No Experts Allowed

Samuel hears God's voice at night, repeatedly mistaking it for Eli's. When Eli realizes God is speaking to Samuel, he tells him to respond to God. Thus begins Samuel's prophetic and administrative duties for Israel. Jonathan and Seth talk about their own call stories, the nudges they've felt pulling them toward ministry, and the grumbles that have pushed them away.

Historically, the Church has claimed God creates ex nihilo (Latin for out of nothing). Genesis, however, assumes chaos already exists when God begins creating. In a turbulent world, Jonathan and Seth discuss the chaos they want to see transformed in their own lives and pray to the One who can dispel chaos with a word.

A short section on the Beloved Disciple (traditionally John himself) and whether he will die ends John's gospel. It is a strange passage, perhaps the strangest one we've covered so far. It leads Jonathan and Seth to talk about how they want to be remembered in their eulogies.

In Jerusalem for Jesus' circumcision, Mary and Joseph are approached by Simeon and Anna, who recognize Jesus as a redeemer. Jonathan and Seth discuss how Jesus' identity begins to spread, the purpose of stories about Jesus' early life, and teenage Jesus. Since this episode releases on December 26th, we hope your Christmas was full of the joy that God's incarnate Son brings.

King David's desire to build a temple is curtailed by God's desire to stay in the moveable tabernacle. God wants to be mobile, moving with God's people. Jonathan and Seth discuss how this passage relates to Advent and Jesus Christ, the walking talking God-with-flesh-on.

Mary's Magnificat and Luke's narrative lift up the role of women in the Church. Unlike the traditionally passive portrayal of Mary in nativity stories, Mary has agency. She takes center-stage, singing a song about God's work in the world and in her womb. Jonathan and Seth wrestle with how women have been historically excluded in the Church because of men like them.

John the Baptist tells the truth. When Mark begins, John is in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance and telling about the one to come after him. Jonathan and Seth discuss baptism and how it empowers Christians to tell the truth.

Isaiah cries that God has hidden God’s face. The miraculous deeds of the past have ended. Yet, Isaiah is confident that God is the potter and God’s people are the clay, which Jonathan and Seth discuss in more detail.

Jesus' story of the sheep and the goats continues Matthew's theme of Emmanuel, God-with-us. Jesus is with us in the hungry, thirsty, outcast, naked, sick, and imprisoned. Jonathan and Seth explore how the disarming simplicity of providing food or a drink to someone can complement reforming entire systems.

Psalms 120-134 are Songs of Ascent, which were sung as pilgrims went up to Jerusalem, which sat on a hill. These Psalms combine praise with poetic descriptions of Israel's past; they describe where the people of Israel are going and where they've been. With Psalm 123 as a guide, Jonathan and Seth discuss the state of the Church and where it needs reform.

Jesus’ parable of the 10 bridesmaids cautions us to stay awake and be prepared because “you do not know the day or the hour” (25:13). Jonathan and Seth try to read against the grain while wrestling with the parable in light of God’s love.

Micah rails against Israel's injustice as the Assyrian army encroaches. He blames the oppression by influential rulers, priests, and prophets for Israel's situation. We discuss the failure of those in power to listen to the needs of people "who [can] put nothing into their mouths" (3:5).

When asked what is the greatest commandment, Jesus answers with two of them: love God and love your neighbor. Jonathan and Seth discuss how these two commandments are intertwined. They also disagree about which gospel is the greatest.

In what might be the oldest book in the New Testament, Paul praises the Thessalonians for being models to others in their region. Jonathan and Seth discuss what being a model might look like and how the early, persecuted Jesus-followers differ from the contemporary Church.

Paul writes to the Philippians from prison; the letter-carrier, Epaphroditus, almost dies during his journey (Phil. 2:25-30). Yet Paul's letter is characterized by joy. Jonathan and Seth discuss what rejoicing in the Lord looks like and how admonitions to "Rejoice!" land differently depending on the position of the sender and recipient.

Jonathan and Seth welcome their longtime friend, Jared Lorraine, to the podcast. We discuss how the Sabbath disconnects what people produce from their value and how rest relates to equity and justice. Our discussion briefly comments on the book Sabbath as Resistance: Saying No to the Culture of Now by Walter Brueggemann, which is available from an independent bookseller here: https://www.indieboun...

Just after this short section, Joshua is appointed to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land instead of Moses. Jonathan and Seth talk about preparing for one's successors and having bifocal-like vision that sees both immediate and long-term goals.

When we hear Jesus say, "it’s easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom," we may be stunned like his disciples. Many interpreters try to make this message more palatable, but it is clear that the disciples have given up everything to follow him. Jonathan and Seth discuss what it looks like to take Jesus' admonition to heart today and ho...

The Lord's Prayer comprises one of the most well-known portions of scripture but is often recited verbatim rather than functioning as a model prayer. Jonathan and Seth explore how prayer reorients us from ourselves back to God and how reading various translations helps us see familiar passages in new ways.

We discuss God's command to Moses to warn Pharoah about the final plague. But only Pharoah wants the Israelites to stay; even Pharoah's servants respect Moses. This leads us to a discussion about confronting injustice when those in power are unwilling to act.

Jeremiah pleads for the widows, orphans, and aliens that have been trampled on by Israelite society. In our first episode with guests, our wives, Abby and Patty, talk about how they've seen people in already precarious positions held down and held back.

Ezekiel proclaims a vision of renewed gardens and rebuilt cities. God does not throw away what seems desolate and forlorn but will transform it. That theme leads to a discussion about the prison industrial complex, recidivism, and the need for a system that takes seriously the reforming capacity of people.

Isaiah proclaims that all will be part of God's people; foreigners are invited to join in praise. Jonathan and Seth discuss how churches both intentionally and accidentally exclude others. We also discuss chicken sandwiches.

Jesus chides the religious leaders' ability to predict the weather, but not understand the miracles happening in front of them. He continues by pointing to a rather cryptic "sign of Jonah." Seth and Jonathan discuss how churches can interpret the signs of the times.

Tired of his father-in-law's treatment, Jacob flees Laban. But in the story, Rachel and Leah are relatively quiet, passive characters. Jonathan and Seth discuss how the Bible (and all texts) reinforce one perspective to the exclusion of others and how we can elevate those who whisper in the text.