FOUNDRYcast

#Blessed. It's a loaded word. And not just for the young, hip instagram crowd, trying to somewhat normalize their public displays of the ideal life. We are in the deep south. How many times have we made jokes about knowing what "bless your heart" actually means? I think we can all agree it is a loaded word. It probably became a loaded word because it is a complicated word. No place better shows an...

Do you struggle with reading scripture?   Join us for a 6 week study of 1st John and a series of lessons on how to read the Bible. We will tackle the problems folks have shared with what stops them from reading the Bible and learn together.  For all digital resources, please visit and join our group page here . 

Think of a few paradoxes. You might have a couple in your own life...I know I do. Our expectations can sometimes get the best of us. We can try to be well meaning, but it sometimes escapes us, even with our best actions. Jesus dealt with the paradox of the kingdom throughout His entire ministry. People expected different things. And sometimes, He even talked about those different expectations. At...

Every so often I run into a story in the Bible that leaves me speechless. It's one of the ones that is so odd we don't really know how to react to it. And in these stories we can take a few different paths. One of them is we simply call it allegory or metaphor and we can allow ourselves to learn from it without ever accepting the truth of it. Another pathway we can take is that it is 100% real we...

Have you ever had an awesome neighbor? They can totally change your standard of living. Instead of just a simple "Hey, can I borrow this?" you might end up with a radically different understanding of community. But have you ever had a frustrating neighbor? When we lived in Kentucky we were pretty much next door to a meth house. Let me tell you, that was interesting. Neighbors are interesting becau...

We've got a complicated relationship with work. We want to find fulfillment and value in life...but we also need to pay the bills. For most of us, it means finding a balance between what we enjoy and what doesn't drive us crazy (but anything can make us a little crazy...right?). So work is a little complicated. Work actually begins at the very beginning. It's part of Adam's life as he is tasked to...

How good are you at finding things? Perhaps a better question is how good are you at losing things? I once lost my keys and functioned for months without a way to lock my dorm room, access my mailbox and only could drive my car because I had given my roommate a spare key. Ultimately, the keys were right in front of me. They had fallen into the center of a wire spool we were using as a coffee table...

Over the last couple of weeks we have dug deep into what the idea of the Kingdom of God means. This week, we are going to get a little specific and Jack Lockeby will be sharing from an encounter someone had with Jesus. It makes us ask tough questions of our own discipleship and what it means to follow Jesus. As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, "I will follow you wherever you go." Bu...

One of the most common teachings of Jesus is the "Kingdom of God". We've been dancing around it this last year in our year of Jesus*, but now is the time to jump into the bigger picture. And the best place to really start of with is…well, the start of the whole Kingdom of God idea. Matthew's gospel brings it up at the beginning of the Jesus story. I n those days John the Baptist came to the Judean...

Over the last year, we have been focusing on gospel passages and the teachings of Jesus on Sunday morning. We have looked at stories He shared, the way he challenged both people and systems, and we've also talked about how people chose to share these stories in the four books we call The Gospels. But what do we do with it? After we have been exposed to Jesus, what should our reaction be? In the la...

Have you ever wished for a 2nd chance? Thought about what it could look like, what you might do different? I think we all have. It's an important thing. Peter, after  last week,  most certainly needed a second chance. And the gospels tell us about the smaller run-ins he had with Jesus after the resurrection. But I imagine Peter still had that weird feeling in the back of his mind. Wondering if eve...

Have you ever found yourself backed into a corner? It's the hard way to learn the world isn't what we thought it was or doesn't work like we want it to. And this is an old tale. Sometimes we learn it easy and sometimes we learn it hard. Peter, a disciple of Jesus, learned a bunch of lessons. And over the next couple of weeks we are going to talk about what might be the hardest one. But this was a...

So who gets to belong? That's a big question. We could almost say the majority of our social discourse these days is about who gets to belong and at what level. The conversation begins when we are kids on the playground and in the classroom and sadly continues throughout our entire life. At our best, recognize differences and learn to live and work together. At our worst, we dehumanize and begin t...

So what surprises you? I'm not necessarily talking about someone jumping out from behind a door, but what behavior do you so rarely see that you end up genuinely surprised when you encounter it? They can be both negative and positive actions, but we all have the things that we hope for, but rarely see. Even Jesus. Yep, the big guy himself ends up surprised in this story. When he had entered Capern...

Jesus liked to tell stories. I imagine he did for the same reason other people like to tell stories. You see, words create worlds, and stories can create the worlds in which we can look at things differently…mainly ourselves. Jesus tells a story about a farmer scattering seeds. It goes like this: "Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell...

When was the last time you got into a disagreement? Did it end well? Do they ever actually end well? We live in a world that seems to be filled with disagreements. And how do they typically end up? What would it look like if the typical reaction to disagreements were better and stronger relationships? (yeah right) "If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If th...

Earlier this year, Chad Brooks (our pastor), had a pretty serious medical scare. He took the time to talk about it on Sunday morning and also to share what Scripture revealed to his heart during the season of healing and reflection. 

So what baggage do we carry around and what are we doing with it? "I have made no trouble for Israel," Elijah replied. "You and your family are the troublemakers, for you have refused to obey the commands of the  Lord  and have worshiped the images of Baal instead.   Now summon all Israel to join me at Mount Carmel, along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who are suppor...

Seriously? Think about it. What normally happens before a tough conversation has to happen? One person does something that has sadly turned out to be a repeating problem. Another person has to step in and have one of those tough conversations. I can only imagine both the internal and external words that are part of this realization. Typically, someone has become exasperated enough to realize that...

Everyone loves the inside scoop. Sometimes it's because we are nosey. Other times it's because we want to make sure we have right information. Inside scoops clarify. Especially when big things are at stake. So how do you go about doing it? You typically get to the bottom of the source, make sure you have as much information as you can find, and then make a decision. Part of the story of Jesus is t...

We are starting a new series called "Good Talk Bro" and looking at three conversations Jesus had with individuals. In each of these he confronts an assumption they have and invites them into a new change life. If we think about the people we trust to have these sorts of conversations, they are typically people we know and trust well. And we see different dynamics at play in each one of these situa...

Parties are about change. Are you tracking with me? Think back to late adolescence and early adult-hood. To go to a party was to have the ability to change things. You could finally have a conversation with that special someone, social ladders would move up and down, new people could be met, issues decided…all of it. Parties are where things change. And it's no different in scripture. One of the,...

We often think of Easter morning being this peaceful, calm situation. It has been imprinted on us that the angel was in all white, the women at the grave were squeaky clean and bathed, and even the Roman soldiers guarding the tomb were willing and excited participants of this whole event. insert sound of record player suddenly stopping and the needle moving across the record. I think all of the Su...

In this special palm sunday message, Allan Martin shares about how Jesus showing up in Jerusalem was quite the big arrival. 

So what happens when we bring #JesusIsBigEnough south of the border?