Lisa Harper's Back Porch Theology AccessMore

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.
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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.
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