What is it behind the most inspiring stories we know of people embracing suffering? Vince wonders if it's a certain kind of perspective that's hard for modern Western people to learn. But it still can be! (Photo by Adrian Swancar on Unsplash)
Read MoreThere's a tension between a pursuit of joy and a pursuit of meaning behind the New Testament writings that formed the early Jesus movement after Jesus' death and resurrection. How might honoring that tension help us in our struggles today to hold to hope instead of cynicism?
Read MoreYou are not alone if you find it inconsistent, problematic, or shaming the way Jesus’ crucifixion is presented as “substitution” in the vast majority of American churches (as though God needs someone to be punished, and Jesus “substitutes” himself for us, who really deserve the punishment). As we begin Holy Week this Lent, we offer some ways to shift your consideration of Jesus’ crucifixion away from “substitution” and toward two other things: “solidarity”, and “breaking cycles of revenge”.
Read MoreReflecting on Ben Stiller’s character from The Royal Tenenbaums and on his own experiences of grief or being with others in grief, Vince leads us in a discussion of ways faith in Jesus can help us when we are mourning the loss of loved ones for our annual Remembrance Service.
Read MoreVince shares about the helpfulness of coming to think of himself as “a sinner”, which hasn’t led him to debilitating shame or self-righteousness or judgment of others, but rather to freedom and personal growth and compassion toward himself (and others).
Read MoreStories of redemption tap into something deep in the human heart. Easter Sunday is all about redemption after regret, resurrection after death. Kyle shares what it has meant for him to experience not just healing from past hurts, brokennesses, or failures, but to experience those hurts, brokennesses, and failures be miraculously redeemed and actually bring good into the world.
Read MoreIf Jesus’ death on the Cross is just a confusingly violent picture of a God that requires punishment for his plan to work, Vince feels unsettled. But if Jesus’ death on the Cross is a picture of a loving and self-sacrificial God that chooses solidarity with scapegoats instead of solidarity with the powerful, then Vince finds himself pulled out of his small life and into a big and inspiring story. And he needs that!
Read MoreDoes Jesus on the Cross paint a picture of an angry, violent God who needs his wrath satisfied? Vince shares his journey away from that unsettling interpretation of Jesus on the Cross and toward a different interpretation that is the opposite of unsettling — one that is loving and inspiring and beautiful in the way it speaks to humanity in general and in the way it can speak to each of us personally.
Read MoreA day in the life of BLV pastor Kyle Hanawalt, in which he realizes that God (brilliantly) wants to give him peace before giving him guidance. How? Through conversational prayer.
Read MoreBLV is a community held together not by sameness, but by Jesus bridge-building power. Some of us have grown up bridging more than one culture or worldview or ethnic tradition (as a result of immigration, for example), which presents challenges, but also makes those of us role models of love.
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