Your Pod and Your Staff

Here's one more bonus episode for you.

You may or may not know that Stanford and Peter teach a Preaching Class every two years in College Life.  It's awesome. One of our favorite things we get to do. We are consistently amazed at the quality of talks our students end up producing, and delighted in how much fun it is to walk with them through the process. 

We decided to put the last session of the class in podcast form so the students wouldn't have to sit through another long Zoom session to get the content. Here's that session.  The beauty is now anyone who might be interested in how Stanford and Peter think about delivering their sermons, OR anyone who's interested in learning more about public speaking in general can "audit" the Preaching Class. Technology is cool.  

A good sermon is not just a good piece of writing, it must be embodied... it must be delivered

Welcome to the Preaching Class. 

1. Tone

2. Eye Contact

3. Vocal Quality

4. Time

5. Movements / Hand Gestures

6. Teaching Aides

Speech Links:

Emma Thompson for Sense and Sensibility

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck for Good Will Hunting

Week 10 in College Life was a special one. We didn't just get to talk about Revelation. We didn't just have Darrell Johnson speaking to us. We had Darrell Johnson speaking to us ABOUT Revelation.  

We promoted the night far and wide and it didn't disappoint: Darrell was wise, warm, and way too compelling.  He showed us that we didn't have to be scared or even confused about Revelation. He showed us that we can embrace Revelation NOT as a guide to when the world would end, but as a guide on how to follow Jesus right now. 

And now, even if you weren't there, you can hear it too! 

For more Darrell Johnson resources:

READ:

Discipleship on the Edge (On Revelation)

57 Words that Changed the World (On the Lord's Prayer)

LISTEN:

The Darrell Johnson Podcast "Reading, Interpreting and Proclaiming the Revelation of Jesus Christ"

It's a Your Pod and Your Staff BONUS EPISODE! 

A few weeks ago, we had Nic Gibson of High Point Church in Madison on our podcast. We had a great conversation surrounding THE CHURCH.  In that conversation, Nic diagnosed a disease-of-abstract thinking which plagues our view of the Church.  

That was a popular episode. Nic is great to listen to.  

It was also a long episode.  And if that episode was more like the novel, this episode, which is the audio from his message on the same subject to our College Life students at our Tuesday Night Large Group is a bit like the Spark Notes.  

We really encourage you to listen if you, or people you love, are asking questions about the Church to which you're struggling to respond.  You're not going to hear a more cogent description of the Church and why it matters, as well as a diagnosis of why that's hard for us to see. 

Bless you. Enjoy the episode. And crush those finals like a grape.

Again... more from Nic:

Substance: Becoming Oaks of Righteousness in a World of Vapor, Nic Gibson

"Engage and Equip" - Nic's Podcast

Dragons! Beasts! 666!

It’s apocalypse time on Your Pod and Your Staff!

I don’t know what comes to mind when you read those two lines – maybe the end of the world? Maybe the rapture? Maybe just “excuse me, what?”

We’re opening up Revelation 13 this week... in other words… the weird stuff. It might feel foreign. It might feel totally bonkers. But dive in with us! Suddenly you’ll see how these out-of-this-world images are actually a profound window showing you the truth behind reality.

May you resist the beast… may you follow the lamb… may you flourish in the new city… and may Taco Bell not sue us for slander…

Enjoy the podcast. It’s a doozy.

REVELATION RESOURCES

Discipleship on the Edge: An Expository Journey through the Book of Revelation, Darrell Johnson

The Theology of the Book of Revelation, Richard Bauckham

Reading Revelation Responsibly, Michael Gorman

"Five Strategies for Reading Revelation" Bible Project Podcast

***for some helpful visuals for this pod, check out Stanford’s blog post***

Here’s a question: if you were stranded on a desert island, and you were told you can only have ONE book of the Bible during your time there – what would you choose?

There’s a lot of great choices. You wouldn’t go wrong with a Gospel, maybe Genesis or Exodus, maybe even Psalms if you’re one of those kinds of people.

But I’m assuming very few of us would choose REVELATION (Or RevelationS as Peter used to think). But Darrell Johnson, who is coming to speak on Revelation on March 9th, says this is PRECISELY the book he’d choose.

Why?

“Because no other book shows us Jesus more clearly and compellingly than the last book of the Bible. No other book helps us see him in a way that overcomes our fears and frees us for radical faith”.

This might sound like a preposterous claim. But take a listen to this episode. We'll encounter 7 Micro-Epistles as told by a very Macro-Jesus. Have Revelation 2-3 open if you’re able, and we think you’ll start to see as compelling a picture of Jesus as there is in the Scriptures.

Let’s dive in together. Enjoy the podcast.

RESOURCES FOR REVELATION

"A Fiercer Delight and a Fiercer Discontent" - Stanford Gibson's blog (http://stanford-gibson.blogspot.com/)

Discipleship on the Edge: An Expository Journey through the Book of Revelation, Darrell Johnson

The Theology of the Book of Revelation, Richard Bauckham

Reading Revelation Responsibly, Michael Gorman

This episode was edited by Mike Loretto

For info on Mike’s work as a Spiritual Coach: mikelorettocoaching.com

Yup, you read that time right. This is a long episode. And it’s worth it! Break it up in chunks. Take a week to listen!

Is the Church even that important?

Many people are asking this question. And many people have already answered it… No. It might be nice. But it’s not necessary.

This is not a question the Scriptures are asking. The Scriptures simply assume it’s big time important. And, frankly, “important” isn’t even strong enough to capture it. Essential might be a bit better.

And yet, it doesn’t feel that way. Our friends don’t think of like that. It can be easy to dislike. It can be easy to ignore.

But here’s the deal: College Life burns for you to learn to love the local church. So this is important to us. We needed the right conversation partner… We got him.

His name is Nic Gibson. He’s the Lead Pastor of High Point Church in Madison, Wisconsin, he’s the author of books, he’s an incredibly passionate and learned speaker and thinker, and he shares DNA with our very own Stanford Gibson – so he’s bound to be smart, right?

His tone is sharper. He speaks more candidly. And that’s the perfect voice for the seriousness of this conversation.

Enjoy the podcast.

RESOURCES FROM NIC:

Substance: Becoming Oaks of Righteousness in a World of Vapor, Nic GIbson

“Engage and Equip” Nic’s Podcast

This episode was edited by Mike Loretto

For info on Mike’s work as a Spiritual Coach: mikelorettocoaching.com

I urge you, then, be imitators of me. – 1 Corinthians 4:16

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ – 1 Corinthians 11:1

Join in imitating me – Philippians 3:17

Imitate. Imitate. Imitate.

This is Paul’s consistent drumbeat for the early followers to grow in their faith and learn to live in the Kingdom.

But how does that sit with you? Does Paul want us just to try and be like somebody else? Shouldn’t I be focusing on being the best ‘me’ I can be? Does this mean I’m not enough as I am?

It may feel like a strange idea to us. It might even rub us the wrong way. We’re usually taught to stand out, be original, be unique – not follow in someone else’s footsteps.

So what does this drumbeat of imitation mean? What can we learn from it? And how can we do it?

All of that and more on this episode!

Enjoy the podcast

Resources:

The Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis

"Sunlight" - Radical Face

The Gardener and the Carpenter, Alison Gopnik

This episode was edited by Mike Loretto

For info on Mike’s work as a Spiritual Coach: mikelorettocoaching.com

Is the Bible sexist?

This episode never fully asks that question, but it’s bubbling under the surface. The Scriptures say things that, to modern ears, can sound strange at best and problematic at worst.

“Wives submit to your husbands”

“woman as the weaker vessel”

“the husband is the head of the wife”

Do these texts mean what it looks like they mean?

Bronwyn Lea is here to chat about these texts: what they mean, the principles and heart beating underneath them, and how actual Christian marriages seek to follow the advice the Scriptures have for marriage.

What does it mean to submit?

To lead?

Who actually makes decisions?

Good questions with perhaps surprising answers.

Enjoy the podcast

Resources:

Finally Feminist, John Stackhouse

Submission in Context: Christ and the Greco-Roman Household Codes (blogpost), Rachel Held Evans

This episode was edited by Mike Loretto

For info on Mike’s work as a Spiritual Coach: mikelorettocoaching.com

What do we do with these texts?!

“women should keep silent in the churches”

“if there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home.”

“I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather she is to remain quiet”

Yikes.

Are we faithful to the Scriptures and accept this even if it feels regressive and cruel? Or are we faithful to our conscience and downplay these texts in order to fit with what feels right?

This is basically an impossible choice. And, as it turns it’s a false binary.

Steve Luxa joins us to discuss these texts and show us what it looks like to wrestle with them.

He also lets us into the process of and the emotions of transitioning a church’s thinking on this issue and these texts. It’s a wonderfully honest conversation about the difficulties both theologically and emotionally; there’s disagreeing, there’s confession, there’s reflection… it’s really good stuff.

Interested in pure Bible? The first half will thrill you. Interested in theology playing out in real time, and the workings of the local church, the whole thing will thrill you.

Enjoy the podcast!

Resources:

For a lightish read and a great introduction out of the binary thinking often dominating this debate: 

Finally Feminist, John Stackhouse

For an interesting conversation on 1 Corinthians 11 that will surely thrill you if your interest was piqued here:

Bible Project Podcast "Family of God Episode 10 - Why Do Cain's Descendents Show Up After the Flood?" (skip to 19:35 for the 1 Corinthians discussion)

Quarantine Corner:

Peter's Video Recommendation

…

This episode was edited by Mike Loretto

For info on Mike’s work as a Spiritual Coach: mikelorettocoaching.com

What do the Epistles have to say about race, racism, and justice? It’s an interesting question, and as we see from this conversation from Rick Morris, they weirdly have both nothing to say directly, but tons to say when we really hear them.

You won’t find the word “race” or “racism” in the Scriptures; but Rick helps us see that concepts like unity in Christ, the corrosiveness of unjust and arbitrary power dynamics, and the call to pursue justice for the marginalized are deeply Biblical, and deeply relevant to our response to these questions today.

Conversations and arguments on this topic are circling all-around, if you’ve ever wondered where someone would enter into those conversations starting from a Biblical POV, or just wondered what the Scriptures might have to say about something so important to us, you’ll eat this conversation up!

Enjoy the podcast!

…

what we now call ‘racism’ is not simply, for Christians, a failure to obey one or other moral standard … for example… that we should love our neighbour as ourselves. It is deeper even than that. It is a failure of vocation… The church of the anointed Jesus, was designed from the start to be a worldwide family… Rejecting racism and embracing the diversity of Jesus’ family ought to be as obvious as praying the Lord’s Prayer, celebrating the Eucharist, or reading the four Gospels. It isn’t just an extra ‘rule’ we’re supposed to keep. It is constitutive of who we are.

NT Wright, Undermining Racism

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Get in touch with Peter: [email protected]

Get in touch with Rick: [email protected]

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Resources Mentioned:

Stamped from the Beginning, Ibram Kendi

Reading While Black, Esau McCaulley

Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do, Jennifer L. Eberhardt

Bible Project Podcast “The Powerful and Not Powerful”

Reading Romans Backwards, Scot McKnight