Shows / Wayfarer
Wayfarer
Tom Vander Well is author of "This Call May Be Monitored (What Eavesdropping on Corporate America Taught Me About Business and Life)" A "wayfaring stranger" life's road. Husband, father, writer, CEO, actor, playwright, preacher, back porch musician, and follower of Jesus, he shares his thoughts and observations on the journey. Each weekday he offers 5-10 minute Chapter-a-Day (CaD) reflections on one chapter of the Bible, perfect for a daily commute. Longer reflections are on the Wayfarer…
Episodes
- Wayfarer
Life’s Chorus (CaD Matt 21)
In today’s chapter, the crowd plays a significant role. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 21. The text version may always be found and shared at…
- Wayfarer
“I Want to See!” (CaD Matt 20)
Today, I complete my 59th lap around the sun. In the quiet I hear God’s Spirit whisper to my spirit the same question He asked of the wife of Zebedee. The same…
- Wayfarer
Jesus and the Eagle Scout (CaD Matt 19)
History has dubbed the young man in today’s chapter as the “rich young ruler,” but I think “eagle scout” is a more apt moniker. A chapter-a-day podcast from…
- Wayfarer
Recitation and Relationships (CaD Matt 18)
Sometimes the traditional, yet out-of-date, wording of famous passages like The Lord’s Prayer are like a comfy old sweatshirt that wraps you in the warmth and…
- Wayfarer
Mountains of Meaning (CaD Matt 17)
Mountains are yet another metaphorical theme that runs throughout the Great Story in ways I've never seen or understood until now. A chapter-a-day podcast from…
- Wayfarer
He Walked Away (CaD Matt 16)
Along my chapter-a-day journey over the years, I’ve learned that spiritual lessons are found in Jesus’ actions as well as His words. A chapter-a-day podcast…
- Wayfarer
Traditions: Serious and Silly (CaD Matt 15)
In the quiet this morning, I love the fact that Jesus poked the big dogs from Jerusalem regarding their rabid hypocrisy when it came to their traditions. Less…
- Wayfarer
“Why Do We Pray Before Meals?” (CaD Matt 14)
It was a simple enough question. There are so many things in life that we do because they are habitual or traditional. We rarely stop to ask “Why?" A…
- Wayfarer
Soil and Spirit, Weather and Weeds (CaD Matt 13)
The difference between the 25% of seeds that became productive and fruitful plants in Jesus’ parable and the 75% of seeds who didn’t make it was the quality of…
- Wayfarer
Amidst the Conflict (CaD Matt 12)
My heart is heavy and sad this morning. I have recently found myself in the midst of many conflicts. I don’t like conflict. I confess that I don’t do it…
- Wayfarer
The Great Omission (CaD Matt 11)
In the quiet this morning, I find myself thinking about the spiritual posture that Jesus is asking of John. It is a kneeling, open, and surrendered posture. It…
- Wayfarer
Cutting In at the Cultural Dance (CaD Matt 10)
I’ve learned along my life journey that sometimes one has to do something novel in order to “cut in” during a deep-seated cultural dance. A chapter-a-day…
- Wayfarer
Exclusive vs. Inclusive (CaD Matt 9)
I long ago took off my Junior Holy Spirit badge pretending that I had exclusive rights, insight, or editorial control of the Story God is authoring in me or…
- Wayfarer
The Revival I Missed (CaD Matt 8)
While I was in high school, a spiritual revival broke out. I and my friends in our holy huddle had nothing to do with it. Zero, zip, zilch, nada. A…
- Wayfarer
Wallflower (CaD Matt 7)
It is only later in life that I have learned to recognize one of my patterns of behavior. The truth is that I am, at the heart of things, a wallflower. A…
- Wayfarer
“How Not to Be a Dick” (CaD Matthew 6)
When our friend Nathan was entering adolescence, I read a review in theWall Street Journal of a clever little book of etiquette for boys by Meghan Doherty…
- Wayfarer
Spiritual Adulting (CaD Matt 5)
One of the observations I’ve had of recent generations is the difficulty they’ve experienced in maturing into adults. So much so that “adulting” is now a…
- Wayfarer
Fasting and Temptation (CaD Matt 4)
It is the season of Lent, a time when many followers of Jesus around the globe choose to fast in preparation for the annual memorial of Jesus’ death and…
- Wayfarer
Arrogant Luxury (CaD Matt 3)
We live in very unique times. In fact, I believe that we are in one of the most tectonic shifts in the history of Christianity. It is, perhaps, the most…
- Wayfarer
Connected (CaD Matt 2)
In the quiet this morning, I’m reminded that the connections I find in the text aren’t just trivial literary observations. There are spiritual truths present…
- Wayfarer
Matthew the Quirk (CaD Matt 1)
I love that God uses the uniqueness of every individual’s experience, personality, giftedness, and temperament for the good of the whole. A chapter-a-day…
- Wayfarer
Dedication (CaD Lev 27)
The further I get in my spiritual journey, the more I come to understand that the extent of my generosity is a leading indicator of the depth of both my…
- Wayfarer
“Break This Wild Pony!” (CaD Lev 26)
My choices have natural consequences of both flesh and Spirit. What choices will I make today? A chapter-a-day podcast from Leviticus 26. The text version may…
- Wayfarer
Owning and Being Owned (CaD Lev 25)
The more I think I own something, the more it ends up owning me. A chapter-a-day podcast from Leviticus 25. The text version may always be found and shared at…
- Wayfarer
Keep the Flame Burnin’ (CaD Lev 24)
The lesson of the “continuous flame” in today’s chapter was a spiritual lesson for the day when Jesus would come, indwell, and illuminate my 14-year-old heart…
- Wayfarer
TGIF (CaD Lev 23)
It has been so woven into the fabric of our lives for so long that we don’t even think about it. It is universal. It is unequivocally a basic human right: The…
- Wayfarer
Ritual and Spiritual (CaD Lev 22)
Other than some relatively loose leadership structure mentioned by Paul, there is nothing in scripture that hints at anything like what “church” became once…
- Wayfarer
“Much is Required” (CaD Lev 21)
"To whom much is given, much is required,” Jesus said. During my brief few years in professional vocational ministry I learned to ask, “Exactly who is…
- Wayfarer
Who Changed? The Parent or Child? (CaD Lev 20)
One of the hardest things for modern readers of the Great Story to grapple with is that the God of Leviticus seems so different and hardcore than the teachings…
- Wayfarer
Others (CaD Lev 19)
I’m sure that I’m not the only one who has noticed that the level of vitriol between both individuals and tribes of individuals has risen dramatically in the…
- Wayfarer
The Sex Thing (CaD Lev 18)
Our appetites are good and meant for our physical health and life. This includes our appetite for sex. A chapter-a-day podcast from Leviticus 18. The text…
- Wayfarer
No Exemptions (CaD Lev 17)
Everything we’ve been reading in our chapter-a-day journey through Leviticus is as equally revolutionary for the Hebrew people as the Technology Age has been…
- Wayfarer
Sacrifice and Scapegoats (CaD Lev 16)
We continue to scapegoat individuals in all sorts of situations rather than doing what Jesus called on me to do as His disciple. Forgive others, as I’ve been…
- Wayfarer
“Acky” (CaD Lev 15)
When something was dirty or nasty or something you shouldn’t touch, our wee daughters called it “acky.” This became a euphemism for when they did the number…
- Wayfarer
Of Doctors and Priests (CaD Lev 14)
At what point does the avoidance of death at all costs become empty of any kind of Life? A chapter-a-day podcast from Leviticus 14. The text version may always…
- Wayfarer
“Unclean!” (CaD Lev 13)
Today’s chapter is strange, repetitive, and more than a bit boring for modern readers. It is all about skin diseases and mold. But there’s more here than meets…
- Wayfarer
Bringing it All Together (CaD Lev 12)
I am once more blown away at how God perpetually connects all things together even as He perpetually recreates, with old things passing away and new things…
- Wayfarer
Different (CaD Lev 11)
I like to wear hats. I have a lot of them. Not the ubiquitous baseball cap, but actual hats like a pork pie and fedora. It’s a thing. A chapter-a-day podcast…
- Wayfarer
Seriously (CaD Lev 10)
Sometimes, it is lost on children just how serious a matter can be. A chapter-a-day podcast from Leviticus 10. The text version may always be found and shared…
- Wayfarer
“New Things Come” (CaD Lev 9)
In the quiet this morning, I find myself marveling once again at how God’s message is consistent even as He communicates it differently at different points of…
- Wayfarer
Across the Divide (CaD Lev 8)
Holiness always seemed to me to be defined as some kind of super-powered moral perfection, but the further I get in my spiritual journey, the more I realize…
- Wayfarer
Of Fat and Blood (CaD Lev 7)
One of the things modern readers struggle with in reading Leviticus is understanding some of the rules God put down. They seem so strange to our 21st century…
- Wayfarer
Calvinball (CaD Lev 6)
It’s hard for me fathom, but the Hebrew people had no formal code of law or order at the time Leviticus was given. Life together was one big game of…
- Wayfarer
Responsible (CaD Lev 5)
Along my life journey I’ve observed fundamentalist types who use sin as a tool for social control rather than treating it as the universal spiritual condition…
- Wayfarer
Lay Your Hands (CaD Lev 4)
One of the things that modern readers struggle with most is the blood and guts of ancient sacrifices in Leviticus. It is so foreign to both our modern…
- Wayfarer
God With Us (CaD Lev 3)
In ancient Mesopotamian religions, the gods inhabited their own spirit world and had little regard for human beings who were lesser than and relatively…
- Wayfarer
“The Good Stuff” (CaD Lev 2)
Along my own life journey, I confess that generosity is a spiritual lesson that I’ve had to learn. I did not grow up, by nature, a generous person. Quite the…
- Wayfarer
My Choice (CaD Lev 1)
Today our chapter-a-day journey wades into perhaps the most ignored and misunderstood book in the entire Great Story. A chapter-a-day podcast from Leviticus 1…
- Wayfarer
Best of: Living Sacrifice (CaD Rom 12)
Today and tomorrow, I’m reposting a couple of listener's favorites. If you have your own favorite chapter-a-day episode that has stuck with you over time…
- Wayfarer
Refreshment (CaD 1 Cor 16)
“Oh! That was such a good night!” Wendy said to me as we began our daily nocturnal preparations. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Corinthians 16. The text…
- Wayfarer
Essentials and Non-Essentials (CaD 1 Cor 15)
Along my spiritual journey, I have worshipped and served in a number of different denominations and traditions. While they all shared that salvation was by…
- Wayfarer
Ceaseless Maturation (CaD 1 Cor 14)
As a disciple of Jesus, I’ve had to embrace that the process of growth and maturity never ends. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Corinthians 14. The text version…
- Wayfarer
The Real Love Chapter (CaD 1 Cor 13)
As a disciple of Jesus, I have learned two critically important lessons along my life journey. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Corinthians 13. The text version…
- Wayfarer
Giftedness and Honesty (CaD 1 Cor 12)
A system in which parts are ignorant regarding their gifts, demand that they are gifted in ways they are not, and refuse to embrace the ways in which they are…
- Wayfarer
“Pucker Up, Professor!” (CaD 1 Cor 11)
Did you know that Paul ended four of his letters with a direct command to “greet one another with a holy kiss?” A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Corinthians 11…
- Wayfarer
The Many, Not Me (CaD 1 Cor 10)
It was the most considerate a stage crew member had ever been to me in my countless stage experiences. It was a small thing, but I was grateful, and impressed…
- Wayfarer
“Man in the Middle” (CaD 1 Cor 9)
I sometimes feel like I live in two different worlds and I don’t always fit perfectly in either of them. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Corinthians 9. The text…
- Wayfarer
Awkward Moment at the Pub Part II (CaD 1 Cor 8)
I’d like to return to the story I shared last week regarding my friends who stood outside the doorway of the pub making sure their feet didn’t cross the…
- Wayfarer
The Time Paradox (CaD 1 Cor 7)
So, what should my perspective be? Should I live today as if life is a marathon or should I live today as if today may be all I’ve got? A chapter-a-day podcast…
- Wayfarer
Taking the Loss (CaD 1 Cor 6)
Sometimes forgiveness feels like I'm letting my enemy off the hook, when the truth is that it’s freeing me to use my thoughts, energy, and resources more…