Ross hosts tech-entrepreneur-turned-polymath (and recent Christian convert) Jordan Hall for a conversation about the church, the commons, vocation, education, currency, community, & the future of civilization.To watch the video, or t...

New Testament scholar Thomas Dixon joins us to talk about the surprising nature of divine wrath and election in Scripture, especially regarding the oft-misunderstood passage from St. Paul, Romans 9-11. Thomas and I begin the conversatio...

A short story wrestling with the problem of "divine violence" in the Bible, specifically the stoning of the Sabbath-breaker in Numbers 15. A man is caught picking up sticks on the Sabbath, and the Lord tells Moses to have the people stone him t...

This episode is a wild ride. What began as a straightforward movie review of a Disney animated film turned into an in-depth theological/philosophical/mythical journey from Prometheus to Aladdin to Rumpelstiltskin to Midas to Faust to Frankenste...

A Parish Manifesto is a vision for the future of our evangelical churches in America. Two central streams run throughout Scripture in seemingly opposite directions: holiness ("being set apart") and inclusion ("bring...

Over the past few years, in our Virginia Beach community, I’ve been exploring the question, “What does faithful participation in the body of Christ look like? Where do we begin?” In response, we’ve formed some very simple collective practices: ...

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”  — Mark 11:24Prayer means asking. But asking is a more foreign concept to us than it might seem. Adults in th...

Nobody wants to be religious anymore. Secular people often say they are “spiritual not religious.” Evangelicals often say, “Christianity is not a religion; it’s a relationship.” Sure, Christianity is about a relationship with God. But there's a...

Good news! Podcast episodes are back! This one's an introduction to what I've been thinking and writing about lately. It's taken from a recent post on my Substack newsletter, Patient Kingdom. If you'd lik...

Why do Christians fast? I was recently asked to record a podcast on that very question as our VB community embarks on a 21-day season of prayer and fasting. Hope you enjoy. You can find the written version of this talk on my new website

What does it mean that Jesus says of Peter, "Upon this rock I will build my church?" Especially since only a few verses later Jesus rebukes Peter with the words, "Get behind me, Satan!"This is just a TEASER clip from the brand new VB Fe...

First Q & A episode! Focusing on the theme of our problems with the God of the Old Testament. What do we make of the Old Testament's theme of religious violence (e.g. the wiping out of the Canaanites)?  How should we think about salvat...

A friend of mine, who knows I’m a sucker for reading things I don’t understand, sent me an article the other day entitled "Our Improb...

We used to live in a physical space and get certain things on the internet. Now we live on the internet and get certain things done in a physical space. In other words, the internet is de-incarnating our existence. It gives real life to fantasi...

What does the North Pole have to do with Bethlehem? Why do I have a reindeer and an angel in my front yard right now? Why does the radio play “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” and “Away In A Manger” back to back? What is the mea...

Why doesn't God just show himself? Why is he so un-straightforward? Why would Jesus say, "Ask and you shall receive?" if he didn't mean it in a straightforward way? Why did God tell Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good a...

How do we make sense of the 'deconstruction' phenomenon we're seeing right now? In short, people's worlds are getting bigger and the Christian faith of their teenage years is staying the same size. So...something's gotta give. What...

Why did Jesus tell us to be perfect? Was the Garden of Eden perfect? What is meant by the word perfect? How much better can we actually get? What's to keep us from sinning in the New Jerusalem? In this podcast, Ross makes the unpopular case for...

A story by George MacDonald, adapted and abridged by Ross Byrd. In fairy tales, what is the nature of a curse and how is it broken? Is a curse placed upon someone against their will or is it willingly embraced from within? In order to b...

God is love. God is a consuming fire. How can both be true? That is the question George MacDonald sets out to answer in this sermon, which I've adapted to make more accessible for the modern listener. In short, love is not what you think it is,...