August 4, 2025 • 33 mins
Today also marks the final week of our summer series, Reads a Classic, where we’ve reflected on the wisdom of enduring voices in the Christian tradition. We’ve learned from Hildegard of Bingen, Brother Lawrence, and Dallas Willard. And today, Jeremy explores the profound legacy of Walter Brueggemann, who passed away just weeks ago.
As one of the most influential Old Testament scholars of our time, Brueggemann taught us how to read the scriptures not just for what they say, but for what they imagine—how they invite us to resist empires, lament honestly, and hope boldly.
In this teaching, we explore:
🌀 Brueggemann’s life and theological contributions
📚 What it means to read scripture with prophetic imagination
🏛️ The symbolism of Egypt and Pharaoh as recurring empires in our world
🌊 A poetic re-reading of the Exodus and Red Sea crossing
💭 The dangers of self-deception, the lure of control, and the power of lament
✊ The invitation to imagine Church as an alternative community for justice and compassion
Whether you’re deeply familiar with Brueggemann’s work or hearing his name for the first time, this is a powerful conversation on how scripture—when read poetically—can shake us from numbness and awaken new ways forward.
👇 Who are the voices that have shaped your faith? Drop your “classic reads” in the comments—we’d love to hear them!
#CommonsChurch #ReadsAClassic #WalterBrueggemann #PropheticImagination #Exodus #SpiritualFormation #Theology #Justice #PoetryInScripture
★ Support this podcast ★Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jeremy Duncan (00:00):
Bruggemann reminded us that the powers that
be, the empires around us,whoever holds power now wants us
to remain numb. That's becausehe thought that if we could
learn to lament, if we couldpractice naming what was wrong,
then in that, we could alsoacknowledge what could be
better, and maybe we could beginto imagine what might be
(00:22):
different. We are alsocontinuing a series called Reads
a Classic. This will be thefinal week in that series, but
this one has been a lot of fun,I think. Bobby introduced us to
Hildegard of Bingen.
Scott reminded us of brotherLawrence. Last week, I got to
(00:44):
talk about Dallas Willard. Andtoday, I'm gonna look at a
significant loss that the churchhas recently experienced. That
was the loss of WalterBruggemann who passed away just
a few short weeks ago. However,let me say this.
Not only has this series been alot of fun, also maybe a little
bit frustrating. There hassimply been not enough time to
(01:07):
cover all of the writers that wewould have loved to. We're
definitely gonna have to comeback to this concept again in
the future. I would have lovedto introduce you to doctor Wilda
Gaffney, who forever opened myeyes in new ways to the stories
of women throughout scripturewith her book, Womanist Midrash,
to Stanley Howerwosse who shapedmy commitments to nonviolence
(01:32):
with his book The PeaceableKingdom, to the scholars
Elizabeth Schuessler Frierenzaand Adela Yarborough Collins,
two women who did a lot of thework in grounding my studies in
Revelation. Of course, ReniGerard, who I have had a chance
to talk about a couple timeshere at Commons and on our
YouTube channel.
But there are so many classicreads that all of us would have
(01:55):
loved to talk about. And by theway, because of that, we would
love to hear your classics aswell. Anyone who has influenced
your spiritual journey, by allmeans, send your recommendations
by email. Stop us and talk. Wewould love to hear what you're
reading to add it to our list.
There's a lot we can learn fromeach other. That said, because
of his recent passing, I decidedto change gears a little bit and
(02:18):
talk today about WalterBruggemann's work. And let me
acknowledge, there are very fewwriters that have influenced my
thinking as deeply asBruggemann. When he passed away,
I actually posted a quick videoto our YouTube channel, to say
thanks to him and to point ourcommunity to some of his work.
You can check that out as well.
(02:40):
Today, though, we're gonna focuson what is probably his most
famous work, a book called TheProphetic Imagination. So first,
a little biographicalbackground, and then we'll turn
our attention to a scripture, Ithink, we can read through the
themes of Bruggemann's work.Walter Bruggemann was born in a
(03:01):
little Nebraska town in 1933. Hewas a pastor's son, which by the
way gives me a little hope formy kids. My childhood, not
particularly religious.
And so I'm gonna be honest here.I've always been a little bit
about nervous about my kidsgrowing up around like this much
church. That said, I will say,you guys have been so gracious
(03:22):
and kind to my kids for morethan a decade now. You are as
old as my son, by the way. Butall of you have been so generous
to our family.
You make common. It's actually apretty good place to grow up as
a kid. So from all the parentson staff, a big thank you. But
as a pastor's son, Bruggemannfound himself shaped by the life
(03:43):
of a small rural church. And soafter his initial BA, he turned
his attention to theology,completing a bachelor of
theology, then a doctorate oftheology, and then finally a PhD
in education.
And I think it was really thatcombination of a theologian's
mind and an educator's heartthat made his voice so unique.
(04:07):
His writing was deep andresearched and footnoted to the
heavens and yet also widelyaccessible and actually just
pretty engaging to read. I'vedone a lot of writing in my
life. I've done academicwriting. I've written books.
I write sermons prettyregularly, of course. But
finding the way to weavetogether everything you learn in
(04:28):
those disparate disciplines,that's a very rare skill and one
that Bruggemann did incrediblywell. One of the things I've
always admired about his writingwas that you would learn
something and actually enjoygetting there. And I think
that's reflected in the factthat the dude published more
than a 100 books in his career,and that was all before AI was
(04:49):
even a thing. That blows mymind, especially considering the
fact that he was also teachingat Columbia Theological Seminary
across three decades in hislife.
Now Brigham Young was primarilyan Old Testament scholar, but
there are some very importantthemes from across his writing
that I think define hiscontributions and probably will
(05:13):
help us to get our feet under uswhen we turn our attention back
to the scriptures today. And thefirst was that lament is an act
of faith, especially in a worldwhere we don't like to be, where
we probably even actively try toavoid being sad. Bruggemann
(05:33):
reminded us that the powers thatbe, the empires around us,
whoever holds power now wants usto remain numb. That's because
he thought that if we couldlearn to lament, if we could
practice naming what was wrong,then in that, we could also
acknowledge what could bebetter, and maybe we could begin
(05:57):
to imagine what might bedifferent. So think about that
next time you are sad.
Your grief is an acknowledgmentof what could be. It is the
first step in moving beyond whatis toward that. Second man,
Bruggemann had this convictionthat God was interested in
creating what he called analternative community. So not
(06:21):
church for the sake of morechurch. That's boring.
But maybe church for the sake ofdemonstrating a new way to live
together. And that might meanresisting consumerism or pushing
back on individualism, rejectingall of these fear based systems
around us. But, really it wasabout allowing church,
(06:42):
everything we do together tobecome a microcosm of what's
possible in the world. So weevangelize or we good news our
neighborhoods, not with placardsand soap boxes and threats of
hell, but actually by comingtogether across lines that feel
entrenched, whether that'ssocioeconomic or political or
(07:05):
ethnic and cultural. But we cometogether to care for each other,
to learn from each other, tofind common purpose, and
ultimately, to accomplish thingstogether that none of us could
do on our own.
And specifically for Bruggemann,those things we can't get done
on our own, that was largelyabout justice for the poor. See,
(07:29):
I mentioned this already, butBruggemann was primarily an Old
Testament scholar. And one ofthe key features of his work was
taking those ethical frameworksof ancient Israel and at least
trying to apply them tocontemporary society. All those
verses about caring for orphansand widows and the stranger, All
(07:51):
of those rules about debtforgiveness and jubilee. Those
guidelines about leaving enoughon the table for those who need
it.
His question was, how can we getserious about that together?
Because as a final theme,Brueggemann articulated what he
called the propheticimagination. And that had
(08:14):
nothing to do with predictingthe future. It was all about
this insistence that the Bibleis all of it, poetry. You see
propositions get necessarilyfixed in a time and place.
But for the Bible to be aliveand active today, for us to
really make sense of the wordsthat were spoken on behalf of
(08:37):
God, what we need is actually tolearn to read more creatively.
Said another way, read as prose,the bible can tell us about
things that happened. But readas poetry or a story, the bible
can begin to speak to us aboutwhat is happening all around us
(09:00):
all the time. And so as a verysmall example here, Bruggemann
wrote a lot about Sabbath in hiscareer, that practice of resting
weekly. But he saw that notprimarily as a rule to be
followed or a law to be enacted,but as a conscious act of
resistance.
He saw the practice of rest as achosen confrontation with the
(09:24):
perpetual narrative that humanbeings are worth what we
produce. And so as a scholar,you can read Sabbath as a set of
arcane laws from an ancientdesert people based on their
creation mythologies. But as apoet, Bruggemann argued, you can
read Sabbath as a reminder thathuman beings need to
(09:45):
consciously, consistently pushback against the idea that we
are what we contribute to theeconomies around us. We're more
than that. And that's the kindof prophetic imagination, the
creativity that's woven allthroughout the Bible if we slow
down long enough to notice.
(10:07):
So with that in mind today, wewant to turn our attention to
what Bruggemann might name asthe central prophetic narrative
of the Hebrew scriptures that isthe Exodus. First, let's pray.
Loving God, you're the one whopulls back the veil and helps us
(10:27):
to see the world as it truly is.You remind us that our fears,
our despair, none of that hasthe final word because Christ
has shown us the full extent ofyour love, what is possible when
we follow your way. Today, weask your spirit to be near and
(10:47):
to awaken our hearts where we'vebecome comfortable with the way
that things are and give uscourage to imagine instead what
could be.
And where our hope feelsdecidedly small today, would you
remind us that your story isstill unfolding, that there are
possibilities we can scarcelydream of ahead? Because people
(11:12):
who speak truth with humility toeach other, who practice justice
with compassion, but who clingto the hope that all things can
and will be made new. If only wecan find the courage and the
creativity to see it. In thestrong name, the risen Christ we
(11:32):
pray. Amen.
Okay. Today it is the propheticimagination in the Exodus. And
we'll talk about empires and offramps, self sabotage, and new
ways forward. But what I wannado today is take a few minutes
to talk about how Bruggemannsees the characters of pharaoh
(11:56):
and Egypt in the story. And thenwe'll pick just a small section.
We'll go right to the highlightof the story with the crossing
of the Red Sea, and we'll lookat how reading with that
prophetic imagination can help astory even like this feel very
relevant, even poetic for today.So first, Bruggemann on Pharaoh.
(12:19):
One of the things that isinteresting about Bruggemann's
work is that even though he hasa PhD and a doctorate in
theology, even though he thoughtand taught Old Testament studies
and could hang with the best ofthem, when it came to reading a
story like the Exodus, you wouldoften find him largely
(12:40):
sidestepping questions ofhistoricity. I remember way back
in my first year of seminary,one of my professors arguing
that, look, we can have allkinds of debates about the
historical characters in theBible. What was the Abraham of
history like, and who was theMoses of the ancient Near East?
(13:01):
Those questions are fun, evenimportant to ask, but the
answers are always largely goingto be speculative. That's
because all we can really talkabout with certainty is the
Abraham of the text or thecharacter of Moses that's
preserved in the story. Nowthere might be some significant
(13:22):
overlap between the person Mosesand the character Moses, But all
we have available to us inbiblical studies is the person
on the page. Now archaeologists,that's a different thing. They
get to play in a differentsandbox, so they have a
different set of questions.
But when it comes to biblicalstudies, these are literary
(13:42):
characters that we are dealingwith. And for this reason,
Brueggemann prefers to see Egyptnot just as a historical empire,
which it certainly was. But hewould say more importantly,
Egypt is a character. They're asymbol of every system that
resists God's justice in theworld. Likewise, the pharaoh of
(14:04):
the Bible.
That's not just a man who sitsatop a particular empire. He is
a an amalgamation of all thosewho presume to sit at the apex
of human history. A Brueggemannwould argue that's not just a
way to make the bible relevant.It's actually inherent in the
way it's written. So forexample, particular, historical,
(14:26):
identifying characteristicsabout any particular pharaoh who
presided over an exodus event,those are largely, actually,
conspicuously absent in theBible.
And Brueggemann would say that'snot an oversight. That's by
design. Because the storytellerswere acutely aware that this
wasn't just a story about aparticular pharaoh and a unique
(14:49):
Moses. This was a story ofsomething that was unfolding
over and over again throughoutthe human history. In other
words, they were using theperson pharaoh to write about
the phenomenon of Pharaoh, theidea of power.
(15:09):
In fact, I used a lot ofBruggemann's work to argue that
the book of Revelation, when itmoves back and forth between
Rome and Babylon and images ofEgypt, that's not because the
narrative is switching back andforth in different time periods.
It's because it is explicitlyfollowing the tradition of the
Hebrew prophets. It'sintentionally dislocating the
(15:30):
story from a particular time andplace to speak to tendencies
within the human condition. Sothe book of Revelation, the
Hebrew prophets, the Exodus. Theprophetic imagination is not
about predicting the future orjust narrating the past.
It's about telling us themistakes we keep on making. And
(15:53):
so in that sense, Egypt,Babylon, Rome, Britain, America,
China, whatever empire you seeon the horizon, the bible
actually has something to say toall of it. And I'll read one of
my favorite quotes here. Brighamand writes, the key pathology of
our time, which seduces us all,is the reduction of our
(16:15):
imagination so that we becometoo numb, too satiated, too co
opted to do the seriousimaginative work of reading the
Bible. It's good stories readwith prophetic creativity that
wakes us up from what is nowtoward what is possible.
(16:39):
And so when we read a story likethe Exodus, it's valuable, I
would argue even fascinating tostudy where it fits in our
history, but never at theexpense of seeing how the story
is still unfolding all around ustoday. And for that, we need to
get poetic. Now Brighamenidentifies three characteristics
(17:01):
in what he calls the royalconsciousness that is embedded
in the character of Egypt. Callsthem affluence, amnesia, and
numbness. Affluence, this isEgypt's wealth built on the back
of the oppressed.
It's Jewish slaves who make thebricks to keep their economy
moving. Second is amnesia. Egyptis impervious to the lessons of
(17:24):
the past. In fact, the story ofour pharaoh begins in Exodus one
eight where we read, then a newking whom Joseph meant nothing
to came to power over Egypt.Empires only remember who's
important to them today.
And then finally, this numbness.The Egypt of the Exodus
(17:46):
suppresses grief and silencesdissent, but it's not just from
their slaves. It's actually fromtheir own people when the story
begins to turn against them. Andthat means it renders them
unable to learn properly. Soaffluence, amnesia, numbness,
these are problems we see inempires all around us today.
(18:09):
And with that as background,then we can use this as a lens
to read what is in some ways theclimax of the story. That is the
flight to the Red Sea. So thisis Exodus 13 starting in verse
seven. When Pharaoh let thepeople go, God did not lead them
on the road to the Philistinecountry, though that was
(18:30):
shorter. For God said if theyface war, they might change
their minds and return back toEgypt.
So God led the people around bythe desert road toward the Red
Sea, and the Israelites went upout of Egypt ready for battle.
Now by way of recap, what'shappened here is that Moses has
been called by God to confrontPharaoh and ask for the freedom
(18:54):
of his people. And Pharaoh hassaid, not a chance. And yet God,
through Moses, has offeredPharaoh now a number of off
ramps in the form of 10 plaguesintended to demonstrate the
folly of his obstinance. Sadly,every off ramp has been refused,
except now the burden, carriedin the death of his firstborn
(19:16):
son has become too great, andPharaoh relents.
Except there are poetic hintsalready here in the text. And
the first is in this phrase,when Pharaoh let the people go.
That's not a great translation.And it's because the verb here
is not passive. In other words,Pharaoh didn't let anyone go.
(19:38):
He drove them out. Anotherscholar, John Durham, suggests
we should read this moreliterally. Pharaoh hurled them
out of his lands. Point being,Pharaoh doesn't think he's
giving in and letting anyone goright now. He thinks he's still
in control of this story.
And that's important because wayback at the start in Exodus
(20:01):
three, when God first spoke toMoses, God said, I will stretch
out my hand and strike theEgyptians with all the wonders
that I will perform. And afterthat, pharaoh will let you go.
And there, we see the passiveform of the same verb. In other
words, God was hoping that thewonders would move Pharaoh to
(20:23):
change. I think they'vetranslated this way to make the
connection, but they've actuallymissed the point here.
Because God is hoping Pharaohwill come to understand the
injustice of slavery. He'llparticipate in the emancipation
of the Israelites willingly. Butwhat we see here is that Pharaoh
has actually not learned thelesson at all. He hurls them out
(20:44):
instead of letting them go. Ithink that's really interesting
because I think sometimes theline between surrender and
control is far more delicatethan we think it is.
Today, we might use terms likepassive aggressive or
gaslighting or narcissisticpersonality disorder. All of
those probably apply to Farrell.But often, I think what appears
(21:06):
to be giving in, even repenting,is actually really just our
attempt to maintain control andmanipulate people around us. And
if we're not careful with that,if we don't name the difference
for ourselves, I think what wemight find is we are actually
the ones that are beingdeceived. I mean, very clearly,
(21:28):
God wants the liberation of theIsraelites in the story.
That's the point. I get it. ButI think God might also want
Pharaoh to find some freedom aswell, Except that would mean
that he would need to open up towhat his own grief might teach
him about what he's done wrong,and he won't. And there's
(21:50):
something poetic in that. Eventhen, it's not all that's buried
here in this little versebecause we also read that when
given their freedom, when letgo, God leads the Israelites the
long way around toward whatseems like a dead end at the Red
Sea.
Now, sure, that sets up the bigclimax. I get it. That's
(22:11):
important. But that's notactually the reason given in the
text for that path. Instead, weread that God was concerned that
if they faced war, they mightchange their minds and they
might head back to where theycame from.
So first of all, hardships canstop us from getting to where we
need to go. That's true,undoubtedly. We need some
(22:31):
courage. It's not the only thingI notice here, though, because
we're also told that theIsraelites went up out of Egypt
ready for battle. And this wholesection reads a little tongue in
cheek to me as if the peoplethink they're ready for a battle
and God thinks, come on, guys.
Give me a break. And, again, Ithink we're supposed to pay
(22:52):
attention to this tension here.Right? The whole point of the
Exodus story is that Israelitescannot possibly fight back
against Egypt. They are a tinylittle group.
Egypt is this huge empire. Theyare, as we spoke about last
week, meek, dispossessed oftheir freedom. No chance of
fighting back, and yet here theyare graciously granted that by
(23:17):
God and at the same time,already ready to ascribe their
victory to their own strength.It's like my kids. My daughter,
loves the swings.
She'll spend hours on them ifyou let her. But this summer, we
made a big breakthrough as shehas learned how to get a little
thrust going now. So you giveher some momentum and she can
(23:38):
maintain it, you know, push andpull and all that. If you've
ever spent hours pushing justone more time, you know, that's
a big deal. Autopilot, baby.
Except here's the thing. She'sstill too small to get herself
up on the swing. And you stillhave to pull her back and get
her going with a couple pushesto start. And don't get me
wrong. It's a very big win inour house.
(23:58):
But every time she turns to meand says, daddy, look. I can do
it all by myself. I'm kindalike, can you though? I mean,
when you can get yourself to thepark safely and onto the swing
and through the ride and homeagain, then we can talk about
all by yourself. Right nowalright.
Well, here are the Israelitesready for battle, and I wonder
(24:21):
how many times I have thankedGod for goodness that I've
stumbled into only toimmediately rewrite the story to
narrate my own courage back tomyself. Remember, the Egypt of
the story isn't just the Egyptof history. It's the way that
empires dominate ourimagination. And I'm worried
that if we immediately, uponseizing any sort of grace and
(24:45):
freedom for ourselves, decidethat we earned it through our
own power, then perhaps whatwe've actually done is set
ourselves up to become the nextsource of suffering for someone
else in the world. Sometimes thestory isn't you're stronger than
you think.
Sometimes the story is there's adifferent way for you to move
through the world, and you don'tneed to compare yourself to what
(25:09):
was. And that again has acertain poetry to it. Because
even here as Israel is flirtingwith their own self
congratulation, there's anotherparallel that's being set up in
the text. Chapter 14, a coupleof verses later, the Lord says
to Moses, okay. Turn back andhead toward the sea.
(25:29):
Pharaoh will think you'rewandering around in the land
confused and lost, hemmed in bythe desert. But I will harden
his heart and he will pursueyou. And I will gain glory for
myself through Pharaoh and hisarmy. And the Egyptians will
finally know that I am the Lord.This one's fascinating to me
(25:50):
because particularly having justcome off what we saw happen in
the hearts of the Israelites,how quick they were to ascribe
their freedom to themselves.
I mean, what do we do here withPharaoh in his heart? What does
it mean that God hardens it?That doesn't sound fair to me.
But again, there's somebreadcrumbs here because the
(26:10):
Jewish rabbi, Nahum Sarnah,points out that Pharaoh's heart
is actually hardened exactly 20times in the narrative. 10 of
those times, the hardeningrefers to an action that Pharaoh
does to himself.
For example, eight fifteen says,Pharaoh hardened his heart and
would not listen to God. Andthen another 10 times, the
(26:31):
hardening is done by God. Forexample, the verse we just read,
I will harden Pharaoh's heart.And there's actually three
different words in Hebrew thatare used across these various
references. They they mean todull, to strengthen, or to
become obstinate.
For the record, all three areused on both sides of the god
pharaoh divides. That doesn'treally help us either. But for
(26:54):
me, what this means is that it'sfar too convenient to have 20
references, 10 on each side tobe anything but a very
intentional structuring of thestory. Someone has taken great
pains here to say something. Andwhat Sarna points out is that in
the first five plagues, it isalways pharaoh who's doing the
(27:16):
hardening to himself.
And it's only after pharaohchooses that path 10 times over,
the hardening is then laterattributed to divine causality.
That's a story that we seerepeated over over again in
scripture. Right? Like, forexample, Paul talks about God
punishing us by giving us overto our worst desires. Or Jesus
(27:41):
talks about those who refuse toforgive slowly becoming unable
to be forgiven.
Exodus talks about those whoharden their hearts, having
their hearts hardened againstthem. But here, the callback is,
I think, to Israel heading outtoward the sea. If you come to
(28:03):
believe that you have won yourfreedom and your wealth by being
more powerful, stronger thananywhere else, more ruthless
than them. If the Hebrews buyinto the story that they left
Egypt because they were readyfor battle, then they will we
will, all of us, find ourselveseventually trapped by the story
God just helped us exit from. Inother words this, if you
(28:29):
constantly tell yourself a storyabout how hard you are and how
everything you have has beenearned by your grit and that
your callousness to those aroundyou is a virtue, then slowly,
painfully, God just might giveyou that story.
And it might end up with you inplaces that you never wanted to
be. And this is why we have toread imaginatively because the
(28:53):
empires around us are giving usstories all the time, telling us
this is what's important aboutyou. This is the person that you
want to be, and it's not alwaystrue. That's why Bruggemann is
so set on the idea that we haveto stop viewing scripture as
singular stories, but instead asarchetypes. Because when Pharaoh
(29:13):
reaches the depths of hisdescent and abandons even that
measly bit of grace that heextended to the Israelites when
he hurled them out and he sendshis army after the people to get
them back and trapped againstthe dead end of the Red Sea,
Moses stretches out his handonly for God to drive back the
waters in front of them.
(29:35):
The point of the story isn't tobelieve that we can throw down
with empires because we're justas strong as them. The point is
to realize that the hardening ofour hearts will have us ignoring
the miraculous right in front ofus and rushing headlong into the
sea to our own demise. See, theprophetic imagination of what's
(29:57):
possible was born not becauseMoses struck back with more
force against his enemy, butbecause the possibility of a
different way forward throughthe world was born in their
consciousness. They are freebecause they are weak. They are
free because that's who God'sgrace is lavished on.
(30:19):
They are free not because theybecame a bigger, better,
stronger, meaner version ofEgypt, but because God laid out
a different path for them tofollow. That they might trust
that one day nation would nolonger take up sword against
nation, no longer would any ofus train for war anymore because
the ability for power todominate our imagination can be
(30:44):
drowned in the Red Sea if we'rewilling to allow it to happen.
And all we need is a littlecreativity to notice that story
in front of us over and overagain in the world. There's a
path that's offered to you bythe empire that dominates your
(31:04):
world, and God is offering analternative. Let's pray.
God, for all those times when wehave allowed power and strength
and empire and dominance toclose down and shut down our
imagination, to make us tobelieve that the only thing we
(31:28):
can aspire to be is more ofthat, whatever it was that
dominated us, instead ofrealizing that it is in our
softness and our weakness, inour willingness to follow the
graph path of grace that we areopened up to a whole new world
(31:51):
of what is possible not just forus, but for our neighbor, for
our communities, and perhapseven in the scale of time to
this entire world, this kingdomthat you imagine possible being
born, growing, taking root, andeventually overcoming the world.
(32:11):
Not through the strength and thedominance and the power that has
kept us down, but through selfsacrifice and grace and the path
of peace. May our imaginationslowly be shaped by that
prophetic word that your pathforward is an alternative way to
(32:33):
be human, and it is the way thatwe'll eventually overcome
through self giving love. Mightwe follow it, and in that, might
we find ourselves anew andrenewed In the strong name of
the risen Christ we pray, amen.
(32:56):
Hey, Jeremy here, and thanks forlistening to our podcast. If
you're intrigued by the workthat we're doing here at
Commons, you can head to ourwebsite, commons.church, for
more information. You can findus on all of the socials
commonschurch. You can subscribeto our YouTube channel where we
are posting content regularlyfor the community. You can also
join our Discord server.
(33:17):
Head to commons.churchdiscordfor the invite, and there you
will find the community havingall kinds of conversations about
how we can encourage each otherto follow the way of Jesus. We
would love to hear from you.Anyway, thanks for tuning in.
Have a great week. We'll talk toyou soon.
Bruggemann reminded us that the powers that
be, the empires around us,whoever holds power now wants us
to remain numb. That's becausehe thought that if we could
learn to lament, if we couldpractice naming what was wrong,
then in that, we could alsoacknowledge what could be
better, and maybe we could beginto imagine what might be
(00:22):
different. We are alsocontinuing a series called Reads
a Classic. This will be thefinal week in that series, but
this one has been a lot of fun,I think. Bobby introduced us to
Hildegard of Bingen.
Scott reminded us of brotherLawrence. Last week, I got to
(00:44):
talk about Dallas Willard. Andtoday, I'm gonna look at a
significant loss that the churchhas recently experienced. That
was the loss of WalterBruggemann who passed away just
a few short weeks ago. However,let me say this.
Not only has this series been alot of fun, also maybe a little
bit frustrating. There hassimply been not enough time to
(01:07):
cover all of the writers that wewould have loved to. We're
definitely gonna have to comeback to this concept again in
the future. I would have lovedto introduce you to doctor Wilda
Gaffney, who forever opened myeyes in new ways to the stories
of women throughout scripturewith her book, Womanist Midrash,
to Stanley Howerwosse who shapedmy commitments to nonviolence
(01:32):
with his book The PeaceableKingdom, to the scholars
Elizabeth Schuessler Frierenzaand Adela Yarborough Collins,
two women who did a lot of thework in grounding my studies in
Revelation. Of course, ReniGerard, who I have had a chance
to talk about a couple timeshere at Commons and on our
YouTube channel.
But there are so many classicreads that all of us would have
(01:55):
loved to talk about. And by theway, because of that, we would
love to hear your classics aswell. Anyone who has influenced
your spiritual journey, by allmeans, send your recommendations
by email. Stop us and talk. Wewould love to hear what you're
reading to add it to our list.
There's a lot we can learn fromeach other. That said, because
of his recent passing, I decidedto change gears a little bit and
(02:18):
talk today about WalterBruggemann's work. And let me
acknowledge, there are very fewwriters that have influenced my
thinking as deeply asBruggemann. When he passed away,
I actually posted a quick videoto our YouTube channel, to say
thanks to him and to point ourcommunity to some of his work.
You can check that out as well.
(02:40):
Today, though, we're gonna focuson what is probably his most
famous work, a book called TheProphetic Imagination. So first,
a little biographicalbackground, and then we'll turn
our attention to a scripture, Ithink, we can read through the
themes of Bruggemann's work.Walter Bruggemann was born in a
(03:01):
little Nebraska town in 1933. Hewas a pastor's son, which by the
way gives me a little hope formy kids. My childhood, not
particularly religious.
And so I'm gonna be honest here.I've always been a little bit
about nervous about my kidsgrowing up around like this much
church. That said, I will say,you guys have been so gracious
(03:22):
and kind to my kids for morethan a decade now. You are as
old as my son, by the way. Butall of you have been so generous
to our family.
You make common. It's actually apretty good place to grow up as
a kid. So from all the parentson staff, a big thank you. But
as a pastor's son, Bruggemannfound himself shaped by the life
(03:43):
of a small rural church. And soafter his initial BA, he turned
his attention to theology,completing a bachelor of
theology, then a doctorate oftheology, and then finally a PhD
in education.
And I think it was really thatcombination of a theologian's
mind and an educator's heartthat made his voice so unique.
(04:07):
His writing was deep andresearched and footnoted to the
heavens and yet also widelyaccessible and actually just
pretty engaging to read. I'vedone a lot of writing in my
life. I've done academicwriting. I've written books.
I write sermons prettyregularly, of course. But
finding the way to weavetogether everything you learn in
(04:28):
those disparate disciplines,that's a very rare skill and one
that Bruggemann did incrediblywell. One of the things I've
always admired about his writingwas that you would learn
something and actually enjoygetting there. And I think
that's reflected in the factthat the dude published more
than a 100 books in his career,and that was all before AI was
(04:49):
even a thing. That blows mymind, especially considering the
fact that he was also teachingat Columbia Theological Seminary
across three decades in hislife.
Now Brigham Young was primarilyan Old Testament scholar, but
there are some very importantthemes from across his writing
that I think define hiscontributions and probably will
(05:13):
help us to get our feet under uswhen we turn our attention back
to the scriptures today. And thefirst was that lament is an act
of faith, especially in a worldwhere we don't like to be, where
we probably even actively try toavoid being sad. Bruggemann
(05:33):
reminded us that the powers thatbe, the empires around us,
whoever holds power now wants usto remain numb. That's because
he thought that if we couldlearn to lament, if we could
practice naming what was wrong,then in that, we could also
acknowledge what could bebetter, and maybe we could begin
(05:57):
to imagine what might bedifferent. So think about that
next time you are sad.
Your grief is an acknowledgmentof what could be. It is the
first step in moving beyond whatis toward that. Second man,
Bruggemann had this convictionthat God was interested in
creating what he called analternative community. So not
(06:21):
church for the sake of morechurch. That's boring.
But maybe church for the sake ofdemonstrating a new way to live
together. And that might meanresisting consumerism or pushing
back on individualism, rejectingall of these fear based systems
around us. But, really it wasabout allowing church,
(06:42):
everything we do together tobecome a microcosm of what's
possible in the world. So weevangelize or we good news our
neighborhoods, not with placardsand soap boxes and threats of
hell, but actually by comingtogether across lines that feel
entrenched, whether that'ssocioeconomic or political or
(07:05):
ethnic and cultural. But we cometogether to care for each other,
to learn from each other, tofind common purpose, and
ultimately, to accomplish thingstogether that none of us could
do on our own.
And specifically for Bruggemann,those things we can't get done
on our own, that was largelyabout justice for the poor. See,
(07:29):
I mentioned this already, butBruggemann was primarily an Old
Testament scholar. And one ofthe key features of his work was
taking those ethical frameworksof ancient Israel and at least
trying to apply them tocontemporary society. All those
verses about caring for orphansand widows and the stranger, All
(07:51):
of those rules about debtforgiveness and jubilee. Those
guidelines about leaving enoughon the table for those who need
it.
His question was, how can we getserious about that together?
Because as a final theme,Brueggemann articulated what he
called the propheticimagination. And that had
(08:14):
nothing to do with predictingthe future. It was all about
this insistence that the Bibleis all of it, poetry. You see
propositions get necessarilyfixed in a time and place.
But for the Bible to be aliveand active today, for us to
really make sense of the wordsthat were spoken on behalf of
(08:37):
God, what we need is actually tolearn to read more creatively.
Said another way, read as prose,the bible can tell us about
things that happened. But readas poetry or a story, the bible
can begin to speak to us aboutwhat is happening all around us
(09:00):
all the time. And so as a verysmall example here, Bruggemann
wrote a lot about Sabbath in hiscareer, that practice of resting
weekly. But he saw that notprimarily as a rule to be
followed or a law to be enacted,but as a conscious act of
resistance.
He saw the practice of rest as achosen confrontation with the
(09:24):
perpetual narrative that humanbeings are worth what we
produce. And so as a scholar,you can read Sabbath as a set of
arcane laws from an ancientdesert people based on their
creation mythologies. But as apoet, Bruggemann argued, you can
read Sabbath as a reminder thathuman beings need to
(09:45):
consciously, consistently pushback against the idea that we
are what we contribute to theeconomies around us. We're more
than that. And that's the kindof prophetic imagination, the
creativity that's woven allthroughout the Bible if we slow
down long enough to notice.
(10:07):
So with that in mind today, wewant to turn our attention to
what Bruggemann might name asthe central prophetic narrative
of the Hebrew scriptures that isthe Exodus. First, let's pray.
Loving God, you're the one whopulls back the veil and helps us
(10:27):
to see the world as it truly is.You remind us that our fears,
our despair, none of that hasthe final word because Christ
has shown us the full extent ofyour love, what is possible when
we follow your way. Today, weask your spirit to be near and
(10:47):
to awaken our hearts where we'vebecome comfortable with the way
that things are and give uscourage to imagine instead what
could be.
And where our hope feelsdecidedly small today, would you
remind us that your story isstill unfolding, that there are
possibilities we can scarcelydream of ahead? Because people
(11:12):
who speak truth with humility toeach other, who practice justice
with compassion, but who clingto the hope that all things can
and will be made new. If only wecan find the courage and the
creativity to see it. In thestrong name, the risen Christ we
(11:32):
pray. Amen.
Okay. Today it is the propheticimagination in the Exodus. And
we'll talk about empires and offramps, self sabotage, and new
ways forward. But what I wannado today is take a few minutes
to talk about how Bruggemannsees the characters of pharaoh
(11:56):
and Egypt in the story. And thenwe'll pick just a small section.
We'll go right to the highlightof the story with the crossing
of the Red Sea, and we'll lookat how reading with that
prophetic imagination can help astory even like this feel very
relevant, even poetic for today.So first, Bruggemann on Pharaoh.
(12:19):
One of the things that isinteresting about Bruggemann's
work is that even though he hasa PhD and a doctorate in
theology, even though he thoughtand taught Old Testament studies
and could hang with the best ofthem, when it came to reading a
story like the Exodus, you wouldoften find him largely
(12:40):
sidestepping questions ofhistoricity. I remember way back
in my first year of seminary,one of my professors arguing
that, look, we can have allkinds of debates about the
historical characters in theBible. What was the Abraham of
history like, and who was theMoses of the ancient Near East?
(13:01):
Those questions are fun, evenimportant to ask, but the
answers are always largely goingto be speculative. That's
because all we can really talkabout with certainty is the
Abraham of the text or thecharacter of Moses that's
preserved in the story. Nowthere might be some significant
(13:22):
overlap between the person Mosesand the character Moses, But all
we have available to us inbiblical studies is the person
on the page. Now archaeologists,that's a different thing. They
get to play in a differentsandbox, so they have a
different set of questions.
But when it comes to biblicalstudies, these are literary
(13:42):
characters that we are dealingwith. And for this reason,
Brueggemann prefers to see Egyptnot just as a historical empire,
which it certainly was. But hewould say more importantly,
Egypt is a character. They're asymbol of every system that
resists God's justice in theworld. Likewise, the pharaoh of
(14:04):
the Bible.
That's not just a man who sitsatop a particular empire. He is
a an amalgamation of all thosewho presume to sit at the apex
of human history. A Brueggemannwould argue that's not just a
way to make the bible relevant.It's actually inherent in the
way it's written. So forexample, particular, historical,
(14:26):
identifying characteristicsabout any particular pharaoh who
presided over an exodus event,those are largely, actually,
conspicuously absent in theBible.
And Brueggemann would say that'snot an oversight. That's by
design. Because the storytellerswere acutely aware that this
wasn't just a story about aparticular pharaoh and a unique
(14:49):
Moses. This was a story ofsomething that was unfolding
over and over again throughoutthe human history. In other
words, they were using theperson pharaoh to write about
the phenomenon of Pharaoh, theidea of power.
(15:09):
In fact, I used a lot ofBruggemann's work to argue that
the book of Revelation, when itmoves back and forth between
Rome and Babylon and images ofEgypt, that's not because the
narrative is switching back andforth in different time periods.
It's because it is explicitlyfollowing the tradition of the
Hebrew prophets. It'sintentionally dislocating the
(15:30):
story from a particular time andplace to speak to tendencies
within the human condition. Sothe book of Revelation, the
Hebrew prophets, the Exodus. Theprophetic imagination is not
about predicting the future orjust narrating the past.
It's about telling us themistakes we keep on making. And
(15:53):
so in that sense, Egypt,Babylon, Rome, Britain, America,
China, whatever empire you seeon the horizon, the bible
actually has something to say toall of it. And I'll read one of
my favorite quotes here. Brighamand writes, the key pathology of
our time, which seduces us all,is the reduction of our
(16:15):
imagination so that we becometoo numb, too satiated, too co
opted to do the seriousimaginative work of reading the
Bible. It's good stories readwith prophetic creativity that
wakes us up from what is nowtoward what is possible.
(16:39):
And so when we read a story likethe Exodus, it's valuable, I
would argue even fascinating tostudy where it fits in our
history, but never at theexpense of seeing how the story
is still unfolding all around ustoday. And for that, we need to
get poetic. Now Brighamenidentifies three characteristics
(17:01):
in what he calls the royalconsciousness that is embedded
in the character of Egypt. Callsthem affluence, amnesia, and
numbness. Affluence, this isEgypt's wealth built on the back
of the oppressed.
It's Jewish slaves who make thebricks to keep their economy
moving. Second is amnesia. Egyptis impervious to the lessons of
(17:24):
the past. In fact, the story ofour pharaoh begins in Exodus one
eight where we read, then a newking whom Joseph meant nothing
to came to power over Egypt.Empires only remember who's
important to them today.
And then finally, this numbness.The Egypt of the Exodus
(17:46):
suppresses grief and silencesdissent, but it's not just from
their slaves. It's actually fromtheir own people when the story
begins to turn against them. Andthat means it renders them
unable to learn properly. Soaffluence, amnesia, numbness,
these are problems we see inempires all around us today.
(18:09):
And with that as background,then we can use this as a lens
to read what is in some ways theclimax of the story. That is the
flight to the Red Sea. So thisis Exodus 13 starting in verse
seven. When Pharaoh let thepeople go, God did not lead them
on the road to the Philistinecountry, though that was
(18:30):
shorter. For God said if theyface war, they might change
their minds and return back toEgypt.
So God led the people around bythe desert road toward the Red
Sea, and the Israelites went upout of Egypt ready for battle.
Now by way of recap, what'shappened here is that Moses has
been called by God to confrontPharaoh and ask for the freedom
(18:54):
of his people. And Pharaoh hassaid, not a chance. And yet God,
through Moses, has offeredPharaoh now a number of off
ramps in the form of 10 plaguesintended to demonstrate the
folly of his obstinance. Sadly,every off ramp has been refused,
except now the burden, carriedin the death of his firstborn
(19:16):
son has become too great, andPharaoh relents.
Except there are poetic hintsalready here in the text. And
the first is in this phrase,when Pharaoh let the people go.
That's not a great translation.And it's because the verb here
is not passive. In other words,Pharaoh didn't let anyone go.
(19:38):
He drove them out. Anotherscholar, John Durham, suggests
we should read this moreliterally. Pharaoh hurled them
out of his lands. Point being,Pharaoh doesn't think he's
giving in and letting anyone goright now. He thinks he's still
in control of this story.
And that's important because wayback at the start in Exodus
(20:01):
three, when God first spoke toMoses, God said, I will stretch
out my hand and strike theEgyptians with all the wonders
that I will perform. And afterthat, pharaoh will let you go.
And there, we see the passiveform of the same verb. In other
words, God was hoping that thewonders would move Pharaoh to
(20:23):
change. I think they'vetranslated this way to make the
connection, but they've actuallymissed the point here.
Because God is hoping Pharaohwill come to understand the
injustice of slavery. He'llparticipate in the emancipation
of the Israelites willingly. Butwhat we see here is that Pharaoh
has actually not learned thelesson at all. He hurls them out
(20:44):
instead of letting them go. Ithink that's really interesting
because I think sometimes theline between surrender and
control is far more delicatethan we think it is.
Today, we might use terms likepassive aggressive or
gaslighting or narcissisticpersonality disorder. All of
those probably apply to Farrell.But often, I think what appears
(21:06):
to be giving in, even repenting,is actually really just our
attempt to maintain control andmanipulate people around us. And
if we're not careful with that,if we don't name the difference
for ourselves, I think what wemight find is we are actually
the ones that are beingdeceived. I mean, very clearly,
(21:28):
God wants the liberation of theIsraelites in the story.
That's the point. I get it. ButI think God might also want
Pharaoh to find some freedom aswell, Except that would mean
that he would need to open up towhat his own grief might teach
him about what he's done wrong,and he won't. And there's
(21:50):
something poetic in that. Eventhen, it's not all that's buried
here in this little versebecause we also read that when
given their freedom, when letgo, God leads the Israelites the
long way around toward whatseems like a dead end at the Red
Sea.
Now, sure, that sets up the bigclimax. I get it. That's
(22:11):
important. But that's notactually the reason given in the
text for that path. Instead, weread that God was concerned that
if they faced war, they mightchange their minds and they
might head back to where theycame from.
So first of all, hardships canstop us from getting to where we
need to go. That's true,undoubtedly. We need some
(22:31):
courage. It's not the only thingI notice here, though, because
we're also told that theIsraelites went up out of Egypt
ready for battle. And this wholesection reads a little tongue in
cheek to me as if the peoplethink they're ready for a battle
and God thinks, come on, guys.
Give me a break. And, again, Ithink we're supposed to pay
(22:52):
attention to this tension here.Right? The whole point of the
Exodus story is that Israelitescannot possibly fight back
against Egypt. They are a tinylittle group.
Egypt is this huge empire. Theyare, as we spoke about last
week, meek, dispossessed oftheir freedom. No chance of
fighting back, and yet here theyare graciously granted that by
(23:17):
God and at the same time,already ready to ascribe their
victory to their own strength.It's like my kids. My daughter,
loves the swings.
She'll spend hours on them ifyou let her. But this summer, we
made a big breakthrough as shehas learned how to get a little
thrust going now. So you giveher some momentum and she can
(23:38):
maintain it, you know, push andpull and all that. If you've
ever spent hours pushing justone more time, you know, that's
a big deal. Autopilot, baby.
Except here's the thing. She'sstill too small to get herself
up on the swing. And you stillhave to pull her back and get
her going with a couple pushesto start. And don't get me
wrong. It's a very big win inour house.
(23:58):
But every time she turns to meand says, daddy, look. I can do
it all by myself. I'm kindalike, can you though? I mean,
when you can get yourself to thepark safely and onto the swing
and through the ride and homeagain, then we can talk about
all by yourself. Right nowalright.
Well, here are the Israelitesready for battle, and I wonder
(24:21):
how many times I have thankedGod for goodness that I've
stumbled into only toimmediately rewrite the story to
narrate my own courage back tomyself. Remember, the Egypt of
the story isn't just the Egyptof history. It's the way that
empires dominate ourimagination. And I'm worried
that if we immediately, uponseizing any sort of grace and
(24:45):
freedom for ourselves, decidethat we earned it through our
own power, then perhaps whatwe've actually done is set
ourselves up to become the nextsource of suffering for someone
else in the world. Sometimes thestory isn't you're stronger than
you think.
Sometimes the story is there's adifferent way for you to move
through the world, and you don'tneed to compare yourself to what
(25:09):
was. And that again has acertain poetry to it. Because
even here as Israel is flirtingwith their own self
congratulation, there's anotherparallel that's being set up in
the text. Chapter 14, a coupleof verses later, the Lord says
to Moses, okay. Turn back andhead toward the sea.
(25:29):
Pharaoh will think you'rewandering around in the land
confused and lost, hemmed in bythe desert. But I will harden
his heart and he will pursueyou. And I will gain glory for
myself through Pharaoh and hisarmy. And the Egyptians will
finally know that I am the Lord.This one's fascinating to me
(25:50):
because particularly having justcome off what we saw happen in
the hearts of the Israelites,how quick they were to ascribe
their freedom to themselves.
I mean, what do we do here withPharaoh in his heart? What does
it mean that God hardens it?That doesn't sound fair to me.
But again, there's somebreadcrumbs here because the
(26:10):
Jewish rabbi, Nahum Sarnah,points out that Pharaoh's heart
is actually hardened exactly 20times in the narrative. 10 of
those times, the hardeningrefers to an action that Pharaoh
does to himself.
For example, eight fifteen says,Pharaoh hardened his heart and
would not listen to God. Andthen another 10 times, the
(26:31):
hardening is done by God. Forexample, the verse we just read,
I will harden Pharaoh's heart.And there's actually three
different words in Hebrew thatare used across these various
references. They they mean todull, to strengthen, or to
become obstinate.
For the record, all three areused on both sides of the god
pharaoh divides. That doesn'treally help us either. But for
(26:54):
me, what this means is that it'sfar too convenient to have 20
references, 10 on each side tobe anything but a very
intentional structuring of thestory. Someone has taken great
pains here to say something. Andwhat Sarna points out is that in
the first five plagues, it isalways pharaoh who's doing the
(27:16):
hardening to himself.
And it's only after pharaohchooses that path 10 times over,
the hardening is then laterattributed to divine causality.
That's a story that we seerepeated over over again in
scripture. Right? Like, forexample, Paul talks about God
punishing us by giving us overto our worst desires. Or Jesus
(27:41):
talks about those who refuse toforgive slowly becoming unable
to be forgiven.
Exodus talks about those whoharden their hearts, having
their hearts hardened againstthem. But here, the callback is,
I think, to Israel heading outtoward the sea. If you come to
(28:03):
believe that you have won yourfreedom and your wealth by being
more powerful, stronger thananywhere else, more ruthless
than them. If the Hebrews buyinto the story that they left
Egypt because they were readyfor battle, then they will we
will, all of us, find ourselveseventually trapped by the story
God just helped us exit from. Inother words this, if you
(28:29):
constantly tell yourself a storyabout how hard you are and how
everything you have has beenearned by your grit and that
your callousness to those aroundyou is a virtue, then slowly,
painfully, God just might giveyou that story.
And it might end up with you inplaces that you never wanted to
be. And this is why we have toread imaginatively because the
(28:53):
empires around us are giving usstories all the time, telling us
this is what's important aboutyou. This is the person that you
want to be, and it's not alwaystrue. That's why Bruggemann is
so set on the idea that we haveto stop viewing scripture as
singular stories, but instead asarchetypes. Because when Pharaoh
(29:13):
reaches the depths of hisdescent and abandons even that
measly bit of grace that heextended to the Israelites when
he hurled them out and he sendshis army after the people to get
them back and trapped againstthe dead end of the Red Sea,
Moses stretches out his handonly for God to drive back the
waters in front of them.
(29:35):
The point of the story isn't tobelieve that we can throw down
with empires because we're justas strong as them. The point is
to realize that the hardening ofour hearts will have us ignoring
the miraculous right in front ofus and rushing headlong into the
sea to our own demise. See, theprophetic imagination of what's
(29:57):
possible was born not becauseMoses struck back with more
force against his enemy, butbecause the possibility of a
different way forward throughthe world was born in their
consciousness. They are freebecause they are weak. They are
free because that's who God'sgrace is lavished on.
(30:19):
They are free not because theybecame a bigger, better,
stronger, meaner version ofEgypt, but because God laid out
a different path for them tofollow. That they might trust
that one day nation would nolonger take up sword against
nation, no longer would any ofus train for war anymore because
the ability for power todominate our imagination can be
(30:44):
drowned in the Red Sea if we'rewilling to allow it to happen.
And all we need is a littlecreativity to notice that story
in front of us over and overagain in the world. There's a
path that's offered to you bythe empire that dominates your
(31:04):
world, and God is offering analternative. Let's pray.
God, for all those times when wehave allowed power and strength
and empire and dominance toclose down and shut down our
imagination, to make us tobelieve that the only thing we
(31:28):
can aspire to be is more ofthat, whatever it was that
dominated us, instead ofrealizing that it is in our
softness and our weakness, inour willingness to follow the
graph path of grace that we areopened up to a whole new world
(31:51):
of what is possible not just forus, but for our neighbor, for
our communities, and perhapseven in the scale of time to
this entire world, this kingdomthat you imagine possible being
born, growing, taking root, andeventually overcoming the world.
(32:11):
Not through the strength and thedominance and the power that has
kept us down, but through selfsacrifice and grace and the path
of peace. May our imaginationslowly be shaped by that
prophetic word that your pathforward is an alternative way to
(32:33):
be human, and it is the way thatwe'll eventually overcome
through self giving love. Mightwe follow it, and in that, might
we find ourselves anew andrenewed In the strong name of
the risen Christ we pray, amen.
(32:56):
Hey, Jeremy here, and thanks forlistening to our podcast. If
you're intrigued by the workthat we're doing here at
Commons, you can head to ourwebsite, commons.church, for
more information. You can findus on all of the socials
commonschurch. You can subscribeto our YouTube channel where we
are posting content regularlyfor the community. You can also
join our Discord server.
(33:17):
Head to commons.churchdiscordfor the invite, and there you
will find the community havingall kinds of conversations about
how we can encourage each otherto follow the way of Jesus. We
would love to hear from you.Anyway, thanks for tuning in.
Have a great week. We'll talk toyou soon.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!