Lisa Harper's Back Porch Theology

Click here to get a 25% discount on the Dwell Bible App. Apostle Paul’s letter to the fledgling Christian church in Rome - which he wrote during the second half of the First Century - has often been hailed as the hub of Christian theology because in it he establishes the foundational walls of biblical orthodoxy. In fact, all you have to do is read the statement of faith listed on a few of your favorite Christian church or ministry websites to discover that the majority of our doctrinal beliefs as Christ followers have been mined from this New Testament treasure trove called the Book of Romans. However, Romans is broader and more nuanced than just a brilliant treatise on humanity’s need for salvation and justification, so we’re kicking off this rollicking adventure through Romans by pulling up on the proverbial nose of the plane for a 30,000-foot view to better understand the historical and sociological context of this profound epistle. So please grab a pumpkin cream cold brew – is it just me, or are coffee shops pulling out the pumpkin drinks earlier now? If memory serves me correctly, those fancy pumpkin flavored coffees didn’t use to debut until September so the whole gourd theme made sense in light of the Fall season, but now they start advertising pumpkin-juiced-java-lattes in July when the back of my thighs are still sticking to my hot car seat and my hair looks like Beetlejuice because of the humidity and it just feels wrong. If we’ve got any Back Porchers who are big dogs in the coffee industry, will you please tell the powers that be to push the pumpkin campaign back a few weeks, y’all – at least until projectile perspiration season is over? Well anyway, regardless of whether it’s squash infused or not, please grab your favorite cuppa Joe or tea, your Bible and a notebook because our excursion through Romans for the next several weeks is going to be chock full of so much good stuff it’ll be hard to hang onto without jotting a few notes! Then pull up your chair and join Alli, Dr. Howard and me on the porch – I can’t overstate how glad we are that you’ve chosen to hang with us today.

For dates and cities visit Found Collective. The Marvel and Miracle of Advent by Lisa Harper and Christine Caine can be purchased here. Sponsored by BetterHelp. Save 10% at BetterHelp.com/LisaHarper Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology is part travelogue, part exegesis, part confessional, and part pinky swear because while we were visiting Ephesus on our trip tracing the missionary journeys of Apostle Paul this summer, I couldn’t help thinking about the Ephesians’ sad, downward spiritual trajectory recorded by John in Revelation chapter two when he describes those early Christians as “doing all the right things outwardly yet losing their first love.” Theologian A.W. Tozer said it well, albeit soberly, when he observed, “For millions of Christians, God is no more real than He is to non-Christians. They go through life trying to love an ideal and be loyal to a mere principle.” As our tour group walked along the rocky paths of those ancient ruins where Paul once preached and Timothy planted a church and John discipled new believers while keeping Mary, the mother of Jesus, company in her latter years, we found ourselves pondering what went wrong. What caused that group of once devoted Christ followers to lose their zeal and exchange a vibrant personal relationship with Jesus for rote religiosity? In much the same way a physical autopsy allows physicians and scientists to gain invaluable data that can lead to new, life-saving medicines and procedures, a spiritual post-mortem exam of how the church at Ephesus lost their first love can provide invaluable data for those of us who are committed to keep our love relationship with Jesus healthy and intimate. There will inevitably be both difficult and dry seasons on the Christian journey, but goodness gracious, I never want to be rightly accused as someone whose love for Jesus has faded and I’m sure you don’t either. So please grab your favorite beverage and a sharable snack – unless of course it’s kale chips, which I will happily abstain from – and pull your chair up on the porch with Alli, Dr. Howard, and me. Today’s going to be a good one, y’all.

Click here to get a 25% discount on the Dwell Bible App. Lighthearted by Susie Crosby is available wherever you by books or by clicking here. You can find the What Happens Next book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com or wherever you buy books! Purchase I Surrender All here. For dates and cities visit Found Collective. During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology Alli and I are delving into a facet of Christoformity – that is being shaped like Jesus – which doesn’t come naturally to either one of us and that is the art of waiting. Now if your wiring tends to be more high-speed like ours and you’re prone to cram a week’s worth of work on your daily to-do lists, please don’t skip out on this episode because not only can I promise it’s going to be a shame-free zone, I can also promise this conversation is jam-packed with encouragement and practical theology about pacing because the biblical context of waiting rarely refers to a complete cessation of activity. In other words, when God’s people waited in biblical narrative it wasn’t remotely stagnant or boring. In fact, both the Old Testament canon and the New Testament canon align the concept of waiting on God with the active posture of expectant hope. There’s a huge difference between spiritual stillness and a lethargic lifestyle, y’all! For Christ-followers waiting is less about drumming our fingers with impatience while we wait on someone who’s running late and more about our souls sighing with contentment and trust as we wait for our Creator Redeemer whose timing may not always match our expectations yet is always perfect! Increasing our capacity to wait on God is congruent with an increased confidence that He's always in the process of redeeming our inherent dignity as imago Dei; He’s always in the process of mitigating the evil that wounds and corrupts humanity; and He’s always in the process of decreasing the gap between the here and now and the Second Advent of Jesus Christ. So please grab a cup of decaf and your Bible, push any mental distractions to the edge of your mind, then take a seat on the porch next to us, prop your feet up and exhale – I have a feeling Holy Spirit’s going to take a load off lots of us today.

Lighthearted by Susie Crosby is available wherever you by books or by clicking here. Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology is a vulnerable one y’all because we’re tiptoeing into the theology of tears. Crying used to make me uncomfortable. There was so much anger and chaos and sadness in my early childhood before my parents divorced that I subconsciously began using my blanket as a mini cape and tried to be Little Miss Sunshine. The way I figured it, my poor Mom and Dad already had their hands full of so much hard stuff they needed a daughter who was a self-sufficient smiler, not some needy crybaby. I was well into adulthood before I finally understood that my childish conviction that sad equals bad was way off base. Because sincere tears are God’s gift to express emotion where words fail. Those tiny rivers of salt coursing down our cheeks can help wash the debris of spent sorrow from our weary souls. They can even carry big balloon bouquets of sheer joy. And biblical narrative is quite literally soaked with tears. Ruth wept after her husband died and at the idea of being separated from her mother-in-law Naomi, Hannah wept because she was brokenhearted over her infertility, of course Job cried out to God over the death of his children and employees, along with the catastrophic loss of his health and wealth, Jeremiah wept so often over how the Israelites had forsaken the unconditional love of God and were foolishly looking for love in all the wrong places that he became known as the “weeping prophet,” the Psalmists were nothing if not emotionally vulnerable and the Sons of Korah – who were ancient worship leaders – even exclaimed that tears had become their food, Peter wept bitterly when he realized Jesus was right the night before when He soberly declared Pete would betray Him three times before the rooster crowed the following morning, an unnamed woman in the Gospels was so overwhelmed by the kindness and accessibility of Jesus that she washed His feet with her tears, and our Savior himself shed tears during His earthly life and ministry. One of my favorite writers Charlotte Bronte put it this way, “I believe while I tremble, I trust while I weep.” The bottom line is grief is not ungodly and is rather, biblically defensible as well as modeled by the Messiah Himself. We hope today’s conversation might be the beginning of real healing for some of you precious saints who’ve been bottling up your sorrow for far too long – likely with good intentions, or at the very least the goal of not being a burden to anyone else. So please grab your favorite beverage, your Bible and maybe a box of tissues and then scooch your chair right up next to ours on this big, ol’ porch where you don’t have to pretend like you’re okay when you’re not.

Fund conversations that matter: donate.accessmore.com During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re stepping into some seemingly foreboding biblical territory that we’ve yet to venture into on this podcast, which is the Old Testament book of Daniel. If Daniel was on a geographical map, it’d probably be punctuated with huge mountains and treacherous rivers and volcanos because Daniel is one of the more complex books of Holy Writ. It takes place during a very tumultuous time period in Israel’s history, when many of the Southern Jews were swept away into captivity in Babylon, where young Daniel is soon catapulted from slave to sage because of his God-given ability to interpret the King’s nightmares. Daniel’s story ultimately spans the time-period of several Babylonian kings and includes sorcery, fiery furnaces, man-eating lions, mental illness, and an attempted coup or two. To call it a drama is a massive understatement! Plus, the book of Daniel includes lots of prophecy regarding God’s people, as well as an overarching eschatological – or “end time” – theme so it can be a unwieldy booger to interpret, much less figure out how it applies to Christ followers today. Which is why we’ve enlisted the help of our dear friend, Kristin Brewer, who co-wrote the production of Daniel for the Sight and Sound Theatre, which has just recently been released to movie theatres across the nation. So please grab your Bible, a beverage, and a tub of popcorn and come join us on the porch for a deep dive into the breathtaking adventure of Daniel, featuring the never-ending faithfulness of our Creator Redeemer! Daniel Live is playing now. Find out more here!

Fund conversations that matter: donate.accessmore.com Peanut butter and jelly, Starsky and Hutch, Chips and queso, Cagney and Lacey, tea and honey, Dolly and Jelly Roll…there are some partnerships that just make sense, like they were absolutely made for each other. Well on today’s bonus conversation on Back Porch Theology, we get to introduce y’all to a new friend that fits us like a glove called Sight and Sound Theatre. Sight and Sound – or S’squared, which is the cool nickname Alli and I have cooked up for them! – is an awesome organization with a purpose and passion for bringing stories to life that reveal the power of the Gospel. What began as one couple’s prayer and a single slide projector fifty years ago has since grown into two live theater locations, an online streaming platform, and a feature film studio, reaching audiences around the world with stories from the pages of scripture and history. And since there’s not much we love more here on BPT than telling stories about who God is and the faithful things He does, we fell pretty hard for these folks because showcasing His redemptive mercy is their primary motivation too! We can’t wait for you to meet them, so please grab your Bible and a cup of something iced and caffeinated – I don’t start drinking hot coffee until the weather starts cooling down because there’s just something about holding a steaming beverage while my sweaty thighs are sticking to the seat that grieves me – and come prop your feet up on the porch with us. Learn more about Daniel Live! and Sight and Sound TV HERE

Fund conversations that matter: donate.accessmore.com The older I get, the more convinced I am that admittedly flawed sinners are the most credible witnesses of the Gospel, because blemished believers can’t fake moral superiority. Our scars make it glaringly apparent that we couldn’t protect ourselves from harm. Authentic Christian warriors with scabby knees, bruised hearts, and even track-marked arms, who sometimes stumble yet always grab onto the arm of Holy Spirit in order to stand up again and again, exemplify the redemptive power of divine grace. We prove how miraculous and restorative the love of God really is. We know we can’t make it by ourselves and can only keep ourselves together because of the miraculous redemption King Jesus provided for us on the cross. In his book, Ruthless Trust, Brennan Manning wrote, “On the last day, Jesus will look us over not for medals, diplomas, or honors, but for scars.” Today on Back Porch Theology, Alli, Dr. Howard and I are rolling up our sleeves to show you our scars in the hopes they’ll help you lean more fully into the embrace of Jesus – the One with the loveliest nail prints in His hands and His feet.

Fund conversations that matter: donate.accessmore.com During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to effectively swab the cheek of our belief system and do a DNA test to explore our spiritual ancestry. Alli, Dr. Howard and I are going to take you on a journey all the way back to the birth of Christianity and explore the foundations of our faith. We’re going to make several cool stops on this tour of biblical orthodoxy, including a visit to where Emperor Constantine put his hope in Jesus and discover how his salvation shifted the entire course of redemptive history. Then we’ll mosey on down to the Council of Nicaea – where a group of spiritual leaders first gathered to hammer out the core doctrines of our faith and kick heresies to the curb so this whole fledgling belief system called Christianity didn’t come flying off the rails. For those of you who are relatively new to Christianity or even those of you who’ve been walking with Jesus a long time but still feel a tad wobbly when it comes to understanding why we believe what we believe, today’s going to be like the spiritual version of a downward dog pose – it’s going to strengthen your core. So please grab a cold drink, a warm snack and your Bible and come hang out on the porch with us – we love getting to spend this time with you! You can find the What Happens Next book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com or wherever you buy books!

Fund conversations that matter: donate.accessmore.com If you could see Alli’s and my faces during our conversation on Back Porch Theology today, you’d see that we’re both wearing ear to ear grins because we get to spend the next forty-five or so minutes with y’all in one of our favorite playgrounds, which is the land of multi-syllabic theological terms! Now for those of you who aren’t as prone to wind-baggy-ness as we are, please, please, please don’t press delete yet - I promise there’s some awesome gold nuggets in the proverbial dirt we’re panning today! Because while a large theological vocabulary in itself isn’t exactly scintillating, the biblical truisms and characteristics of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit – the terms we’re going to talk about represent – are wildly encouraging for those of us who’re steadily stumbling further into divine grace. One of my favorite pretend and posthumous boyfriends – German theologian Dr. Helmut Thielicke – once said, “Unless a theology works at the margins of life, it’s not worth anything even if it makes sense at the easy center.” Some of the core Christian beliefs we’ll be riffing about today are like step-by-step directions regarding how to safely and joyfully navigate the messy margins of life with our faith not only intact but galvanized. Because God is not a proposition to be studied, y’all – He’s a Good Shepherd with whom we get to engage and follow! So please grab a tall, iced oat milk mocha with whip – or whatever your personal favorite go-go juice is – plus your Bible and a journal, then pull your chair right up here on the porch for some lively and life-giving conversation with us! You can find the What Happens Next book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com or wherever you buy books! Sponsored by BetterHelp. Save 10% at BetterHelp.com/LisaHarper

Fund conversations that matter: donate.accessmore.com Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology is both confessional and convicting because we’re talking about the difference between discernment – which can be loosely described as the ability to tell the difference between right from wrong - and criticism – which is primarily focused on finding fault in others. A young Christian recently asked me, “What’s the difference between ‘seeing sin’ in someone else’s life and confronting it, and having a critical spirit?” I told her I thought the key distinction between recognizing and confronting behavior that’s ungodly in someone else and criticizing others is the posture of our own hearts. Are we aware of other people’s mistakes because they trust us and have confided in us, or have we appointed ourselves as the “moral police” so as to justify examining blemishes in everyone else’s behavior? First Corinthians chapter five explains that part of our job description as ambassadors of Christ is to help restore those who’ve been tripped up by sin back into a redemptive relationship with God, not try to elevate ourselves by exposing other people’s flaws! If you feel like you’ve taken more than your fair share of lashes from a sharp tongue or you’ve got a tendency to nit-pick others yourself, we hope you’ll get some much-needed relief today or maybe even a necessary but non-condemning course correction. So please grab your favorite drink, a snack, and your Bible then pull your chair up to the porch – we’re really happy we get to hang out with y’all. You can find the What Happens Next book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com or wherever you buy books! Sponsored by BetterHelp. Save 10% at BetterHelp.com/LisaHarper

Fund conversations that matter: donate.accessmore.com During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re talking about this engaging, exciting, captivating, compelling, LIFE-GIVING, divine love story we call the Bible. Far too many of us have sat under pastors, priests, teachers, and spiritual leaders who’ve communicated God’s Word with the same level of passion a court reporter has when recording HOA litigation over a homeowner’s grass being one half of an inch above the neighborhood standard. While others of us have had the imperatives in God’s Word applied to our lives in such punitive ways that we can’t help thinking of it as a rigid book of rules that we’ll surely get whacked over the head with. However, both of those extremes are gross misuses of the Bible – it was never intended to be used primarily for discipline or for memorizing religious data, and it’s not just a collection of morality tales like Aesop’s Fables, either. From the very beginning, Scripture invites and impels us to lean into a real, loving relationship with God. Just as He breathed air into Adam’s lungs to jumpstart humanity, He breathed these words into being so that we could have LIFE and have it more abundantly. If you’ve secretly thought the Bible was a wee bit boring, or maybe just inscrutable like those teensy-weensy printed directions regarding how to set up your new Wi-Fi router, today’s episode is going to be a Little Mermaid moment for you – it’s going to open you up to a whole new world! So please grab a cup of iced coffee and your Bible – unless you’ve got both hands full trying to recoil the garden hose that your teenager put back on the reel all wonky and lopsided! – and come hang out on the porch with us. You can find the What Happens Next book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com or wherever you buy books! Sponsored by BetterHelp. Save 10% at BetterHelp.com/LisaHarper

Fund conversations that matter: donate.accessmore.com During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re wading into sober, heart-rending, deep water. If you’ve got little ears around right now, I encourage you to pause this podcast until those precious punkins aren’t within earshot. However, in light of some of the spiritual giants who’ve been felled by moral failures lately, we believe an honest conversation about human frailty even among Christian leaders is both timely and necessary. Please know we will NEVER name names, belittle other believers, or sensationalize what is causing deep sorrow to any member in the Body of Christ here on BPT. Frankly, it grieves us deeply that modern culture feeds a voracious appetite for gossip and tends to applaud the cruel sport of gang-piling people who’ve gotten tripped up by sin – especially if they have a public platform. I think far too many folks who identify as Christians have gotten comfortable squeezing into moral police uniforms and then posting uninformed critiques on social media with sanctimonious impunity. Therefore, we think this season during which several high-profile spiritual leaders have seemingly toppled over into messy heaps of humanity is an opportune time to search the Scriptures for how we can more faithfully respond when a pastor – perhaps even a personal mentor – falls into sin. What does it mean to disqualify yourself from leadership but not from Christianity? How can laypeople remain devoted to following Jesus when their leaders disobey His commands? And how do we stay engaged in the process of biblical restoration when we’re just so stinkin’ sad & disappointed about yet another church scandal in the news? If you’ve been wounded in church or by a church leader, please linger with us until the end of the episode today because while we won’t wrap our time together up with a perky bow or a pithy sentiment, I can assure you there’s tangible hope at the end of this tunnel. So please grab something to sip, something to snack on – on days like today I think the calories might not count quite as much - and your Bible, then pull your chair up as close as you can. We’re really grateful we get to hang out with y’all today. You can find the What Happens Next book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com or wherever you buy books! Sponsored by BetterHelp. Save 10% at BetterHelp.com/LisaHarper

Fund conversations that matter: donate.accessmore.com Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology is like getting to eat dessert before the entree because Alli and I get to sit down with my long-term spiritual mentor, Scotty Smith. Scotty became my pastor when I moved to Nashville in my early twenties - almost forty years ago. He was also the adjunct professor at Covenant Seminary and shepherded me through a master of theological studies during my first seminary stint back in my thirties. He’s been my pastor, professor and spiritual big brother for three and a half decades now and getting to sit at his feet and learn more about Jesus remains one of God’s great gifts in my life! And while Scotty is one of the most brilliant theologians I’ve had the privilege of learning from, he’s also very transparent about how he spent the first half of his adult life accruing and disseminating biblical data because he didn’t know how to have relational intimacy with God, much less anybody else. However, our Creator Redeemer is so kind and mercifully pursued Scotty’s heart until he was finally able to experience the deep emotional healing he’d been desperate for since his mom died when he was in high school. I really believe the next forty-five minutes are going to usher in tangible hope for some of you precious saints who subconsciously put a fence around your heart after childhood trauma too. So many of us want to experience deeper intimacy with God and others, we just aren’t sure how to go about dismantling our self-protective fences. Today’s going to be an awesome kind of group-demo-day, y’all so please grab your favorite summer beverage – mine is sparkling water mixed with strawberry Crystal light and freshly squeezed lime – and your Bible, unless both of your hands are now occupied rummaging through the utensil drawer trying to locate your lime squeezer – and come hang out on the porch with us. We’re so glad we get to spend this time leaning into God’s embrace with you. Join the free Hidden Online Bible Study here You can find the What Happens Next book and Bible study at MaxLucado.com or wherever you buy books! Sponsored by BetterHelp. Save 10% at BetterHelp.com/LisaHarper

Fund conversations that matter: donate.accessmore.com Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology is part two with my dear friend, Kristi McClelland, because she’s kind of like a hot Krispy Kreme donut, one simply isn’t enough! Kristi’s a best-selling Bible teacher, author, and college professor – but I think the most fitting description of her is “revival coach” because she’s so saturated with Jesus that if you get anywhere near her, Gospel joy will inevitably slosh out on you! However, I should probably issue a good-natured warning before we dive in and let you know that Kristi and I are both very energetic, fast-talking windbags when it comes to matter of faith so you might want to tighten your seatbelts for this proverbial ride through all things redemptive because we’ll likely careen from raving about the beef jerky at Bucees to the practical theology of A.W. Tozer within the first few minutes! Frankly, if you’re listening to this while on a Peloton, you might pause and unclip out of those fancy biking shoes for a while because this isn’t going to be a passive-listening kind of podcast – it’s more of a hands in the air, hollering with glee gabfest because we’re exposing the difference between the performative, sin-avoidant, stale kind of religion some of us were brought up in and the vibrant, life-giving, Spirit-filled reality that an intimate relationship with Jesus gives us access to. So please grab some iced coffee and your Bible – unless you’re hanging onto a wakeboard rope with both hands realizing that you’re probably too old to be dragged behind a speedboat in your skirty bathing suit – oh wait, is that just me? - and come hang out on the porch with us. Join the free Hidden Online Bible Study here

Fund conversations that matter: donate.accessmore.com It’s the first week of July here in the U.S. so lots of people are firing up their barbeque grills, putting watermelons on ice, and arranging lawn chairs in the grass to get ready to watch fireworks shows because for whatever reason, pyrotechnics are an integral part of North American culture when it comes to celebrating our country’s Independence Day on July Fourth! And while I thoroughly enjoy pyro and brisket, all of this nationalistic hullabaloo re: civil and political freedom got me to thinking about the infinitely superior freedom available to Christ followers the world over. Because regardless of your nationality – by the way, we’re wildly grateful that the porch has become an inclusive, pan-national place where God’s image bearers gather from all over the world. Our boss here at Access More recently showed Alli, Dr. Howard and me some listener data and we were thrilled to see how many Back Porchers we now have who listen from South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, the UK, and South America – Good Day, mates – Jambo friends – Buenos Dias, brothers and sisters. Thank you so much for hanging out with us and putting up with the fact that sometimes we communicate from a myopic American, First World, vantage point. We’re joyfully discombobulated that our Creator Redeemer has gathered people from around the globe to be part of this faith community and our huge hope and fervent prayer is that everyone feels a deep sense of belonging on the porch. Now back to the point of today’s conversation, it’s going to be all about the life-giving and galvanizing truism of freedom found woven throughout this divine love story we call the Bible. We’re going to attempt to answer the question – what did Paul really mean when he proclaimed to the Galatians that it was for FREEDOM that Jesus came to set us free. Today’s conversation is kind of like a cool breeze on a day that’s so hot, your thighs are sticking to the car seat, so please grab a tall glass of sweet tea, iced coffee, yak milk – or whatever beverage strikes your summer fancy – and your Bible – unless you’re too busy filling up old Coke bottles with bottle rockets, of course - and come prop your feet up on the porch with us…we’re really glad you’re here. Join the free Hidden Online Bible Study here

Fund conversations that matter: donate.accessmore.com Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology is kind of a Christmas come early for me because we get to hang out with my dear friend Kristi McClelland, who’s a Bible teacher, author, scholar, college professor, massive Narnia fan, as well as a human colander who leaks Gospel joy everywhere she goes! We’re covering a wide range of topics today eventually landing in Luke’s Gospel account and let me encourage you to lean in and turn up the volume a tad because some of what may initially sound like extraneous small talk is riddled with spiritual gold. Her experience and explanation regarding the transition from dutiful submission to God’s will – that is obeying what He tells us to do through the imperatives in His Word and the guidance of the Holy Spirit – to surrendering to God’s will with peaceful agreement and anticipatory hope is a wise template for spiritual maturity and intimacy with our Creator Redeemer. This is another one of those “bring your notebook to the porch” episodes because much like you need two paper plates to carry the glorious weight of a burger and baked beans and corn on the cob and potato salad and a big slice of watermelon at a barbeque, the litany of biblical truisms Kristi shares are too heavy for most of us to carry with our memories alone! So please grab a tumbler of iced oat milk with a heavy splash of cream and mocha, or a Stanley filled to the brim with sparkling water and a squeeze of fresh lime, or whatever your favorite summer beverage is and your Bible – unless you’ve got both hands wrapped tightly around a steel wool scrubber trying to scrape barbeque grime off your Blackstone like I did this past weekend, of course – and come prop your feet up on the porch with us, we’re absolutely delighted to get to spend this time with you. Join the free Hidden Online Bible Study at faithgateway.com/hidden Wherever You Go I Want You To Know is available here. Save 25% by using code: Go25

Fund conversations that matter: donate.accessmore.com During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re back in the saddle with Dr. Trevin Wax. Okay, that’s the first time I’ve ever employed the phrase “back in the saddle” and I think I kind of like it! Anyway, Trevin is an old friend and former colleague who just so happens to be a brilliant leader, academic scholar, and theologian. Much like our beloved Dr. Howard, God has given him the refreshing gift of putting the proverbial cookies of profound biblical truisms on the lower shelf so that laypeople like us can better enjoy, understand, and apply them. His latest book, The Thrill of Orthodoxy, is a fantastic read because he expertly contrasts the dull, regurgitated principles of heresy masquerading as modern religious enlightenment with the radical and redemptive truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We’re living in an era when personal preferences are often paired with a pretty picture and a catchy tune and presented as sound doctrine on social media. But no matter how many likes our particular viewpoints get, if they’re not built on biblical scaffolding, they’re not really true, they won’t stand the test of time, they won’t satisfy our hungry hearts, and they certainly won’t bring living hope to a lost world. Today’s episode is sort of like a second honeymoon for orthodoxy because it's going to help us recapture the radical beauty of sound doctrine and more importantly, it’s going to help us fall deeper in love with Jesus. Because remember, the end game of good theology isn’t to acquire more cognitive information about God; instead, it’s about developing a more intimate relationship with our Creator Redeemer and as a result learning to extend some measure of the unconditional love He lavishes on us to the precious people around us. So please take a couple of deep breaths, then grab your favorite beverage and snack, prop your feet up, open your Bible and come hang out on the porch with us. We’re really glad you’re here. The Guided Prayer Journal for Teen Girls is available at https://www.lifeway.com or wherever you buy books. Save 25% at The Good Book.com. Use code Save 25 at checkout. Buy The Overcomers at HarperChristianResources.com\overcomers

Fund conversations that matter: donate.accessmore.com You know those party game questions where you’re asked if you could have dinner with anyone – dead or alive – who would you choose? Well, this is my party game answer come true because I had the hugely undeserved privilege of sitting down with seven of my theological HEROES – Dr. Jim Howard, my spiritual mentor and a Denver Seminary professor; Dr. Lynn Cohick, distinguished professor of NT and director of Houston Theological Seminary, formerly the provost of my alma mater – Den Sem; Dr. Scot McKnight, acclaimed NT scholar, author of more than sixty books, who’s been a seminary professor for many decades and guest teaches at Oxford; Dr. Dorian Coover Cox, a world renowned expert on Exodus and Israel’s journey from captivity to Canaan and beloved professor of Old Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary; Dr. Eva Bleeker, a licensed counselor and chaplain, bereavement expert, and professor at Denver Seminary as well as one of the kindest, most empathetic scholars you’ll ever meet; Dr. Craig Keener, a palpably humble, albeit world renowned biblical scholar, author of the IVP Bible Background Commentary which is on the shelves of pretty much every minister I know as well as eight Bible commentaries, 37 books and over a hundred academic articles, he’s a professor in the doctoral program at Asbury Theological Seminary; and finally the gentleman who’s the main reason I chose the doctoral program at Denver Seminary, Dr. Craig Blomberg, who’s a world renowned NT scholar, has authored and edited many, many academic works like The Historical Reliability of the New Testament and Interpreting the Parables, he was on the translatory team for the most recent edition of the NIV Bible, has served as a research fellow at Cambridge and recently retired from Denver Seminary but continues to teach a few classes in his role as professor emeritus of the NT. The credentials held by this dream teaching team are unstinkin’ believable y’all but their humility, kindness, and generous willingness to help the rest of us fall deeper in love with Jesus eclipses their academic resumes. This perfectly numbered crew of seven scholars became a family of spiritual big brothers and sisters to us at Kerygma and I trust you’ll come to feel that way as well as they open your eyes even wider to the God who loves us more than we can ever ask or imagine. You’ll want to bring a notebook along with something caffeinated and your Bible to the porch today, welcome to this special scholars edition of Back Porch Theology! The Guided Prayer Journal for Teen Girls is available at https://www.lifeway.com or wherever you buy books. Save 25% at The Good Book.com. Use code Save 25 at checkout.

Fund conversations that matter: donate.accessmore.com All of the conversations we have the undeserved privilege of engaging in on BPT are special to Ally, Dr. Howard, and me because the point of our conversations – even if it takes a while for us to get there – is always the immutable goodness and compassion of our Trinitarian Creator Redeemer, God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit. However, this particular conversation which we taped live at Kerygma a few weeks ago with one of my all-time theological heroes, New Testament scholar Dr. Scot McKnight, is a very personal and poignant milestone for me because God used one of Dr. McKnight’s books – The Blue Parakeet – like a merciful scalpel in my life to cut away some corrosive shame that had compromised my mind and heart and ministry efficacy for decades. The back cover copy of The Blue Parakeet reads: In this bold, engaging reexamination of reading the Bible, Scot McKnight calls all Christians from both ends of the spectrum to stop taming the Bible and to let it speak anew to our hearts. In other words, his exegetical brilliance will recharge our passion for both reading Scripture and relating to God’s redemptive narrative in increasingly intimate and personal ways. If you’re a Bible banger like me and your Bible is one of those precious possessions you’d be sure to grab if your proverbial ship was sinking OR if you’ve secretly and guiltily thought the Bible was boring and have a hard time engaging with it, this conversation is right up your alley, baby! So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – whether the pages still stick together from so little use or whether it’s tattered and stained – that is unless you’re swinging a broom at those nasty cicadas, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us.

Fund conversations that matter: donate.accessmore.com During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology Alli and I have the profound privilege of hanging out with two women who are spiritual heroines to us – Dr. Dorian Coover Cox, a professor of Old Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, and Dr. Lynn Cohick, a Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Director of Houston Theological Seminary at Houston Christian University. I’ve known Dr. Cohick for many years because she was the provost at Denver Seminary and within five minutes of meeting her, I began plotting how to talk her into becoming one of my mentors! She’s one of the first people I shared my dreams about Kerygma to and has been part of it since the inception. In fact, I told her a few weeks ago that she’s now part of the proverbial living room furniture in my life, so she’d better never think about leaving! And while I’ve known of Dr. Coover Cox for years because she’s one of the spiritual mentors of BPT’s very own Dr. Howard, this year at Kerygma was the first time we got to hang out with her in person, and within 5 minutes she got grafted into the family too! Dr. Coover Cox is an expert on Exodus and Dr, Cohick is an expert on Ephesians so we’re going to glean from these two saints’ wisdom and camp out in those two books of Holy Writ today and let me encourage you to bring a notebook along with your coffee and your Bible, because you’re going to want to take notes on the porch today, baby!