, God’s humility, and why He willingly zooms in on our everyday struggles—even when He has to use the cosmic equivalent of a microscope to do it. The reason is […]

What do David, Elijah, Jonah, John the Baptist, and a small college have in common? Barry finishes this series by exploring the idea of “skewed vectors”—people and institutions that point in a different direction than the culture around them—including church culture. From the prophets of Scripture to the mission of higher education, we consider why […]

In part 2 of our series on higher education, Barry asks what happens when the university starts losing some of the historic pillars that once made it a university: freedom of speech, intellectual freedom in the classroom, and independence in the boardroom. Somewhere between culture wars, workforce expectations, and institutional identity crises, he asks whether […]