Pastoral Theology with Joseph Lear Podcast

What if the way evangelicals learned to defend the Bible actually corrupted the way we read it?That’s not a hostile question from a skeptic on the outside. That’s the argument my friend, Tyler Bream, makes from inside the tradition — carefully, historically, and, dare I say, convincingly. He wrote about this at Regent University tracing how evangelical hermeneutics developed, and his conclusion is a little uncomfortable: that in borrowing the tools of the Enlightenment to defeat the Enlightenment, evangelicals accidentally absorbed its assumptions too. And those assumptions have been quietly distorting the way we interpret Scripture ever since.It’s a historical argument, but it’s not just an academic one. Because if he’s right, it has real implications for how the church reads Scripture today — and what a healthier path forward might actually look like.I think you’re really going to enjoy this one.Note: please forgive the bad video quality. Substack studio gave no indication there were network issues, so I’m not sure what happened. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit josephlear.substack.com

I had the incredible privilege of interviewing Dr. Josh Brahinsky about his forthcoming book, Tongues of Fire: How Charismatic Prayer Changes Evangelical Brains and Inspires Spirit-Filled Activism. Josh is in the department of Religious Studies at Stanford University and the department of Transcultural Psychiatry at McGill University and Sir Mortimer B Davis Jewish General Hospital—Which makes him a distinguished researcher in the fields of neuro-anthropology and religious studies. His unique perspective combines academic inquiry with a deep appreciation for the spiritual experiences of Pentecostals and charismatics. Join us for a thrill ride about how speaking in tongues has changed the 🌍, how it can change your brain 🧠, and why we talk about psychedelics (😵‍💫) and tongues in the same podcast! Share 🤲 this with someone who’s been skeptical about speaking in tongues: Dr. Brahinsky says no one is faking it.Give it a listen, give it a watch. And be sure to let me know what you think about all of it in the comments 👇Here is Josh’s book. We recorded this on February 26, but his book is officially out TODAY. So go get your copy.* Click here to order from Bookshop.org* Click here to order from Amazon This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit josephlear.substack.com

I’m not a fan of trying to argue people into the kingdom of God. But neither do I think becoming a Christian is a leap into the irrational abyss of faith.So what the alternative? Peter’s Pentecost sermon is a great place to start.In this vid, I talk a little about my creative process, and then try to do what Peter did by preaching Mark 2.Give it a watch, give it a listen, and let me know what you think.✌️✌️✌️ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit josephlear.substack.com

I’m writing a book about Pentecostal proclamation in the 21st century, and I’m sharing the process with you. The working title is Tongue On Fire: Pentecostal Proclamation in the 21st Century. It’s coming out with Logion soon-ish 😅.In my last post about the book (which is somewhat embarrasingly from October) I sermonized about seeing Jesus without seeing him. This video follows on that, but with a new direction into apocalyptic sight 🤩.The chapter title is “Don’t Forget to Prophesy,” which comes from a thing I used to say to a teenager every Sunday when I’d see her in the sanctuary. I’m all about reminding women and men, and even kids (!), that the Spirit of God is always the Spirit of prophecy. The homily in the video is about a prophet from 1 Kings 22 named Micaiah the son of Imlah. I think the church needs to prophesy like he did. Give it a watch.Give it a listen.Give it a share. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit josephlear.substack.com

I’ve been heading up a project to get Chris EW Green’s Surprised by God: How and Why What We Think About the Divine Matters translated into Spanish.Both the English and Spanish versions are 50% off with free media mail right now with the code CONFSHIP on the Wipf and Stock website. Theology en EspañolThis is all in service of Evangel’s brand spankin’ new Spanish theology initiative. We’ve got a Spanish credentialing certificate for meeting the educational requirements for ordination in the Assemblies of God at a price and quality you.won’t.believe.→Next up: We’re doing a FULL Spanish undergraduate theology degree, so get excited←THANK YOU THANK YOU // GRACIAS GRACIAS* Thank you Chris and Wipf and Stock for making this happen.* Gracias Stephen DiTrolio for you hecka good translation skillzzz* Gracias Brian Roden for your exacting editing* Thank you North Little Rock First and Randy Jumper for your support* Thank you Joy Qualls for your support* Thank you Brenton Fessler for your support* annnnnnnndddddd GRACIAS Sergio Navarette for everything!!!If you want to talk more about Evangel’s credentialing certificate en Español or in English reach out.If you want to talk about partnerships reach out! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit josephlear.substack.com

Here’s another bit about my forthcoming book on Pentecostal preaching 🤓In the first part, I talk for 2-3 mins about mechanical and stylistic matters—like how I’ve manuscripted most of my sermons over the last 10 years, and how I always try to preach for the ear 👂.In the second part, I preach a short sermon on Jesus—specifically, how we see him when we can’t see him. The chapter draft I just finished is all about how every sermon must be Christological through and through. Hopefully that’s an obvious claim to make. 😇 And hopefully I talk about it in a fresh and inspiring way.If you want to skip ahead to the homily, go to 4:50.Finally, I welcome your comments and thoughts about preaching generally and how you all think Jesus should make his appearance in the homiletical art.STAY BLESSED EVERYONE and I’d of course appreciate a share 🤝 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit josephlear.substack.com

One of the odd ways that conservatism and liberalism in theology horseshoe together is anti-intellectualism. It’s a rejection of complicated, calm thoughtfulness about all things theological. In this video I talk about that, and how our zeal and loving devotion for Jesus might actually lead us astray in our worship of him. But you need to watch the whole video to know what I mean by that, because that’s obviously something that can be taken the wrong way.Anyway, I want Pentecostal preaching—as it was for Peter on the day of Pentecost—to be zeroed in on the person and work of Christ. Give it a listen to get a window into how I’m writing my next chapter on Pentecostal preaching. For your reference and purchasing power, here are the links to the two books I mention in the video:The Christological Controversy, edited and translated by Richard Norris Jr.Heresies and How to Avoid Them, eds. Ben Quash and Michael WardThanks for reading Pastoral Theology. Share these thoughts about Christological preaching: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit josephlear.substack.com

All Christian preaching should be Pentecostal preaching. One of the things that means is that all preaching should set the eyes of the congregation to the end times horizon. Jesus is coming back. The resurrection of the dead will happen. There’s a new heavens and new earth. In this video I intro a little more about my new book on Pentecostal preaching, and share a homily I wrote for chapter 2. This is the second homily I’ve shared from the book. If you want to see the first, here it is.The book is coming out with Logion Press sometime in 2026.Thanks for watching Pastoral Theology! Share button for the socials, or restack it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit josephlear.substack.com

It was my friend Matt Burdette who pointed out to me that the Communist Manifesto is a work of eschatology more than political philosophy. This insight ran parallel to some other research I’d been doing in theological ethics, namely that it’s impossible to know what we should do without knowing what time it is.In this vid, I talk about my research and writing process for my upcoming book on Pentecostal preaching in which I suggest that, while we don’t need to be experts in all the rival philosophies and religions of the world, having an awareness that rival eschatologies just exists can help preachers proclaim the return of Christ with vigor and conviction.Check it out and let me know what you think.Thanks for reading Pastoral Theology! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit josephlear.substack.com

I’m a Pentecostal, and, as my mentor, Marty Mittlstadt, has written, Luke-Acts has functioned like a Bible within the Bible for the movement. In this video pod I talk about what my doctoral research was all about, and connect it to my ongoing ministry in the local church.Luke-Acts is not my Bible within a Bible, but my research has definitely impacted my pastoral ministry. I’ve taken very seriously Luke’s narrative connection between eschatological expectation and sharing stuff in community. Which is why I am compelled that every sermon would be oriented by the End, and that what would follow from that announcment would be a community of believers who are one heart and one soul.If you have any questions about something you’d like more details on, I of course welcome those in the comments :) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit josephlear.substack.com

Here are a few reasons I wrote Resurrecting Worship: A Pentecostal Liturgy for Slow Burn Revival.* In an American evangelical church dominated by stories of megachurches, we need more stories of the faithful work happening in rural and urban contexts.* I want to show how our works of compassion and social justice need to be founded worship of the Triune God. If they’re not, the church is just any old 501(c)3.* I want to testify that revival isn’t always a fiery furnace. Sometimes it’s slow burning charcoal that stays lit through this present darkness we find ourselves in.There’s a lot more to all of that, but I’ll let you read it to learn more.Resurrecting Worship: A Pentecostal Liturgy for Slow Burn Revival is available at the following retailers: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit josephlear.substack.com

My next book is on Pentecostal preaching, which should be out next year. I’m convinced that preachers learn to preach more by imitation than by following a list of principles. With that in mind, I’m including a short homily that touches on the theme of each chapter in the book. This one is from the introduction. You get kudos if you can cite all the scriptures I quote 🙃😉If you found it helpful or inspiring, don’t hesitate to share :)Thanks for reading Pastoral Theology 🙌 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit josephlear.substack.com

On Holy Saturday we observed a miscarriage memorial service at Resurrection Assembly of God, and I want to share a portion of that event with you.There’s a number of reasons we did this, the first being that miscarriages are so common, so heartbreaking, so often unacknowledged, and even more frequently un-grieved. But we’ve also been working with the University of Iowa Public Health department through Resurrection Assembly Americorps, Community Doulas of Johnson County through the College of Nursing at U Iowa and Johnson County Public Health, and Immigrant Moms of Iowa.In partnership with these agencies we’re providing care, advocacy, and community for mothers who significantly lack those things—specifically immigrant mothers who are often bewildered and isolated. Finally, we’re pro-life. An unborn child is no mere fetus as our pro-abortion society would have us believe. We will not add shame to the grief and misery by telling a mourning mother that her deceased child was no child at all. We held this service on Holy Saturday because it’s the day we remember Jesus’s time in the tomb. Like every woman who’s experienced a miscarriage, Jesus’s mother mourned her son’s death, and—as the Bible tells us—her pain was a sword piercing her very soul (Luke 2:35).Pastor Abby Anderson gave a homily at the memorial, which makes up the majority of the audio on this post. But you’ll also hear part of the same funeral liturgy we pray at every funeral we observe. And you’ll hear the names of families and women who asked that their unborn children’s lives be acknowledged and remembered.Feel free to share this post with those who are mourning or who have mourned, especially if you’re in the Iowa City area and know someone who can benefit from our International Pregnancy Fair on May 17:We believe in the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit josephlear.substack.com

The kingdom of God is like an immigrant widow who loved her destitute mother-in-law. That’s what I preached this last Sunday. What I didn’t preach I think is noteworthy: I didn’t preach about the Nov 5th US elections. Instead of focussing on who might end up being the most powerful woman in the world, I preached about perhaps the most insignificant woman in religious history who ends up giving us Jesus. The story of Ruth is a love story. But before it’s a love story about Ruth and Boaz, it’s a love story about a dead husband, it’s a love story about a daughter and mother-in-law, and it’s a love story about God. Ruth is what it looks like to be a Christian. To be a Christian is to have death part us from our former husband; it’s to be an immigrant, finding a new language, a new culture, and a new God in Christian territory; and it’s to love widows and orphans.Give it a listen, give it some thought, and let me know what you think. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit josephlear.substack.com

This is Pastoral Theology with Joseph Lear: Housing is a major problem in Iowa City. Over the years at Resurrection Assembly, we’ve moved our congregants in and out of houses, advocated for them with their landlords, and facilitated emergency storage when they have no place to keep their belongings. Pastor Abby and her husband have housed homeless kids. We’ve prayed for the miracle of a roof over every congregant’s head. And the vast majority of our benevolence fund has gone to help the vulnerable keep up on their rent when they lose a job, their car breaks down, or they’re hit with medical bills. To make matters worse, Iowa City is full of what we call “slum lords.” They’re landlords with minimal morality and maximal greed. As the month of July rolls around every year, it’s one story after another that all have the same basic themes: the landlord won’t fix the water pipes, won’t deal with the cockroach infestation, or won’t address the chipping asbestos. So the tenant stops paying rent, and, in response, the landlord evicts them.As you’ll hear in this sermon, I think the answer to our housing problems begins with Christology and a theology of the temple. In this message, I continue a lectionary series on the life and rule of king David. I don’t simply moralize the story of David’s desire to build God a temple. But the moral theology—that God wants every person to have a roof over their head—seems to me to jump from the pages if we but pay attention to the character of God revealed in Jesus.Give it a listen, and let me know what you think in the comments. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit josephlear.substack.com

America is a temporary project. As often as we pray the Lord’s Prayer asking for God’s kingdom to come, we’re praying for the end of the United States of America. We look forward to the day when all people will be united in the one nation, under God, in God, by God, and with God. In this sermon that I preached on the 7th of July 2024 I tell my congregation about the importance of remembering where our loyalties lie. As Christians, we of course seek the good of whatever nation we happen to find ourselves inhabiting, but are ultimately looking for the eschatological nation, the final destination of the New Heavens and the New Earth.Pastorally, this sermon does what we theologians call “political theology.” As a sub-discipline of theology, it asks and explores the question, “how should we think about human governance in view of the reign of Christ?” I’m pretty convinced the Lord’s Prayer is the best place to start when considering that question. And, as you’ll hear in the sermon, David’s coronation give witness to what we believe about Jesus’s reign.For those of you who listened to the prequel to this sermon, you will pick up on the continued Christological and ecclesiological themes—that is, what we Christians believe about Jesus and about his church. Give it a listen, let me know what you think in the comments, and if you think it’s worth sharing, please do.Thanks for reading Pastoral Theology with Joseph Lear! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit josephlear.substack.com

I preached this sermon on June 23, 2024 on 1 Samuel 17. Give it a listen and let me know what you think. Grace and peace to you. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit josephlear.substack.com

I was on sabbatical from my church, Resurrection Assembly of God, from April-July 2023. This is the sermon I preached my first Sunday back.About two-thirds of the way through, I get vulnerable about the ways I’ve been wrestling with God over the last year. And I challenge you, my listener, to wrestle with God too. I explain why you should in the audio.I’ve left some of the introductory remarks in the audio so you can get a glimpse of the love we have for one another at Resurrection. That is as much worth witnessing to as anything else.Finally, the shoes I refer to are made from a vegan leather called Natural Fiber Welding. Look it up.The picture above is Delacroix’s Jacob Wrestling with the Angel.Grace and peace.Thank you for listening to Pastoral Theology with Joseph Lear. This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit josephlear.substack.com