Lisa Harper's Back Porch Theology

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Lisa Harper's Back Porch Theology

Visit donate.accessmore.com to give to help fund more episodes and shows like this. You're invited to hang out on Lisa Harper's back porch and enjoy conversations about all things Jesus, theological anthropology, biblical orthodoxy, Spanx, the merits of Tex-Mex and more! We believe this podcast will help you dive deeper into God's word, understand that the gospel is great news for everyday life, not just when viewed in the light of eternity, and that God is for us, that He's always been in the process of redeeming our inherent value as imago Dei and restoring us into a vibrant, intimate relationship with Him.And rest assured, this won't be a one-sided conversation because, throughout the podcast, Lisa will be inviting friends, including some brilliant theologians and academics to join her in substantive but decidedly unstuffy segments. So come on, y'all grab some coffee or sweet tea and join us on the back porch!

  1. 1 DAY AGO

    A Four-Wheel-Drive Truck Called Gratitude

    Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology is going to be a huge helping of gratitude. Whether or not you practice the traditional American holiday called “Thanksgiving” which takes place this week – it’s always celebrated on the last Thursday in November - I believe image bearers the world over can benefit from a generous serving of gratitude on a regular basis. In fact, there are multiple secular, scientific studies proving that gratitude – that is when we are intentionally thankful for something or someone – has physiological benefits like improved sleep, digestion, and cardiovascular wellness, as well as psychological benefits like decreased stress and an increased sense of overall well-being. Case in point, my road manager, Sharon, and I have come up with a simple game when we’re traveling and one of us notices that the other one is being especially grumpy or negative. We call it the “Stop and Give Me Ten” game - and I assure you that in spite of the title, it has nothing to do with push-ups. Frankly, if I attempted ten push-ups in a row right now it’s quite possible I’d break my nose after collapsing to the floor. The “ten” in the title of our game refers to all the fingers on two hands worth of things we’re grateful for. Recently, after a long day of delayed flights we got to our destination airport only to discover that the car rental company had given away the SUV we’d confirmed and they only had compact cars left. So, after breaking a nail trying to cram all our luggage and several boxes of books into a two-door designed for petite people, I climbed into the passenger’s seat with a huff. Then I began to complain about all the inconveniences we’d endured thus far that day - the unappetizing yet overpriced airport food, how particularly rude our gate agent had been, how both men I’d sat next to on our flights were armrest hogs. After listening to my whiney chorus for a few minutes, Sharon turned to face me and said: STOP AND GIVE ME TEN! I stopped - partly because she was driving in Dallas traffic and I was afraid she was going to rear-end the car in front of us - but then Holy Spirit poked my fault-finding heart into a real pause and after a moment I held up both hands and counted off all ten fingers in quick succession: • I’m thankful our flights were only delayed instead of cancelled • I’m thankful we’re in a car instead of on foot • I’m thankful I make enough money on the road to pay my mortgage • I’m thankful I get to see women launch themselves into the arms of Jesus for the first time almost every weekend • I’m thankful I got to make it home in time to be with Dad before he passed away • I’m thankful for Missy’s physical health • I’m thankful I have family and friends who’ve experienced my plethora of shortcomings and yet still love me • I’m thankful our God’s faithfulness doesn’t wane when I’m being such a weenie baby • I’m thankful I wore stretchy pants today instead of stiff jeans • I’m thankful we’re staying at a decent hotel tonight And it’s amazing how just 36 seconds of practicing gratitude totally changed my mood. I went from Eeyore to Tigger in less than a minute! I know it’s a much more serious thing to practice gratitude when your husband walks away, your loved one dies, your cancer returns, or your company’s downsized. But I promise – more importantly – God promises in His Word that extending past the trouble of life to reach for the truth of His abiding peace, unconditional love, and transformative joy is worth the stretch. Thanksgiving is a facet of the Fruit of the Spirit God that I like to imagine like a big, four-wheel-drive truck with a winch because it has the power to pull us out of whatever ditch we find ourselves stuck in. Today’s going to be a good one y’all because those nasty emotional termites that try to reduce our hope to rot like pessimism, scarcity mindsets, and entitlement

    56 min

  2. NOV 18

    How To Better Love Those Who Don’t Like Church with Dr. Scot McKnight

    During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology, we’re going to honestly explore how Christians can do better caring about and caring for the precious people who are leaving mainstream churches. It’s a given that some are walking away from communities of faith for sinful reasons but what about the saints who are leaving our sanctuaries because they’ve been deeply betrayed by a spiritual leader or they simply can’t reconcile the Jesus of Scripture – who hugged lepers, welcomed outliers, and compassionately advocated for the poor - with the sociology of the affluent, seemingly inwardly focused congregation they were raised in. Pastor and modern theologian, Dr. A.J. Swoboda made this wise and gracious observation about some who are leaving the church: they have tasted Jesus, and rigid religion has proven to be a poor substitute. Before we go any further, I want to state what I hope is blatantly obvious here at Back Porch Theology and that is: we are passionately, unashamedly, enthusiastically PRO-CHURCH. Dr. Howard pastors a local church in Dillon, CO and Allison and I are life-long church girls. All three of us have spent a good chunk of our lives serving on church staffs or parachurch ministries. We wholeheartedly believe the Christian church is one of the main means of grace our Creator Redeemer uses to accomplish His kingdom purposes. We also believe the Bible is crystal clear regarding how important it is for God’s people to gather on a regular basis as a community of faith for centralized worship, corporate prayer, biblical instruction, water baptism, relational encouragement, and to celebrate the sacrament of communion. But, and this is a big but, we also think Christ-followers can do a much better job of caring for and listening to the men, women and teenagers who are leaving our churches for reasons that should give us pause – mainly, that sometimes our corporate gatherings of faith no longer resemble the Savior we’re singing about or the wholistically redemptive message of the Bible we profess to base our belief system on. Not everyone who walks away from a local church is an angry rebel or a selfish prodigal or a divisive opponent, much less a dangerous heretic. Some sheep are hurt and scared and lonely and they thought they’d get closer to the Good Shepherd if they joined our herd, but unfortunately their wounds have gotten worse, as a result of hanging out with us and they don’t feel like they have any other option except to limp away to a less painful pasture. If someone you love has walked away from church disappointed, disillusioned, and is quite possibly in a season of deconstruction we believe today’s conversation can help you maintain a genuine relationship with them as they sort out what they believe to be true about God, even if they pull away from church for the time being. And based on the some of the excruciatingly honest emails we’ve received here at BPT, we understand that some of you - who purely by the grace of God trust our motley crew enough to hang out on the proverbial porch with us - are nursing fresh wounds from a bad church experience. Please know that you’re especially weighty on our hearts today. We’ve prayed that Holy Spirit will use this conversation to bring you a tangible sense of His comfort. That it will serve to remind you that while Christ followers are notably flawed, Jesus – our incarnate Savior - was without sin, not a man that He could lie or change His mind, according to the Old Testament book of Numbers. Yes, human love is conditional, but God’s love is unconditional and immutable – it doesn’t change. He is not fickle He is perfectly faithful. Although some of you might feel cruelly judged or completely forsaken by a particular church or cadre of Christians, our Creator Redeemer will never leave or forsake His Beloved. According to the Psalms, the God who breathed our universe into existence...

    59 min

  3. NOV 11

    How to Not Grow Weary in Well Doing with Hal and Doree Donaldson

    During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology I’m basically peeling off my emotional Spanx and revealing my proverbial cellulite, stretch marks, and wobbly bits because we’re diving deep into the subject of rest, which doesn’t come naturally to me because more often than I’d like to admit, my default setting gets stuck on go. I know cognitively that God modeled rest when He crashed out on a celestial couch after creating the world and that since He gave us the gift of rest before the Fall, it’s a perfect gift, not an accommodation for human weakness, however my worth and my word tend to be unhealthily intertwined and all too often I live at a frenetic pace that robs me and those I love of peace, isn’t sustainable, and isn’t what God calls us to as His beloved. Busyness really isn’t a spiritual gift, y’all. I often find myself pondering how Jesus lived His life at a pace of 3 mph because He walked everywhere He went. He was fully present with people. He even took the time to welcome interruptions. If possible, I encourage you to actually sit down while you listen to this episode – don’t try to listen while you’re making dinner or working out because, well because that’d be like funneling chips and queso straight down your throat without savoring the crisp of the tortilla chips and the velvety tang of the cheese! So please pour yourself a cup of coffee or hot tea with honey and grab your Bible and prop your feet up on the porch with us. We’re really glad you’re here.

    56 min

  4. NOV 4

    The Beautiful Ache of Authentic Faith with Levi and Jennie Lusko

    Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology was actually recorded in Montana with my dear, dear friends, who are actually more like siblings now, Pastor Levi and Jennie Lusko. We’ve been friends for a while now, but after doing a Christmas tour on a bus last year with our kiddos, we morphed into kind of a blended family and began calling ourselves the Huskos! When you spend weeks together in the equivalent of an extended RV and have to make restroom stops at rural gas stations in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere, you bond for life, baby! I laughed so hard while we were on the road together, I kept getting stomach cramps. Which of course I hoped would give me a six-pack, alas all our late-night snacks at Buccee’s had a greater effect on my abdomen. Of course, interwoven with all our fun and laughter, Jennie and Levi and I shared some tears, too. Because we’ve all suffered some devastating losses. Real life – and real relationships – include joy and pain. Heartwarming moments and heartbreaking seasons. I know authenticity and Christianity aren’t always synergistic in modern culture, but they sure should be. I think today’s conversation is going to feel like an old pair of Uggs, warm and comfortable. So please grab a cup of coffee or hot chocolate or hot tea, and your Bible, and come hang out on the porch with us. I promise, you’ll fit right in with our slightly whacked, very messy, ride or die family of faith.

    32 min

  5. OCT 28

    Putting The Best Cookies Within Reach

    During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology Alli and I have the pure joy of asking Dr. Howard – whose PhD is rooted in the New Testament so he’s a smarty-McTarty when it comes to Pauline theology - all kinds of questions about the more complex points and passages the book of Romans. Questions like, How can we reconcile Paul’s doctrine of justification by faith in Romans 3-4 with his view on the Law and good works in chapters 2 and 7? How does Paul’s concept of predestination and election in chapter 8 align with the broader themes of free will and human responsibility in this epistle? How can we explain – better yet model - Paul’s teaching that hope won’t disappoint with our friends, family, co-workers and neighbors who’ve all but lost theirs because of tragedy, hardship, loss, or abuse? And How can we hang onto the joy Paul preaches about while simultaneously leaning into the suffering he frames as part of our faith? One of the things we love most about Dr. Howard is that he delights in making profound theological concepts understandable to people who don’t have a bunch of academic degrees like him and he does that with contagious joy today. So please grab your favorite beverage, a yummy snack and your Bible – unless of course you’re practicing a routine with flaming batons – and come hang out on the porch with us. We’re really glad you’re here!

    46 min

  6. OCT 24 · BONUS

    An Aussie, a Windbag, and The Wonder of Advent

    On today's special episode of Back Porch Theology, I'm hanging out with my dear friend Christine Caine. You'll love listening to her because she has this Australian accent. I always tease her and say she could read the phone book and I'd rededicate my life to Christ. But Chris and I are focusing on Advent, the marvel and the miracle of Advent.You know, for more than a thousand years, Advent has been this really special time that's been set apart in the church calendar, which invites us to pause, to prepare, and to anticipate the arrival of our long awaited Messiah, King Jesus. The season of Advent gives us the time and the opportunity to, to prayerfully reflect on the wonder of Christ's glorious entrance into the world. It's a call to attentiveness. It's an opportunity to prepare the way for the Lord that begins in our own hearts. It's this time when the air around us almost feels thick with the expectation of the dawn of a new day. So I think you're going to love today's podcast. I think it'll help get your heart.

    31 min

  7. OCT 21

    A Surf and Turf of a Sermon

    During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re having the biblical equivalent of Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest that takes place on Coney Island every July Fourth. Because while we won’t be trying to gobble 62 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes like world champion Joey Chestnut did last summer, we are going to attempt to digest some of the major doctrinal themes found in the book of Romans in one single podcast! Speaking of Christian doctrine, Martin Luther - widely known as one of the key leaders of the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s – was a dutiful priest who almost drove himself crazy trying to live a life holy enough to please God. He spent hours in prayer every day, he fasted for so long and so often that it caused severe intestinal problems, and he even practiced self-harm, thinking that the discomfort and pain that resulted from intentionally wounding himself was a necessary penance for his sin. It wasn’t until he taught on the book of Romans that the Holy Spirit opened his eyes to divine grace – to the unmerited favor of Jesus Christ – and that’s what dramatically changed his personal life and gave rise to the Protestant church. Luther described Romans as, “The gate to paradise” because it’s what led him from practicing rote religion to experiencing a real relationship with our Creator Redeemer. We hope today’s conversation opens the gate for some of you to walk into a much closer relationship with Jesus, too. So please grab your favorite beverage a snack and a Bible – if you have one – and come prop your feet up on the porch with us.

    48 min

  8. OCT 14

    The Compassionate Concrete That Paves The Romans Road

    During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re getting granular about the divine, salvific grace Paul riffs on early in his letter to the Romans. We’re going to take a long pause in our collective amble down the Romans Road so as to marinate in the concept of justification. We’re going to do an in-depth review of how the sinless life and sacrificial death of Jesus Christ made it possible for rebellious, sin-riddled yahoos like us to be reconciled with a perfectly righteous God. Because all too often we church folk tend to volley multi-syllabic theological terms like “justification” and “sanctification” and “propitiation” amongst ourselves like innocuous doctrinal pickle balls without giving too much thought to the grief and gravitas they represent. In much the same way we blithely wear crosses as mere jewelry or prominently display it in the form of a hip tattoo, forgetting what that Roman torture device – equivalent to a medieval guillotine or modern-day electric chair, which I can’t imagine someone wearing as a fashion statement – represents…that the King of all kings chose to leave His throne in glory, condescend to human form and humble circumstances, only to be betrayed and abandoned by His closest friends and ultimately have stakes hammered into His feet and wrists so He could be suspended in the air like a human shish-kabob while a cruel mob jeered His torture and subsequent murder because Jesus knew His blood was the necessary price that had to be paid in order to justify – to make us right – with God. We’re not going to skip past the hard facts of what He sacrificed for our redemption today y’all because quite honestly doing so mitigates the miracle of our salvation. So please grab a great big mug of strong coffee and your Bible – unless of course you’re in the hot-wax stage of a manicure – and come ponder the audacious kindness of King Jesus on the porch with Alli, Dr. Howard and me.

    47 min
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Visit donate.accessmore.com to give to help fund more episodes and shows like this. You're invited to hang out on Lisa Harper's back porch and enjoy conversations about all things Jesus, theological anthropology, biblical orthodoxy, Spanx, the merits of Tex-Mex and more! We believe this podcast will help you dive deeper into God's word, understand that the gospel is great news for everyday life, not just when viewed in the light of eternity, and that God is for us, that He's always been in the process of redeeming our inherent value as imago Dei and restoring us into a vibrant, intimate relationship with Him.And rest assured, this won't be a one-sided conversation because, throughout the podcast, Lisa will be inviting friends, including some brilliant theologians and academics to join her in substantive but decidedly unstuffy segments. So come on, y'all grab some coffee or sweet tea and join us on the back porch!

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