Upon This Rock

Stef, aka the wifey, aka the podmother, joins the show again and we reflect back on our first year living overseas. We talk share some of our struggles, stresses, victories, defeats, and some big news. If you want to find out more about what we do you can check out our IG: @thethomasfam5.

The Lord truly does work in mysterious color ways. On today's episode I had the pleasure of talking with Ben Kirby from the IG account PreachersNSneakers. We talk about the church's relationship with social media, celebrity pastors, and Ben gives me his Mount Rushmore of sneakers. Check out Ben's work at https://preachersnsneakers.com. 

What does it mean to be part of the Apostolic Church? And what is the Patristic Period? And why the heck to do they matter to me today? On today's podcast I chat with Dr. Michael Svigel of Dallas Theological Seminary about the first 500 years of the church why we should read the authors from that period. We talk about tradition, communion, baptism, Scripture, and where to start reading the the Church Fathers.  

"Come together in common, one and all without exception in charity, in one faith and in one Jesus Christ, who is of the race of David according to the flesh, the son of man and Son of God, so that with undivided mind you may obey the bishop and the priests, and break one Bread21 which is the medicine of immortality and the antidote against death, enabling us to live for ever in Jesus Christ." - St. Ignatius 

“She broadly expands her rivers, liberally flowing, yet her head is one, her source one; and she is one mother, plentiful in the results of fruitfulness: from her womb we are born, by her milk we are nourished, by her spirit we are animated… He can no longer have God for his Father, who has not the Church for his mother. If any one could escape who was outside the ark of Noah, then he also may escape who shall be outside of the Church." - Saint Cyprian of Carthage 

On today's episode I talk with Pastor Brian Zahnd. Brian is the founding pastor of Word of Life Church in St. Joseph Missouri, the author of multiple books, and the biggest Bob Dylan fan you'll ever met. Brian and I have a vary open and candid conversation about what its like being a pastor, his sense of vocation and calling, and what he wishes the average congregant knew about being a pastor.  

In today's episode I talk to Greg Coles about how the Church should relate to culture. We speak about the culture wars, sexuality, Harry Potter, those awkward Youth Group "sex talks", and a more. I think you are going to enjoy this conversation. 

The is the final episode in our three part series on baptism being the foundational reality for the Church's identity. In today's episode we continue tracing to story of salvation by water from creation, to Noah, to Moses and the Exodus, to Joshua and the promised land, arriving finally at Jesus in the Jordan. All these stories, including our own, form one story, the story of one God, one Lord, one Spirit, one baptism, and one people in Christ.

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This is part two of three of our look at baptism being the foundational reality which shapes the identity of the Church. In the last episode we examined Matthew 28 and Genesis 1. Today, we tackle the story of Noah's flood, 1 Peter 3, and the age old question, "Does baptism save you?" (yes but now in the way you probably think). 

Over the next three episodes I want to dive deep into the idea that baptism is the foundational reality which shapes the identity of the Church; that to be the Church is to be the baptized people of God. For many baptism is not the first or fourteenth thing that comes to mind when we think about the identity of the Church, but I think we need to bring it to the top of our lists. 

In many ways the call of the Church, and of every local church body, is to model cruciform love and care for one another in a world built by Cain. But all us know that such an ideal is far from the truth. Sadly, in the church we still hurt each other, wound one another, and fail to be present with one another in times of pain and grief. This happens on a peer-to peer-level and also from the top-down with pastors, bishops, elders, and deacons inflicting pain on those they are meant to care for.

My conversation today is with Dr. Glenn Kreider about the reality of being hurt by the Church. Dr. Kreider teaches at Dallas Theological Seminary, travels the country speaking, and is the author of several books. 

NEW SERIES: This is the first episode of a new series on what it means to be the Church and how we live as the Church in the world. On today's episode I talk with Pastor Glenn Packiam from New Life Church in Colorado Springs about corporate worship. Our discussion ranges from a theology of corporate worship, worship as a way to retell the story of God, to lights and smoke and liturgy. 

Dr. Chris E.W. Green is back on the pod to conclude our series on misunderstood words as we talk about the power of God; our misconceptions about it, how we have formed movements around those misconceptions, and how the cross is a better lens through which we can understand what the power of God actually is and how it works in the world. 

Revival. The very word conjures up dreams of sings, wonders, and miracles overtaking cities and nations. But have we missed something else in the name of revival? Let's talk about revival and revival "culture". 

You can't talk about hell without eventually talking about heaven. Sadly, I think heaven is just as misunderstood as hell and that we have built a large portion of our spirituality on that faulty dualism. 

In this episode we continue talking about the word wrath by looking at the three primary metaphors the Bible uses to talk about God's wrath. In doing so I hope we can come to a clearer idea of what God's wrath is.

This is part one of a longer look at the wrath of God. In this episode we look at how wrath is generally thought about and analyze the first story in the Bible where God is said to get angry and want to pour out His wrath. Part two coming soon.