Revolution Church

We finally made it to Galatians 5, well Galatians 5, Part 1. This chapter is a bit tricky as it mostly sums up Galatians 4, but that’s okay because the themes there bear repeating. Legalism is like a yoke around our neck. The problem with a yoke is it’s used to steer livestock, so when we wear this yoke around our necks, we’re not doing the steering. We’re being used. Legalism is toxic and has inf...

Ever wonder why tigers have those white spots behind their ears? Can we learn grace from a seagull? What do pool balls and fish have in common? What happens if we put an ox and a donkey together on the same plow? We’re not sure, but we know if anyone can tie these disparate ideas together with some weird mysticism it’s today’s speaker, Joshua Murray. Once again, Josh visits the one topic he cares...

“Here is the confession: Galatians 4 has always been a bore to me…but I realize now it’s not.” That’s one way to introduce the next chapter in the series, but he wasn’t lying, the new stuff Jay discovered in this chapter is important and indeed not boring. Paul was very sick when he was in Galatia, and it was his time there that he was able to teach and share his message of Grace. He was expressin...

This week we have a Revolution first! Jay is taking a break from continuing forward with the Galatians series so that we can revisit the first three chapters. Some might call it beating a dead horse, we call it an overview! Or a recap. Regardless of what it’s called, it’s important to revisit before moving forward again. The reason it is important is because we have to remember just how timely thi...

Jay is back! And he’s here to drink Diet Coke and talk Galatians…and he’s all out of Diet Coke. Well actually, he’s quitting Diet Coke, and we wish him luck – but all the same that just leaves us with Galatians. Who has bewitched you? Do you believe what you’ve heard? These are questions Paul asks right up front in the next installment of Galatians. Paul and Jay pick up right where they left off,...

Due to a last-minute hiccup with daycare for the kiddos, Jay wasn’t able to speak, so we have a guest speaker! This week Joshua Murray gives us a talk about depression, legalism, engaged-Christianity, old school country western songs, Midnight Mass and male pattern baldness. In the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon goes on a long depressive rant about the meaningless of life and wisdom, in doing...

After a slew of technical difficulties, we’re back! Jay’s back at it with Galatians Chapter 2. How can such a harsh letter be about grace? Do your convictions cause fear in others? How do we take each other along this journey? How can radical compromise and radical contradiction make us a better community? How do we work through division? These are all questions that keep popping up when studying...

Achtung Baby!! Every year at this time Jay takes us on a deep dive into the Book of Galatians. An on-going series about Paul’s letter the Galatians, which might be more timely than ever. Written to a community that was dangerously divided, which is something hitting a bit too close to home these days. Division is everywhere, in religion, in politics, social media, friends, family, pandemics, vacci...

After saying “ I never do holiday themed talks ,” Jay does just that for us this week…sort of, as he lives that contradiction by giving a holiday talk like no other. The subject of this talk? Contradiction and Divine Humiliation . As an unofficial sequel to last weeks talk, Jay dives back into McGowan and Hegel to discuss the contradictions of Christianity and how this contradiction can lead to so...

“In Hegel’s hands, Christianity becomes the most revolutionary religion ever conceived.” Todd McGowan writes that in his book ‘Emancipation After Hegel ’ – Bouncing back in stark contrast to last week’s discussion, Jay brings us a talk that is more focused on philosophy and theology. This week he is diving into a verse and an idea that we struggle with, and that is the verse in Matthew when Jesus...

“I guess today what I wanted to do is come to you and say: ‘These are the things I’m thinking about.’” – Today’s talk is a bit different from Jay’s other talks in many ways, more abstract, but as always it is filled with grace and love and honesty. Jay approaches this talk acknowledging that we are all working with different traumas in our lives that lead us each to learning different lessons, so...

This week, guest speaker Joshua Murray dives into the difference between deconstruction and destruction . He discusses how an obsessive behavior he develops in his bouts of depression helped him see how Christianity walks a strangely similar path with horror movies, and how misconceptions and projections seemed to have derailed both equally from their humble beginnings. He discusses the important...

Every year Jay likes to revisit some old talks to see how they stand up with his current growth and knowledge and studies. This week he looks back to one of his earliest talks and reworks it. But as always, a central theme even back then, is that of grace. Jay looks at the Gospel of Mark and examines Jesus’s behavior and how it effected his reputation. How Jesus showing love and grace to people wh...

Due to living life on life’s terms Jay had to pre-record todays talk. After receiving some pushback over posting an archived talk a few weeks back, followed up by some challenging responses to a tongue-in-cheek tweet he posted, Jay addresses the deeper issues behind these interactions. He talks about how phrases we use pretty regularly, like “A Higher Calling” can really do damage if they are used...

Jay gives a raw and heartfelt talk, truly emphasizing just how literal Revolution is when they say “Come as you are!” – no false airs, just truth and honesty. Jay has been going through a tough time and he shares that with us, he explains how depression and trauma go hand in hand. He shares how pain is a part of life, so we need to live life on life’s terms, and just how important it is to recogni...

Unlocked! Dug out from deep within the Revolution Archives, we unearthed a talk back from 2009, back from the days of Revolution New York – In this talk Jay draws inspiration from a quote he heard in the movie “Doubt” which compares gossip to feathers scattered in the wind and how it is impossible to clean up the effects of it. Jay looks a bit into where our anger comes from when we talk about leg...

Jay is back! He's returned from Belfast and is ready to talk grace and reformation. In this weeks talk Jay dives into Luther, Galatians and the Gospel of Luke to discuss and unpack what it means to deny ourselves and take up our cross . Are we taking up our cross or are we asking other people to take up our crosses for us? Jay discusses our institutions aren’t the only thing in need of reformation...

This week guest speaker Joshua Murray gives a talk that started out as three unrelated ideas that he couldn’t shake from his mind: 1.) The importance of sincerity. 2.) The value and intimacy of small groups rather than large gatherings. And 3.) A drive to figure out why learning more about Buddhism has been at the forefront of his mind – Is there any connection between these three ideas? Is there...

This week Jay gives his talk from Belfast, Northern Ireland. While spending time there, Jay reflects on experiences he’s gathered while talking with friends about the political history in Ireland and the parallels Jay is seeing in America and in the Church. He discusses the dangerous trap we often fall in when we get too tied up and blinded by our own causes that we scapegoat the other. How this c...

“There is Nothing Good in Me.” Paul says this in the Book of Romans. On Mental Health Awareness Day, Jay gives one of his most raw and passionate and personal talks about mental health. He opens up about his mental health, and touches on some topics that are universal to everyone struggling with mental health – which shows us we are not alone. He tells us how failing at suicide was the best thing...

In late September of 2021 Jay had a great talk with good pal and podcaster Christie Gee to talk about The Eyes of Tammy Faye. Christie was nice enough to share the interview with us so we could post this special cross-over episode! Enjoy and please be sure to listen, follow and subscribe to Christie too, because she's the best!! The Christie Gee Podcast: "In this Episode I welcome back my friend J...

In this week’s talk Jay takes us on a bit of a deep dive into the nuances and complex layers of ‘The Church.’ He discusses the problem with living in a culture with such a long tradition of legalism and how that tends makes the Bible into a law book that we often give too much authority. This isn’t a destruction of the church or it’s ideals but an actual deconstruction, one done with love and unde...

Back from the New York Premiere of The Eyes of Tammy Faye , Jay gives a brief talk about humanity before answering viewers questions about his experience on the “Pink Carpet.” Before diving into the ups and downs of his premiere experience, Jay visits, as usual, the apostle Paul and discusses what Paul has to say about our humanity and also talks about how we can live a life that is based in reali...

With The Eyes of Tammy Faye premier just days away, Jay can’t help but notice how much the media seems to pin us against each other. A topic that got him thinking about examining our own biases and how we only tend to like stuff that affirms our own prejudice. As always with Revolution Gathering, Jay dissects the concept of grace and explores the question ‘Can grace be toxic?’ – Do people deserve...

As the movie about his parents comes closer, Jay gives an open and honest talk about some of the complications that life brings…because life is complicated! He discusses the idea of Hope and asks, ‘what does hope mean?’ Jay discusses the need to speak our truth, but to do so honestly and not just for the shock value of it. He dives into the idea of non-binary thinking and how two opposite ideas ca...