Mere Sanity Ross Byrd

Over the past few years, in our Virginia Beach community, I’ve been exploring the question, “What does faithful participation in the body of Christ look like? Where do we begin?” In response, we’ve formed some very simple collective practices: Scripture, Prayer, Fasting, Church, & Authority. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel here. Quite the opposite. We’re trying to rediscover the wheel, as though somehow along the way, the wheels of our church fell off and got lost, and we’ve j...

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” — Mark 11:24Prayer means asking. But asking is a more foreign concept to us than it might seem. Adults in the modern world don’t actually do a lot of asking. We press buttons and things appear. We take pills and things disappear. We wish for things. We work for things. But we don’t often ask, because…asking is a very vulnerable thing to do. The faith required to ask is differ...

Nobody wants to be religious anymore. Secular people often say they are “spiritual not religious.” Evangelicals often say, “Christianity is not a religion; it’s a relationship.” Sure, Christianity is about a relationship with God. But there's a reason the Bible is full of priests and temples, ceremonies and sacrifices, prayers and prophecies, covenants and commandments. Our relationship with God was meant to be a religious relationship. And it's time for Christians to become religious again. ...

Good news! Podcast episodes are back! This one's an introduction to what I've been thinking and writing about lately. It's taken from a recent post on my Substack newsletter, Patient Kingdom. If you'd like to read more or receive weekly posts to your inbox, please visit PatientKingdom.com and subscribe. Thanks!- Ross Byrd

Why do Christians fast? I was recently asked to record a podcast on that very question as our VB community embarks on a 21-day season of prayer and fasting. Hope you enjoy. You can find the written version of this talk on my new website PatientKingdom.com. Subscribe there to receive weekly articles from me in your inbox. Hope you enjoy.

What does it mean that Jesus says of Peter, "Upon this rock I will build my church?" Especially since only a few verses later Jesus rebukes Peter with the words, "Get behind me, Satan!"This is just a TEASER clip from the brand new VB Fellows Podcast, which will be featuring live content from some of my lectures for the VB Fellows Program.Check it out and subscribe here:VB Fellows Podcast on AppleVB Fellows Podcast on Spotify