Coffee with Creamer

Ever looked at the moon during the day and thought, “Huh… that seems backwards”? The fuller the moon gets, the less time we see it in the daytime sky—and somehow that leads us to inverse proportionality, human behavior, and the curious ways those two things might have more in common than you’d expect. We’ll start […]

Psalm 122 is about going to Jerusalem, gathering with God’s people, and praying for peace. Which sounds lovely—until you remember that being around other people is sometimes…a lot. In this episode, Barry takes a closer look at this little psalm and its surprisingly practical vision for community. We must reconsider what it means to seek […]

It’s another conversation about what happens when philosophy and ministry start asking each other questions. And, as it turns out, they have quite a few. We get into sophistry, the ways people can become very good at making arguments without necessarily making good arguments, and the complicated relationship between doctrine and ethics. What we believe […]

Barry acknowledges there are some things you can learn by studying philosophy that ministry will never teach you—and some things ministry will teach you that you could never learn from a philosophy textbook. In this episode, he explores the surprising things learned on both sides of that divide, while admitting that philosophy and ministry have […]

Psalm 119 is basically 176 verses of the psalmist saying, “God, I really, really love Your Word.” And while that might sound a little intense, there’s something wonderfully practical underneath all of it: what gets into us eventually comes out of us. Our interaction with God’s word is less about simply reading it but rather, […]

We all have lines that tell us who we are—and who we’re not. Race, nationality, politics, and a whole host of other identities can shape us in ways we barely notice. In Part 2 of Self-De-Centered, Barry looks at what happens when those identities become walls, and at Jesus’ very different way: incarnation. If we’re […]

It turns out there’s a pretty big problem with making yourself the center of the universe: you’re not the center of the universe. But what does that actually mean for the way we understand ourselves? In the first episode of this series, Barry takes a look at the self from several different angles—biological, psychological, sociological, […]

Wouldn’t life be simpler if everyone just agreed with you? Maybe—but God didn’t build His kingdom that way. In Part 2 of …Who Needs Enemies?, Barry looks at why God intentionally created us with different gifts, personalities, and callings, and why even the people who drive us crazy may have something we need. Plus, what […]

We spend much of our lives trying to outrun our adversaries, but what if they’re actually one of God’s gifts? In Part 1 of the …Who Needs Enemies series, Barry explores why opposition isn’t always something to avoid. From the courtroom, where justice depends on opposing sides, to the political arena, where differing viewpoints can […]

In Part 2 of our exploration of Psalm 115, Barry concludes his look at the responsibilities a lawn gnome cannot fulfill, but you can. God has given us mouths to act so that his unseen presence becomes unmistakably visible through our praise—in other words we need to stop being like an idol and start acting […]

Barry takes a deeper dive into the lawn gnome theology of Psalm 115 as he revisits gratitude. Gratitude is one of those things we know we’re supposed to have: say “yes ma’am” and “yes sir” and remember to send thank-you notes. But this psalm shows us that gratitude is more than a simple courtesy; that […]

What do lawn gnomes, ancient idols, and our everyday lives have in common? More than you might think. Barry explores one of the sharpest—and funniest—critiques of idolatry, showing why the things we trust inevitably shape who we become. This ancient psalm reminds us that in our attempts to seek the objective existence of God, we […]

In the previous episode, Barry walked us through the process and tools he uses to interpret the Psalms. This time, we put those tools to work on Psalm 114, and uncover its tropes, motifs, parallels to find much more than a story about mountains, rocks, and runaway seas. If you’ve ever wondered what it looks […]

The sea runs away, a river changes direction, and mountains start hopping like sheep. Welcome to Psalm 114. Barry explores one of the Bible’s most colorful psalms while giving pointers on how to read Psalms in general. Beneath all the geological excitement lies a masterclass in biblical poetry. We’ll explore tropes, motifs, parallels, and why […]

Psalm 113 is a reminder that God is both higher than we can imagine and closer than we expect. In this episode, Barry discusses the Exodus, God’s humility, and why He willingly zooms in on our everyday struggles—even when He has to use the cosmic equivalent of a microscope to do it. The reason is […]

What do David, Elijah, Jonah, John the Baptist, and a small college have in common? Barry finishes this series by exploring the idea of “skewed vectors”—people and institutions that point in a different direction than the culture around them—including church culture. From the prophets of Scripture to the mission of higher education, we consider why […]

In part 2 of our series on higher education, Barry asks what happens when the university starts losing some of the historic pillars that once made it a university: freedom of speech, intellectual freedom in the classroom, and independence in the boardroom. Somewhere between culture wars, workforce expectations, and institutional identity crises, he asks whether […]

Barry starts a series and challenges us to think about learning. Higher education often finds itself squeezed between workforce expectations and deeper human formation. As culture increasingly measures college by return on investment alone, what might be lost when the pursuit of truth, knowledge, virtue, and meaningful contribution to society are treated as optional extras […]

Barry explores the nature of altruism and why the gospel presents love for others not as an optional virtue, but as a central obligation and even promise. From the Golden Rule to Kant’s categorical imperative, we consider what it means to apply ethical concern universally and why consistent compassion challenges our instincts toward favoritism and […]

Barry walks us through Psalm 111, an acrostic song that unfolds with remarkable, intentional design, each movement building on the last until the whole picture comes into focus. The structure itself becomes part of the message: nothing is accidental and everything fits into a dance between God and his people that creates an illuminating presence […]

Barry finishes our series looking at the temptations that can lead to compromise of the church. He reviews straw man explanations of failure when compromise comes calling, which fall short and trip us up, explanations (not justifications) that make sense and provide insight into our human desires, and how on (this) earth we can maintain […]

Barry starts a series looking at the temptations that can lead to compromise in the church. Competing values, expectations, and fears sing the siren’s song. Many times our own forgetfulness or our desire to reshape God’s religion can be our biggest challenges. Once we see these temptations for what they are, we must look to […]

Barry covers a psalm that teaches us there is a deliverer coming on our behalf, someone who brings both authority and rescue beyond what we can accomplish (or attempt to control) on our own. For those who do not live in a perfect world, we are invited to rest in the hope that deliverance and […]

Sometimes we Christians think that faith shows best when no doubts are visible; however, Barry argues that doubt’s contrast can make faith shine. He walks us through 4 barriers or objections to the faith and warns us of using circular arguments, making secondary issues essential, erecting fences to help God out with his job description, […]

Barry finishes up the series on Finding and Losing Our Way—how you can walk out into the world and carry your learning home without it redesigning you. This time he focuses on experience (science and empiricism) and the gentle lull through its pragmatism which may impact our foundational truths rather than the other way ‘round. […]