Find out more about CH Ministries here Click here to get a 25% discount on the Dwell Bible App. Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology is going to be a little more animated than usual because we had the pure joy of recording it with a redemptively rowdy sisterhood of Jesus-loving chicks from 46 states & three countries at our recent Kerygma Summit here in Franklin, TN! And it was especially fitting to have this conversation in the middle of a cohesive community of ministry leaders from almost every stream of Christianity because we hurdled over the wee fences of our doctrinal differences and got real and raw about the damage caused by disunity and denominational tribalism within the Body of Christ. Our biblical theology must be reflected by compassionate sociology y’all or our proclamations of faith sound like discordant noise to the world around us. Theologian Francis Schaeffer underscored how believers must pair kindness and humility with a biblical worldview when he wrote, “Biblical orthodoxy without compassion is surely the ugliest thing in the world.” Ancient church father Augustine expressed the same theme beautifully when he wrote, “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” And our Savior said it best in Mark’s gospel account: For the one who is not against us is for us. For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward. Today’s podcast is kind of like spiritual wasabi, it has the potential to cleanse the palate of your heart, but it’s got some bite to it, too! So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible - unless you’re vacuuming pet hair out of your couch cushions, of course – and come hang out on the porch with Alli, Belle, Dr. Howard, and me!  Follow Us On Instagram! @BackPorchTheologyPodcast @LisaDHarper @AllisonAllen @Jim.Howard.Co  Learn more about Convoy of Hope’s Women’s Empowerment program at Convoy.org/LisaHarper  Save on Dwell here Learn More about Upward Sports here

Find out more about CH Ministries here Click here to get a 25% discount on the Dwell Bible App. During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology – the final of three podcasts we recorded live in Israel – we’re exposing some stuff to the light that the enemy of our souls would rather us keep hidden because he has a better chance of tormenting us in the dark. Before we go any further, I’d like to encourage you to make sure there aren’t any kiddos listening today because this podcast includes a very vulnerable, ultimately triumphant testimony that includes trauma which might be a bit heavy for little hearts. The catalyst for this bondage-breaking theme was a site we explored in the Golan Heights called Caesarea Philippi – not to be confused with Caesarea By the Sea which we talked about last week. Although, Caesarea Philippi’s beauty is water-based as well because it sits at the foot of Mount Hermon, so the abundance of snow run-off combined with a large spring called Banias makes it a lush green oasis of flora and fauna. But there’s also a big, dark cave carved into the hillside at Caesarea Philippi that was the center of pagan worship in ancient times. Sacrifices were often cast into that cave as offerings to the false god Pan, whom you may remember from Greek mythology as the half-man/half-goat playing a flute and flirting with nymphs. In light of Pan’s secular popularity, it’s especially fitting that Caesarea Philippi is also the place where Jesus asked Peter, “Who do you say that I am?” to which Peter confessed that He was the Messiah. The Christ. The King of all kings who would conquer fear and death once and for all. If you struggle with some level of anxiety, our sincere hope and prayer is that God will use today’s conversation to ease your burden. Your precious shoulders weren’t shaped to carry that crushing load. Paul says it best at the beginning of Galatians 5: It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re re-staining your deck, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!  Follow Us On Instagram! @BackPorchTheologyPodcast @LisaDHarper @AllisonAllen @Jim.Howard.Co  Learn more about Convoy of Hope’s Women’s Empowerment program at Convoy.org/LisaHarper  Save on Dwell here Learn More about Upward Sports here

Find out more about CH Ministries here Click here to get a 25% discount on the Dwell Bible App. During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology – the second of three podcasts we recorded live in Israel - we’ll discover how one of Peter’s prophetic dreams was fulfilled in a beautiful city overlooking the Mediterranean called Caesarea By The Sea, or Caesarea Maritima. This bustling harbor town on the coast of Israel was one of the most prominent cities in the ancient Roman world, built by Herod to schmooze his patron, Augustus Caesar, and it’s also where Pontius Pilate spent most of his down time. Remember Roman rulers were from Italy so unlike the Jewish citizens they governed, they much preferred the coast of Israel to the dusty hills of Jerusalem. But Caesarea By The Sea isn’t simply a gorgeous place to soak in the sun and enjoy the surf, it’s also a significant city in biblical history because it’s where the first post-Easter Gentile conversion takes place, meaning it’s where God’s merciful plan to redeem all of humanity – not just Israel – begins to take shape. Which means if you love Jesus and you’re not Jewish, it’s the very spot you can trace your spiritual DNA back to! Therefore, today’s going to be a family reunion of sorts, so please grab a big ole’ cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re practicing Around The World on your yoyo, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!  Follow Us On Instagram! @BackPorchTheologyPodcast @LisaDHarper @AllisonAllen @Jim.Howard.Co Learn more about Convoy of Hope’s Women’s Empowerment program at Convoy.org/LisaHarper Save on Dwell here Learn More about Upward Sports here

Find out more about CH Ministries here Click here to get a 25% discount on the Dwell Bible App. During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology – the first of three podcasts we recorded live in Israel - we’re diving deep – pun intended – into a pair of maritime miracles that took place on The Sea of Galilee, which is also referred to as The Sea of Tiberias, Lake Gennesaret, and Lake Kinneret in biblical narrative. During His earthly ministry Jesus lived, preached, and performed the majority of His miracles near the Sea of Galilee and in its neighboring towns. Mary Magdalene was from Migdal – a fishing village on The Sea of Galilee and three of the disciples were born in the shoreline city of Bethsaida. However, despite its most familiar moniker, the Sea of Galilee is actually a fresh-water lake. It’s about 12 miles long, 8 miles across at the widest and it’s shaped like a harp. And while its waters are neither salty like an ocean or crystal clear like a mountain stream, Galilee has seen more divine grace per gallon than any other body of water in the world! Our hope is that you feel refreshingly soaked by some as a result of our conversation today. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re alphabetizing your spice rack, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us! Follow Us On Instagram! @BackPorchTheologyPodcast @LisaDHarper @AllisonAllen @Jim.Howard.Co   Learn more about Convoy of Hope’s Women’s Empowerment program at Convoy.org/LisaHarper  Save on Dwell here Learn More about Upward Sports here

Find out more about CH Ministries here Click here to get a 25% discount on the Dwell Bible App. During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re exploring how hardship and revival are like peanut butter and jelly in biblical narrative – in other words, they’re often sandwiched together. And Apostle Paul’s life exemplifies the symbiotic relationship between hardship and revival, which he testified to while imprisoned at the end of Acts when he said, “It is for the hope of Israel that I’m wearing this chain.” (Acts 28:20). In other words, Whatever hardship I have to endure pales next to the supernatural hope I’m preaching here, y’all – JESUS is the Messiah we’ve been longing for since the beginning of time and I’m gonna keep sharing this message until there’s no more breath in my lungs! The joy of watching other people’s eyes widen and faces light up like Christmas trees when they heard about the unconditional love of Jesus made all the unfair bumps and bruises he experienced while preaching about it worth the cost. In the spiritual milieu, difficult labors lead to miraculous births! Today’s conversation is going help some of us take bigger risks for the sake of the Gospel so fasten your seat belts, grab a super-sized cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or getting spray-tanned for a beach trip, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!  Follow Us On Instagram! @BackPorchTheologyPodcast @LisaDHarper @AllisonAllen @Jim.Howard.Co  Learn more about Convoy of Hope’s Women’s Empowerment program at Convoy.org/LisaHarper  Save on Dwell here Learn More about Upward Sports here

Find out more about CH Ministries here Click here to get a 25% discount on the Dwell Bible App. During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re talking about a true story in Acts that sounds like some kind of crazy Quentin Tarantino script. It involves a fortune teller, human trafficking, crooked policemen, an earthquake, and a jailhouse revival. Honestly, when people tell me they think the Bible is boring it’s all I can do not to burst out laughing because this divine love story is more engaging than anything that ever came out of Hollywood! And the theme of the text we’re exploring today is wildly counter-cultural because it reveals how our spiritual ancestors were honored to be dishonored for the sake of the Gospel. Their sacrificial humility reminds me of what Therese of Lisieux said soon before her death in 1897: “My God I choose all! I do not want to be a saint by halves, I’m not afraid to suffer for You, I fear only one thing: to keep my own will, so take it, for I choose all that You will.” Bending our will to His is the opposite of bondage, y’all – it actually leads to breakthrough. I have a hunch this is going to be a chain-breaker of a conversation so please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or putting together an IKEA armoire, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!  Follow Us On Instagram! @BackPorchTheologyPodcast @LisaDHarper @AllisonAllen @Jim.Howard.Co  Learn more about Convoy of Hope’s Women’s Empowerment program at Convoy.org/LisaHarper  Save on Dwell here Learn More about Upward Sports here

Find out more about CH Ministries here Click here to get a 25% discount on the Dwell Bible App. During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to explore an argument that broke out among Jewish believers and Gentile converts to Christianity in the First Century that threatened to split the early church like an overripe watermelon. This chapter of church history recorded in the book of Acts is formally called “The Jerusalem Debate” and the hugely significant spiritual truism came out of those ancient theological fisticuffs is still a foundational wall of orthodox Christianity today. Early church fathers described it as: solo fide, which in Latin means “faith alone.” In other words, the Old Testament guidelines that the Jewish believers in Acts were so fired up about getting non-Jewish Christian converts to abide by couldn’t save them then and it sure can’t save us now because no human being has the capacity to attain moral perfection. Mosaic Law underscores our need for a Messiah. Furthermore, our gratitude for God’s grace – not the attempt to justify it – has to be the motive behind Christian morality, otherwise good doctrine and good behavior will soon digress into smug moralism, self-righteousness, judgmentalism, and even worse. Today’s conversation about our on-going need to be “re-Gospeled” is bound to be lively and hopefully life-giving so please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or wrapping banana leaves around a deceased pig for a backyard luau, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!  Follow Us On Instagram! @BackPorchTheologyPodcast @LisaDHarper @AllisonAllen @Jim.Howard.Co  Learn more about Convoy of Hope’s Women’s Empowerment program at Convoy.org/LisaHarper  Save on Dwell here Learn More about Upward Sports here

Find out more about CH Ministries here Click here to get a 25% discount on the Dwell Bible App. During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to spend some quality time with Apostle Paul, the chief bully of ancient believers who was so gob-smacked by grace on the way to Damascus that he experienced a radical conversion, went on to write at least 13 of the 27 books in the New Testament, and laid the foundation for what we now call systematic theology. Eminent Pauline scholar F.F. Bruce describes his dramatic transformation from anti-Christian crusader to Christian missionary like this: "With astonishing suddenness the persecutor of the church became the apostle of Jesus Christ. He was in mid-course as a zealot for the law, bent on checking a plague which threatened the life of Israel, when, in his own words, he was ‘apprehended by Christ Jesus’ and constrained to turn right round and become a champion of the cause, which up to that moment, he had been endeavoring to exterminate, dedicated henceforth to building up what he had been doing his best to demolish.” Paul’s striking turn-about proves that in the spiritual realm old dogs can most certainly learn new tricks and more importantly, our Savior can mold the hardest of human hearts into the beautiful shape of God and others-honoring humility. I think today is going to provide some much-needed fresh encouragement for those of you who’ve been tempted to give up praying for a precious, albeit hard-hearted, loved one in your corner of the world. So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or cleaning the keyboard of your laptop with a Q-tip, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!  Follow Us On Instagram! @BackPorchTheologyPodcast @LisaDHarper @AllisonAllen @Jim.Howard.Co  Learn more about Convoy of Hope’s Women’s Empowerment program at Convoy.org/LisaHarper  Save on Dwell here Learn More about Upward Sports here

Find out more about CH Ministries here Click here to get a 25% discount on the Dwell Bible App. During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re going to talk about the spirit of radical generosity that permeated the early church in the book of Acts. Those ancient Christ-followers were so gifted at giving, they made Santa look bush league! In fact, the very first time the Greek word koinonia – which means a close fellowship between people, emphasizing what is common between them and is defined by participation, sharing, and contribution – is used for the first time in the New Testament in the book of Acts to describe the benevolent community that existed among Christ-followers. Andrew Murray, who was a Scottish missionary, pastor, and author in the late 19th & early 20th century framed the theme of today’s conversation with his keen observation: The world asks, "What does a man own?" Christ asks, "How does he use it?" Whether at home, work, or church – true community is a place where people are generous and devoted to one another’s well-being. And if you haven’t found a community quite like that, we hope this episode might just motivate you to start one! So please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or spray-painting Pickleball lines in your driveway, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!  Follow Us On Instagram! @BackPorchTheologyPodcast @LisaDHarper @AllisonAllen @Jim.Howard.Co  Learn more about Convoy of Hope’s Women’s Empowerment program at Convoy.org/LisaHarper  Save on Dwell here Learn More about Upward Sports here

Find out more about CH Ministries here Click here to get a 25% discount on the Dwell Bible App. During today’s episode of Back Porch Theology we’re stepping into new theological territory after spending the last 8 weeks in our “Wild About Jesus” series where we explored His perfectly simultaneous divine and human nature – otherwise known as the hypostatic union – His historicity, His early life, His empathy, His atoning death and His absolute superiority as the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. Focusing on who Jesus is – shoring up the cornerstone of our orthodoxy, if you will – compelled us to ask ourselves the question posed by one of my favorite modern thinkers and theologians, Francis Schaeffer: How Should We Then Live? Because what we believe to be true about our Redeemer can’t simply recline in our minds as cognitive, spiritual information but must generate a Christophormic, Jesus-shaped, response to the world around us! Our sociology should reflect our theology! Which is why we’re going to spend some time in Acts - following the progression of those first Christ-followers who went from walking along beside incarnate Jesus – surely accumulating lots of information about Him along the way - to changing the course of history with the radical message of God’s unconditional love after witnessing that very first Easter. We’re about to put some serious skin in the game, y’all, so please grab a cup of coffee and your Bible – unless you’re driving or organizing your junk drawer, of course – and come hang out on the porch with us!  Follow Us On Instagram! @BackPorchTheologyPodcast @LisaDHarper @AllisonAllen @Jim.Howard.Co  Learn more about Convoy of Hope’s Women’s Empowerment program at Convoy.org/LisaHarper  Save on Dwell here Learn More about Upward Sports here