Spoken Word, given to Yale University Students in CT. About the three fateful days from Jesus's crucifixion to resurrection, told from the viewpoint of a modern day disciple. 1-21-18

As a lifelong fighter of depression, here's what I've found helpful (and not helpful) in our dialogue. Watch this on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xggg6xFObIE

My book on fighting depression: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073TX15LB/

A Spoken Word performance: a modern re-telling about the three fateful days of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, and how the chaos of the cross turned into beautiful death-defying glory. (Audio clip by Gungor, "We Will Run") 12-8-13

A workshop on atheism and faith, from a former atheist. At the Navigators Winter Conference. "A theological remix of Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens, when you reduce money and marriage and government all the way down to the bottom, trying to find the non-contingent objective truth of 'just really,' when the transcendent existential panic kicks down the front door of your guts at 3am, the two things I hear on every deathbed, dismantling the zeitgeist of Us vs. Them dichotomy, giving up magical formulas for faith, un-weaponizing the cultural warfare of religion, and the scary moment when you bring a friend to church for the first time." 2-18-17

Matthew 7 and 18. About judging, rebuke, why we go to church, and confronting your friend with the truth. CCF Retreat 2 of 4. "That secret low-key grudge-hate against a fellow church member, the extremely painful (and necessary) peeling of accountability, the danger of isolating ourselves by echoing yes-men and self-affirming flattery, Jesus's graphic pictures of digging in your eyeball, the weird crazy arranged marriage of church, and four phrases we can use daily to heal one another." 11-5-16

Matthew 17. Our rest and resolve through demands and darkness. CCF Retreat 3 of 4. "The two things I hear on every deathbed in the hospital, how over 700 people answered the question, 'What is the greatest universal human desire?', how Jesus answers our marriage proposal, when we can finally stop being crushed by demands and deadlines, how faith is like a long-distance relationship, how God solves for both our lukewarmness and legalism, Seven Powerful Truths if the Gospel is True, and the Gospel according to Han Solo." 11-5-16

John 1. How to live our faith authentically in the real world. CCF Retreat 4 of 4. "The time I overheard a couple have the most dramatic break-up ever, what flirtation and 'romantic chemistry' is really about, the problem with trying to be the protagonist of your own story, seeing your name in the dedication section of a book, and the one question that every Christian can ask ourselves in every room we enter." 11-6-16

A seminar that I gave in San Jose, CA about the truths and myths of dating & relationships within both the church-culture & pop-culture. 2 Timothy 2. "The time I overheard a couple have their final knock-down drag-out fight, my absolutely favorite type of scene in the movies, what everyone really wants in the hospital, dating theology from Taylor Swift, when God looks at you through the ceiling, and Christianity according to a cologne sample." December 27th, 2015

Acts 2:42-47. Preached at CCF in Gainesville, FL. On the difficult messy work of giving grace. "My time at the mental institution with drug addicts and sex addicts and recovering mental patients, the awkward harrowing nerve-racking experience of bringing your friend to church (and it happens to be sacrifice-a-live-animal day), the cringe-inducing moment when the preacher goes political, finding out what percentage of the church is actually God's intention, the recent trend of movies where bad guys are not really bad but have a tragic back-story, what saying 'I do' really means, that time I fought a pastor in a parking lot, and sculpting a real eye-to-eye face-to-face friendship over coffee." 7-18-14

John 3:30. Preached at CCF in Gainesville. About our itchy eternal longing for heart-swelling value and worthiness. "My first audition for a TV show, the secret second language we use to fight for attention in every room, our crazy scrambling for a social media fanbase, when we become demon-possessed in rush hour traffic, our Main Character Syndrome, what I plan to do at my kid's first junior football game, and the absolutely face-melting moment when Jesus returns with a flaming sword ripping the sky open." 7-31-15