Bard & Bible

With this tale, I open up another series at the Bard & Bible. I have a list of books oft left unread in your Bible. Minor prophets like Joel and Haggai, books mistakenly judged to be dull and meaningless like Numbers. I want to look at them and crack into the books of history, prophecy, and – yeah – even a few of those New Testament Epistles you might not have looked at in a while....

Wind is a funny thing. It can destroy fleets or push them home to port. No wonder the Bible says that those who study and strengthen themselves against having their faith caught at the mercy of “every wind of doctrine.” However, in this episode of the Bard & Bible, I call forth a large section of my favorite novel – American Gods – and team it up with Nathanael sitting...

I’m back at the helm of the Bard & Bible, and I have to say it’s bittersweet. I love doing this, and I’m happy to be back, but I was so pleased with the amazing work of those who I got to mind the shop for me while I was gone, I’m not sure how I can just go back to doing business as usual. Tonight, though, we talk about leadership, and how I think I was more the leader...

                  We have come to the end of our experiment, and I have to say that I hope you have been as blessed as I have been with all of those who have found their way tot he Bard & Bible in my absence. The last of this year’s installments belongs to an old friend of mine, Dave Atkins. Dave and I went to seminary together. A gifted teach...

            So you might be asking yourself, “Is everyone in the Wandering Bards Guild actually a bard?” Well, not exactly. In this newest tale – the penultimate of this year’s Wandering Bards tales – the bar is being tended by not one host, but two. And these fellows consider themselves a cleric and a paladin. We won’t hold that ag...

                  Welcome to our second venture into the Wandering Bards Guild – wherein I let some of my friends and fellows in the ways of theological geekery take over the Bard & Bible for a time as I’m off doing other – probably Tavern Con related shenanigans. In this tale – we let Thomas Kolar entertain and encourage you...

                  This tale marks the first foray into what I’m calling the Wandering Bards Guild. It’s a chance for you to hear from folks I’m confident will be worth your time to listen to – friends and fellow travelers attempting to navigate this weird world of faith, gaming, and general nerdery that I’ve found myself on...

  Melvin Graham, Brother of Billy Graham It’s hard not to want to be “the guy.” The person everyone knows, everyone listens to, and everyone wants to be. Whether it’s the simple acknowledgment of work accomplished, the drive to do something meaningful with our lives, or just a desire to bathe in the spotlight a bit – there’s some part of us that want the re...

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, gather round and hear the stories of two circuses – and the promises they make. In the first tent, you see a circus that dares to mystify and stupify you. A spectacle above all others with a soundtrack that can raise the dead, but ultimately reminds us that you can only spin a story so much before you just get dizzy and fall over. The second is a story t...

After just over a year of creating Bard & Bible episodes – I thought it was about time to evoke a meeting of the simple theologian’s club. Get ready to lift your glass and recite the oath. Every once in a while we just have to remember that Jesus loves us, and all our differences don’t matter near as much as that does.

I might have missed out on some quality Sunday school cheese – including a wealth of supposedly memorable acronyms. Most of them don’t bother me, but there’s one that irks me to my core. When folks try to explain the place and importance of the Bible by calling it the B.I.B.L.E. – the B asic I nstructions B efore L eaving E arth. The Bible isn’t basic. It’s a co...

When I started down my baby-quest – I left Jonathan Campoverde in charge of the Bard & Bible for a while. His first outing behind the bar has proven I made the right decision. Regardless of what road you find yourself – or whether or not it was the road you started down when your journey began – you are still a dwarf bard. No one can call you sub-optimal when you are pursuing...

As I am literally days away from welcoming my son Noah into this world – I couldn’t help but pause a bit and reflect on all the fathers who stood before their sons, offering blessings that would aid and guide the rest of their lives. While my blessing to my boy may or may not prove to have any prophetic weight, I even wrote my own: My son, May you see the face of God much sooner than y...

Thanksgiving just happened here in the USA, and the ability to step away for a while got me thinking about the nature of ‘sabbath’ and our weird understanding of what it means to rest. I talk about the fact that, for some, rest is something that you do when there’s nothing better to do. As if to say, “You’re not doing anything, so rest up for when the next thing comes...

You’ve probably seen it if you find yourself on any form of social media. Somebody shares their hurts, frustrations, or expectations and they get called a “snowflake.” Well – I’m here as one of those snowflakes, and I’m gonna tell you some stories from my life that remind me that God speaks to a person exactly how they need to be spoken to in order to draw them...

Not technically part of my recently concluded “Lesser Known Characters of the Bible” series – The man known only as ‘The Man Born Blind’ seemed like a good transition back to business as usual. There isn’t much to know about the guy, but there are few folks I think about more than him. His circumstances are troubling. His healing is enigmatic, and his...

There are certain names that we remember when we’re looking at Paul and his missionary journeys. There are two of them in particular that can be easily overlooked but should be given a particular note. Priscilla and Aquila are among Paul’s dearest friends. They are from the same trade, they traveled with him for a bit, and they are among the people he looked for when he was staring dea...

We’re still working through this series on characters found all over the Bible that often are overlooked or underappreciated. Today’s feature is Lydia – the seller of purple. A woman who hosts Luke, Paul, and the missionaries with them – the first believer in all of Phillipi. There’s not much that’s known about her, but so much of what we think of today in regar...

The very first time I did a series about lesser-known, favorite characters in the Bible started with me telling a room full of fifth-grade boys, “Has anyone ever told you about Ehud the left handed assassin?” It was a ploy, mind you, to get these guys who showed absolutely no regard for lessons from their Bibles interested in the stories that lay waiting for them within its pages. Thus...

Tonight we start a series of episodes dedicated to folks in the Bible you may have never even heard of. They are the people that live in the narrative parts of the Old and New Testaments, but they don’t make their way into many Sunday school lessons or precious moments statuettes. For our first outing, I wanted to spend some time with one of the hardest stories in the Bible that I’ve e...

I had a new B&B in the can. Had it outlined, recorded, and ready to be edited – but it got scratched. Instead, I wanted to speak to what we’re seeing in Charlottesville, VA today. I am thankful that we are now seeing the Church refuse to be silent about racism and hate. We are seeing the Church rise to the occasion and speak out against these actions. I want to tell you some stories. Stor...

Chester Bennington wrote songs that spoke to my youth, and news of his death hit a lot of us who turned to his music during a tumultuous time of our lives. In this tale – I want to tell you a personal story. My story. I know there have been many times that I have taken to podcasts saying how you are loved by God and you need to keep going. I know there have been many times when I have told an...

I have grown tired as of late. So tired that I find it challenging to write this description in a way that does justice to what I’m talking about in this tale, without just kicking a hornets’ nest that does more to prove my assertion than it does stir up conviction. It has been a long week, and I am deeply thankful for the grace that is continually shown me, and the anonymity I enjoy that all...

When I was a kid – I wore out the VHS tape I had of an animated movie called The Flight of Dragons. One of the characters in the story was a young, immature house dragon by the name of Gorbash. When the prophesied hero from the world of men arrives on his quest from antiquity – Gorbash asks a simple question – what good is he? So when it came time for me to name the little voice that lives in the...

Anytime folks in the Christian community want to talk about culture, and how to harness culture to share and explore God – they cite Mars Hill. A quick google search will show you sermons, videos, and a cavalcade of organizations that claim the name of that rock in Greece. But are we really up for doing things the way Paul did? Are we really up for sharing Christ in a way that has those who think...