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Hope Darst, Tasha Layton, Hillary Scott and Rita Springer – The Theology of Worship - Part 1
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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology, Alli and I are both bouncing with enthusiastic expectancy because we’ve gathered a phenomenal foursome of wise women whose hearts, minds, and ministries have been shaped by worship. Hope Darst has been leading worship – both in her home church and on stages around the world for decades, although unlike most artists she signed her first record deal at the age of 39 in 2019. Since then, she’s penned several singles that have blessed millions of believers including Peace Be Still, Come Alive, and If the Lord Builds the House. Tasha Layton’s vocational and life experience is crazy colorful – before coming to faith in Jesus Christ, she studied Buddhism and spent four years touring all over the world as a back-up vocalist for pop superstar Katy Perry. She’s now a Christian music favorite and her latest single – Worship Through It – which is especially pertinent for today’s conversation – was number one on the charts recently. Our third worship tutor today is Hillary Scott. If you’re a country music fan, you’re familiar with my dear friend Hillary because she’s part of the platinum selling, multiple Grammy and CMA award-winning band, Lady A. What you might not know is that Hillary began her storied musical career as a worship leader and has never stopped using her pipes to point people to Jesus. Rounding out this fabulous foursome of guests on the porch today is Rita Springer. If you mention the name Rita Springer in the company of young worship leaders, it’s likely one or two will involuntarily gasp because she’s sort of like the Michael Jordan of worship leading. In addition to writing and recording songs for the church at large for the past 30+ years, Rita has also mentored hundreds of Christian artists and worship leaders around the world. Having Hope, Tasha, Hillary and Rita here together to dive into the theology of worship is the equivalent of having Muttiah Muralitharan and Richard Hadlee here to dive into the subject of bowling because they are two of the greatest professional bowlers the world has ever seen. Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best analogy since bowling does seem to be more of a niche sport, but the bottom line is we’ve got a few of the most experienced and humble worship leaders of this generation gathered on the porch today to help us lean more fully into the embrace of Jesus, which is what shapes how we live and lead as Christ followers. I’m so excited about how God is going to reveal Himself to us today so please grab your Bible and your favorite beverage and your most comfortable chair and pull it up close to ours on the porch because believe me, you’re going to want to hear every single word these saints share today. Save on Dwell here
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1:03:03
Scotty Smith – Theology of Worship Bonus
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Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology is all about the contextual biblical scaffolding for a series we’re calling the Theology of Worship. But lest you think we’re going to be talking about the three or four songs before a sermon or our preferred style of music, let me assure you this conversation isn’t just for people who can carry a tune or for those who know how to navigate their Apple music ap! Frankly, our tendency to associate worship solely with music is like limiting ourselves to one food group for every single meal for the rest of our lives – I love Tex Mex y’all, but if I had to eat chips and queso three times a day, every day, for the rest of my life it would be sadly and unnecessarily reductive! In the Christian context, worship is so much wider and deeper and more comprehensive than a song list or a musical genre. Case in point, listen to what one of our favorite theologians here at BPT – Dr. N.T. Wright – says about the centrality of worship: "All kingdom work is rooted in worship. Or, to put it the other way around, worshipping the God we see at work in Jesus is the most politically charged act we can ever perform. Christian worship decares that Jesus is Lord and that therefore, by strong implication, nobody else is. What’s more, it doesn’t just declare it as something to be believed, like the fact that the sun is hot or the sea wet. It commits the worshipper to allegiance, to following this Jesus, to being shaped and directed by him. Worshipping the God we see in Jesus orients our whole being, our imagination, our will, our hopes, and our fears away from the world where Mars, Mammon, and Aphrodite (violence, money, and sex) make absolute demands and punish anyone who resists. It orients us instead to a world in which love is stronger than death, the poor are promised the kingdom, and chastity (whether married or single) reflects the holiness and faithfulness of God himself. Acclaiming Jesus as Lord plants a flag that supersedes the flags of our nations, however 'free' or 'democratic' they may be." In other words, WORSHIP is the fruit and fuel of our faith, the flagpole we rally around as those who’ve been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Worship is the very essence of our spiritual DNA. Just as a half dozen and six communicate the same number of eggs, to have faith in Jesus Christ and to be a worshipper should be synonymous. Worship isn’t simply a verb for the musically inclined among us, it should be the passionate preoccupation of God’s people. Okay, as you can tell we’re pretty fired up today so you’d better grab a cup of something caffeinated and your Bible – unless you’re listening to this while simultaneously trying to figure out how to increase the incline on the treadmill at the gym you just joined because you’re determined to ditch the Spanx in 2025 – and come hang out on the porch with us for some genuine, digital community and hopefully some real encouragement. We’re really grateful to get to spend this time hanging out with y’all.
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1:07:48
How Dumbing Down Our Phones Can Increase Our Peace, Hope, Joy, and Relational Intimacy
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Today's Happy New Year conversation is akin to dancing with a 500-pound gorilla with balance issues because most of us are going to get our proverbial toes pinched! The reason why is we're going to get real about how our daily digital gluttony ~ from scrolling through social media, Googling down one rabbit trail after another, perusing the pretend aisles of Amazon Prime, and reconnecting with old high school flames who slid into our DMs ~ is making us heartsick. Multiple highly regarded scientific studies over the past few years have revealed that the excessive time most of us spend staring at our phone screens has a negative impact on our neuro-pathways, as well as our primary relationships. Plus, there's irrefutable proof now that adolescents’ brains ~ which are still developing ~ become more sensitive when anticipating social rewards and punishments over time with increased social media usage. In other words, the measurable result of all those hours our kids are spending on TikTok and viewing reels, is a heightened sense of insecurity and self-doubt. Not installing boundaries on the amount of digital data we're consuming every day is the neurological and emotional equivalent of giving a hungry fox the key code to our chicken coup, y'all! So here's the deal ~ after hanging out with my pastor today, Dr. Darren Whitehead ~ who's an expert when it comes to the corrosive consequences of the constant digital barrage of modern culture ~ we're going to invite you to join us for a relatively brief digital detox here at the beginning of 2025 and learn how making our smart phones a little dumber will make our relationships with God and each other a whole lot richer! For some of you saints this single conversation has the potential to change the trajectory of '2025 and not only redeem huge chunks of time locusts have devoured in your life but quite possibly begin the closing the intimacy gap you've unwittingly allowed your phone to create between you and the people you love. So please grab a cup of coffee, your Bible, and a notebook or journal and pull your chair up on the porch with us for this caboose of 2024 conversation. Happy New Year ~ we're really happy you're here.
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53:08
When The Delay Is Divine
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During today’s Christmas-is-here-y’all conversation on Back Porch Theology we’re talking about the unlikely gift of waiting. Now if you’re anything like me and you got the gift of waiting this season, your first reaction would be to hope it came with a receipt so you could return it! It’s taken me a really long time – no pun intended – but I’m finally learning that when God authors a pause in my story, there’s redemptive purpose in it. Ancient theologian and beloved pastor, Charles Spurgeon explained it much better than I can: If the Lord Jehovah makes us wait, let us do so with our whole hearts; for blessed are all they that wait for Him. He is worth waiting for. The waiting itself is beneficial to us: it tries faith, exercises patience, trains submission, and endears the blessing when it comes. The Lord’s people have always been a waiting people. It may initially seem like wishful thinking, if not downright rude and intrusive, to emphasize slowness during the week of Christmas ~ which all too often is filled with more frenzy than figgy pudding, especially when those gifts we ordered on Amazon Prime still haven’t shown up yet the relatives we didn’t order do show up ~ but to quote a dear friend and beloved pastor from this modern era, Steven Furtick: “The only thing harder than waiting on God, is wishing that you had!” So please step away from the scissors and Scotch tape and wrapping paper, put the pot on simmer, dial the pace of the elliptical down to meander, and come exhale on the porch with Alli, Dr. Howard and me. We’re grateful that hanging out with y’all has become part of our holiday tradition. Save on Dwell here
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1:03:17
The Beautiful Theology In The Birth Narrative
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During today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology Alli, Dr. Howard and I will exploring a few of the awesome ~ albeit often overlooked ~ theological truisms in the Christmas story. Because while Jesus is of course the main point and the unmistakable Hero of Luke’s heartwarming birth narrative, if you read between the lines, you’ll find a distinctive trinitarian motif as well. And the Incarnation ~ that is when divine grace was embodied in a baby boy born to an unmarried teenage mom in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago ~ was always intended to be the first of two Advents. Because the infant those ancient shepherds marveled over is the very same Messiah John refers to as the Ancient of Days in the book of Revelation who will return triumphantly to redeem those of us who’ve put our hope in His unconditional love. In other words, there’s an eschatological component to the Christmas story too, y’all! Despite our familiarity with the nativity scene, there’s still some gorgeous facets to discover in that proverbial crown jewel of Holy Writ. So please take a break in your “elving” errands and grab a non-fat, no-foam mocha latte with one pump of peppermint, or a hot spiced apple cider with a hint of caramel, or a nutmeg-laced eggnog with extra heavy yak cream, or whatever overpriced, holiday-themed concoction you prefer, and your Bible, then come prop your feet up on the porch with us. We’re really happy we get to hang out with y’all today!
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.
You're invited to hang out on Lisa Harper's back porch and enjoy conversations about all things Jesus, theological anthropology, biblical orthodoxy, Spanx, the merits of Tex-Mex and more! We believe this podcast will help you dive deeper into God's word, understand that the gospel is great news for everyday life, not just when viewed in the light of eternity, and that God is for us, that He's always been in the process of redeeming our inherent value as imago Dei and restoring us into a vibrant, intimate relationship with Him.And rest assured, this won't be a one-sided conversation because, throughout the podcast, Lisa will be inviting friends, including some brilliant theologians and academics to join her in substantive but decidedly unstuffy segments. So come on, y'all grab some coffee or sweet tea and join us on the back porch!
Save on Dwell here
Learn More about Upward Sports here
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