The Bridge Builders Forum

Send us Fan Mail An important story lies behind the cover of my new book, The Olive Tree Affirmations—and it has everything to do with how Christians have understood Paul's Olive Tree allegory in Romans 11. In this episode, I explore a nearly 500-year-old illustration that reflects the traditional Christian understanding of Paul's Olive Tree and explain why we need to reconsider that int...

Send us Fan Mail What did the Apostle Paul really mean when he called followers of Jesus to be "transformed by the renewal of your mind" (Romans 12:2)? In this special episode of the Bridge Builders Forum podcast, Ryan Lambert shares a message delivered at Renew Church in Perth, Australia, exploring the important connection between Romans 11 and 12. Discover how understanding Paul's...

Send us Fan Mail Was Paul really arguing against the Torah and Judaism in his letter to the Galatians? Or have centuries of interpretation led us to misunderstand his message? In this episode of Bridge Builders Forum, we sit down with Dr. Jakub Pogonowski, a scholar of early Judaism and Christian origins at the University of Warsaw, to discuss his new book, A Hebrew of Hebrews: Paul's Epistle...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when an Orthodox Jew and an evangelical Christian become friends—and decide to build something together? In this episode of Bridge Builders Forum, Ryan Lambert sits down with Gidon Ariel and Bob O'Dell, co-founders of Root Source, an organization helping Jews and Christians study Scripture, learn from one another, and build meaningful relationships across religio...

Send us Fan Mail What does the Bible say about Israel, the Jewish people, and their ongoing connection to the land? And how is replacement theology shaping Christian attitudes toward Israel today? In this episode of Bridge Builders Forum, I sit down with Anglican theologian Dr. Jules Gomes to discuss the history and current influence of replacement theology within Anglicanism, the rise of Christia...

Send us Fan Mail Why are Christians around the world celebrating Sukkot, the biblical Feast of Tabernacles? In this special 10-minute episode, recorded in Australia during Sukkot, Ryan Lambert sits down with Pastor Kyal Cumming of Kingdom Church to discuss why his congregation has embraced this biblical Jewish festival and even developed an annual celebration that draws people from across Australi...

Send us Fan Mail The new Olive Tree Affirmations book is officially here! In this special episode, Ryan Lambert shares the story and vision behind his new book and explains why he believes its message is especially important right now. At a time of rising antisemitism, many Christians genuinely want to stand with the Jewish people but aren't always sure what that means biblically, theological...

Send us Fan Mail What does it look like for Torah to go forth from Zion to the nations today? In this episode of Bridge Builders Forum, Ryan Lambert sits down with Rabbi Ari Abramowitz, co-founder of The Land of Israel Network for a wide-ranging conversation about Torah, the Land of Israel, and the growing relationship between Jews and Christians. Ari shares his personal journey from the United St...

Send us Fan Mail As Rosh Hashanah and the Jewish year 5787 approach, Ryan Lambert shares a few personal reflections on something that can be both difficult and incredibly important: being willing to change our minds. What does it mean to hold deeply to our convictions while still remaining teachable? Where might we need to think differently about ourselves, another person, a relationship, or even...

Send us Fan Mail Can Jewish prayer be spiritually beneficial for non-Jews? And if so, how can Christians engage Jewish prayer in a way that is healthy, respectful, and honors the Jewish people and Jewish tradition? As Jewish-Christian relationships continue to improve and more Christians seek to reconnect with the Jewish foundations of their faith, questions like these are becoming increasingly re...

Send us Fan Mail What did Paul actually envision for the communities of Jews and Gentiles who followed Jesus? In this final episode of our Journey with the Jewish Paul series, we travel to two cities that became major centers of Paul’s mission: Corinth and Ephesus. In Corinth, we explore Paul’s complicated relationship with the communities he helped establish, the often-overlooked importance of hi...

Send us Fan Mail Israel and Zionism have become some of the most debated (and often divisive) topics among Christians and Jews today. But what does the Catholic Church have to say about Israel? And can a faithful Catholic also be a Zionist? In this episode of the Bridge Builders Forum, Ryan Lambert sits down with Dr. André Villeneuve, a Catholic theologian, biblical scholar, and founder of Catholi...

Send us Fan Mail What did Paul believe about the end of time? And how did that belief shape his mission? In this episode, we travel to ancient Thessalonica to explore one of Paul’s earliest letters and the urgent message he preached to Gentiles: turn from idols, worship the living God, and prepare for the coming of Jesus. Along the way, we’ll look at the conflict surrounding Paul’s mission in Acts...

Send us Fan Mail Paul’s letter to the Philippians is one of the most beloved books in the New Testament. Most interpreters understand Paul to be encouraging the Philippian Christ followers to remain faithful in the face of suffering while also warning them against Jewish or Jewish-Christian “Judaizers.” But was Paul really opposing Jews and Judaism in Philippi? In this episode, Ryan Lambert argues...

Send us Fan Mail What difference does it make to read the New Testament within its original Jewish context? In this episode of Bridge Builders Forum, Ryan Lambert welcomes renowned New Testament scholar Dr. Amy-Jill Levine and Jewish studies scholar Dr. Marc Zvi Brettler to discuss the release of the third edition of The Jewish Annotated New Testament. First published fifteen years ago, The Jewish...

Send us Fan Mail Luke's account of Paul in Athens is one of the most famous scenes in the Book of Acts. Paul's masterful ability to adapt his rhetoric to his audience is on full display. However, in addition to adapting his rhetoric, most interpreters also understand Paul to have adapted his behavior—particularly his Torah observance—depending on his audience. But did Paul really have th...

Send us Fan Mail Can Jews and Christians have meaningful theological conversations without minimizing their differences? For many people, the answer is no. Once the conversation turns to the Trinity, the incarnation, salvation, or the Messiah, it can seem like Judaism and Christianity have simply traveled too far down separate paths. But is that really the case? In this episode of the Bridge Build...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when we recover Paul as a first-century Jewish man living and teaching within the Greco-Roman world? In this episode, Ryan Lambert shares three foundational keys that can transform the way we read Paul's letters. While many have begun to rediscover Paul's Jewish identity, it's equally important to understand the broader Mediterranean world in which he l...

Send us Fan Mail If you've ever visited Capernaum in Israel, you've likely walked through its famous synagogue and stood beneath the octagonal church traditionally associated with Peter's home. But what if those monuments tell a much more complicated story than most visitors realize? In this episode of the Bridge Builders Forum, Ryan Lambert sits down with New Testament scholar Dr....

Send us Fan Mail What kind of legacy do we want to leave behind? In this episode of Bridge Builders Forum, Ryan Lambert sits down with author and publisher Nikki Goldstein to discuss her powerful book, Conversations with My Rabbi, co-authored with Rabbi Eli Schlanger. What began as an unlikely friendship between a secular Jewish woman and an Orthodox Chabad rabbi became a profound journey of spiri...

Send us Fan Mail Paul is one of the most influential figures in history. He is also one of the most misunderstood. For many Christians, Paul is presented as the founder of a new religion that broke away from Judaism. But what if that picture is incomplete? What if understanding Paul in his first-century Jewish and Greco-Roman context changes how we read his letters, interpret Acts, and appreciate...

Send us Fan Mail How does a Christian from the hills of Tennessee end up building one of the most respected Christian service organizations in Israel? In this episode of Bridge Builders Forum, Ryan Lambert sits down with Tommy Waller, founder of HaYovel, to discuss the remarkable story of how a family from rural Tennessee became deeply involved in serving Israeli farmers and building relationships...

Send us Fan Mail In this special episode of Bridge Builders Forum, Ryan Lambert provides an important update on the Olive Tree Campaign and explains why Christians urgently need a clearer theological language regarding Israel, Judaism, and the Jewish people. Many Christians today genuinely want to stand against antisemitism and replacement theology. They want to express solidarity with the Jewish...

Send us Fan Mail In Part 2 of this conversation, Ryan Lambert continues his discussion with New Testament scholar Dr. Anders Runesson about his book Judaism for Gentiles. Building on Part 1, this episode explores some of the biggest questions surrounding Paul, the early Jesus movement, and the relationship between Judaism and Christianity. Together, Ryan and Anders discuss: • Paul’s “rule in all t...

Send us Fan Mail Paul is one of the most influential figures in human history. He is also one of the most misunderstood. For many people, Paul is remembered as the person who moved the Jesus movement away from Judaism and helped create what eventually became Christianity. But what if that framing misses something important? In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Ryan Lambert sits down with New T...