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
History Lesson (or Not) [CaD 1 Chr 9]
I've observed the truth of the well-known statement that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I've also observed a related truth…
- Wayfarer
Focus (CaD 1 Chr 8)
I've observed along life's road that you can tell a lot about a person by observing where they invest their time and energy, and what they like to talk about…
- Wayfarer
Women in the Patriarchy (CaD 1 Chr 7)
I don't think that it's any mistake that God surrounded me with strong women and gave me two daughters to raise. There were some deep-seated assumptions about…
- Wayfarer
The Priesthood, Then and Now (CaD 1 Chr 6)
The week Jesus was to be executed He told His followers that the Temple would be destroyed. Exactly one generation later, the Romans fulfilled His prophetic…
- Wayfarer
Black Sheep Family (CaD 1 Chr 5)
One of the hardest things about family is that it's not something we get to choose. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Chronicles 5. The text version may be found…
- Wayfarer
The Prayer of Jabez (CaD 1 Chr 4)
As I’ve repeated and internalized the prayer of Jabez over the years, I’ve found it not to be about receiving material blessings, but about being a blessing. A…
- Wayfarer
"Everyone Has Their Shit" (CaD 1 Chr 3)
Each person has their own messy, struggling, difficult, tragic, and even shameful story. We are fallen people living in a fallen world. Yet we project to…
- Wayfarer
Genealogical Lessons (CaD 1 Chr 2)
I realize most people skip over genealogies, but there are little tidbits in any genealogy that have lessons for me if I'm willing to observe. A chapter-a-day…
- Wayfarer
A Fresh Revisiting of the Story (CaD 1 Chr 1)
Does my faith mean anything in this time and place? What is God doing? Is God even a part of the equation? If so, what am I to make of it all? Chapter-a-day…
- Wayfarer
Cults and Contrast (CaD Gal 6)
I have been sick for the past several days with a nasty case of Step throat. So, I've been spending a lot of time on the couch in front of the television…
- Wayfarer
Silent and Deadly (CaD Gal 5)
"You live in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, yet you feel economic anxiety. The late Charlie Munger summarized it succinctly: “The world is…
- Wayfarer
Grace and Merit (CaD Gal 4)
When Jesus talked about the Day of Judgement He spoke of there being one decisive criterion. A chapter-a-day podcast from Galatians 4. The text version may be…
- Wayfarer
The Difference (CaD Gal 3)
It's not about guilt but about gratitude. It's not rule-keeping but responding to Jesus' kindness. Righteousness isn't earned, it's credited. A chapter-a-day…
- Wayfarer
Mom and the Ministry (CaD Gal 2)
We as humans have a hard time with change, and this can be especially true when it comes to transforming our belief systems. A chapter-a-day podcast from…
- Wayfarer
Members Only (or Not) [CaD Gal 1]
I have an issue with church membership. Let me explain. A chapter-a-day podcast from Galatians 1. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.
- Wayfarer
Opportunity in Interruption (CaD Acts 28)
I have learned along life's road that when interruptions occur, my immediate emotional reactions aren't very healthy or productive. A chapter-a-day podcast…
- Wayfarer
Earned Respect (CaD Acts 27)
Paul had lived and conducted himself as a prisoner in such a way that a Roman centurion twice risked his own neck for him. A chapter-a-day podcast from Acts…
- Wayfarer
Paul v. The System (CaD Acts 26)
Paul had been spiritually freed from the system. Now he wants his old friends and comrades to experience the same freedom. A chapter-a-day podcast from Acts…
- Wayfarer
To Appeal, or Not? (Cad Acts 25)
Life is a bit like the Waverunner we have at the lake. If you don’t have your finger on the accelerator and propelling yourself forward, you can’t steer the…
- Wayfarer
Political Imprisonment (CaD Acts 24)
Do my life and my actions reflect a person who is living for this world and the things of this world, or do they reflect a person living to bring God’s Kingdom…
- Wayfarer
Politics and Religion (CaD Acts 23)
If my personal faith in Jesus and my focus on daily living as His disciple transforms into being just another member of an earthly, collective religious system…
- Wayfarer
“Those People” (CaD Acts 22)
When Jesus interrupted Paul’s life, he was required to learn to love and embrace the very people he’d been systemically taught to ignore and even despise…
- Wayfarer
Friends and Flow (CaD Acts 18)
I’ve never “chosen” a friend by looking at a person across the room and saying “I want that person to be a key relationship in my life!” A chapter-a-day…
- Wayfarer
Heather Holdsworth Interview (WW)
On this Wayfarer Weekend (WW) podcast, my interview with artist Heather Holdsworth, author of the stunning book Landscape of Hope. Heather resides in Scotland…
- Wayfarer
Death & Discipleship (CaD Acts 21)
The great German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him ‘Come and die.’” A chapter-a-day podcast from Acts 21. The text…
- Wayfarer
On Miracles and Prophecy (CaD Acts 20)
Sometimes God works through miracles and prophecy. But, not always. A chapter-a-day podcast from Acts 20. The text version may be found and shared at…
- Wayfarer
Three Forces Rule the World (CaD Acts 19)
I saw a meme on social media over the weekend that caught my eye. It was a quote from Albert Einstein who said, “Three great forces rule the world...." A…
- Wayfarer
Kingdom of All Believers (CaD Acts 17)
I’ve always embraced the notion that I want my earthly journey to experience a little bit of heaven described in Revelation, in which I experience worship and…
- Wayfarer
Praise in Chains (CaD Acts 16)
When life interrupts our lives with any kind of unexpected difficulty or tragedy, Wendy and I announce it to one another by saying, “Honey? We have a Chain…
- Wayfarer
Division (CaD Acts 15)
In division, people may sometimes learn that they can function independently of one another while both contribute to Jesus' Movement and its mission. A…
- Wayfarer
Seed and Heart-Soil (CaD Acts 14)
Like Paul and Barnabas, and like Jesus' parable, I am the sower. The yield is dependent on the heart-soil of each one who reads or listens. A chapter-a-day…
- Wayfarer
Jews and Romans (CaD Acts 13)
As a disciple of Jesus, I've had to understand that things change and the spiritual journey is one of constantly managing those changes. A chapter-a-day…
- Wayfarer
Clashing Kingdoms (CaD Acts 12)
Along my life journey, I’ve observed that religion can be as much a Kingdom of this World as any civic or commercial authority. A chapter-a-day podcast from…
- Wayfarer
The Encourager (CaD Acts 11)
In the book of Acts, a man named Barnabas repeatedly shows up in the story. He doesn’t get top billing. His actions primarily happen “backstage” in the larger…
- Wayfarer
Game Changer (CaD Acts 10)
How many people do I have the opportunity to engage, but choose not to because it's uncomfortable breaking out of the normal, daily, cultural routine? A…
- Wayfarer
Radical Conversion (CaD Acts 9)
God uses so many different people with different gifts in different ways to accomplish His purposes on a grand scale that is hard for me to even fathom. A…
- Wayfarer
Pain's Propulsion (CaD Acts 8)
Along my own life journey, I’ve learned that God sometimes uses difficult circumstances to propel me to the place I’m supposed to be, where God has purposes…
- Wayfarer
Wells and Walls (CaD Acts 7)
One of the things that I love most about Jesus was that He moved God’s presence out of buildings with walls made with human hands to the table where “two or…
- Wayfarer
Growing Things Change (CaD Acts 6)
How I handle the change is, I believe, a barometer of my spiritual health. A chapter-a-day podcast from Acts 6. The text version may be found and shared at…
- Wayfarer
Bullies (CaD Acts 5)
Bullying doesn’t end as we grow older. It just gets more insidious and protected by larger systems both legal and illegal. A chapter-a-day podcast from Acts 5…
- Wayfarer
Compelled (CaD Acts 4)
I gave a message yesterday to our local gathering of Jesus’ followers. As I got up to deliver the message I realized that the page with the message I had…
- Wayfarer
Third Place Witness (CaD Acts 3)
The further I get in my journey, the more I have come to realize and embrace that my “witness” as a disciple of Jesus is how I interact with the regulars in my…
- Wayfarer
Purpose & Timing (CaD Acts 2)
The purpose and timing happening in today's chapter can easily go unnoticed by the modern and casual reader. A chapter-a-day podcast from Acts 2. The text…
- Wayfarer
The Unknown Disciples (CaD Acts 1)
There was a whole host of unknown, unmentioned followers who had their own personal Jesus story and were a crucial part of participating in and carrying out…
- Wayfarer
Testimony & Verdict (CaD Jhn 21)
Once again, as a reader, John leaves me to decide if I believe his testimony and what verdict I will personally render regarding the question "Who is Jesus?" A…
- Wayfarer
"The One Thing" (CaD Jhn 20)
This morning I glanced back on over forty years of believing in and following Jesus. Time and life have not diminished my belief. They have honed it. A…
- Wayfarer
"The Man Who Saw It" (CaD Jhn 19)
I have observed along my journey that certain historical events become so ubiquitous, that the actual events are lost or muddled in the pervasive contemporary…
- Wayfarer
Empire v. Kingdom (CaD Jhn 18)
Jesus freely and willingly submitted to a set of trials that were both illegal and illicit. He submitted precisely because His kingdom is not like the kingdoms…
- Wayfarer
Where His Footsteps Lead (CaD Jhn 17)
I can't be the light of the world if I'm hiding the light under a box. I can't be the salt of the earth if I'm still inside the salt shaker in the cupboard. I…
- Wayfarer
Contrasting Statements (CaD Jhn 16)
God provides shalom, not by power but by suffering, not by force but by surrender, not through the suppression of resistance but through love, forgiveness, and…
- Wayfarer
The Dude Abides (CaD Jhn 15)
When I invited Jesus into my life and asked Him to be the Lord of my life, I suddenly experienced something new: His indwelling. A chapter-a-day podcast from…
- Wayfarer
Peace that's Not of this World (CaD Jhn 14)
In my lifetime, I've observed that the world's promise of peace has gotten more insidious with its intangible paths to peace. A chapter-a-day podcast from John…
- Wayfarer
Waypoints of Confusion (CaD Jhn 13)
I’ve discovered along life's road that there are times when it is only in retrospect that I can see how God was at work in me, directing my path and guiding my…
- Wayfarer
The Spectrum of Belief (CaD Jhn 12)
In the subtext of today's chapter is a question that I believe motivated John to write his account of the Jesus Story in the first place. A chapter-a-day…
- Wayfarer
Watershed Moment (CaD Jhn 11)
Along my own earthly journey as a disciple of Jesus, I have been able to look back on my journey and see how certain watershed moments in my own story were…
- Wayfarer
Shepherd and Sheep (CaD Jhn 10)
He has been a Good Shepherd to this dumb sheep, and I can trust Him to continue being so. A chapter-a-day podcast from John 10. The text version can be found…
- Wayfarer
Seeing and Believing (CaD Jhn 9)
Today's chapter is a reminder that staunch, educated religious people can be spiritually blind while humble, uneducated, and irreligious individuals can have…
- Wayfarer
Showdown (CaD Jhn 8)
Along my spiritual journey, I have observed that any human religious institution can become a perpetrator of evil. A chapter-a-day podcast from John 8. The…
- Wayfarer
Division (CaD Jhn7)
Our current political landscape in America came to mind in the quiet this morning simply because in today's chapter John focuses on how incredibly divisive…
- Wayfarer
Filet-o'-Fish or Flesh & Blood? (CaD Jhn 6)
The further I've progressed in my spiritual journey the more I have come to believe that today's chapter contains among the most critical messages that Jesus…