My New Job

I think you're going to love it.

Years ago, I watched a TED talk by Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic since 1979. The premise of the presentation was essentially this: “You love classical music. And I’m going to prove it to you in 20 minutes.” 

Isn’t that great? 

And he does it! In just a handful of moments, Zander captures the minds (and more importantly, the hearts) of the audience and awakens them to power and beauty they might have otherwise missed.

Every year for the past several years, I’ve had my summer preaching intern watch Zander’s TED talk, and then answer this question: “What would it look like to do that with the Bible?” I wanted them to be bothered by the question just as I’ve been bothered by it since the first time I watched that white-haired conductor make his audience’s eyes shine so brightly at the sound of Chopin’s Prelude in E Minor.

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Ready for a broad generalization that’s not entirely true but mostly is? Here you go. There are three kinds of Christians: 

1. You absolutely love the Bible.
   Can’t get enough. You read it every morning or every night (or both!) and in its pages you see grand vistas of possibility, compelling visions of your Heavenly Father, and inspiring calls to fuller discipleship irresistibly beckoning you to deeper waters. 

2. You don’t mind the Bible.
   You’ve even got some favorite verses. You appreciate a good sermon on a particular passage, you may even read it on your own at times, spurred on by a smidgeon of guilt but mostly by a sporadic desire to eat your spiritual vegetables and read the Book you know you should be reading more regularly. 

3. You just can’t bring yourself to like the Bible.
   You’ve tried, honestly you have. But come on—the weird names and unfamiliar places and genealogies and understated relating of event after event...it all just seems like a giant vat of trivia you’d rather not jump into. Where even would you start? (The Old Testament?? Come on.) And how would you muster the will to keep going? And that nagging, subconscious concern: there’s weird, confusing stuff in there—what if it’s all just too weird? What if you find out more and don’t end up liking God or even believing in him? No—best to stay away from the Bible for the most part. Save your attention span. Save your faith. 

I think we need more folks in the first group. I bet you do, too—in fact, I’d suspect most everybody in groups 2 and 3 would prefer to be in group 1 if they could. 

Well guess what? I think you can. And I want to help. 

I want to prove to you that you love the Bible. And I think one of the best ways to do that is simply to help you experience its stories in a way that honors their weirdness and wonder, their mystery and power. 

Because it’s not really just about loving the Bible, is it? It’s about slowly but surely finding yourself drawn to love the God revealed in the Bible’s pages. The stakes couldn’t be higher. 

So I’ve created a podcast for you. 

It’s called Holy Ghost Stories—a nod to the dark, spooky vibe I get from so many of Scripture’s tales.* I want you to picture yourself under the stars on a cool night, gathered around a campfire with a warm blanket draped across your shoulders, ready to hear a good story. Because boy do I have some good ones for you. Fabulous stories crackling with intrigue and adventure, dashed hopes and unexpected delights. Stories that aren’t meant to serve as answers to Bible trivia questions, but keys to unlock the secrets of the human experience—who we are, what dangers await, and what wonders are possible. 

With each episode, I’ll bring you into one story from the Old Testament as immersively as I know how—some good storytelling, a full musical score, the works.

I cannot wait to share them with you. I think you’ll love them. 

Because, as you already know, I think you love the Bible. Even if you don’t know it yet. :) 

You’ll have to wait until January 18th for the first episode (I’ll release 3 that day, actually), but for now, here’s the trailer! Give it a listen and if you’re game, subscribe so that you don’t miss anything in January. (I might not be able to help throwing a surprise or two in there between now and the 18th.) 

That’s it! Let me know what you think—I’d love to hear from you.

Gratefully,

Justin

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*Round Rock Church of Christ folks, you’ll remember Holy Ghost Stories as a sermon series I preached in two volumes during the summers of 2018 and 2020. Think of that as a rough prototype of this podcast: the beginning—but definitely not the fullness—of what’s to come. Thanks so much for not revolting back in 2018 when I decided it would be fun to preach a series where I just told Bible stories and then sat down. I loved hearing how those sermons—void of any ‘application’ in the message—changed you. Looks like the Spirit was onto something when He decided to tell these stories that way in Scripture.

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COOL STUFF

Here are some things I’m digging lately: 

World Chase Tag - Have you seen this?! It’s tag on an entirely different level. Does this make anybody else want to go play tag? Surely it’s not just me…

White Chocolate Peppermint Pretzel Crisps - My wife LOVES these things. And though the words “white chocolate” and “peppermint” don’t usually get me excited, I have to say: they’re quite bueno.

Sheep Doing LED Art - Yep. Just as weird and great it sounds.

Fresh Start, Fresh Strength - A new Bible study from my incredible wife—this will take you through the book of Nehemiah in six weeks, with an emphasis on how the amazing story of Nehemiah’s return to Jerusalem leads us into an encounter with a God who enables some much-needed new chapters. I’m starting it in January—you should too! If you want to. :)

Benjamin Zander’s TED Talk - In case you haven’t Googled it already, check it out. Delightful. And Zander looks like what Pixar artists would create if they were making a movie about a conductor. Tell me I’m wrong.

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WHO ELSE COULD WE TELL?

Know someone who might dig Holy Ghost Stories? Send this email to them and lets get them on board.

Or maybe you’re reading because someone shared this with you. Jump in and subscribe if you’d like more info about what I’m up to and what’s happening with Holy Ghost Stories.

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MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Are we this fancy always? Of course we are.