MELANCHOLY

That word has a more positive backspin than you might dare imagine.  It’s a lighter shade of blue and it’s this week’s Appetizer Episode.


Each of these special podcasts revolve around a single word, offering a unique and sometimes peculiar perspective on that word.  It’s like looking at something familiar, but from a different angle.  Hopefully, you’ll never hear melancholy the same way after today and you’ll recognize it for the wonderful God gift it is.

LOVE GOD. LOVE PEOPLE. MAKE DISCIPLES.

Lunch and Conversation at Habanero’s in Millbrook, Alabama

                        Featuring Special Guest:  Robert Mullins

Love God.  Love people.  Make disciples.  Those are three commands Jesus gave for anyone who chooses to follow Him.  Most of us have a pretty good grasp of the first two;  it’s the third one we’re not quite sure about.

It’s a joy to bring Special Guest Robert Mullins to today’s podcast.  He and I have a lot in common besides our first name, including helping people actively pursue what it means to make disciples.  (It’s not as mysterious as it sounds.)  Robert is a disciple, husband, father, artist, author, and pastor.  He is the founder of Passion Tree Network and has recently launched a brand new website featuring his art.

So join two Roberts at our second different restaurant table in a row to feature Tacos Especiales.  We saved you a seat.

www.passiontree.org

www.PreacherManArt.com

A GUITAR NAMED HOPE (AND HOW YOU CAN GIVE IT)

Lunch and Conversation at Jalapeno’s in The Alley in Montgomery, Alabama

                        Featuring Special Guest:  Hank Teuton

Well there you are, and here we are – FINALLY – sitting down at our first restaurant table in over a year!   And it could not have been more perfect.  Today’s gem of a podcast is one of the reasons I love doing what I am called to do.  

Hank Teuton is Today’s Special Guest and I am blessed to call him friend.  He originally appeared at The Table during our first season in the immensely popular episode, “Blessed Are the Guitar-Makers.”  For 20 years, Hank has been crafting beautiful musical instruments as a luthier, a mentor, and a discipler.  And his latest work, The Hope Guitar, is absolutely astounding – and thanks to Hank, you could not only win “Hope,” but give it at the same time.

Hank created the Hope Guitar to raise funds for Children’s Hope and their work with orphaned children, struggling families, and needy communities in the country of Haiti.   This beautifully designed guitar is inspired by Hebrews 6:19 – “we have this hope as an anchor for the soul.”  I intend to be one of the first to give to Children’s Hope for a chance to bring home this musical masterpiece and I plan on sharing this podcast with every guitarist I know.  I hope you’ll join me in both efforts.     www.childrenshope.com
In the mean time, order the Tacos Especiales and join us in outdoor seating.  We saved you a seat.

MERCY

We all need it.  Add it to the list along with oxygen, water, food, shelter.  We all need it and we all need to give it.

Welcome to “the Table!”  It’s Holy Week in the Christian church and this week’s episode has a more mystic, somber vibe.  At the heart of it is perhaps the most disarming words Jesus ever spoke.  While hanging on the cross, He prayed over the crowd, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”  

Mercy!  We all need it.  The banquet doors are open and you’re invited to the table.  We’ve even prepared a special Mercy Playlist to accompany your meal over on Spotify.  Let the Party of Redemption begin.

WILD

Well there you are!  And welcome back for the second of our brand new Appetizer Episodes!

This week’s word is “WILD.”  What comes to mind when you hear that word?  Perhaps something you were “born to be” that gets your motor running.  Or maybe that “thing” that makes your heart sing.

Did you know that Wild is chasing you, pursuing you, all the time?  It surrounds us and has the capacity to astound us if we would but pause to notice and accept the invitation it offers: to take up the chase.  Those who chase the Wild with the same intensity as the Wild chases them are always in for surprise.So come to the table.  Sign up for our appetizer give-away.  Check out our Wild Playlist.  And join in the chase.

APPETIZERS

Well there you are!  Welcome to our Third Season!  We will soon be back to restaurant tables highlighting great food and one-on-one conversations.  But in the meantime, we’re kicking off our year with something brand new – Appetizer Episodes!

Every week we will put the spotlight on a single word and we’ll explore that word in ways perhaps you have never considered before. We’re even giving away free appetizers to one lucky listener every week this season when we broadcast these special appetizer episodes.  So come hungry because “Party of Redemption, your table is now available.”

OFF SCRIPT

Sometimes life brings the unexpected and we find ourselves off script.  In other moments, opportunities arise that require us to deliberately choose to go off script.  
In today’s very special episode, I want to celebrate and honor my sister Marilyn.  A year ago, Marilyn was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).  Last Monday, Marilyn’s earthly journey ended as her heavenly homecoming began.  She was prepared for her ultimate off script moment because of her relationship with Jesus.
This past week, I have been reflecting on the beautiful grace of Marilyn.  In her most challenging days, she remained courageous, positive, and kept on putting others first before herself.  In 2015, Marilyn and I spent a week serving together in Haiti.  Even as I was grieving, I recalled one single, defining moment of Marilyn in Haiti that brought a huge smile to my heart.  I pray it challenges and encourages you as well.

FIRMLY PLANTED IN MIDAIR

Firmly planted in midair.  That’s an adequate description of what the world is going through right now.  And it is also a realistic expectation of what following Jesus really looks like.  This week’s simple podcast explores that theme.  We hope it is an encouragement to you in this difficult season.  We have an album recommendation (Andrew Peterson’s “Light For the Lost Boy”), an upside down quote to reset your perspective, a mesmerizing adventure movie to check out (Amazon Prime’s “The Aeronauts”), and an encounter with Jesus in the gospel of Luke.  “Redemption’s Table” has been set for you.  Thanks for joining us.

THE SWEET SPOT OF LIFE

A Conversation With Special Guest:  Jay Payleitner

Open up any Bible and you’ll find an incredible book of wisdom fairly close to the center called Proverbs.  Proverbs has 31 chapters, hundreds of proverbs, but only one prayer.  One of the most incredible, counterintuitive prayers you’ll ever read.  And that one prayer is the subject of a brand new book, “The Prayer of Agur,” by today’s table guest, Jay Payleitner.  At the heart of Agur’s prayer is this unusual request – “Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.”  Wow!  That’s a little different than a lot of the prayers you hear nowadays.  And that’s just the beginning of surprises Jay introduces on the way towards discovering where the sweet spot of life can be found.  I hope you’ll check out this little gem of a book for yourself.

MISCARRIAGE FROM A FATHER’S PERSPECTIVE

A Conversation With Special Guests:  Hunter Harris and Chase Myers

One in four pregnancies end in miscarriage.  To lose a baby is a heartbreak many have suffered. In ways I can never understand, it must be especially poignant for a young mother.  The topic is hardly ever talked about.  In the last two years, I know two young couples who have walked this valley.  I asked the fathers from each couple if they would be willing to share at “the Table” and both have graciously agreed.  I welcome two men I admire – Hunter Harris and Chase Myers.  And if you know of anyone who has recently gone through miscarriage, this may be one episode you might want to pass along.