Unfeigned Christianity

Today, I'm honored to have my friend, Luci, on to talk about her recent book, Turtle Heart. In it, Luci writes about a friendship she developed with an older Ojibwe lady, Charlene.

Char broke some of Luci's stereotypes of what it meant to have faith in God, challenged her boundaries in time and service, and sent her on a search for a deeper understanding of sexuality. If you would like to read Turtle Heart for yourself, sign up to win a free copy of your own! https://www.asherwitmer.com/turtleheart/.

Or, if you'd like to just purchase a copy for yourself, you can do so on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/3AY8uyY. 

If you'd like to contact Luci, you can visit her website at www.lucindajkinsinger.com. And you can contact Asher and those at Unfeigned Christianity, you can email [email protected].

You can become a member and access an expanded version of this episode and other episodes at, www.asherwitmer.com/member.

Transitional music for this episode has been contributed by Corey Steiner at https://www.coreysteinermusic.wordpress.com.The opening song is Sunset Drive by Evert Z and the closing song is Thank God for You and Me by Chris Mason.

Since the Bible is a story, how should we read the Old Testament? How do its many stories and subplots fit into the over-arching Message? I'm honored to have Ernesto Duke on the show today to discuss how to read the Old Testament and understand its role in this grand story that points to Jesus. Ernesto is a prof of mine from Eternity Bible College, to learn more about him and about Eternity, visit www.eternity.edu.

As mentioned in the episode, we have just launched our online course Finding My Place in God's Story. Enrollment is open until February 2nd. Visit www.findingmyplaceingodsstory.com to learn more. 

If you'd like to contact Asher and those at Unfeigned Christianity, you can email [email protected].

Become a member and access expanded episodes at, www.asherwitmer.com/member.

Transitional music for this episode has been contributed by Corey Steiner at https://www.coreysteinermusic.wordpress.com. The opening song is Sunset Drive by Evert Z and the closing song is Homesick by Sean Williams.

The Bible is a story, expertly crafted to tell one cohesive message from beginning to end. Just like we wouldn’t open a book like Pilgrim’s Progress and jump to random parts of the story without reading the whole thing first, neither should we treat the Bible this way.

There is plot, conflict, subplots, and many different characters. The whole story of the Bible points to and culminates in Jesus—even the Old Testament.

But what does it meant to read the Bible as story? And is reading the Bible as story just an excuse for introducing new morals that are more socially acceptable? Furthermore, since the Bible is divine, can’t it speak to people differently? Who says there is one right way to read the Bible? Besides, since the Bible is so old, how can we even know what the right way is?

We get into all this and more in today’s concluding episode of our four-part series on how to read the Bible.

As mentioned in the episode, this is an introduction to the forthcoming course, Finding My Place in God's Story. If you are interested in the course and want to be notified when it becomes available, sign up at https://www.asherwitmer.com/how-to-read-the-bible/.

If you'd like to contact Asher and those at Unfeigned Christianity, you can email [email protected].

Become a member and access expanded episodes at, www.asherwitmer.com/member.

Transitional music for this episode has been contributed by Corey Steiner at https://www.coreysteinermusic.wordpress.com. The opening song is Sunset Drive by Evert Z and the closing song is Believer by David Gives.

The Bible is not a reference book; it’s a story. And when we approach it like a reference book, we are susceptible to missing the story. 

In this episode, we’re going to look specifically at the question of whether or not we HAVE to read the Bible every day in order to be a good Christian. I think we all know we need to read it. But WHY? What is the Bible doing or saying that is important for my everyday life?

Since the Reformation, protestant Christianity has emphasized the Bible and personal piety often times at the expense of the sacraments and disciplines such as caring for the poor and vulnerable. 

Some people seem to really know their Bibles but not necessarily Jesus. If the Bible is about Jesus, shouldn’t spending time in it make us look a little more like Him? When those kinds of people are the ones emphasizing reading your Bible every day, it can be hard to see what doing so is important.

Another part of what might lead some of us to ask how important it is to read the Bible every day is because many of our Christian traditions have emphasized less than helpful reasons for reading the bible every day. Let’s take a look at a few of these reasons:

As mentioned in the episode, this is an introduction to the forthcoming course, Finding My Place in God's Story. If you are interested in the course and want to be notified when it becomes available, sign up at https://www.asherwitmer.com/how-to-read-the-bible/.

If you'd like to contact Asher and those at Unfeigned Christianity, you can email [email protected].

Become a member and access expanded episodes at, www.asherwitmer.com/member.

Transitional music for this episode has been contributed by Corey Steiner at https://www.coreysteinermusic.wordpress.com. The opening song is Sunset Drive by Evert Z and the closing song is Thank God for You and Me by Chris Mason.

Today, we’re digging deeper into why we sometimes find it hard to be all that interested in the Bible. What makes one feel like they HAVE to read the Bible instead of feeling like they GET to read the Bible? 

As mentioned in the episode, this is an introduction to the forthcoming course, Finding My Place in God's Story. If you are interested in the course and want to be notified when it becomes available, sign up at https://www.asherwitmer.com/how-to-read-the-bible/.

If you'd like to contact Asher and those at Unfeigned Christianity, you can email [email protected].

Become a member and access expanded episodes at, www.asherwitmer.com/member.

Transitional music for this episode has been contributed by Corey Steiner at https://www.coreysteinermusic.wordpress.com. The opening song is Sunset Drive by Evert Z and the closing song is Homesick by Sean Williams.

You've probably noticed Christians have many different perspectives on things. Why is that? In today's episode Asher discusses four, often overlooked reasons that is, and a few thoughts on what we can do about it.

Mentioned in the episode is the forthcoming mini series on discovering the story of scripture. To make sure you don't miss it, sign up at https://www.asherwitmer.com/how-to-read-the-bible/.

If you'd like to contact Asher and those at Unfeigned Christianity, you can email [email protected].

Become a member and access expanded episodes at, https://www.patreon.com/asherwitmer.

Transitional music for this episode has been contributed by Corey Steiner at https://www.coreysteinermusic.wordpress.com. The opening song is Sunset Drive by Evert Z and the closing song is Thank God for You and Me by Chris Mason.

It's been a rough 12 months for the church, and especially for pastors. In this episode, I sat down with a few pastor friends of mine to hear how the last year has been for them. Part of healing as the body of Christ is going to be listening to those who have devoted their time and energy to shepherding the flock.

If you enjoy this podcast, be sure and subscribe so you don't miss future episodes, and please rate and review the show on iTunes!

And consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/asherwitmer.

Music for this episode is done by Corey Steiner at https://www.coreysteinermusic.wordpress.com.

In this week's episode I had four single friends come on the pod and share some of their experiences with the church as singles. Christian communities could be doing better at remembering that marriage and family is not the ultimate goal in life; oneness with Jesus is. As the body of Jesus, we need each other in growing togetehr in oneness with Him. Sadly, we too often neglect or isolate our single brothers and sisters, thereby not only hurting them but ourselves.

We discuss how to grow our social worlds to be more inclusive of those with various marital statuses. We talk about whether or not to set single friends up with dates--and how to do that if they want it. 

It's a splendid conversation! I learned a lot, and I trust you will too.

If you enjoy this podcast, be sure and subscribe so you don't miss future episodes, and please rate and review the show on iTunes!

And consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/asherwitmer.

Music for this episode is done by Corey Steiner at https://www.coreysteinermusic.wordpress.com.

In this week's episode, I sat down with my friend Corey Steiner and talked about the role of music style in the life of a Christian. We talked about grief and sorrow, praise and thanksgiving, and whether or not all music needs to talk about Jesus.

Corey is the artist behind the intro and outro music on the podcast. He is currently working to put together a Christmas program where they cover Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb of God album almost note for note. If you live in North or South Carolina or the Virginia area, be sure and check it out! Find out more through this link: https://www.facebook.com/coreysteinermusic. 

If you enjoy this podcast, be sure and subscribe so you don't miss future episodes, and please rate and review the show on iTunes!

And consider supporting us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/asherwitmer.

Music for this episode is done by Corey Steiner at www.coreysteinermusic.wordpress.com.