Bard & Bible

It is easy to get lost in the weeds of Leviticus. It’s easy to get caught up in, let’s call it detailed, recountings of issues and practices that are no longer a part of daily life. But even the wandering bards know that we at the Bard & Bible are all about looking at the portions of scripture that are easy to overlook or read like dry instruction manuals and finding out why God wo...

There are moments where decisive action is necessary. The challenge is that these decisions can be made in a moment but have long lasting ramifications, and how do you navigate that? If you’ve ever been a part of a Dungeons and Dragons adventuring party, you know the terrifying feeling when the wizard says, “I cast fireball.” Yes, it may defeat the enemies, but those things are o...

It is so easy to hide who we are when we want to. Some times that hiding looks like the image of quiet isolation often conjured up by the concept, but others it is loud, raucous, and smiling. We hide for safety, for security, and the fear of the loss of each. When we lean into that fear with people, though, in order to fight through it – we find what real relationship looks like. It can be h...

It’s the holiday season, so I knew I wanted to do a B.A.R.D. Project – which stands for Biblical Articulation Read Deliberately – about the holidays. There are a large number of well trod holiday texts I could have pulled from, but the Bard & Bible is often a place where we hope to see what we might find in the untrod paths. After asking my supporters on Patreon for a little...

The story of Noah has been a part of my life since before I can remember. It is my father’s favorite story in the Bible, and therefore is also the reason my son bears the same name as its primary character. I was excited to put this well-known and widely covered story through the process of my story-based hermeneutic, but I didn’t realize just how deep this rabbit hole would go for me....

We continue on a journey through the stories in the book of Genesis with a reflection on the story of Cain and Abel. What happens when the child of promise brings about the rise of evil in the world? Why does God, who is all-knowing, ask what happened to his brother? What happens when we continue reading the opening of Genesis through the lens of God as a character with emotional closeness to the...

The United States – and even the World – is processing so much hurt, frustration, sadness, pain, and more. It is in this world of broken systems, painful conversations, deflections, distractions, and hostilities that we wrestle with the idea of who God is and how He loves us. So let’s talk about the day that humanity fell and broke the world.

As we start down this road together through the stories of the book of Genesis – it only makes sense that we need to start at Creation. The beginning. The titular genesis. Even folks I know who have tangentially experienced church through their lifetime know the story of God birthing the world and walking with his children through the garden in the cool of the evening, but despite that famil...

Triptych is a three-part series depicting scenes from the story of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus as seen from the perspective of a person involved in it. Naturally, some creative liberties have been taken, but everything is based out of a study of the text. Part 3 takes place at the Resurrection – well, technically 8 days later, but Thomas isn’t counting.

Triptych is a three-part series depicting scenes from the story of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus as seen from the perspective of a person involved in it. Naturally, some creative liberties have been taken, but everything is based out of a study of the text. Part two takes place on Saturday night – and Peter is left wondering if it was all a lie.

Triptych is a three-part series depicting scenes from the story of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus as seen from the perspective of a person involved in it. Naturally, some creative liberties have been taken, but everything is based out of a study of the text. Part one takes place on Friday night, and Mary has just witnessed the death of her son.

There are times that an episode gets delayed due entirely to logistical reasons. Then there are times when God Himself seems to hold it back – whether for my own benefit or the benefit of the audience. As the world reels in the midst of a global pandemic, I think we may have been part of the latter here. I’m pretty sure we all need to hear about Elijah in 1 Kings 19 – when, even...

The scene is dark and tired. Everyone involved has reached the proverbial end of their ropes. A haggard Phil Cooper, played by Danny DeVito, is left alone with the young researcher Bob Walker, played by Peter Facinelli, after Bob spent the evening talking to the man they were sent to talk to about their product – but Bob talked to him about Jesus instead. This scene has been an influence in...

This is something different in the Bard-&-Bible-verse. In it, we meet Benny Longfellow – the Innkeeper’s gnomish steward. I’ll give you a tease for the next full episode – as this is just a quick reflection on a timely event – that will be my “thank you” for keeping Bard & Bible on your podcast feed despite another couple months’ long break....

I learned the art of creative paraphrase in college – taking the end of Habakkuk and turning it into a comedic monologue. The story was mostly the same, but different in ways that made it unique and special. That’s the goal of the Parables of the Nine Realms. If you’re new around here, the Nine Realms is the fictitious land in which the fictitious tavern The Bard & Bible sits...

Doubt is a word you don’t often hear a devotional podcast use in a positive light. Then again – when have we ever been your usual devotional podcast? Looking at the way we tell stories of people in the midst of doubt in the Bible, I’m here to say that doubt might not only be far from negative – it can be a positive and even necessary part of how our faith grows.

I want folks to spend more time listening to the stories that birth this tale rather than keying off certain phrases without hearing. As such, I’m going to leave this description vague by telling you that the title will speak for itself. That said – yes. Fans of villain songs from the Disney Renaissance will be happy with part of this one. I mentioned a documentary in the episode, but...

The B.A.R.D. Project was born from a past episode of Bard & Bible where I simply read the text of the book of Lamentations . B.A.R.D. stands for biblical articulation read deliberately. It may be a biblical text, it may be a work of literature, or it may just be something I think is valuable for all of us to hear. It will happen in tandem with regular episodes of the Bard & Bible devotiona...

In February of 2019, the United Methodist Church called for a special general conference. Among the things they talked about was the place of LGBTQ individuals within clergy and the life of the church. A lot of people had a lot of opinions, and after days of discussion, the vote was cast. I think we need to talk about it. Not the decision, not whether or not the call was appropriate or accurate to...

Call it a comeback. Call it a new season after a hiatus. Call it whatever you want to call it, but the doors are opening again at the Bard & Bible. Technically this could be considered a “bonus” episode – as it strays markedly from the usual B&B format to the point that there may never be another like it – and certainly won’t be one in the near future. However...

It’s been a while. When the world crashes down – you just have to find a way to move forward. Sometimes that means getting creative. It’s time to look at Joel – but not like we’ve looked at anything before here at the B&B. 

At PAX Unplugged I dressed as a dwarf bard and listened to stories. I wandered the exhibitor hall and the free play area with a sign and reveled in hundreds of stories from the mundane to the profound. As we continue in the Unread Tales series, I’m gonna be doing a bit of cheating. It’s hard to prove that Genesis is a book that isn’t read. It’s read probably more than any o...

We continue the Unread Tales series with an episode I wrote, recorded, recruited folks for, rewrote, and rerecorded. I think it was a God thing and not just a frazzled brain thing – or at least not just – but only time will tell. We’re looking at 3 John today and talking about the power of hospitality and encouragement through stories shared by folks who do more “up front&#...

Have you ever been reading through your Bible, come up against a genealogy or other such list of stuff you either don’t care enough about or don’t have the mental capacity to parse through it at the moment so you just skip it? I think we all have. We find ourselves continuing in our Unread Tales series with a book that is downright filled with stories and ideas we’ve heard about....

Our Unread Tales series continues on — with the book of Lamentations. No — SERIOUSLY. It’s the book of Lamentations. Gear up, kids. It’s time to enter into the hurt of an entire nation.