Jimmy’s Table Podcast: Recent Episodes
Jimmy Humphrey
Curiously evangelical. Politically homeless. A dreamer of small things. On this podcast, I am having conversations about the intersection of faith, life, and culture.
With every election season, it’s not uncommon to hear various celebrities say that, “If such and such politician gets elected, I’m going to move to another country.”
Naturally, people get offended over such words. And seldom do these celebrities actually act on their words.
But they express a sentiment that has been echoed by many voices throughout the years. Even if all they do is half heartedly mean these actual words, there’s often an underlying existential angst that’s taken up a place in our souls that expresses a dissatisfaction with our present world order, and what the future may hold.
In this podcast, I explore the angst behind these sentiments, and what the longings of our hearts concerning the outcome of elections ultimately teaches us.
If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.
~C.S. Lewis
Our hearts are not satisfied until they are satisfied in thee…
~St Augustine
By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; 10 for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God….13 All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. 15 And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.
Hebrews 11:8-10; 13-16 (NASB):
We live in a world that suffers from a deficit of joy. As a result, we chase things that we think will make us happy, and while going from one high to the next, we never quite find what we are looking for, and only end up coming away empty handed.
In this podcast, I explore the difference between happiness and joy. And while there can be some overlaps between happiness and joy, we’ll see that happiness is ultimately grounded in temporary experiences. Whereas joy is an internal disposition of the heart, engrained into the fiber of who we are as a person. We’ll learn that joy can exist even in the midst of dark and scary times, and that joy can be the very source of the strength we have to fight out way out of that darkness.
Ultimately in this podcast we learn that there is good news for us at this Christmas season: joy is a gift of God, and that joy is for everyone.
I was listening to, “The Remnant” podcast recently, in which Jonah Goldberg and David Brooks made a fascinating observation: When people are successful, they love to take all the credit, but when they fail, they love to blame someone else.
Take for example, when you get a promotion or a great new job: You got it because you are super talented, worked hard, and pulled yourself up by the bootstraps. But when you get laid off… it’s because Joe Biden and the Democrats have ruined the economy.
This of course, is a story as old as time. And it manifests itself in a variety of ways throughout the history of the world. The Romans blamed the Christians for the decline of their empire. Hitler blamed the Jews for the decline of Germany. Republicans blame the Democrats, and the Democrats blame the Republicans. Children blame their parents for why they are so messed up, and Boomers blame Millennials for why their country is no longer great.
And the funny thing is, we often play this blame game without much in the way of any evidence. At best we have a few anecdotal type stories that we use to shame “the other,” and to support our preferred narratives.
Just this morning, for example, I noted on Facebook how gas prices had fallen below $3 a gallon near where I live. And immediately, as if by natural reflex, without any supporting evidence, over half a dozen of my family and friends started conspiring, that the reason for this was that old senile president Joe Biden was causing gas prices to fall, because we are heading into the 2024 election, and he has to rig the economy in his favor.
And I only point this out, not to shame my family or friends, but to show how people are already preemptively preparing a narrative, to explain why Donald Trump might lose the 2024 presidential election. They could never admit, for example, that Trump might just be a politician the majority of Americans don’t like. Rather, it must be because Joe Biden managed to artificially lower gas prices so as to cause the masses to believe the economy is doing better than it seems. But of course, if Donald Trump manages to win the 2024 election, it’ll be because they believed they backed a superior candidate that everyone else liked too. And all stories about gas prices and elections being rigged against them, will simply be forgotten.
So the question then is, why do people behave this way? Why do people love to glory in their successes, but blame others on why their life sucks? And why do they so quickly resort to strange conspiracy theories to explain such notions?
I think we do these things because it gives us a sense of control we have over our lives. When everything goes according to plan, we feel like a wise chess grandmaster, aggressively pushing pawns and sacrificing queens as we skillfully plot our path to victory. But when we lose, we get angry and defensive, and feel someone is somehow cheating us out of something that rightfully belongs to us. Therefore we lose, not because of something we did or did not do, but because there’s a smoke filled room in which people are conspiring against us.
And we tell ourselves such stories, I believe, because it ultimately comforts us. It gives us a sense of control over our lives, because we feel deep down inside that if it were not for this “other” person or group of people, then our lives would be unfolding before us as planned.
For example, if you were to read the founding charter documents of Hamas, as I recently did a few weeks ago, they spend a lot of time spelling out that the only reason they don’t control Palestine presently, is because world Jewry has engaged in a 150 year old plot to take over the world through banks and the media. But Hamas ultimately believes they’ll overcome the Jews as a result of their struggles against them, because Allah will ultimately bless their efforts to kill Jews wherever they may hide.
Such shows how nutty Hamas leaders are in their thinking. They currently are failing because of the global conspiracy of Jews, but one day they’ll succeed because Allah has got their back. So, which is it?
I don’t claim to be a fundamentalist Islamic terrorist theologian. So I’ll leave such questions regarding Divine providence up to them to figure out. But I only bring them up, because fundamentally most of us naturally think the same way. The natural gut reaction of our inner theologian isn’t much different than theirs. Our theology just involves different actors, but like a good Hallmark movie, involves the same plot over and over again.
Maybe, just maybe we all need to learn to write a different story line? But that story line is one that scares us to death to tell, which is why we don’t tell it. Instead we prefer to tell the story in which we get to play the blame game.
The truth is, life is scary. It’s full of random events that happen, often unexpectedly, with little that we can do to control the outcome of such events.
We can work hard, save, invest, and play by all the rules, only to unexpectedly lose our job when there’s an economic downturn.
We can exercise, eat right, get a good nights sleep, yet still receive an unexpected cancer diagnosis in the prime of our life.
We can lovingly wine and dine a romantic partner, get married, and pour our entire life into that person, only to watch them cheat on you anyway.
When such things happen, when life throws is an unexpected curve ball, it’s so easy to seek an explanation that allows us to blame someone else, and to find comfort in those explanations.
But such is the easy way out.
For it’s harder to admit we live in a world in which we aren’t God and that a lot of things are going to happen that are far outside our ability to understand and control.
It’s far harder to give yourself over to that reality, and to simply fling yourself into the hands of God, and trust that whatever happens in your life, both good and bad, that things are ultimately in the hands of God, and that you are willing to trust Him no matter what the outcome of your circumstances and actions might be.
We ultimately engage in constructing narratives that blame others for when things don’t go our way, because we ultimately don’t want to let go of the sense of control we feel we have, and are ultimately failing to trust God with our lives.
And in the process, we instinctively blame Joe Biden, the Jews, immigrants, or a lot of other people that we are secretly suspicious of as being somehow engaged in a plot against us.
And that’s not to say there aren’t powerful people in this world plotting against others. There certainly are such people.
But our instincts shouldn’t be to look for a boogeyman to blame, but ultimately, to throw our lives into the hands of the God who we can trust.
Would Jesus vote for Republicans? Would Jesus vote for Democrats? Would Jesus vote for Donald Trump? Would Jesus vote for Joe Biden? Or… would Jesus even vote at all?
There’s nothing in the Bible that says we should vote.
There’s nothing in the Bible that says we shouldn’t vote.
I believe the decision to vote ultimately boils down to an area of Christian liberty (Romans 14). One can vote, but one can also NOT vote, and that’s perfectly okay.
But, is voting always wise?
In our current political environment, where we have become increasingly polarized politically as a nation, it seems increasingly unwise to vote. To do so almost seems to require we compromise our witness as Christians, especially as more and more political parties attempt to co-opt the Church for their own political gain.
I might be speaking hyperbolically here, but imagine a scenario if we had two candidates running for office: Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler. Please tell me, which of these guys you would vote for? Would you vote for Hitler or would you vote for Stalin.
I would personally vote for neither. And I don’t think Jesus would either.
I can imagine it now. If those were our only two options on the ballot, there would be a fierce debate and division within the church over which candidate to support. And people would be making fierce defenses of each, and denouncing as demonic anyone who voted otherwise.
But some of you might be pragmatic and say, while you like neither candidate, those are our only two options, so we should vote for whichever one we deem the lesser of two evils!
And part of me can’t help but just sigh over such a depressing notion.
Such is just a notion that we should vote for the sake of voting, and that voting itself is a civic virtue that we should all be engaged in, regardless of how bad the choices.
That sounds smart in a way. And maybe that’s fine if we can vote in a vacuum, in a completely emotionally detached way.
But most of us probably can’t vote in an emotionally detached way. We either love our candidates or hate them. There’s seldom an indifference. And that love or hatred of possible candidates often seems to warp us on the inside, which has the ability to impact us spiritually.
When I sit there and think who would Jesus vote for if He could vote, I can’t help but wonder if Jesus would even vote at all? As I close my eyes, pray, and read the Scriptures, I can’t help but think… no, Jesus wouldn’t vote at all. And while we might have the liberty to do so in Christ, I wonder how many of support a candidate, without compromising something of who we are in order to do so.
Should you vote? I’ll leave that up between you and the Lord.
It’s so tempting to view the latest war between Israel and Gaza as a black and white issue. One side is evil, and the other side is good. And while it may comfort us to deal in absolutes, if you dive into messy history between Israel and Palestinians, you’ll soon discover things aren’t always so clear, and that things are very complicated.
In today’s podcast, I discuss a thought provoking article shared on Twitter by Isaac Saul, an American Jewish news reporter who lived at one time in Israel. He wrestles with the complicated history of the Jews and the Palestinians, as well as the brutality and atrocities committed by each side, and how that has led us to the clash between both sides.
After reading his article in length, I also discuss this issue from what I believe should be the Christian perspective on the war between Israel and Gaza, which I believe should be from the perspective of the crucified Christ. For it was on the cross that Jesus cried out, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.”
Those words were deeply ironic words. For if you had asked the Roman soldier that crucified Jesus that day if he knew what he was doing, he could have told you exactly what he was doing and why as he crucified Jesus. And the same goes for the Jewish leaders, who turned Jesus over to be crucified by the Romans. They knew exactly what they were doing. Yet in all this exactitude and certainty, Jesus still cried out to God to forgive them, because they didn’t know what they were really doing.
Finally, I turn to one of my favorite prophecies, from Isaiah 2:1-4, and how this prophecy offers us hope in the midst of nations that are hell bent on war.
It is my hope that today’s podcast will help put you both in the shoes of those who live in Gaza, and those who live in Israel, and ultimately that you’d be able to look at them through the eyes of Jesus Christ on the cross. This podcast doesn’t offer any solution to the war that is taking place between Israel and Gaza. But I hope it will open your eyes to what’s going on, and to ultimately allow your heart to be formed into that of Christ’s heart for both sides in this feud.
According to pastor J.D. Greear, the church has become a "religious show." An irony, that many noticed, was lost on him as he preached from a giant platform with cameras and massive TV screens surrounding him. In today's podcast, I want to talk about the recent sermon clip that went viral, and what the church can learn from it...
Are aliens real? Have UFO's visited us? And what should we think of the testimony of Airforce Major David Grusch and his testimony before a house oversight committee stating that the U.S. Military has been in possession of UFO's since the 1930's? And what implications does the existence of aliens have for our faith as Christians?
Among political conservatives, "owning the libs" might be a favorite activity. But it's not exactly a Christian behavior. In this podcast, I examine the toxic "own the libs" DNA that exists among the political right, and propose a bold alternative to this mentality...
Can you experience God? Some would claim that if God exists, it would be impossible to experience Him. Yet many others would claim to have experienced the Divine. In this podcast, I talk about the different ways I believe we can experience God, and what the greatest experience we can have of God actually looks like…
The idea of experiencing God might sound a little troublesome to some people. Maybe even a little “woo woo.” After all, if there is a God, then God doesn’t appear perceivable by our five senses. For example, I’ve never bumped into God in the same way my toe has bumped into my nightstand in the middle of the night.
To claim to experience God might be a philosophical category that some would outright deny as a possibility altogether. After all, if God exists, He exists outside of the created order, existing entirely separated from the physical universe. Otherwise, God would be something we could experience as we do any other physical thing that exists in our universe.
Which means then, if someone claims to experience God, they might just be borderline delusional, because it’s categorically impossible.
Yet in spite of such agnostic philosophical objections to the contrary, there would yet be millions, if not perhaps billions, of people in the world that would claim not only is it possible to experience God, but that they themselves have done so at some level.
For most people, this means that God is experienced in a way that transcends our five senses and the realm of physical reality. This means we experience God in a way we perceive as fundamentally spiritual. It’s something that many of us have experienced in some measure for which no argument carries any weight. As the old saying goes, “A man with an argument is at the mercy of a man with an experience.” So no matter the strength of the argument, it’s going to be hard to trump that experience with words to the contrary. And as result, there’s a lot of people who claim to experience God.
For which, there are a lot of different religious opinions as to exactly what that means, and it definitely puts us into the realm of that “woo woo” that I mentioned earlier. And its that “woo woo” that makes so many people uncomfortable, because it altogether seems vague, subjective, mysterious, and altogether iffy.
Yet for those who’ve claimed to have had some sort of transcendent experience of the Divine, the experience to them, no matter how much it’s wrapped up in mystery and subjective feelings, is a concrete experience that’s just as real as anything in the known universe.
As a Christian, I believe that there’s certainly a transcendent experience of God that all mankind can experience in all of creation in some vague and general way, I believe such an experience is very limited. Theologians call this “general revelation.” It’s the knowledge and experience of God that’s available to all of humanity through the created order. It’s the feeling of God one gets when watching a sunset, or a seeing a child laugh.
For as a Christian, I believe that God is best experienced through the person Jesus Christ. For Christians, God goes from this vague cosmic Star Wars like force in the universe, to being someone that is personal and real.
This is what the heart of the incarnation of Jesus Christ, God made flesh, is ultimately about. For the thousand ways God may be experienced through creation, it is through the incarnation of Jesus Christ that God becomes a person with a face that we can actually behold, and is someone we can tangibly know and experience.
Through Jesus Christ, God is no longer some impersonal cosmic deity that exists somewhere “out there,” but He is someone that can be experienced in the here and now, even as you and I know one another.
As Christians we believe that Jesus Christ is the very fullness and likeness of God. To experience Jesus is to experience God in all the fullness and richness of how God wants us to experience Him and to make Him known to the world. Jesus Christ is the fullness of God made flesh, and in that flesh God has made Himself known fully to the world.
Our experience of God, therefore, is a Christ centered experience. Everything else by comparison, is incomplete.
But what does that mean to experience Christ? For Jesus has ascended to the right hand of God in heaven. We cannot like John, claim to have touch, seen, and handled the Bread of Life.
Yet Jesus told us when He left that we would not be abandoned as orphans. Rather that He would send the Spirit of God to live in our hearts, and that we would carry God’s very presence with us wherever we go.
As a result, we continue to experience Jesus Christ in a very tangible way. So tangible He might as well be physically present.
And I think this is an important point to make. For often I hear of many Christians speak of “mystical” and “transcendent” experiences with God. And I sympathize with such verbiage , and understand well what they mean.
But there is a sloppy way of speaking about mystical and transcendent experiences with God as if this is the pinnacle of spiritual experiences. I think the writings of so-called “Christian mystics” like Richard Rohr drip with such notions. And many people like him and admire many other historical “Christian mystics” who seem to be operating at a level of spirituality that skips over Jesus altogether, almost making Jesus seemingly unimportant, as experiencing the “transcendent” is more important.
But let me remind you that notions of transcendence fits into the category of general revelation. Mysticism is a very elementary school sorta thing. It’s not the place where the graduate level experience of God exists. It’s such a basic thing it might as well be classified as pagan. Because even godless pagans have such experiences, yet they live their lives entirely divorced from following Christ.
“Christ in you!“ is greater than any transcendent experience of God in the general revelation of Him.
That is, Jesus Christ living incarnate through the Holy Spirit, in you, with you, and through you, in your day to day grind… that’s the rich stuff of the faith and where Christ is experienced.
And if Christ is in you, and Christ is in others, then the greatest of Christian spiritual experiences is always to be found in the presence of other Christians, in Christ centered community.
That’s why we should never “forsake the assembling of ourselves together.” For if we do such, we’ll become isolated, thinking our private mystical experiences are greater than the experience we can have with each other. And in being together, we can like John, claim to have seen, handled, and touched the Bread of Life.
Everything else, as great as it can be, is just “woo woo.”
Have you ever been in a situation in life where, generally speaking, you’ve accomplished everything you’ve set out to accomplish? Or at the very least, you’ve checked off everything currently on your “five year plan” or “New Years Resolutions?”
Recently I’ve found myself in such a situation. As I talked about in my most recent podcast “When Goodness Follows You,” I’ve suddenly experienced a tremendous amount of blessings in my life– and all at once. I started a new job, I bought a new home, and I’ve had a number of other blessings suddenly materialize in my life.
Such has left me in a situation of, “But what now?” What’s the next chapter of my life look like? What things do I now need to go and accomplish now that I’ve already accomplished all of the things I set out at the start of the year to accomplish?
The infamous villain, Hans Gruber, once said in the movie, “Die Hard” that “Alexander wept for there were no more worlds to conquer.” (Which is actually a misquote and misunderstanding of what actually happened regarding Alexander the Great, who is said to have wept because he realized there were infinite worlds to conquer, and he had failed to even conquer the one.)
Regardless of what actually caused Alexander the Great to cry, Hans Gruber’s quote raises the question of a certain existential angst that you might experience when you’ve done everything there is to do. After all, if you’ve conquered the entire world, there isn’t all that much left to do. So what does one do, especially if one really enjoys conquest?
In this podcast, I talk about this possible crisis, and how we should handle it.
It’s been two months since I last updated my podcast. People were beginning to ask questions due to my absence. Because the last time I went two months without updating my podcast, tragedy unfolded in my life. This time has not been anything like that. In fact, quite the opposite. Instead of something terrible happening to me, some tremendously good things have happened— and all at once, seemingly out of nowhere.
Which, considering the prior events of my life, has absolutely baffled me. Suddenly instead of bad things happening to me and overwhelming me, an tidal wave of goodness has come my way. What I have experienced reminds me a lot of the story from the book of Job in the Bible, where, after a series of unexplainably tragedy, misfortune, and grief had overtaken Job, the misfortunes of Job were reversed, and just as much goodness came his way.
In today’s podcast, I just want to take a few moments to talk about dealing with tragedy and loss, but more importantly, dealing with the goodness when it suddenly comes upon you, and how this ultimately ties together with Jesus Christ, divine providence, and God’s dealings with our lives.
At the time of the recording of this podcast, a religious phenomenon known as a “revival” has been taking place for almost 2 weeks at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. This revival began a couple weeks ago, in which there have been around the clock non-stop times of singing, prayer, the reading of Scripture, live testimonies, and some light preaching. This has all happened spontaneously, organically, and without any prior organization. And there are signs of such things starting to take place in other locations around the country, primarily among college students.
Some fundamentalist types aren’t happy about this revival in Asbury, because it doesn’t fit into a box built by Jonathan Edwards. They have a certain checklist of ideas of what a revival should and should not have. They think there should be a lot of fiery sermons on repentance, and should be free of music written by Hillsong, and that nobody anywhere should get emotional or speak in tongues.
Likewise, there are many progressives who are upset because there’s not enough of a “social gospel” component to things. They won’t be happy unless the revival has a certain diversity & inclusion ratio, or unless everyone leaves the services speaking with the tongue of Karl Marx.
I am really bothered by the way we think about this entire thing. And I think we need to think about the way we think, because the way we think about things can often leave us with a flat and rigid hermeneutic and way of interpreting the Scriptures and the world in such a way that we can’t see the signs of the times around us, and end up crucifying Jesus all over again. Such is nothing but the ministry of death.
A lot of the critiques of the Asbury Revival ultimately amount to people being upset over a bunch of college students having a prolonged prayer meeting and enjoy a time with each other while worshipping Jesus. Such is just a terrible thing apparently that everyone feels the need to write scathing and cynical criticisms about.
In this podcast, I wish to explore some of the criticisms being leveled against the Asbury Revival, both on the theological left and right, and how we might better understand this revival, and whether or not it is of the Spirit of God.
Our life is relatively good. Yet, we feel we are stuck on a hamster wheel. Life develops a rhythm and pace that can be predictable, boring, and stagnant feeling. We can feel like we are suffocating, trapped, where one day feels like the next, and tomorrow never comes. Life begins to take on Bill Murray’s “Groundhog Day” sorta feeling.
So the question is, what do we do about that? We feel like we are stuck in a rut and we want out. I’ve talked about this issue previously in podcast episode #57. And while this podcast shares some overlap with this one from several years ago, I believe I have something more to say on this issue than I did several years ago.
First, I think we need to acknowledge this is perfectly natural and good situation to find ourselves in.
If your life feels this way sometimes, it’s probably because you are a person of character, living a life of integrity, and you are surrounded by people that love you, and rely on you. You probably even have experienced some measure of success. And I think we often lose sight of this, because it’s what we experience day in and day out, and we take it for granted. But chances are, our life, even as much of a rut as we might find ourselves in, is often more beautiful than we’d regularly acknowledge.
We should never look with disdain or contempt upon such a life. It’s something in many ways to be celebrated, and we should learn to be thankful for the lot we have in life.
But in saying that, I think we all need the occasional shake up. While we should be content with our lot in life, we are creatures created in the image of God, and have so much untapped potential in our lives that God wants to work through to make something awesome in this world.
In the Bible we read that God created the world and placed mankind in a garden so that they could tend that garden, and to cause the world around us to flourish with life. As such, I believe we need to embrace a “growth mindset,” whereby we always find ourselves wading into uncharted waters, stretching ourselves, learning, trying new things, and challenging ourselves to do things we didn’t think we could previously do.
I know, that sounds like a cliché. And in many ways, it is. But I think there’s a lot of truth behind it this well worn cliché. And there’s something more I want to add to this idea than I think you usually hear. I want to go a bit beyond the simple pitch you usually hear from self-help gurus and gym bros on YouTube.
When we were kids many of us were often told, “You can be anything you want to be when you grow up.” This was told to us by an adult, of course, who knew better. In truth, you can’t be anything you want in the world when you grow up, and we eventually all learn that.
That was a nice childhood myth used to hopefully motivate us to be curious creatures that tested the limits of what we are made of, to explore the world, and to do whatever we could to make a dent in the universe. Of course, we eventually learn about the limits of what we actually can do. While we are created in the image and likeness of God, we can’t do everything because we aren’t God. There are limits, and we learn those limits through the discovery of trial and error, and not the self-imposed limits we or others place on ourselves.
Unfortunately though, I think too often in life we place limits on ourselves, and in the process, choke out the potential God placed inside each and everyone one of us. And once that happens, then we enter into a self-fulfilling prophecy, where we no longer look at the world as a place of wonder, and full of opportunity. We no longer grow, we no longer stretch ourselves, we no longer seek to discover new things. Instead, we settle, and declare that “This is all that there is!” and become like bears prepared for a long winter hibernation.
And once this happens, we will find ourselves in a rut.
So, how do you escape that rut?
I believe it’s to go back to the child like wonder we had once upon a time. Jesus talked about things like this when it comes to our salvation, such as becoming “born again,” and becoming like a child to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Such I think applies not only to our salvation, but simply our way of life and mode of being. We must become born again, and in many things we must become like children.
Such involves shifting our mindset and the way we see the world and our place in it. It’s about growing, exploring, stretching, and trying new things, whereby we live in such a way that we invite the gift of surprise into our lives.
Which is perhaps the chief characteristic that defines our life when we are stuck in a rut. When our life is in a rut, like in Bill Murray’s “Groundhog Day,” we find there’s zero room for surprise. Every day is the same and tomorrow never comes. Which is the exact opposite of childhood. Most children never feel anything resembling the rut we usually find ourselves trapped in once we enter the middle stages of our lives.
And why? Because things are always changing for them. They are bombarded with new things all the time. So much so that we all know the wonder a small child often has over the box their birthday or Christmas gifts are placed in more than the actual gift inside the box. That child like surprise is something they only experience because just about everything they experience every single day is new to them, and we marvel over that, and post cute videos of fat babies laughing online, but we fail to learn anything in the process.
I think we often get in a rut because we have stopped growing, we’ve stopped exploring, and we’ve stopped going on quests that allow for surprise to enter our life.
Of course, lest I sound naïve, we will never fully recapture the newness of experiencing the world like we did in childhood. But, it’s a path of life we can continue down, a road which many of us have long since abandoned.
Practically speaking, you’ll have to make some plans and take some steps. You’ll even have to take some leaps in the dark, into worlds unknown where the outcome is not certain. You’ll have to try things you used to say “never” to, and maybe even revisit things you said “never again” to.
I know in my own life, feeling like being in something of a rut after my divorce, I decided to challenge myself to new things, and to revisit things I considered no longer a part of my life, or impossible to do again. So I started on a quest.
I volunteered for additional ministries at church. I started going to the gym and lifting weights, and watching what I eat. Never having gone on a cruise before, and having no desire to do so, I decided to take a cruise to the Bahamas. I have explored a new sense of style. I have reconnected with numerous childhood friends. I’ve interjected myself into new social situations and made a lot of new friends. I started playing ice hockey again at 40 years old, after having not played since I was in high school.
And the list could go on and on.
I also have a lot of things that I’m considering doing that I’ve yet to pull the trigger on, but am considering doing in the not too distant future depending on how some things pan out.
In doing this, my life has been full of surprise and wonder. I’m enjoying my life, becoming a greater blessing to others, and otherwise feel like I’m flourishing. And along the way, I keep being amazed with a sense of wonder at what God is doing in my life, and the little things He’s allowing me to experience and accomplish.
Is my life perfect? No. Are there still a lot of “normal” routine sorta things? Of course. On most days I get up, and drink the same cup of coffee, go to the same job, eat the same meals, talk to the same people, and go to bed at the same time just about every day of the week.
My life likely won’t be free of these things anytime soon, and I don’t wish them to be. They are good and wonderful and blessed, and serve as the foundation of my flourishing. These are wonderful and healthy things to have, and we should be thankful for these things.
But so far as it depends on us, and so far as we are capable, we need to occasionally get up, go outside, and poke a sleeping bear.
We need to try something for the sake of trying something new, even if we are skeptical about our interest level, or our abilities to outrun a startled bear. The outcome may actually surprise us. But one thing is for sure, we won’t likely find ourselves in a rut.
Recently a YouTube content producer named Mr. Beast paid for the eye surgery of over 1,000 blind people so that they could see again, and then gave them a briefcase filled with $10,000 cash on top of it! All of this was filmed and condensed to a 8 minute video on YouTube, which has gained global attention. To date the video has over 84 million downloads after just 6 days of appearing on his channel.
If you don’t know who Mr. Beast is, he’s a 24 year old man from North Carolina, named Jimmy Donaldson, and of the most popular YouTube producers in the world, with over 130 million subscribers to his channels. On YouTube, Mr. Beast often engages in elaborate acts of charity that he records on video, and then publishes. His giveaways are the sort of thing Oprah used to do on her show, but even more elaborate.
Mr. Beast’s videos get hundreds of millions of views, and as a result, he’s estimated to have a net worth of over $100 million dollars as a result of the ad revenue and sponsorship deals he lands. And the more he makes, the bigger his performative acts of charity become.
What Mr. Beast is doing is pretty impressive. But it’s not exactly new. For decades performative acts of charity have existed, and entire TV shows have been built around it. Whether it was Oprah giving away cars to her audience, or Ty Pennington and his Extreme Makeover Home Edition show, there’s always been TV shows at which charity was done as a form of entertainment.
Corporations and local mom and pop businesses often engage in these sorta behaviors too, for some good PR. Whether it’s a bank donating millions to help fund housing for disabled veterans, a local roof company giving someone a free roof, or just a church handing some social organization a giant check for some greater cause, these acts are often accompanied with cameras rolling so that others can take note.
Heck, once I even remember seeing a documentary about North Korea, who invited the organization, Doctors Without Boarders, to come perform eye surgery for some blind people in their country. And they were sure to record the people crying once they realized they could see again, and those people then showing overwhelming gratitude to their “fearless leader” for healing their blindness.
As awesome as these things can be, there’s been some criticisms of Mr. Beast, and others who engage in such activities. Some call this behavior tacky and tasteless “charity porn,” and critique the exploitative nature of it all, where people like him (as well as corporations and mom and pop businesses) often make a profit from their acts of charity. While Mr. Beast has claimed to lose over a million bucks on each video he makes, that’s clearly some fuzzy math, and something of a lie, as the only people who can claim to lose millions of dollars on a regular basis are people who have made many millions more.
Others say that things like this are ultimately a good thing, as it raises social awareness to much larger problems, and how we need to cultivate larger systemic reforms in order to make such acts of charity unnecessary. Others simply dismiss the criticism as people being jealous “haters.” And let’s not ignore the fact that Mr. Beast (and others like him) are actually changing the lives of real people in very profound ways that will make a tangible difference in their lives.
Perhaps things like this are just a good way of doing charity. Turn charity into a profitable and sustainable business model that can keep changing folks lives. Maybe we shouldn’t hate the player, but maybe we should just hate the game? We live in a capitalist sorta based society, and if you can turn charity into a profitable venture, it seems hard to hate on something that’s producing tangible real world results within the economic system we have. Maybe guys like Mr. Beast aren’t exploiting people so much as the realities of the economic system we are all operating in?
After all, none of us would critique other YouTube stars and social media influencers who make millions from promoting nothing but stupid products and services they want to sell you, and then turning around and living the most crass lifestyle possible. Right? So, why critique a social media influencer who is using their fame for doing good and getting rich in the process? That seems infinitely better than what the Kardashians are doing with their fame.
But in saying a this, listening to both sides on this issue, I can’t help but hear the echoes of Jesus making their way into this phenomenon. It’s something I’ve heard time and time again from the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus addresses this very sort of issue in a way that I think cuts through the messy arguments we often get in over the performative charity that many often engage in.
Jesus critiqued the religious leaders of his day for their performative charity. In part of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:1-5) Jesus said:
1 Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
3 “But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.-Matthew 6:1-5 (NASB)
Jesus ultimately paints this performative charity gig as a trade off and an exposure of what our hearts are ultimately after. Sure, you can do these acts of charity for fame and fortune. But, you might be missing something more important. If you get rich in the process, that’s yours to make do with. But what is more important to you, to be rewarded by men for your charitable deeds, or to be rewarded by God? What’s your heart really after.
Because if you want the rewards of this world in full, Jesus says you can have them. But what is of greater importance to you? Man’s rewards or God’s?
Jesus said when help others, don’t put on a good show for it. It might be good for your reputation and your business. But true giving is sacrificial and silent. It doesn’t stick a camera in someone’s face, and it doesn’t toot its’ own horn for others to hear about. It’s done in such a way that the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing.
And while you might actually do tangibly good things for the people you help in the process, Jesus sees something in performative charity that comes with a certain taint, and ultimately exposes something fundamentally broken about the orientation of our hearts in doing such.
So much so that it brings into question, in the mind of Christ, exactly how much good is really being done by people who exploit others to their own benefit, even when that good brings about some very tangible benefits to that person. And while it might in many ways be a net good for that person, something is ultimately something that is out of step with what Jesus is doing in the kingdom of God.
In conclusion, I feel it’s hard to be super black and white about the performative charity that guys like Mr. Beast perform in return for fame and fortune. There’s definitely some uncomfortable shades of grey we are dealing with here. And while I don’t think such actions in and of themselves are evil, and good is clearly being done that’s very difficult to seriously critique, I can’t help but escape the shots that Jesus fired, that calls such actions into serious question.
There’s a great joke that says, “The greatest miracle ever recorded in the Bible that nobody ever talks about is that Jesus Christ had 12 close friends in his 30’s.”
Today, that definitely seems a bit odd in our culture. A culture in which there is a friendship famine that persists throughout western culture, including in the church.
According to research by the Survey Center on American Life:
“Many Americans do not have a large number of close friends. Close to half (49 percent) of Americans report having three or fewer. More than one-third (36 percent) of Americans report having several close friends—between four and nine. Thirteen percent of Americans say they have 10 or more close friends, which is roughly the same proportion of the public that has no close friends (12 percent).
The number of close friendships Americans have appears to have declined considerably over the past several decades. In 1990, less than one-third (27 percent) said they had three or fewer close friends, while about as many (33 percent) reported having 10 or more close friends.[7] Only 3 percent said they did not have any close friends.”
Most Americans report having a best friend. Nearly six in 10 (59 percent) Americans say they have one person they consider their best friend. Forty percent say they do not. …
However, fewer Americans have a best friend today than they once did. In 1990, three-quarters (75 percent) of Americans reported having a best friend, a dramatic decline over the past three decades.”
Less than half of men report being satisfied with their friendships, and only about 1 in 5 said they had received emotional support from a friend in the last week, compared with 4 in 10 women.
According to psychologists, increasingly men turn to their romantic partners for their sense of friendship. But this can be dangerous for both the partners.
“It may seem like a good solution, but it works neither for the men nor the women they look to… Putting everything on a romantic partner can strain a relationship, he said, whether it is going to a female partner exclusively for emotional support or depending on her to cultivate friendships and get-togethers for holidays and weekends. It is crucial to have multiple people to go to for support for different perspectives….”
I can personally relate to this. In much of my 20’s I had a pretty healthy friend group. I was pretty successful socially, and never lacked someone to hangout with.
Then I moved across town, got married, and then COVID happened. All of this put a great strain on a lot of my friendships, and many of them pretty much withered up and died. Then when my world was rocked when my ex and I decided to get a divorce, I was very close to deciding to simply leave North Carolina, and to move back to Virginia to be with my parents and start life over from up there.
But I quickly had a change of heart, as suddenly news of my divorce sent shockwaves through my social circles. People saw me suffering and wanted to help. And friendships that had withered over the years suddenly began to flourish again, and those with whom I only had become casual acquaintances with suddenly became good friends.
So what can we do to make friends as adults?
I recommend getting a divorce! (Kidding)
Well, pretty much the same things we did as kids. As children we were all pretty much tossed onto a giant playground together, we were forced to socialize in close proximity to others, and we eventually connected with those who we deemed the most likable. Unfortunately as we get older, our sense of community has become eroded in our culture, and the 9 to 5 grind that most people engage in (especially when spouses and kids enter the picture), make it very difficult to form new friendships. We might make friends with the parents of our kids. But sometimes many fail to do that, especially as the kids get older, and less dependent.
7 Keys To Making Friends As An Adult1. Be intentional— it seldom happens by accident. You have to put yourself out there.
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Find an existing community of something that interests you , and get involved with that. Whenever possible, volunteer to help out. And if such a community doesn’t already exist where you are located– try starting something up yourself.
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Invite others to participate in whatever mutual activities you both enjoy. You’ll often have to stand shoulder to shoulder with someone before you can sit across from each other and look someone in the eye.
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Eat and drink something together, at a table! As I’ve stressed throughout this podcast, there are few things more fundamentally human, and few things more spiritual, than sharing a common meal together. This is true not only in religious practices, but just as a function of what it means to be human.
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Open up with others. Be authentic, be vulnerable, take the risk, share your heart, share your mind.
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Be patient. Some of us, depending on our personality type, will make friends easier than others. But regardless of your personality, making friends takes intentional effort, time, energy, and investment. Most friendships seldom strike up over night, and like a plant, often takes time before anything meaningful grows.
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Practice love and forgiveness. At some point if you care about someone long enough, you both will get on each others nerves. Mole hills can become mountains, and for friendships to thrive in the long term, you are going to have to learn to truly love others, and practice the art of forgiveness.
I believe the long lost art of letter writing can teach us a valuable lesson in how to live our lives. Letter writing is something that is seldom practiced these days. If you are like me, you probably can’t remember the last time you received or wrote a personal letter in the mail. Letter writing has been replaced by text messages, social media, and e-mail.
Yet for all these forms of communication and as great as they can be, I think there’s something unique conveyed through letter writing that makes this seemingly ancient form of communication particularly profound and powerful.
In this podcast, I look at 2 Corinthians 3:1-3, and how letter writing informed the ministry of the apostle Paul and the type of life he lived, and encouraged other people to live as well.
In order to a letter to be profound and powerful, it requires the writer to have a degree of openness and vulnerability about what they communicate from their life, and ultimately, a sense of transparency. Otherwise, the letter is a wasted form of communication, that becomes nothing more than some form of vague spam.
The apostle Paul lived such a life, and I believe we too must be willing to live our lives marked by a degree of openness, to be specific about good times and bad times, and to be vulnerable with others. And if Jesus is alive and working in our lives, I believe our lives will become something of a “living epistle” for others to read, that communicates something of the gospel message in what we have to share in our lives, as Christ lives through us in a very tangible way.
Our lives should ultimately become a letter for others to read.
The phrase “gaslighting” owes its origins to a movie made in 1944 entitled “Gaslight,” featuring Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, and Angela Lansbury. In this psychologically suspenseful movie, a controlling and manipulative husband gradually isolates his wife from social circles, causing her to doubt her memory, perception of reality, and causes her to gradually lose her mind.
In today’s podcast, I sit down and talk with Christiaan Funkhouser, who uses this movie to explain the social phenomenon of gaslighting, how you can recognize it when it happens to you, and what can be done to combat individuals in your life that you believe are trying to gaslight you.
Additionally, Funkhouser shares his own experiences of gaslighting in the context of corporate America, in addition to gaslighting experiences he suffered as a minister in a church.
Gaslighting Definition (Per Urban Dictionary) A form of intimidation or psychological abuse, sometimes called “Ambient Abuse” where false information is presented to the victim, making them doubt their own memory, perception and quite often, their sanity. The classic example of gaslighting is to switch something around on someone that you know they’re sure to notice, but then deny knowing anything about it, and to explain that they “must be imagining things” when they challenge these changes. * A more psychological definition of gaslighting is “an increasing frequency of systematically withholding factual information from, and/or providing false information to, the victim – having the gradual effect of making them anxious, confused, and less able to trust their own memory and perception.” + Example*: Your spouse begins telling you things that never really happened. For instance, he says that last week he told you he was going to go to the bar with his buddies this Monday night, but you never remember him telling you that.
Interview: About Christiaan FunkhouserChristiaan FunkhouserChristiaan Funkhouser is a former pastor, philosopher, and theologian by day, and a writer and gamer at night! Christiaan has his M.Div in Christian Education and his bachelor’s in Political science and all of that merges for some interesting content on his blog www.funkhouser.io where you can find his musing on philosophy, theology, and pop culture. On social media and everywhere else you can find him as @MrFunkhouser
There is a pretty startling quote that I’ve heard attributed to Martin Luther, St. Augustine, and others over the years: “The Church is a whore, but she is my mother.”
Whoever said this is not of particular interest. Maybe those more scholarly than me can track it down. But the sentiment of the phrase, is of particular interest.
There are those who would object to this saying on theological grounds, and who would caution us against ever speaking about the Bride of Christ in such terms. After all, the church consists of the redeemed that Christ has purchased with His own blood, whose sins have been washed away, and whose spots have been made white as snow. And this is an exhortation I think we would do well to keep in the back of our minds. It is a great theological truth.
But, then there’s the rest of us who are looking with our own eyes at the reality of the world we exist in. If you’ve lived long enough as a Christian involved in the life of the church, you’ve definitely not only seen some junk, but you’ve probably had direct experience with it yourself. Not only possibly being a perpetrator of misdeeds against others, but being a victim of the same.
Experience can be a great challenge to our theology. Especially when those experiences involve hurt and pain. The book of Job was written to this end.
My experience in the church, particularly in the Pentecostal and Evangelical wings I’ve associated with for the past 20 some odd years, has been very mixed. I’ve seen and experienced some tremendously amazing and good things, but I’ve also seen some terrible.
Among the terrible behaviors: Sexual abuse. People clamoring for power and prestige. Dirty political entanglements. Conspiracy theorists. Nepotism and “all boys club” mentalities. Money hungry preachers. Narcissists. Corrupt leaders. Church splits. Manipulation and control. Fear mongering. Scandals. Hypocrisy. Racism and other types of phobias. Absurd legalisms. Holier than thou mentalities. Lasciviousness. Sunday Christians.
Among the great behaviors: Outstanding acts of love and kindness. People with the hearts of a servant. Deeply sacrificial people who will stop everything they are doing to help you. People who genuinely love Jesus and others. Other worldly people of whom the world is not worthy. Amazing story tellers and communicators. A people that love the poor and marginalized. Humble people who aren’t looking for any recognition.
And the list could go on and on for both sides.
Yet I have a feeling that most of us focus on the negative. Especially in the context of social media. There are a million and one people out there always ready to dump on the church, and tell you what’s wrong with her.
And as someone who has experienced my share of grievances with the church firsthand, I get it. Especially when churches aren’t willing to own up to their sins, to quietly sweep things under the rug, to double down on bad behavior and toxic mindsets, to defend the indefensible, and to perpetuate the very things it should condemn.
Is it no wonder there’s been a massive exodus from organized religion and Christianity in the past few decades? Is it no wonder we have so many people going through what has been labeled, “The Great Deconstruction,” by individuals like Brad Jersak.
People hear the theology and the platitudes, but like Job listening to his friends, that theology doesn’t seem to add up to what they’ve experienced. So, who wants to be part of and identify with a group of people like the church, where there’s this great corporate cognitive dissonance going on? When 2 + 2 doesn’t equal 4, we naturally become suspicious.
And it gets even worse when your suspicions are confirmed– when you discover your mother is a whore. That’s some pretty heavy stuff. She’s a woman engaged in certain behaviors that not only do you not approve of, but that come with a certain reputation around town. People talk about her, and you know of the rumors and whisperings. And worst of all, you know they are true. Very true indeed.
Which of course, breaks your heart, and causes you to feel disillusioned. It makes you have deep conflicting emotions about your mom.
I saw this growing up in a household that took in foster kids. The kids, especially the older ones, really struggled with the fact that their parents were often people of the worst kind. And for those who held onto hope of being reunited with their parents, there was a lot of conflict within them. Yet in spite of all that had transpired in their lives and their parents, they often still had a deep abiding sense of love for their mom and dad.
Which raises me to my ultimate point for today’s podcast. The Church… do you love her? Do you love the church even when she’s a whore?
Yes, sometimes when dysfunction exists of the worst kinds, it might be necessary to draw up some very firm boundaries between people, that keeps them at a distance for a while. So, I get that so many people feel the need to create some distance between themselves and the church, and to no longer darken her doors.
But my question again is, in spite of the church behaving like a whore… Do you still love her? And genuinely so?
I can’t speak for you, but I can speak for me. And all I can say is… I get it.
The church isn’t always this wonderful safe space that’s committed to the thriving of humanity and helping make people more and more like Jesus. Sometimes she shoots herself in the foot and then wants to shoot you in the foot too.
But is there this thing deep within you that says… Yeah, she’s awful, she’s a whore, but I love her anyway?
That’s where I’ve been for a long time myself. I went through a deep crisis of faith before and got burned by the church. And in spite of all the abuse at her hands, all the dysfunction, and all the terrible stuff, I kept longing for her anyway.
I love the church in spite of all the ugly, because ultimately, I feel deep within my heart that Jesus loves her too.
And ultimately, I found myself inexplicably drawn to her yet again. I want her to be the bride that’s been prepared for her groom. A bride that is pure, adorned, and beautiful. And I stick around, tethered to an unshakable dream that Christ holds out for her, and as someone that wants to help make that dream a reality.
The church is a whore, but she is my mother, and I’m going to love her anyway.
A common adage and proverb says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But it’s a saying that’s full of bologna. We use this adage to impose limitations on ourselves, to maintain the status quo, to feel comfortable with our mediocre state, and to hold ourselves back. It’s an excuse to give up without even trying. The fact of the matter is you can teach an old dog new tricks. And with the New Year being just around the corner, with everyone making all sorts of resolutions, you might be thinking about implementing some changes and new tricks in your own life.
Training Old Dogs To Do New TricksBut before we get into the New Year’s resolution stuff, here’s a few articles to support the notion that you can in fact teach an old dog new tricks:
- How To Teach An Old Dog New Tricks
- Can you teach an old dog new tricks? With these 10 tips you can!
Both of these articles show that it’s indeed possible to teach an old dog new tricks. Teaching an old dog new tricks might not be an easy thing to do, but it is possible. The articles suggest that if you want to teach an old dog new tricks, you need to make sure the dog focused; be patient with the dog, to pay attention to the dog’s body language for signs of exhaustion; to make training sessions short; use a lot of positive reinforcement to reward the desired behavior; to make training as simple as possible; to make a commitment to follow through with training; and to be consistent with your training.
I’m no doggy psychologist, nor human psychologist, but these basic ideas about how to train a dog sounds a lot like how we all learn things as human beings. So, if you want to move into the new year and to build a new you, take some tips from training old dogs on how to do new tricks, and incorporate them into whatever you are doing right now.
Willpower Is Not EnoughBut with that said, I think before we can move on with making a better version of ourselves, we need to engage in some self examination and reflection.
What sort of life do you want to build for yourself? Whatever it is, you can’t move forward without knowing where you’ve come from. As we approach a new year, I have to say up front, I’m not a fan of making New Year’s Resolutions.
As I talked about previously in episode #132 of this podcast, 80% of New Year’s Resolutions will fail by February, and that’s because such resolutions are seldom built on anything more than willpower. And as important as some good old fashioned grit and determination can be, such is a bad basis for transforming your life. Real transformation comes out of values that bleed out of our heart and into minds and actions.
Taking Inventory Of Your LifeBut, instead of making New Year’s resolutions for the upcoming year, I do enjoy using this time of year to reflect on what I’ve done over the past year, to examine what I value, to take an inventory of my accomplishments, as well as my failures, and to dream about how I might build on and expand on this past year.
So, instead of making resolutions for the new year, I use this time of year to closely look at the past year, to examine what I’ve accomplished, to see where I’ve failed, and to see where I can improve. And I simply ask, do my actions align with what I value in my heart? If so, how can I better improve what I’m already doing, and if not, what do I need to cut out to better help myself? Let me engage in a little mental exercise here.
Personally speaking, this past year has been a tremendous one for me, and I accomplished a lot.
I turned 40. I finalized my divorce and have finally healed from the season of grief I walked through. I went on some dates, and while I didn’t end up in a relationship with anyone, I can say I tried and ultimately opened my heart to someone… although I got shot down.
I moved… again. I completed a four year rotation in my church’s high school youth ministry. I partnered with a friend to start a small men’s group at my church. I got a passport, and went on my first ever cruise to the Bahamas. I continued to grow my friendships. I joined a gym and started lifting weights, and have been doing such more than at any point in my life. And after 22 years away from the sport that I loved growing up, I started to play ice hockey again.
But for all that I accomplished, I also had some failures.
As I mentioned in my accomplishments… I got a divorce. And while I’m glad to have my prior marriage behind me, it’s ultimately a failure at the end of the day. I wasn’t as financially responsible as I could have been, especially as I spent money on things associated with my divorce and building a new life. I tried to buy a house, but failed to do so, and so I’m still renting.
At the start of the year before I started working out, I lost some weight, only to regain it all by summer… so I had the joys of starting over… AGAIN. Although I went on a lot of dates from women I met online, I failed to go on a date with someone I met “the old fashioned way.” While I read several books this past year, I didn’t read nearly as much as I should have, as I watched far too much TV. I didn’t get a promotion or a raise, although given the current environment in my industry, I’m lucky to still have a job as I saw countless people lose their job to to issues in the real estate market.
ConclusionSo… that was a pretty fun little mental exercise. And it’s something I think we should all try to engage in at this time of year. Don’t just think about what you’ve accomplished (or not accomplished)… actually write it down. You probably already do something like this at work, when your boss does an annual review. So, why not do it for your actual life?
Now that I’ve written down my accomplishments and failures, I can ask of each… is this something I can do more or less of? Something I can better improve? Something I can use for momentum and to build on? Or was it a one and done event? And if it was a one and done event, what can I take away from that event and carry with me into the future? Or is there something about that event I just want to shake the dust off from my feet and move on? If so, how? And how do my actions align with my values?
Ultimately, at the end of the day, I recognize that I still have a lot of room to grow. And, if I want to further advance in my life, I need to recognize that this old dog still needs to learn some new tricks.
There is some controversy circulating this year as to whether or not churches should gather together for worship Christmas Day, which happens to fall on a Sunday. Some churches are meeting, others are not. How should the church think about this issue? Lucky for you, in this podcast, I have the correct answer.
But, before we get into the controversy about the church gathering together for worship on Christmas Sunday this year, I want to explore some of the controversial miracles of Jesus as a sort of overarching backdrop for this topic.
Jesus’s Controversial Holiday PracticeYes, you heard me right. Believe it or not, the healing miracles Jesus sometimes performed were controversial, got Him in trouble, and ultimately was a contributing factor in why He was ultimately arrested and killed.
Which sounds bizarre when you say such a thing out loud.
But if you study the gospels, you’ll find out that Jesus would sometimes heal someone on a sabbath day. This was seen as wildly controversial, because the Jewish sabbath day was a day of rest in which you were supposed to cease from all your labors. You were forbidden from doing anything that could remotely be construed as work. There was a limited number of steps you were allowed to take in a day, you couldn’t cook anything, and even moving a chair across a room could be considered a sin.
Violating the sabbath was a big deal, it was a capital offense, and could result in you being killed as punishment for failing to keep the sabbath day holy, as prescribed in the Ten Commandments given through Moses.
So when Jesus healed people on a sabbath day, the Jewish leaders of Jesus’s day got a bit upset at him. They told him healing others was considered work, and He should do his healing on the other 6 days of the week, because the sabbath was a day of rest, set aside for God, and not a day to do any work.
Jesus was astonished at the blindness the religious leaders of his day had regarding their understanding of the sabbath. He said they got it all backwards. Sabbath, Jesus taught, was created for man, not man for the sabbath.
That is, the religious tradition God gave the Israelites was for their own good. It was a day that was supposed to liberate them, not a day in which they should be shackled. It was a day God gave them for life, and there was nothing more life giving than performing miracles on a sabbath day.
But, as people hell bent on strict adherence to religious traditions and customs, the leaders of Jesus’s day didn’t see things that way. The sabbath was an end unto itself. Any benefits to the day were secondary considerations to them.
Christmas Is For UsSo, why do I share this story as we head into Christmas? Because I’ve noticed in the past few weeks that there’s been a bit of controversy online and in some churches about whether or not churches should gather together for worship this Sunday, because this Sunday happens to fall on Christmas Day.
Some churches will be open, some will not. Both have their reasons, good and bad, for not being open this Sunday. And I personally support the decision of all churches in this regard. Let them do as they see best for their own congregations.
There’s nothing in the Bible that requires Christians to celebrate Christmas, nor is there anything in the Bible that even requires us to “go to church,” every Sunday. All of these things are perfectly good practices. But they aren’t essential to Christianity or the life of the church. These aren’t traditions required of us anywhere in Scripture, and were traditions that arose long after the apostles had died.
Nevertheless, here we are, with a Christianity that celebrates Christmas as a holiday, and frequently meets on Sunday mornings.
So should we do both together this year? Some say yes, it’s our religious tradition to do so. The church is open every Sunday, and should be especially open on Christmas Day of all days. Others say no, because Christmas is ultimately a day for families to spend time together, and that such can also be unfair to the families of people who are on staff at a church, who already frequently sacrificing their families lives for the church.
Which answer is correct here? How should the church handle this situation? Which argument is best? Well, Biblically speaking, both responses are perfectly reasonable. Whether or not the church gathers for worship on this Christmas Sunday, such is a decision they are free to make on their own, without the need to apologize for it.
Christian Liberty For Holy-Day ObservationsI believe we all have liberty in Christ to be flexible regarding these things. As Paul says in Romans 14, we aren’t supposed to pass judgment on each other over such things. Some people have faith they can eat all things, others not. Some people regard some days as holy, and others regard all days as the same. Paul says to each their own in regard to such things, just make sure whatever you do that you do your own thing as unto the Lord, and give thanks for whatever you do, without passing judgment on others over it.
These are matters of Christian liberty. Do whatever you feel is best, and be happy and thankful over it without casting judgement on others for what they do.
Yet, we get exactly the opposite. We have people taking sides, drawing lines in the sand, and taking shots at one another. And some have gone so far as to use whether or not you gather together for worship as an acid test as to whether you are really a Christian or really going to a church that is spiritually healthy. People are encouraging people to leave their churches over whether or not they gather together on Christmas Sunday.
If this is you, congratulations, you are of the same shackled religion of the Jewish leaders that told Jesus it was a sin for Him to heal on a sabbath day! You’ve failed to learn what it means when Jesus said that sabbath was created for man instead of man for the sabbath. Instead, you are interested in shackling someone to your crippled practices and backwards way of looking at the things of God. Your religion isn’t a life giving thing, instead it perpetuates death wherever it exists. It would rather men getting their healing on 6 other days if the week.
And what’s particularly gruesome about such, is at least the Jewish leaders had a reasonable Biblical argument. God commanded through Moses the strict observation of the sabbath day, under penalty of death. Whereas we are under no such command regarding sabbath observation, let alone how to handle Christmas Day celebrations that fall on Sunday.
Yet, as Jesus pointed out, the religious leaders of his day failed to understand what Moses taught. And so it is today. We simply don’t understand. We’d rather have conformity to our own man made traditions and sense of spirituality, instead of walking in the actual ways of Jesus, and the teachings of his apostles.
Conclusion About Christmas Sunday ObservationSo, this Christmas Sunday, whether or not your church is gathering for worship, shutting everything down, or something in between, all I can say is, good for you. I hope you have a fantastic time just the same, and that God blesses your celebrations, however you choose to celebrate.
But whatever you do, do it as unto the Lord, don’t pass judgment on those who don’t adhere to the same practice, and let your religious traditions be a life giving thing that celebrates Jesus making men whole.
A lot of churches are popular for their “worship experiences,” that is, these highly produced religious performances and spectacles on Sunday mornings. Great worship music and great preaching are their trade. But how many of these churches are known for their legendary potlucks?
In today’s podcast, I look at Acts 2:42 where it says , ““They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.” This wasn’t by accident. This was on purpose.
Central to the New Testament experience of church, was not only a time devoted to the messages that that the apostles were preaching, but to sharing a common meal together. And by a common meal, I don’t mean that lunchable sized snack pack that a lot of churches preside over. I mean the deeply personal experience of actually sitting down at a table together, and the breaking of bread.
As the church, we’ve majored in the super star preachers that can pack auditoriums and to give people their quick religious fix on a Sunday morning. But the deeper religious experience in which Jesus becomes present is ultimately to be found over a commonly shared meal together.
Be sure to listen to today’s podcast as I talk further about the idea of a church that eats together being crucial to the life and ministry of that church, and God’s ultimate means of changing the world.
What if our purpose in life has less to do with what we think we are called “to do" by God, and more about the type of person we are becoming? In this podcast, I explore this question. So if you feel God's called you to some sort of ministry or occupation, you'll want to listen to this...
Online dating apps are transforming and ruining the dating scene in our society. In this podcast, I share my personal online dating war stories, how online dating can be destructive, and provide helpful tips for success at dating online.
What's it like being "single again" at 40? Like NFL superstar quarterback Tom Brady, I too found myself recently divorced and single again at 40. In this podcast, I talk about the unique challenges and blessings associated with being single again...
Ted Talks, preachers, pundits, and people on social media. There are many people with competing voices trying to get their message out. In this podcast, I look at the life and ministry of John the Baptist, and make the case for why something more than just another talking head is needed...
What does it mean to be a man? Are men different from women, and if so, how? And is masculinity toxic? In this podcast, I have a discussion about what a man is, and how Jesus and John Wayne factor into this discussion...
Going through a divorce was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Yet in spite of the grief that overcame me and the darkness that surrounded me, I was able to find joy, and to live again. In this podcast I talk about my journey, my struggles, and how I fought for my life, not only so I could live, but thrive...
In this podcast, I challenge the tired cliché that says "Christianity isn't a religion, it's a relationship." I believe this sentiment to intellectually shallow, pseudo-spiritual, and a dangerous half truth. Christianity is a relationship, but it's also a religion, and we should not be afraid to label it as such...
Churches have become increasingly divided over politics. Trump and Biden supporters no longer feel they can worship Jesus together. In this podcast, I talk about how our theology ought to challenge our increasingly politically polarized world...
Are you an actual Christian, or simply a "cultural Christian?" Living in a nation with millions of other Christians, it might be easy to think you are a follower of Jesus, but in truth, you might not be. In this podcast, I explore 7 different issues that might serve as a signal that you are only a cultural Christian, and not actually following Jesus...
In responding to the popular "quiet quitting" trend in our culture, some people are also talking about the "quiet firing" phenomenon common in corporate America. In today's podcast, I talk about the jerk bosses that engage in this practice, why they do it, and why it's as bad as quiet quitting...
"Quiet quitting" is a a popular topic trending on places like LinkedIn and TikTok lately. It's a movement where people strive to create healthy "work life" boundaries, and say "no" to things like overtime, special projects, and going "above and beyond" their job description. In this podcast, I talk about this trend, and why I believe it's not only a bad philosophy of work, but a bad way to live your life...
Is President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness program in keeping with the ways of Jesus? And, is it even actually needed? My straight forward answer is "no," and this podcast, I provide 3 reasons why I don't support this program...
Far from being a kill joy that wants to rob us of fun with a bunch of "THOU SHALT NOT" commandments, I believe the teachings of Jesus are grounded in "THOU SHALT LOVE," and are designed to lead us to an abundant life in a land flowing with milk and honey. In today's podcast...
I went to Bible College and seminary, but I never went into "the ministry." Lately, I've had a lot of people ask me why. In this podcast, I sit down to talk about my sense of calling to ministry, what that looks like in the New Testament, how it differs from how the church views ministry today, and what that ultimately meant for me as I answered God's call on my life...
Alex Jones is a crazy conspiracy theorist who was found guilty of defamation regarding things he said about the Sandy Hook school shooting. Yet for all his conspiracy theories, I believe Alex Jones is an object lesson that can teach us about the importance of loving truth...
A $1 billion lottery, a preacher getting robbed of $1 million in jewelry, the United States being in a recession, and Elon Musk are all cultural hot topics that I want to talk about in this podcast.
"Hockey is a young man's game" I have often told myself. Recently though, I recognized this as a lie, and a self-imposed limitation I had placed on myself. In truth, while playing hockey again at 40 comes with obvious risks, it's a risk that can be managed...
Why is President Joe Biden so strongly disliked by Americans and the Democrat Party, even though he received a record number of votes less than 2 years ago? In this podcast, I explore how our broken voting philosophies keep giving us politicians we so strongly dislike.
Recently the Supreme Court overturned the previously recognized right of a woman to have an abortion. And a lot of people are upset, but as it turns out, not as upset as one would expect. In this podcast, I look at the practical ramifications of this case, and why it ultimately doesn't really matter all that much (and why we know this to be the case).
I think we all have a yearning for a place to call our "forever home." Whether or not we get what we long for is another matter altogether. In this podcast, I talk about my journey, suddenly having to find a new place to live, and identifying with the Biblical patriarch Abraham, whose heart 's desire caused him to live the rest of his life out of a tent...
I've never gone on a solo vacation, and I've never been on a cruise. Recently, I decided to do both a solo vacation and a cruise! In this podcast I talk about my experiences on a Carnival Cruise to the Bahamas, and my subsequent battle with COVID-19.
"We don't have a gun problem, we have a heart problem." But is that actually the case? In light of the recent mass shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo, I question this common idea. I believe we ultimately have more than an a heart problem. We also have a gun problem...
What will hell be like? The idea of hell is something most people find objectionable. After all, how could a good and loving God send people to hell? Didn't Jesus pay the price for our sins and forgive us? In this podcast, I ask hard questions about hell, and attempt to provide a fresh insight into what hell is, and what it is not.
Recently on the way back home from the coffee shop just a couple miles from my house, I got lost. Twice. Each time I went down the right road, but in the wrong direction. As I reflected upon the experience, I felt this moment begin to speak to me. In this podcast, I wrestle with how this might speak to me, and perhaps how it could speak to you...
"I Kissed Dating Goodbye" by Josh Harris represented the height of "purity culture" in the Evangelical church. Its teachings, and some of its more extreme practices, have largely died. But with its death, what can the church look to say that speaks to the deepest longings of our hearts about human sexuality? In this podcast, I look to move beyond purity culture...
Do you believe in soulmates? Has the universe or God predestined you to be with just one special person? In this podcast, I explore the idea of a soulmate in our culture, and look at how the gift of marriage is better than the soulmate mythology...
Christianity has become really good at reducing the mystery of faith to magical formulas of mathematical exactitude. But, in trying to make everything so certain, we might just be destroying the faith we claim to ultimately believe in and preach. In this podcast, I talk about how we need a faith that's a little less certain...
"Are we there yet?" is a common question kids ask on long car trips. And why? They are bored and feel stuck. Sometimes our lives can feel that way. We get to a place where we simply feel stuck. In today's podcast, I talk about how we can navigate these moments of life where we don't feel like we are moving forward and are in a sort of holding pattern...
There can often be a stigma associated with going to therapy, especially in Evangelical Christian circles. In this podcast, I talk about how the skeptical attitude I had previously about seeing a psychologist has changed, and how it has personally helped me as I process my divorce, and the grief that consumed me...
There are signs of a housing "bubble" forming according to the U.S. Federal Reserve. In this podcast, I explore the reasons behind the bubble, whether or not there will be a housing crash like we saw in 2008, or what other scenarios we might see happen...
With the war between Ukraine and Russia waging, and possibly threatening a global nuclear war, it made me wonder if we've ever lived in a world without war, and if such a world is possible. In this podcast, I explore the history of war in the world, and share my hope and a vision for a world without war....
Lia Thomas is a transgender athlete in the NCAA. Her dominating recent swimming competitions has created quite the splash, as our culture debates the place of transgender athletes in sports. In today's podcast, I discuss our concept of what it means to be transgender, and challenge concepts on both sides of the divide...
We are hearing of "wars and rumors of wars" in the news. Russia's war with Ukraine has sparked apocalyptic concerns with some people. Some see these current events as having prophetic "end times" significance. In this podcast, we attempt to wrestle with apocalyptic prophecies in the Bible, and how we should (and should not) understand current world events in light of these prophecies.
Jesus said the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. Tough words. For, if we are being honest with ourselves, that commandment almost seems... annoying. Loving our neighbor is simply not something most of us intuitively want to do. In today's podcast, I talk about how we can better love our neighbor...
What does it mean to be a devout Christian? And how can you grow in your devotion to the Lord? And, what does that look like at a practical level? In this week's podcast, I explore the question of what the devotional life of a Christian truly is, and what it's not. The answer may surprise you.
Valentine's Day celebration is often symbolized by the image of Cupid, the ancient god of romantic desire. In this podcast, I examine the meaning of Cupid, and challenge the notions of love surrounding Cupid from a Christian perspective, and whether or not we should just kill Cupid off...
In church a preacher will often say "God is good..." to which the congregation will reply, "...all the time." And then the preacher will echo back "And all the time..." to which the congregation will respond "...God is good." In today's podcast, I look to explore the idea that God is fundamentally good, especially when the circumstances of our lives make us think God is not good.
We live in an age of competing platforms. Someone is always trying to be the loudest voice on Twitter, or write the best clickbait headline that captures everyone's attention. And in an age of cancel culture, this can be dangerous stuff. In this podcast, I talk about why instead of building a bigger platform for ourselves, I believe we need to focus on building a bigger table.
Betty White, Bob Saget, and Meat Loaf died this past moth. It's often pointed out that celebrities die in threes. In this podcast, I explore the phenomenon of celebrities dying in threes, and what that means for us...
Pentecostal Preacher T.D. Jakes "The Potters House" Denver church location recently closed to become an exclusively online church. This got me asking some questions about the way we do church, which is often built around the platform of a single charismatic preacher of one man with a band. In this podcast, I ask some questions about how we think about and do church....
Is God really on our side? Does God got our back in everything we do? And if God's not on our side, then whose side is God really on? In today's podcast, I talk with author Joshua Opperman about his latest book, which challenges the conventional wisdom that God's on our side...
What will you say on your deathbed, assuming you have the chance? In today's podcast, I want to examine the recent deathbed confession of a bank robber named Thomas Rendele, and how his confession can inform the way we live our lives.
I'm not a big fan of New Year's resolutions. 80% of people who make New Year's resolutions will fail. Why is this? In my latest podcast, I talk about how you can make meaningful changes in your life, that last longer than February...
The Christmas holiday season can be hard. Our sense of joy is threatened by things that grieve us. In my latest podcast, I talk about joy, how it differs from happiness, and how joy is a gift from God by which we can fight back against the dark forces that threaten our existence...
Santa has a "naughty or nice" list. We all fall on it somewhere, right? What does this list and Santa's classification of naughty and nice say about us and our ethical standards? And is a third category needed? In my latest podcast...
Christmas can be a hard time of year for many. There's the temptation to have an Ebenezer Scrooge "Bah Humbug" attitude about the holiday. In this podcast, I talk about why we need to embrace the Christmas season, just like we would any other season of life...
Being recently separated, I find myself in the awful predicament of cooking for one person. Cooking for one presents a number of challenges, and in this podcast, I provide some practical tips on cooking just for yourself.
Our true wealth isn't measured by the size of our bank accounts, but by the meaningful network of connections we make in life. In this podcast, I talk about the importance of the relationships we make, and how we can form deeper and richer community.
Sometimes we just don't feel like we measure up, and lack a personal sense of confidence. Where does confidence come from, and how can we become more confident? In this podcast, I talk about growing in confidence...
Why is the global supply chain broken, and how will this impact Christmas in 2021? And what are some practical alternative ways you can celebrate Christmas without any presents? In this podcast I explore these issues...
Do you have a favorite "life verse" in the Scripture, that really just seems to speak to you and comes to define your life? In today's podcast, I define what a life verse is, what one looks like, and how you can find a life verse. I also talk about my life verse, and how deeply it has impacted by life, and how it has helped me navigate the trials of life...
We all want to be happy, right? But what if the pursuit of happiness is a foolish quest? While we often seek out happiness, I think God calls us to seek out something better than happiness. In today's podcast, I talk about an alternative to the pursuit of happiness....
Since the Garden of Eden, we've all had this propensity to hide behind fig leaves. Living transparently, is not something we do all that well. In today's podcast, I talk about the need for us to live boldly, open, and transparent lives....
When dealing with grief, there is this temptation to reinterpret our joyful moments from the past in a negative light, and to permanently shut the door on something that was once a source of joy to us. In today's podcast, I talk about choosing to continue to remember the joyful moments of life for what they really were....
A discussion of the movie "The Eyes Of Tammy Faye," and the lessons the controversial ministry of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker offer contemporary Christianity.
When suffering profound loss, thinking and dreaming about the future is the furthest thing from your mind. In this week's podcast, I talk about how I'm facing my future, while living through hard times...
Recently my world was rocked when my wife of nearly 8 years told me she wanted to separate and get a divorce. In today's podcast, I talk about the spiritual and emotional journey I've been on, as I process this very unexpected event in my life...
"Now hiring!" signs are everywhere these days. Retail stores, restaurants, and those in the hospitality industry just can't find enough people to employ. They are getting desperate. So desperate, in fact, one retail manager tried to hire me and my wife, on the spot, while we were recently shopping....
Have you ever noticed that as you get older, while you may age on the outside, on the inside you still feel as young as you once were? In this podcast, I explore this phenomenon associated with aging, where we always feel young, even as our bodies age...
Libertarians commonly claim that taxation is theft! Liberals say that we are under a social contract that obligates us to pay taxes. In this podcast, I examine the philosophical roots of libertarian thought regarding taxation as theft, and compare this to classical liberalism, and democratic socialism. Finally I look at thoughts the Bible offers on taxation...
This month's hot topics: A man with 39 wives dies. Jeff Bezos is going to space! Corporate America loves LGBTQ+ people? Southern Baptists get together for their annual conference and elect a new pope!
What does it mean to be a father? In a world where fathers are often the butt of jokes and portrayed in a negative light, in this podcast I talk about the importance of fathers, and how we can be more fatherly, especially to those who lack strong father figures....
Do you blow friends off at the last moment? Are you regularly late to work? In an age where people tend to come and go as they please, what ever happened to the virtue of faithfulness? In this week's podcast, I look at the heart behind what faithfulness ultimately looks like...
Inflation is on the rise and everything is getting more expensive! So what can you do to deal with the cost of everything just going up? In today's podcast, I look at some practical financial tips you can utilize to help fight against the forces of inflation...
Hot topics up for discussion this month: Israel and Palestine Exchange Fire! The Apostle Paul Was A Double Agent? Summer Vacations Are Back! The Anniversary Of George Floyd's Murder. Guy Fieri Is Making Bank.
Marriage is forever, right? How would it make you feel if I told you that no marriage lasts forever? Would that make you upset, or would you breathe a sigh of relief? In today's podcast, I look at Jesus's teaching on the temporary nature of marriage, and how we will not be married in heaven or in the world to come...
God isn't as uptight as we often make Him out to be. Contrary to being a super demanding and overbearing cosmic power, we need to start seeing God as much more "chill." In today's podcast, I sit down with John Howey and talk about our common misconception of God, and how this should impact our handling of hot button cultural issues...
COVID-19 is over and life is getting back to "normal!" At least, that's what it feels like for many. But in spite of surviving our mini-apocalypse of the past year, I think there are some very real changes that have taken place in our culture. In today's podcast, I talk about these changes, and the challenges that brings for the future...
C.S. Lewis once said "We are far too easily pleased." And I think that sums up much of our lives. Instead of living lives of abundance and beauty, we often settle for lesser things. In today's podcast, I talk about a life marked by flourishing, instead of a life marked by drama, toxic relationships, and self-destructive behaviors.
Leadership is a word that conjures images of CEO's, military generals, pastors, and people that are "large and in charge." Jesus had a different mindset when it came to leadership. Instead of a hierarchical chain of command, Jesus saw leadership in terms of being a servant and brotherhood. In today's podcast, I look at a different approach to leadership from the perspective of Jesus....
It's not uncommon for people to be a bit overconfident. In the Bible, Jacob was such an individual. While Jacob knew what it was like to weasel his way through life and to always come out on top, Jacob eventually faced a situation that threatened his own confidence, and where he feared for his own life. In today's podcast, I talk about those moments in life where we lose all sense of control and hope, and how God uses brokenness to shape who we are...
I recently changed jobs. After spending the past 10 years working for "The Big Bad Bank," I am pursuing a new opportunity. As a result of changing jobs, I got to thinking about my own career, and some advice I could give for those thinking about making changes in their own career. In today's podcast, I talk about my own approach to changing jobs and career growth...
"I determined to know nothing among you except Christ and Him crucified" the apostle Paul said. In this week's podcast, I talk about why the cross remains the enduring symbol of Christianity, and the importance of the cross in our knowledge of God...
Conventional wisdom with one-sized-fits-all personal financial advice will tell you that you ALWAYS need a budget. I don't believe you always need a budget. But sometimes it might be wise. In today's podcast, I talk about the times you need a budget, but I also talk about the times where you probably don't need a budget. Listen...
We love to have opinions about everything, and to come across as knowledgeable. But the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates taught that wisdom is to be found in our not knowing. In today's podcast I talk about what we know, and most importantly, what we don't know...
Beth Moore recently announced her departure from the Southern Baptist Convention. There has been no shortage of controversy around this, and many warring factions in and outside the denomination have exchanged blows. This controversy has me thinking about how partisan and tribal we can be in our Christian identity. In today's podcast, I tackle the issue of Christian identity, especially as it relates to our denominational affiliations...
100 years from now, nobody will probably even remember you existed. Which got me to thinking, how do we build a legacy that endures? What's that even look like? Is it even possible? In today's podcast, which is my 100th episode, I talk about the issue of milestones and legacies, and living a life of meaning. and purpose...
Why are some people poor and others rich? Is escaping poverty simply a matter of pulling up your boot straps and working hard? Dave Ramsey recently gave a "hot take" on this issue that I explore, as I talk about the complicated issues of poverty...
Because of a recent sex scandal involving a celebrity preacher, there has been a lot of discussion about "The Billy Graham Rule." In today's podcast, I take a critical look at this rule, and talk about navigating the complexities of our social interactions with the opposite sex...
“The Mandalorian” star Gina Carano was recently fired from her acting job on Disney+ over controversial comments she made on social media. This has raised questions over the freedom of speech, cancel culture, and human rights. In today's podcast, I talk about speech, its consequences, and our responsibilities in exercising our rights...
Valentine's Day has undergone a lot of changes since its pagan origins in the 5th century BC in Rome. In today's podcast, I talk about the historical origins of this holiday, and how it has transformed over the centuries into the sappy Hallmark holiday that it's become known as today. I also share why I think we should embrace the sentimentality of the holiday, as we celebrate the many different expressions of love...
During the past year, COVID-19 has put our lives on pause one way or another. Metaphorically, we probably have a sense that we've all died. And having died, we all long to live again. In today's podcast, I talk about our longing for resurrection...
Abraham Lincoln predicted that America would not fall as the result of an external foe, but by suicide. The outcome of the 2020 election appears to be our possible suicide pact. President Trump and his supporters protested in DC this week outside the US Capitol Building. Things turned violent, and there is an increasing level of political fallout in a nation that is deeply polarized. In this week's podcast, I talk about the dangerous situation we find ourselves in as a nation...
To become better people, we need more than a random smattering of New Year's Resolutions and the advice of self-help gurus. I believe we are in need of a blueprint for humanity. In today's podcast, I talk about the model for becoming a better human...
At this time of year, it's pretty common for people to make predictions about the New Year. In today's podcast, I talk about why I don't put much stock in the predictions of prognosticators or prophets for the upcoming year...
What is Christian nationalism? And is it, as Beth Moore recently stated, one of the most seductive and dangerous things the Church in America faces today? Or is it as Dr James White suggested... nothing at all? In today's podcast, I sit down and discuss the issue of Christian nationalism, and the recent "Jericho March" event that took place in Washington, DC, and what we can learn from it...
We all have our favorite Christmas movies that we love, and those we love to hate. But what makes the Christmas movies we love so great? And why do some Christmas movies fail? In today's podcast, I sit down with a children's librarian to talk about....
Should marijuana be decriminalized? Recently the House of Representatives passed legislation that is attempting to do such. In today's podcast, I sit down with a friend to discuss two differing perspectives on this topic from a Christian point of view...
How do we know when we have "enough" in a culture saturated by materialism? We give thanks for what we have, but still seem to have an itch that tells us we don't have enough. In today's podcast, I look at consumerism, and our struggle to practice contentment...
The pandemic of 2020 is forcing a lot of people to spend the holidays alone. In today's podcast, I provide 9 tips for making your holiday season a little less blue, and creating a sense of being together, even if we are alone.
Cable news, talk radio, and social media websites are often full of very heated exchanges. We’ve become captive to popular “talking heads,” who regularly engage in combative discussions. We flippantly share wild conspiracy theories consisting of the most heinous accusations, and regularly malign our political opponents to score points for our tribe. In today’s podcast, I talk about the destructive nature of our discourse in this nation, and what we can do to heal…
The election had everyone in America filled with anxiety this past week. We waited on the edge of our seats as every vote was counted. The levels of anxiety created a lot of vitriol as people attempted to cope with the unfolding political drama. Things often got ugly, and as some imagined what the future would be like if the other side won the election. People imagined outcomes that were on par with the end of the world as we know it. In today’s podcast, I talk about wrestling with anxiety, and how we can feel good in a world full of uncertainty.
This past week at work, a lot of people were laid off and lost their job. I wasn't among them in this round of layoffs. But I once was, and there is the very real possibility I could be laid off in the future. In this week's podcast, I talk about the inevitability of job loss, how we can prepare for it, and how we can handle it once we find ourselves out of work.
Because of COVID-19, an increasing number of people are working from home. Some temporarily, others permanently. The transition for many has been difficult. In today's podcast, I provide 10 tips practical tips on how you can improve your work from home situation...
Who am I? And who do others think that I am? In our culture, our sense of self-identification is the end all be all of human existence. Whether we are talking about our family, careers, race, sexuality, religion, or politicial affiliation, who we think we are ends up dramatically shaping what type of lives we live, and how we get along with others. In today's podcast, I talk about why I think this can sometimes be dangerous, and propose an alternate solution...
What is friendship? And can you be friends with your spouse? In today's podcast, I look at how to cultivate friendship with in your marriage...
Watching the Presidential debate between Trump and Biden, I felt like I was looking into a mirror. In today's podcast, I talk about what I learned from watching this historic debate...
Convincing your boss to give you a raise is almost impossible. But you do have the power to give yourself a raise this year. In this week's podcast, I talk about how I gave myself a raise...
In order to maximize your personal finances, you need to approach life with a spirit of simplicity, modesty, and frugality. In today's podcast, I talk about 7 tips for simplifying your personal finances...
Over a decade ago a "Ten Commandments" was discovered to exist in one mafia family. Apparently, there is "honor among thieves." In today's podcast, I look at why ethics and character matter, even in criminal organizations, and what such teaches us about the organizations we are a part of...
Have you ever had to make a really hard decision in life, but didn't really know what to do? In ancient times, people used to "cast lots" to divine the will of God for their life. In the 21st century, we tend to be a little more sophisticated with making hard decisions. In today's podcast, I talk about how to make hard decisions, and casting lots...
The recent sex scandal involving the head of Liberty University, Jerry Falwell, Jr., his wife, and his "pool boy" / business partner, has made us painfully aware that a certain hypocrisy exists among us in Evangelical circles. In today's podcast, I look at what it means to be a hypocrite, how hypocrisy thrives, and what we can do to combat it.
To me, Donald Trump and Joe Biden seem like terrible presidential candidates. To vote for either would require me to "hold my nose" while in the voting booth. And instead of doing that, I've decided I'm not voting for either candidate in the 2020 election. I am voting "none of the above."
Have you ever ended up in "Facebook jail?" Or, have you noticed you have some friends and family that end up in this virtual slammer? Why is this? Is it because those who do such are simply truth tellers that the powers that be simply cannot handle? Is it a vast left wing conspiracy that Mark Zuckerberg and his powerful friends are engaged in, as they attempt to suppress your freedom of speech and wage war against the truth? In today's podcast, I talk about why people end up in Facebook jail., and how you can avoid it...
COVID-19 has many people talking about the "new normal." In today's podcast, I want to talk about letting go of the "old normal," as we learn to adapt to a world in transition. To do this, I want to look at the preaching of John the Baptist and Jesus, who taught us to embrace the new thing that God was doing in the history of the world...
I believe COVID-19 is being used by God to challenge the models of ministry we commonly use in the church. In today's podcast, I talk about how John MacArthur's defiance of government orders to shut down his large church as something that exposes the broken mindset we have as a church, and how we need to get back to a much more nimble and personal model of ministry, like we read about in the Bible. A model that doesn't resemble a circus...
Do you want to change your life? And just exactly how do you change your life? Is it through dramatic decisions and New Years Resolutions, or, is it through small and gradual changes? Is it through powerful encounters with God and dramatic interventions? Or, is it through simple baby steps? In today's podcast, I talk about how we can bring about meaningful changes in our life...
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many parents are weighing the options when it comes to the upcoming 2020 school year. Should they send their kids to school? Or will they elect to have their child learning virtually? Or should they take their kids out of public school altogether, and homeschool them? How is a parent to do decide what is best for their child's education during a global pandemic? In today's podcast, I talk...
We love living life inside the box. It brings us comfort. And according to musician John Howey, this comfort becomes a cage that oppresses us. It's a life we need to be freed from. We need to become "uncaged." In today's podcast, I talk to John about the uncaged life, and his upcoming album.
When I think of common sense, I think of "Forrest Gump." He's the embodiment of folk wisdom. And while "common sense" is good, I believe common sense has its limitations. We need something more than common sense to help us navigate the complexities of our world...
There are a number of spiritual dangers that we face as Christians in America. A "worldliness" has crept into us. And by that, I don't mean what movies we watch or what clothes we wear. Rather, it is our identity as Americans. As Christians baptized into the red, white, and blue, our nationalistic identity as Americans threatens to distort our view of what it means to be a Christian. In today's podcast, I talk about this pressing issue...
Our culture has become like a child banging pots and pans together on the kitchen floor. We make plenty of noise, but have no love. Looking at 1 Corinthians 13 today, I question whether or not we really love as we ought to, and how the ultimate acid test of love is seen in how we treat our enemies.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 might have officially ended the "Jim Crow" laws that overtly discriminated against blacks, but many are of the opinion that Jim Crow is still alive and well in America. In today's podcast, I have a conversation about systemic racism in America., and how we can fight against racism today...
Recently the NAACP held a protest rally here in Charlotte, NC on behalf of George Floyd, who was unjustly killed by police. White evangelical teenagers are not usually among the faces you usually see at such protests. In today's podcast, I talk to one...
I think we are all idiots. At least, to some degree. We all suffer from faulty critical thinking skills. Sometimes this is from pride, other times, we just don't know how to think about thinking...
Memorial Day is upon us. How is the COVID-19 pandemic and CDC guidelines impacting your summer vacation plans this year? Are you maintaining a quarantined lifestyle, or are you making plans that include practicing reasonable social distancing recommendations while going on vacation? In this podcast...
This past week, a friend of mine died unexpectedly. Trying to process my grief, I turned to "A Grief Observed" by C.S. Lewis. In today's podcast, I walk through this raw and emotionally gut-wrenching book as I wrestle with the loss of a loved one...
For over a decade I've been learning the art and science of making a better burger. In today's podcast, I share my dogmatic philosophy that guides me in making a better cheeseburger. These rules will ruin you. Follow only if you want to really make the best cheeseburger possible...
As Americans, we love conspiracy theories. But why is that? From our founding fathers, to who really killed JFK, to the coronavirus, we always feel like someone powerful is behind the curtain pulling all the levers that make our world go round. In today's podcast, I explore the political and psychological reasons why conspiracy theories appeal to us so deeply...
Are you stuck in a rut? I think the coronavirus has many of us feeling like we are stuck in a rut, and one that mirrors Bill Murray's "Groundhog Day," where every day is the same and tomorrow never comes. In today's podcast, I talk about some practical steps we can take to get out of a rut...
What should you do with your coronavirus "stimulus check" coming from the IRS? And how should the COVID-19 pandemic impact your personal finances? In today's podcast, I discuss how to manage your personal finances during these difficult times...
The coronavirus is impacting us in many ways. In today's podcast, I sit down to talk with a man who can't see his son because of his high risk job, and the chance he could be exposed to COVID-19...
COVID-19 highlights the tensions we have about our individual "civil liberties" and our "collective" duties as citizens. In today's podcast I talk with a Canadian friend as we compare and contrast America and Canada's responses to the coronavirus, and how our respective national DNA shapes the responses of our respective countries, and the tensions that exist in both nations.
COVID-19 is presenting a challenge to the church. In today's podcast, I sit down with pastor Daniel Rushing (Renovatus Church) to talk candidly about the impact of the coronavirus on the life and ministry of the church. Daniel believes this seemingly apocalyptic event will open-up the opportunity for the Holy Spirit to breathe new life into the church.
If you've been around uptown Charlotte, you've probably heard a loud booming voice proclaiming "JESUS SAVES!" and "JESUS LOVES YOU!" In today's podcast, I sit down and interview Sam Bethea, Charlotte's most famous street preacher...
Recently I talked to someone who was upset over how the coronavirus pandemic will negatively impact their Spring Break plans. I was beside myself at the thought. In light of all that is transpiring in the world, how can anyone possibly talk about Spring Break? I felt like I was talking to a person who doesn't understand the gravity of the situation we are facing. I believe in a month's time, questions about such things simply will be irrelevant. This event will likely transform the world...
The recent coronavirus outbreak has made many people afraid. As Christians, I believe we need to respond to this virus with a living faith, a faith that works, and one that makes us bold and courageous. Now is not the time to live in fear...
Why do bad things happen to good people? How can we explain suffering? What about when we can't explain the reasons for our suffering? In today's podcast, I attempt to wrestle with some of the hardest questions in life regarding the dark times we face...
Fears about coronavirus, plunges in the stock market, and political turmoil make the world feel a bit apocalyptic. In today's podcast, I examine Revelation 18, and how we ought to live as an apocalyptic people...
Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover is a popular self-help program for getting out of debt and becoming wealthy. Biblically and financially, however, it has some flaws. In today's podcast, I critique some areas where I feel Dave Ramsey gets it wrong...
What is art? Art is the "unique flavor" that we bring to this world that helps free people from the cages they live in. In today's podcast, I talk to musician John Howey about the nature of art, its place in our culture, and in the church.
I realized after I published my most recent podcast this week that Valentine's Day was coming up, and I missed a great opportunity to put together a little something on the the issue of love and marriage. So, at the suggestion of my wife Meagan, I have decided to publish an extra "bonus episode" this week with my podcast.
The following are 3 simple keys to a better marriage. Be sure to listen to the podcast for my full take on these things. I've also mixed in some Princess Bride references. In case you never saw this movie classic, here's a video for some humorous context:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3odMTPuzLwY
Change Your Perspective
We need a re-orientation in our perspective on marriage. Some of you act like marriage isn't much different than simply have a roomate. In marriage we become, according to the Bible, "one flesh." So if we are one flesh, let's act like it.
While we have not lost our individuality in a marriage, I am my own person and so is my wife, in marriage I have surrendered my life to my wife and vice versa. Everything I do should be done in consideration of my spouse. Career choices, ministry choices, financial choices, and even what I do with my spare time should be done in consideration how it impacts my wife.
Whatever it takes, get on the same page with one another spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically, financially, and in all other arenas in your life. Build consensus, like in a partnership. And whatever you decide to do, don't do it in an, "ugh, I gotta do this..." begrudging sorta manner. Rather, rejoice in the opportunity of what you "get to do" with your spouse and on their behalf. On some days this may be easier than others, but it is an attitude we should ultimately take on.
Be Life-Long Newlyweds
When I was in college, and old pastor friend of mine told me that whatever I did when I became married one day, make sure to always pursue my wife and never stop dating her.
It's easy for marriage to get on auto-pilot, and to simply coast. The everyday comings and goings of life threaten to put the flame in your marriage out. Jobs, kids, medical issues, finances, and other such things will interrupt the flow of everything.
But, whatever happens, don't let these things get between you and your wife. You made a choice to marry your spouse. Such wasn't merely a one time decision. It's a life long decision that you get to repeat every moment of every day. Be intentional about your marriage.
Don't let a day pass where you don't kiss your spouse. Make it a point to go on dates as frequently as you can--- whatever that date looks like, even if it's just the choice to run errands together. Do special things for each other, like pick-up flowers, make a special meal, etc.. And while things may never be as exciting as when you first got married, things can still be quite fresh and exciting, just like when you first got married.
Walk In Forgiveness
You are going to do things that upset each other. You might even manage to do this multiple times in one day. Whatever the case, make it a choice to forgive one another. And do that daily. Refuse to mull over and replay arguments in your head. Don't speak harshly to them. Rather, realize we are all a work in progress, and personality hiccups and flaws may take years to iron out. Be patient, gentle, and treat one another with kindness.
Deliberately praise your spouse and tell them and others about how awesome they are. Don't backbite and gossip about your spouse and put them down, either to their face or to friends, family, and coworkers. Your spouse shouldn't find out what's wrong with them from the lips of someone else. Sing their praises instead, and let that get back to them.
Related Podcasts
Marriage Is Stupidly Easy – Episode #2Our Story: God Blessed The Broken Road – Episode #20 The Celebration Of Singleness Over Marriage- Episode #21
"Power" is about the ability to exercise your will over others without restraint. Sometimes this is through brute force, but other times, it comes by climbing certain social hierarchies, whether it be in academics, business, politics, or religion. I believe Jesus has called us to flip our power dynamics upside down...
Over the years I've been quite the argumentative type. While this was once a badge of honor to me, the longer I live the more I've begun to see this isn't a positive quality to have. Today's podcast is dedicated to better learning the art of discussion, and preventing heated arguments.
Bill Fehr's career as a professional bike messenger is nothing short of unconventional. After a cosmic experience moved his soul, Bill left his career in corporate America, and took a path less traveled. In today's podcast, I interview Bill to talk about his unusual journey...
How do faith and politics intersect? What relationship should exist between church and state? To what degree do they go together, or should they be entirely separate? Is Jesus a Republican or Democrat? Should churches and pastors be outwardly political?
Does God still speak today? And if so, how? In today's podcast, I look at several ways that I believe that God still speaks to us today.
After watching The Rise Of Skywalker, I have searched my feelings and know it to be true: Disney's Star Wars trilogy is better than George Lucas's original Star Wars trilogy...
It's become hip in American Christianity to enshrine doubt over dogma. Many are deconstructing their faith, and consider themsleves #Exvangelical. I believe as the church we need to take a different approach, and allow for a generous curiosity, as people journey on their faith in Jesus.
A spirit of discontent often causes us to seek out "greener pastures" on the other side of the fence. This is really common at New Years. In my latest podcast, I look at Psalm 23, and show how the Lord helps us navigate all the comings and goings of life.
Hope isn't always a good thing. Hope can drive a man insane and make his heart sick. In today's podcast, I explore both the good and bad sides of hope, and explore where our deepest of hopes needs to ultimatley be found.
"Jesus is the reason for the season," and we do need to put "Christ back into Christmas." But that doesn't mean we shouldn't be materialistic at Christmas. In today's podcast, I look at why I believe Christmas needs to be a materialistic holiday...
"Cancel culture" isn't just a pop culture phenomenon in America, but is something that has existed in the church for a long time. In today's podcast, I look at cancel culture in the context of pastoral ministry, and how we must look to make whole again, those who have been removed from ministry.
Should you celebrate Christmas before Thanksgiving? On today's show, Corey Forsyth comes on to defend the practice of celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving...
This past week, at the ripe old age of 37, I had a brush with death as the result of a pulmonary embolism (blood clot) being formed in my lungs. In today's podcast, I talk about how this suddenly happened, how I sought emergency medical treatment, and how I wrestled with my own mortality. I also share about how my faith in Jesus Christ brought comfort to me in the situation.
Should you start celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving? In today's podcast, I provide 9 reasons I HATE Christmas festivities prior to Thanksgiving.
For much of our history, Christianity has been often been a one man show. There has always been a Pope type figure reigning supreme, and calling all the shots. Today's podcast envisions a church without any Popes.
As Christians, we love anytime Christians become celebrities or celebrities become Christians. Kayne West's recent conversion is a lesson in this. Today's podcast explores the dangers associated with our Christian celebrity culture, and the alternative culture I believe we need to cultivate.
Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren may dream of a time in which Jimmy Hoffa is resurrected from the dead. But are things really as bad as they say? Do we really need to overhaul our current system and replace it with a Democtractic Socialist utopia?
The Amber Guyger murder trial of Botham Jean is a powerful reminder that justice AND mercy are not opposing concepts, but are rooted in the nature of God, and an expression of the cross of Jesus Christ.
I grew up a shy and sheltered homeschooler. I was afraid of a lot of things in my life. Those fears crippled me. But as I grew, I would eventually overcome my fears through faith, hope, and love. Today’s podcast is all about embracing and overcoming fear.
I recently broke my leg while doing some high school youth ministry. Such has taught me a few painful life lessons that I would like to share with you...
A look at what it means to be "politically homeless" as a Christian, with no loyalty to Republicans, Democrats, orLibertarian political parties in America.
Jesus said "Let him who has ears, let him hear!" In an age where social media dominates and we thrive off clickbait, I believe we need to learn to hear. We must move beyond clickbait headlines that sizzle, and seek out opportunities for hearing what someone else has to say.
A Canadian Christian sits down with an American Christian to talk about our cultural blindspots. We talk about the culture wars: nationalism, abortion, homosexuality/gay marriage, immigration, guns, and the role of the Church in politics.
No matter how big or how small, every church has two churches within her. There is an odd disconnect between the platform and the pew, and it's been this way for centuries, inspite of all our different church models. Today's podcast is all about asking some tough questions and starting a conversation. How can we bridge this gap? How can we become one church?
As followers of Jesus, I believe we are called to a non-violent way of life. We should have a different relationship to guns and war, as we live out a prophetic witness to our generation.
Instead of looking down at singles and those delaying marriage, I believe we as the Church need to not only celebrate singleness, but we should promote it and encourage singleness. Instead of treating singles as defective lepers who have something wrong with them, we need to teach that singleness is an amazing gift that should be embraced.
My wife and I were previously engaged to multiple other people, before we ever met. Our love story is one of broken roads, which God ultimately redeemed, to help us find one another.
Should the church "focus on the family" when it comes to her life and ministry? In today's podcast, I call this into question, and why our idolatry of the family unit is a threat to the gospel and the church.
Josh Harris recently abandoning his faith after being a celebrity in Evangelical Christianity has created a major stir. I cannot help but wonder if it is not part of a major trend, and a symptom of a much deeper issue. Is our Evangelical house of faith built on a rock, or shifting sand?
There is nothing like "nostalgia" to help remind us of a world that never existed. The good old days may have been great, but they were not as great as we remember...
I'm not an "open borders" guy when it comes to U.S. Immigration (although our founding fathers were!) but I do believe we should greatly relax our unnecessarily strict quotas, and allow for "free markets" to better decide how many people should be able to immigrate to the United States to work and to live.
It might be 100 degrees outside, but July is the best time of year to start thinking about Christmas. No, not Christmas in July shopping events, rather, it is the best time of year to start saving for Christmas.
As Christians living in America, we love our nation. I worry though, that our love for America has gone too far. Art Katz used to say, "You are far too American."
I went through some very hard times when I was in my 20's. Financially, I was a mess. Most months I was lucky to be broke. In my latest podcast, I talk. openly about my trials, and how God was with me through them all...
We often think "repentance" is a four letter word that accompanies a "Turn or burn!" style preaching. That's where we would be mistaken. Repentance is...
Our society is growing increasingly casual. This is reflected not only in the way we dress and what we wear, but is also seen in our relationships and faith...
I was once inspired by Barney Stinson on the TV show "How I Met Your Mother" to believe that I too was "awesome." Here's my advice on being awesome...
America is having some increasingly difficult conversations about capitalism vs. democratic socialism. The church is not exempt from these conversations. As Christians, how should we think about these competing economic systems?
Some have said that Fortnite is "the most addicting video game ever made." And I have to admit, until recently, I found myself powerfully hooked. In my latest Podcast I talk about the 3 reasons I deleted Fortnite from my iPad.
Whether you are broke, a millionaire, or somewhere in between (like me), we all want to grow our savings. These 7 practical tips will help you take better control of your personal finances, and help you grow your savings...
We live in age of religious skepticism. More and more people have their doubts about the existence of God and the claims of Christianity. As Christians, we need to be ready to offer a defense (apologia) for our faith, and to provide the world with a reasonable philosophical and historical defense of our faith. Learn more about how you can defend your Christian faith, and explain why we as Christians believe what we believe...
Jesus taught us to love others extravagantly, like He did. After a recent retreat and funeral, I've come to realize I don't love others as fully as Christ taught us. In today’s podcast, I talk about my struggles, outline reasons why I believe our capacity to love is often limited, and what practical steps we can do to grow in our ability to love others as Christ taught.
When it comes to our sense of calling and “purpose” in this world, and how it's tied to our occupations, I believe we are asking a lot of the wrong questions. Today's podcast looks to distinguish between purpose and occupation, and seeks to ask better questions in discovering what God has called us to be in this world.
As Christians in America, we feel pretty cozy with the idea of wealth and prosperity. So much so that we've created a "prosperity gospel" in which we declare that Jesus not only wants us make us wealthy, but that He wants us to pursue wealth and all the material blessings of our society. In my latest podcast, I contrast this idea with a sermon that protestant reformer John Calvin once gave on the 8th commandment, in which he openly decries the pursuit of wealth, and how his sermon takes us back to a time in which serious minded Christians challenged the notion that Jesus encouraged us to become wealthy and to pursue wealth.
“Marriage is hard!” is the common creed of our culture. And this belief is reinforced through all the good marriages we’ve known to go bad. I believe differently. I believe marriage isn’t hard, I believe it’s actually “stupidly easy.”
We live in a world that encourages us to "dream big" and "shoot for the stars." Everyone from politicians to preachers to self-help gurus say we need to be bold visionaries who "change the world" by setting "harry audacious goals."
Personally, I'm starting to find such talk rather boring and uninspired. And I worry that perhaps, all of our "dreaming big" talk is getting in the way of the small and noteworthy things of value in this life. In a world full of dreamers that want to put a man on the moon and become titans of industry, I dare to dream small. I don't want to change the world. I simply want to be a better neighbor, love my family, and look out for the marginalized and those in need.
And in the end, when we have to give an account of our lives to God and stand before the Lord in judgment (Matthew 25:31-46), it is the small things we will utlimately have to answer for. We will be judged on the small things that we did for “the least of these,” not on whether or not we fulfilled our big dreams.
Dare to dream small.
Jimmy Humphrey
Hi,
I'm Jimmy Humphrey.
I was born in the North but raised in the South (by the grace of God).
Originally from Chicago (and by that I mean the suburbs), I moved to the greater Charlotte area when I was about 5 years old, where I've lived ever since. I like iced tea as well as ice hockey, I like Italian beef sandwiches as well as cheesy grits.
I went to Bible college and seminary to study theology and prepare for ministry at Lee University and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. But as I like to say, "life happened" and somehow I ended up with a career in the mortgage industry at one of the nations' largest banks. I'm presently a pretty high level underwriter and analyst.
I'm currently in my late thirties. I was married for about 8 years, but am recently separated and going through a divorce (for more information about this recent development in my life, listen to: A Man Of Sorrows – Episode #118).
Growing up, I saw the importance of the kitchen table in the life in my family. The kitchen was the central room in our house, by which we entertained and fed family, friends, strangers, and neighbors. We had important and lively conversations about anything and everything, and ate some pretty legendary food along the way. Family and community were ultimately built simply by breaking bread together.
I don't believe this is by accident. I believe this is by Divine design. Eating a communal meal together is one of the most basic primal and spiritual things we can do as humans beings, and often distinguishes us from animals, who tend to eat with a much more competitive "dog eat dog" mindset.
In the Bible we see the importance of eating together, and in the Scriptures, eating together is one of the great redemptive themes of Scripture.
When God wanted to change the world, He didn't lead people to march in the streets with clinched fists lifted in the air. When God wanted to lead a revolution, He did so by initiating a common meal. We see this in the Passover meal celebration, by which God liberated the Hebrew people from slavery and Egyptian bondage. We see this in the Last Supper, in which all of God's redemptive work in Christ was forever memorialized by sharing bread and drinking wine. We see this in the apocalypse and in the book of Revelation, where all of the redeemed come together to celebrate the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
So, I invite you to enjoy my podcast, and most importantly, have ongoing conversations with me about the intersection of faith, life, and culture.
Thanks for stopping by!
Jimmy Humphrey
jimmy@jimmystable.com