Deeply Spiritual but Rather Uncertain - with Skip Collins

For many that are deconstructing their traditional faith to a more progressive outlook Romans is a problem.  What do you do with it?  Just ignore it and hopes it goes away?  This is the beginning of a series to reframe the book of Romans.     Don't forget to check out my Patreon Page at www.patreon.com/skipcollins    

The question of the day... Do we interpret the Bible through science or science through the Bible?  Is Genesis 1 and 2 to be taken literally?  Does any of that have anything to do with my life here and now?  Check out this episode!   Don't forget to check out the Patreon Page at www.patreon.com/skipcollins .  It's a way you can support the podcast plus receive extra content.  

If you have been around Christianity for even a very short time you probably know what the Gospel is.  In Evangelicalism, it's Jesus taking our sin upon Himself on the cross and dying in our place.  It's about the fact those who accept Jesus' sacrifice will have eternal life in heaven and those who don't will be eternally tortured.   What if I told you that I think that Gospel has failed us?   Don...

So often I hear people who are in the midst of deconstructing their faith talk about their struggle with spiritual practices.  The practices that used to make sense don't anymore.  The practices that used to help, don't anymore.  In this episode, I speak of some contemplative practices that have become much more meaningful to me as I've worked through my own deconstruction.   This week I have uplo...

I have been a fan of the Enneagram for 25 years!  It's been absolutely transformational in my life through times of crisis as well as the journey of deconstruction. So I decided to do an episode that is an overview of this amazing tool and why I love it so much. Below are a number of links for great Enneagram resources.   Sleeping at Last The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective - Richard Rohr The R...

2 Kings chapter 5 is a story of the prophet Elisha and a guy by the name of Naaman who is the Commander of the armies of Aram.  In it, we see a beautiful contrast of the Empire, with the Kingdom of God that I think is incredibly relevant for our world today.  

God is in control.  It's a phrase we hear over and over in Christian circles.  But what does it really mean?  Is God really in control?  If so, then you can see why some people think he/she is doing a pretty lousy job of it!  On today's episode, we ask that exact question and we look at several competing theological views on the subject.  Don't forget to check out the Patreon page.  The link is be...

Disruption is a regular activity of life.  Sometimes we volunteer for it - like when we have children or change jobs - sometimes it is thrust upon us without warning.  In the church, we have these regular activities like baptism, communion, and others that we call sacraments.  They are these physical things that impart God's grace in our lives and that hopefully leads us to a new normal - a better...

I've been thinking a lot about my own need for certainty.  These times are crazy and I really want to know when it will end.  I really want to know what the "new normal" is going to look like.  I really want to know if my retirement fund will come back!   What we are all learning is that the things we were certain of just a few weeks ago are no longer certain. How about the Bible?  Certainly, we c...

For many years we have heard people weaponize the Bible against whatever would come against them.  We quote it at the enemy and if we do that we will be protected.  This wrong use of the Bible has been more prominent on Social media lately because of the Corona Virus.  So does it work?  Can I quote the verse, "No weapon formed against me shall prosper", enough times to keep the virus away?  Is tha...

There are lots of questions around the Canonization of Scripture and does that process make the Bible less trustworthy.  Who decided what books to include and what gave them the authority to make that call?  That's what we are talking about in this episode.   Don't forget to check out my Patreon page at www.patreon.com/skipcollins .  Also if you would rate and/or comment below it would be helpful...

This is the story of a little girl who has challenged my thinking in a number of areas.  In this episode, I will share her tragic story and the lessons I learned in watching and loving her.  

What is there for a 66-year-old white man to learn from a little girl who was abandoned by her parents, contracted TB Meningitis, TB on the spine, and Hydrocephlis and then passed away at 15 months old?  I can assure you that it is more than you can learn in a lifetime.  Today I am sharing another of those things with you.   Also, I'm excited to announce that we have launched a Patreon page.  It m...

Since the beginning of the church, women have been told that they are not allowed to lead in church world.  That role has been given to the men - by God himself.  Personally, I believe our churches are weaker because of it.  Today I talk to Mickie O'Donnell about her 4 decades in church ministry and her thoughts around female leadership in the church.  Below are a number of resources that Mickie m...

Within Christianity, everybody pretty much agrees on the fact that both women and men are created in the image of God - but that's pretty much where the agreement ends.  What is the role of the man and the women in the home and in the world?  I have a feeling our wrong theology around these issues has contributed to the domestic abuse and gender-based violence in our world. In this episode, we exp...

How comfortable are you with referring to God as "she" or God as Mother?  Just because the Bible generally uses the pronoun "he", does that mean we should only think of God as male?  And the more important question is does our view of God being only male add to a warped view of women and their role in the world and the church?   For the next 3 episodes, we will be asking the question, does our tra...

Brett "Fish" Anderson is a unique human being.  A member of ImproGuise, the longest-running show in Capetown, and a voice calling the church and Christians to issues of justice especially in the area of race.  In this episode, I sat down with Brett to hear his story and to talk about things like racism, white privilege, Black Lives Matter and more.  Below are a few links to the things we have spok...

After last weeks episode on "Who's Truth is THE Truth" I felt like there were some things that were left unsaid.  And in this episode, we ask 2 questions.  Is it ok to believe anything under the guise of "my truth" or are there some absolutes in this world?  And then what happens when your truth and my truth disagree?  

Where do we find answers for the tough questions of ethics and morality in our world?  How do Christians decide where we stand on issues like the injustice or women in leadership or LGBTQI or the many questions that face us in our world.  What happens when what I've always been taught that the Bible says, and my experience of the world don't add up?  Take a listen as we try to decide who's truth i...

From a conservative Southern Baptist Pastor to a Progressive Evangelical Christian - That's my friend Mark Baber.  I had the great privilege of sitting down with Mark (on Skype) to talk about the events in his life that have shaped what he believes about life and faith and God.  

Have you ever cringed when you read the line, "the wrath of God", in the Bible or heard a sermon on God's wrath?  Have you ever wondered if you would manage to escape God's wrath?  Yeah, me too.  That's why I did this podcast.  I probably don't have all the answers, but here are some really good questions to ponder!  Is the wrath of God really a thing? In the podcast, I mention the book below by B...

I actually love change.  But I know many people struggle with change especially when it comes to Christian beliefs.  Today I sit down to talk with my friend and colleague Mark VanStraaten to talk about what he calls The Law of First Learning.  Mark is the Founding Pastor of Grace Family Church in Durban South Africa.  This is a great conversation that you won't want to miss.  

When you hear people say, "I just believe what Christians have always believed" you can pretty confidently (but nicely)  say "actually you don't".   The truth is that what we believe today is the result of numerous shifts in Christian thinking over many centuries.  In this episode, we look at some of those shifts as well as the shift that is happening right now!  Could we be in the midst of a new...

Recently I got to sit down with my oldest son, Josh and talk about his life and his spiritual journey growing up as a Missionary Kid in South Africa.  It's a conversation that we have had before but I felt like it was important enough to share with this community.  If you grew up as a Missionary Kid or Preachers Kid or in a Christian home you may very quickly relate to much of this interview.  If...

Season 2 Let's start Season 2 on a happy note. Let's talk about sin!   The word is used hundreds of times in the Bible.  But what is it really?  How do I know if I've done it?  Are there levels of sin?  Should I even worry about it if I'm doing the best I can?