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In today’s reading, Joab sends a woman to convince David to speak to Absalom, but he sends him to live outside David’s house. Absalom, being a handsome man with no blemish and long hair, wins the people of Israel’s hearts. He decides to declare himself king in Hebron. David flees Jerusalem, and Absalom takes his house and his concubines. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with...

Harry Potter, Pokémon, Game of Thrones, 50 Shades of Grey, Eminem, and AC/DC. These media products can bring fond memories from people’s childhood, shared memories of bookclubs, or even relaxing evenings binging shows at home. However, some of these products can also bring strong responses from Christians on whether or not we should be participating in modern media. Today, as we turn our minds out...

There are many views and rituals among the disparate strains of Christianity. Some believe in the physical presence of our Lord in the host and blood, and others believe that the bread and wine are merely symbols to remind us of the atoning sacrifice of Christ. Something seems to have been lost in Protestant worship when the table lost the primary position in our order of worship, and the sermon t...

Few things have rattled the common culture of America as racial divisions, and in recent years, the scab of schismatic tensions was picked and blood flowed. A much-acclaimed reckoning arrived, and church leaders laid themselves prostrate at the altar presented to them, sometimes literally. However, we are called to be unified through Christ as Christ is unified with God, so what is at issue then?...

In Ephesians 6, the apostle Paul does not offer a suggestion or a gentle encouragement; he gives a solemn charge. He warns us that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against powers and rulers of darkness in the heavenly realms. This is not a metaphor to be softened or ignored. The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith—these are not quaint symbols but vital...

In the last decade, the gender divide between men and women has become wholly apparent in all levels of western society, and in the last five years what became apparent in the last decade has been cemented as fact in the cultural reality of everyone who finds themselves living in a western nation. Distinctions and radical divides have been drawn in the sand and the solutions to the separation of t...

How do you reconcile the reality that 2+2=4 is as true as the melancholic power of Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings? Where do you find the balance between deduced validity and inborn verity? Today, as Zander, Will, and Sam look up, they echo Pilot, and ask “What is truth?” Up+Out is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscri...

The idea of Artificial Intelligence hangs over the future as both looming threat and technological savior. Sam, Will, and Zander sit down to spend some time attempting to make the mysterious plain. Up+Out is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscr...

These past few years have been a trying time for the world and the Church. Will, Sam, & Zander look back at how things went off the rails and how they might be avoided in the future. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit upandoutshow.substack.com/subscribe

It's a thorny set of topics that most people would rather avoid, but the ramifications of the common worldview can lead to terrible consequences. Zander, Sam, & Will discuss the breadth of it all with duly considered tone. Up+Out is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discu...

The Church has tended to the need of the world since the time of Jesus, growing and splitting and spreading and changing. Today, Sam leads our conversation ruminating upon the Church's role in the world in this day and age. Up+Out is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to disc...

The modern movement of Deconstruction offers various challenges to the Church even as some try to integrate its tenants into their faith. Will, Sam, and Zander discuss how its compatibility, use, and limits should be approached. Up+Out is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to...

The question seems simple enough, but the answer may be difficult to swallow. Come join Zander, Sam, and Will as they look up towards the goal set before us all. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit upandoutshow.substack.com/subscribe