Vox Podcast With Mike Erre

Gombis stops by for a conversation on a theological response and reflection on the last couple weeks. Gombis, a Pauline scholar and seminary Professor, walks us through his thoughts and how Paul might have addressed the church in this time. Where should the outrage have begun? How do we process an Evangelical pursuit of power? How can we effect change in our communities? How can Matthew 25 fuel our understanding of politics? How has the Church's imagination been taken hostage? Who did Andre the Giant and King Kong Bundy wrestle at Wrestlemania? There is so much to sift through as we, collectively, try to look forward. We at VOX are committed to not only confronting all of this, first in ourselves, but also to wrestle with what Jesus would have for us in this time. We are committed to repentance and a pursuit of discernment. As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Always feel free to email in questions to hello@voxpodcast.com, and to engage the conversation on here and Instagram.  Le

We are still processing the events of last week, as we’re sure many of you are as well. It feels like too big of a moment to gloss over, so we decided to crack it open. This is, again, raw and in real time, recorded this morning. We answer a question dealing with an undecided nature involving Church, and Nationalism spouted from the pulpit. How long do you stay in a Church that you feel is Theologically off-center? How has that rhetoric fueled what we saw last Wednesday, January 6th? Is this a false Gospel, a false Jesus? Is this Christianity, radicalized? Is it divisive to call all of this out? We at VOX are committed to not only confronting all of this, first in ourselves, but also to wrestle with what Jesus would have for us in this time. We are committed to repentance and a pursuit of discernment. As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Always feel free to email in questions to hello@voxpodcast.com, and to engage the conversation on here and Instagram.  Learn more about the VO

This is raw and in real time. We sit and have a conversation about the insurrection at the Nation's capital yesterday, January 6th, 2021. We, like all of you, watched in horror and anger, trying to process what we were seeing and how we as followers of Jesus are supposed to navigate the wreckage. All of it is emotional and wandering, but it is real. Yesterday was the Day of Epiphany, the closing of the Christmas season and a reminder of Herod the narcissist and his kingdom being threatened by the hope of the coming Christ. We lament with the Nation and the Church as both have become fractured. How do we best love the Lord and our neighbor in this coming season? As always, we appreciate walking this road with all of you.

Sermon on The Mount: Chapter 14 - “A Singular Devotion.” Matthew 6:19-24: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy…” We’re picking back up the Sermon on the Mount in the new year! Today, we discuss the widely taught on but rarely enacted section or the sermon, dealing with money and possessions. While recognizing anger and lust seems easier and more well established, we tend to struggle a bit more in understanding the role our ‘treasures’ play in our Kingdom living. How does Jesus frame the conversation? What does He mean by “The eye is the lamp of the body?” What is the “mine-ness” of something? How does He structure parallel concepts to strengthen His illustrations and point? Is it a matter of selling all our possessions or is Jesus getting at something deeper? We also spend time discussing our anger and frustrations with Sean Feucht and the worship concerts he has continued to hold around the U.S. during the pandemic, what he and others consider a form of protest again

A Requiem for 2020. What a year… In many ways, 2020 was apocalyptic as it unveiled and revealed much about society, the Nation and the Church. Today we talk a little about Christmas and what it looks like without the bows and garland and we answer a question in response to Gombis’s episode on Capitalism and the Church (Episode 273). Where do we go from here? How do we fix this mess we’re in? Should people still give to the Church? What does transparency look like for the Church? How can it become more trustworthy and renew its reputation? We’re excited to close out this difficult year and look to new things in 2021. A new name for the Podcast! New communities and connections with y’all! May the Lord bless you and keep you; May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and in these days, may He give you peace. As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Always feel free to email in questions to hello@voxpodcast.com, and

This one is fun! Today we sit down with one of our favorite guests, Dr. Amy Jill Levine and discuss some of the theology and ideas behind her new book, “The Bible With & Without Jesus.” Dr. Levine, who is a University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies, Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies, and Professor of New Testament Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School, presents a way for people with differing faiths to interact and learn from one another while not compromising their own beliefs. Is it possible for a Christian to grow a more robust faith and understanding of Jesus by interacting with the Jewish tradition? How can we re-approach scripture and tradition? How does context change understanding? How did Jesus’s Jewish heritage effect his teaching? How does interpretation, translation and even mood effect our reading and understanding of text? This was such a fun and enlightening conversation. You can purchase Dr. Levine’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Bible-Without-Jesus-Christi

Today we sit down (virtually, from all over the country) with old friend of the Pod Tyler Chernesky and new friend Bridget Eileen Rivera, for a conversation on Purity Culture, the Church and being a Gay Christian. Tyler is a pastor of City Church OTR in downtown Cincinnati, a church that strives to be a safe place to be honest and feel supported. Bridget Eileen is an author, speaker and advocate, who speaks and writes on issues of faith, sexuality, and justice. Bridget and Tyler both share their stories of growing up in purity culture. What is a folk devil and what role does it play in society? How has Bridget’s study of criminology linked to her experience in Purity Culture? How has the conversation on sexuality consumed and pushed aside other topics in the church? This was a brilliant and heartfelt conversation. Bridget Eileen Rivera can be found at: https://bridgeteileenrivera.com/ and on Twitter @TravelingNun Tyler Chernesky can be found at: https://www.tylerchernesky.com/ and on Twitter @tylerchernesky

We’re taking a little break from the Sermon On The Mount today to talk about a few conversations that are currently being had. Today we sit down with brother of the pod, our good friend and scholar Dr. Timothy George Gombis! The conversation begins with the Southern Baptist declaration that “Critical Race Theory (CRT), Intersectionality and any version of Critical Theory is incompatible with the Baptist Faith & Message.” Heyo! What is CRT? What functions does it perform? Why is there opposition to it? We segue from there into everyone’s second favorite Thanksgiving dinner topic, Capitalism. We wrestle with how Capitalism has made its way into the church and what the Bible has to say about it. Gombis has some thoughts… It’s a wild ride! As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Always feel free to email in questions to hello@voxpodcast.com, and to engage the conversation on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter. The Southern Baptist Statement: https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-libra

Sermon on The Mount: Chapter 13 - “The Lord’s Prayer." Matthew 6:9-14. “This, then, is how you should pray…” Jesus walks us through a framework on how we might enter into prayer. The prayer itself is short, but as always, it is layered and nuanced and packed with so much. As we talked about last week, Jesus approaches God as ‘Father.’ What does he mean by in ‘Heaven?’ What does ‘hallowed’ imply? How does Jesus continue to use the ‘now and not yet’ structure? What does the ‘daily bread ‘ link to? Debt and debtors, temptation and delivery from the evil one… Jesus covers a ton. How then should we pray? If this is a framework, how does it apply and direct us? Brick by brick, the foundation of the Kingdom is being laid. Tomorrow is “Giving Tuesday,” a day during this season to support non profits, like VOX! You can do so at: www.voxpodcast.com This is the second section of the Sermon on the Mount. We’re excited to walk this road with you all. As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Alway

Sermon on The Mount: Chapter Twelve - "Asking, Seeking & Knocking." Matthew 6:5-8 & Luke 7:7-12. Today, we wade into the waters of prayer, an often misunderstood, confusing and difficult facet of the Christian faith. How does Jesus frame our relationship with prayer? What is our role? How should we approach God? How does Jesus set up the model for prayer? How does asking, seeking and knocking fit in to what Jesus is saying in the sermon on the mount? Remember the through line Jesus has been laying out during the entirety of the sermon, and where prayer fits into it as a whole. Brick by brick, the foundation of the Kingdom is being laid. This is still the beginning of the second section of the Sermon on the Mount. We’re excited to walk this road with you all. As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Always feel free to email in questions to hello@voxpodcast.com, and to engage the conversation on Facebook and Instagram. Learn more about the VOX Podcast: www.voxpodcast.com Subs

Sermon on the Mount: Chapter Eleven - “Keeping Up Appearances.” Luke 12:1-7. Today we’re further unpacking Jesus’s teaching on hypocrisy and how we are to live in it. How does Jesus define it, in totality? What examples does he give and what are the implications? What role does faith play? How does the metaphor of marriage play into this? What was Jesus’s instructions to the layperson regarding the Pharisees? What impact does this have on American Evangelicalism and how many of us were raised? And more importantly, how can this change for future generations of Jesus followers? How can the Kingdom be manifested and known now and going forward? What is our role as citizens? This is still the beginning of the second section of the Sermon on the Mount. We’re excited to walk this road with you all. As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Always feel free to email in questions to hello@voxpodcast.com, and to engage the conversation on here and Instagram. Learn more about the VOX Podcast

Sermon on the Mount: Chapter Ten - Election Cliches, Hypocrisy & Evangelical Politics. Matthew 6:1-4. This is the beginning of the second section of the Sermon on the Mount. In this episode we discuss phrases such as ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and how they are used during tumultuous times such as these. Are they helpful or even accurate? How do they reflect action and here & now Kingdom of Jesus? This section starts with hypocrisy. How does Jesus define it? What are the implications? How are we to navigate service and spiritual disciplines? As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Always feel free to email in questions to hello@voxpodcast.com, and to engage the conversation on Facebook and Instagram. Learn more about the VOX Podcast: www.voxpodcast.com Subscribe on iTunes - apple.co/1Lla1Nj Support the VOX Podcast on Patreon: www.patreon.com/voxpodcast Follow us on Instagram: @voxpodcast Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/voxpodcast Follow Mike on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mikee

Tomorrow is Election day, 2020. It has been a long year of rhetoric and talking points, promises and accusations. Part of the Sermon on The Mount, part of what Jesus has been showing us, is to adopt the discipline of discernment. Today we have on friend and frequent guest of the show, Skye Jethani. Skye, who is a co host of the Holy Post podcast, recently released a video on Abortion. In the video, Skye presents the data and statistics from the last 40 years, as to what has and has not had effects on abortion rates. How has Roe v. Wade effected abortion numbers? Does a conservative President really lower those? What about the Supreme Court? What are we called to outside of voting every four years? The sensitivity of this issue is not lost on us and we hope this conversation can be encouraging and thoughtful, not divisive. The sensitivity of this issue is not lost on us and we hope this conversation can be encouraging and thoughtful, not divisive. You can see Skye’s video on abortion here: https://www.youtu

Today we have on author Kaitlyn Schiess, to discuss her new book ‘The Liturgy of Politics.’ Kaitlyn, a self described ‘Theology Nerd,’ has written for the New York Times, Relevant Magazine and Christianity Today. We have a great conversation about the tenuous relationship between faith and politics. What is liturgy? How do you define politics? How are we and the Church shaped by our habits and practices? We talk about recognizing how formative the political entities around us are, and how we may grow and reconcile them with who we are in the Kingdom. Kaitlyn is currently finishing up her ThM at Dallas Theological Seminary. You can purchase Kaitlyn’s book here: https://www.ivpress.com/the-liturgy-of-politics As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Always feel free to email in questions to hello@voxpodcast.com, and to engage the conversation on here and Instagram. Learn more about the VOX Podcast: www.voxpodcast.com Subscribe on iTunes - apple.co/1Lla1Nj Support the VOX Podcast on P

BONUS EPISODE #2! Reconciling Faith & Politics, chapter 2. Mike talks about Paul's journey and the political implications, along with the established kingdom. This is a series from two years ago or so on reconciling faith and politics. This was helpful for folks then, so we're hoping it may be helpful again now in this season. We'll roll out a few more of these mid week as we approach the election. As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Always feel free to email in questions to hello@voxpodcast.com, and to engage the conversation on Facebook and Instagram. Learn more about the VOX Podcast: www.voxpodcast.com Subscribe on iTunes - apple.co/1Lla1Nj Support the VOX Podcast on Patreon: www.patreon.com/voxpodcast Follow us on Instagram: @voxpodcast Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/voxpodcast Follow Mike on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mikeerre Music in this episode by Timothy John Stafford www.timothyjohnstafford.com Instagram & Twitter: @GoneTimothy

Sermon on the Mount: Chapter One - Hope For the Church. In this episode we talk about the through line Jesus has woven throughout the first section of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has been leading the people at the mount on a journey. Everything He has said so far has been intentional and building. Where do we find ourselves after this first section? Where is He going from here? We also answer a question about the role of Church and that of a Shepherd. And Mike has a special announcement at the end! As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Always feel free to email in questions to hello@voxpodcast.com, and to engage the conversation on here and Instagram. Learn more about the VOX Podcast: www.voxpodcast.com Subscribe on iTunes - apple.co/1Lla1Nj Support the VOX Podcast on Patreon: www.patreon.com/voxpodcast Follow us on Instagram: @voxpodcast Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/voxpodcast Follow Mike on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mikeerre Music in this episode by Timothy John

BONUS EPISODE! This is a series from two years ago or so on reconciling faith and politics. This was helpful for folks then, so we're hoping it may be helpful again now in this season. We'll roll out a few more of these mid week as we approach the election. As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Always feel free to email in questions to hello@voxpodcast.com, and to engage the conversation on Facebook and Instagram. Learn more about the VOX Podcast: www.voxpodcast.com Subscribe on iTunes - apple.co/1Lla1Nj Support the VOX Podcast on Patreon: www.patreon.com/voxpodcast Follow us on Instagram: @voxpodcast Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/voxpodcast Follow Mike on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mikeerre Music in this episode by Timothy John Stafford www.timothyjohnstafford.com Instagram & Twitter: @GoneTimothy

Sermon on the Mount: Part 9. Matthew 5:43-48. Love Your Enemies. This is the last piece, of the first section of the Sermon on the Mount. Here, Jesus challenges the laws of reciprocity we’ve seen in the past few weeks, highlighting the embodied faith of the Kingdom. What levitical laws does Jesus confront? How does he expand the Jewish understanding of who was a neighbor? What is the understanding of an enemy? How are we to interact with those who oppose us? What does it mean to love your enemies? We have landed at a pivotal section of the Sermon on the Mount. As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Always feel free to email in questions to hello@voxpodcast.com, and to engage the conversation on Facebook and Instagram. Learn more about the VOX Podcast: www.voxpodcast.com Subscribe on iTunes - apple.co/1Lla1Nj Support the VOX Podcast on Patreon: www.patreon.com/voxpodcast Follow us on Instagram: @voxpodcast Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/voxpodcast Follow Mike on Twitter: w

Race, Abortion & Evangelicals. Today we’re diverging from the Sermon on The Mount, to talk about the history of segregation and race relations in America. We’re joined by friend Phil Vischer from our cousin podcast, The Holy Post. Phil recently released a pair of videos on race that went viral and stirred up conversation. What is the history of segregation in the U.S.? What about within the church? What responsibility do we have today for the sins of yesterday? When did abortion become the singular issue the church rallies behind? How can we listen to one another first, before engaging in a posture of angry disagreement? We discuss being Christians with different life experiences coming to radically different conclusions on how each of us should vote and become active. You can see Phil’s video here: https://youtu.be/AGUwcs9qJXY As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Always feel free to email in questions to hello@voxpodcast.com, and to engage the conversation on here and Instag

Sermon on the Mount: Part 8. Matthew 5:38-42. An eye for an eye. This one is fun. Jesus continues to flip the script on what we know and have held to be true. There is a lot, a lot here, so give yourself some time. Jesus is purposefully upending many common held practices in regards to revenge and reciprocity, resistance and passivity. What was Jesus saying when he tells them to turn the other cheek? To offer their cloak? To walk an extra mile? What does this say about the Kingdom that He is establishing? How is it at odds with the common practices of the time, and well as today?? Where does this fall in line with what He has said prior in this sermon about anger, coveting, divorce, etc.? This kingdom is a table with many seats and each sits as high as the next. As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Always feel free to email in questions to hello@voxpodcast.com, and to engage the conversation on Facebook and Instagram. Learn more about the VOX Podcast: www.voxpodcast.com Subscri