Archives For Life

Preaching Professor Lucy Lind Hogan imagines the audience at the Sermon on the Mount this way:

Like all good speakers, he began by capturing the good will of his listeners. Who doesn’t like to hear the good news that we are going to be comforted and inherit the earth? I would imagine nods of agreement and pleasure moved through the crowd like waves.

When did the nodding stop? Continue Reading…

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As a Youth Minister and Church Planter, we have to navigate technology and faith. Social media has made this more complicated than ever. Inspired by the TED talk The Innovation of Loneliness Kyle Sapp (Youth Minister) and Chris Morton (Church Planter) discuss their own struggles to connect, and what to do about it.

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Legend has it that Karl Barth once said that preachers should have the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in another. I’d like to think that if he were alive today, Karl would say that we should have a Bible in hand and a podcast in our ears.

I won’t mention the obvious listens like This American Life or Radiolab. Chances are if you don’t listen to them already it’s because you don’t own earbuds.

If you are a Church Planter, Pastor or just a reflective follower of Jesus, you should be listening to the following podcasts: Continue Reading…

Can Humans Absolve Shame?

Chris —  February 26, 2015

The following is an excerpt from a recent talk I gave at Austin Mustard Seed for the first week of Lent.

In you, Lord my God,
I put my trust.
I trust in you;
do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
No one who hopes in you
will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
who are treacherous without cause.
Psalm 25:1-3

The Poet begs that God deliver him from shame.

I find it interesting that he does not ask outright for success. He doesn’t beg God for a win. He says don’t let me be ashamed.

The Fear of Shame

What is it about shame that is so terrible it sends us begging for God’s help?

What he’s describing here is a public humiliation. Think Hawthorne’s The Scarlett Letter, where the protagonist Hester Prinn gets pregnant out of wedlock and is marched down the street with a red letter A sewed to her bodice. Perhaps a more relevant example comes from dogshaming.com.

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Continue Reading…

There’s a new Tear Gas and Gumdrops podcast episode live in iTunes today!

Secrets I'm afraid to tell my church.

Kyle and I share about some of the things we’re afraid to talk about….like how I am afraid to admit that I don’t really care about sports, or how sometimes we feel life people don’t like us.

This one’s from the heart, folks.

Listen here.

If you appreciate this podcast, please take a moment to subscribe on iTunes and leave us a review. It helps a lot!