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Articles by Kyle Worley
nothing matters, except everything.
“We shall not cease from exploration, And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time.” - T.S. Eliot The writer of Ecclesiastes called himself “the Preacher,” but I prefer to call him the “unhappy king who had everything.” Ecclesiastes deserves a place in the philosophy hall of fame. Not that such a thing exists, but can you imagine if it did?
In praise of mutts.
I’m not a pet person, but despite what people often assume, I grew up with dogs. Across my childhood, we had two different mutts in the family: Keith and Harley. Who names a dog “Keith?” Well, we did. We got Keith at a charity auction where my family was engaged in a bidding war with a guy named “Keith.” Upon seeing my brother and I visibly upset at the prospect of losing out on the bid, Keith ceded the top bid and let us win. So, we named the dog after him. Cheers.
Nolan's "Odyssey" is Christ Haunted.
“I don’t believe in God, but I miss him. - Julian Barnes (This post does not contain spoilers for the new movie.) Odysseus is haunted by many gods. Chris Nolan is haunted by One. As I left the theater yesterday, my mind kept going to Paul in Acts 17. The Apostle enters into the Aeropagus at Athens, sees the many altars and inscriptions, and appeals to the Greeks. “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.
Glory Hunger. (The Odyssey and "Honor.")
There is a “glory hunger” that pulses through The Odyssey.1 It’s most clearly seen in Odysseus who is too willing to go glory hunting. Odysseus is a complex character, his motivations are not mono-dimensional. But it is clear that there is a battle going on in him between vainglory and virtue. Consider the incident with the Cyclops. What leads Odysseus to take some of his crew and invade the Cyclops’ cave? His desire to gain glory and treasure (to get a gift).
Who would win the "Great Books" World Cup?
Welcome to the World Cup for the Great Books! This is what we call “playing to your audience.” I love soccer and Substack loves debating whether or not the Great Books are… A.) Awesome and everyone should read them. C.) Even “great” at all. D.) All of the above. Like many of the US World Cup commentators, I am completely unqualified to provide meaningful commentary on the action at hand, but I am ready to weigh in with my thoughts.
Juneteenth, New Nazis, and "Normalcy."
In Galveston, TX on June 19th, 1865, General Gordon Granger delivered “General Order #3,” which declared that all enslaved people were free. This was incredible news to the enslaved peoples throughout Texas. The only problem: President Lincoln had signed the “Emancipation Proclamation” over two years earlier. But Texas was the most remote state in the Confederacy and it took nearly three years for this news to get to the people of this state. Bad news travels fast, good news takes time.
the machine can't create woman.
Last Sunday, I was asked to give a few remarks at the close of a women’s ministry in the life of our church. The goal of this ministry (which our church calls “Flourish”) is to dignify the vocation of women as life giving cultivators. The response to my remarks made me think they might encourage a wider audience. I offer them to you - here below.
Crying in the National Gallery.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (John 21:18) A few years back I lost my tears. Somewhere along the way I learned to bury grief, fear, and hurt so deep that I’d forgotten where I stored it. Then the tears stopped.
The Heidelberg Catechism's Lesson for Foster Parents
I’ve never cried harder than when they came to take away “our” little girl. My family and I wept as they walked out the door with a baby we had been caring for over the previous two weeks. The love we had for her outweighed the time we had with her. It was a stark reminder that in foster care these children are not our own. Before we became a foster family, we were adoptive parents. When our adopted daughter turned six, we opened our home as a foster care family.
First as tragedy, then as farce.
Recently, I saw an ad for something called a “Book Ninja.” And like a dog returning to their vomit, I clicked on the link thinking some new technology had been developed to encourage more reading. I’m a moron. I was wrong. And I regret that I now know that the “Book Ninja” exists. Here is a picture: The “Book Ninja” is a deceptive tool. The point: Don’t let your kids see you on your phone. Now, why would that matter?
The Blessing of Touch in an Age of Robots.
This article, like all articles here, is offered for free thanks to those who support my work. If you’d like to support my writing, consider grabbing a copy of one of my books, leaving a review on a book of mine you’ve already read, or by sharing this post on Substack or social media. Let me begin by saying: Don’t be a creep about this. More seriously: I understand that in a broken world too many people have been wounded by wicked forms of touch. You might be one of those people.
Resist(ing) the machine.
Quite a few people resonated with a note I posted here two weeks ago. I hardly ever post “notes,” so I wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it all. Going viral on Substack feels a bit like having a popular posting on the cork board at your local coffee shop. If you are new to my work and writing. Welcome. I am a pastor, a podcast host (Knowing Faith), and the author of a few books.
Augustine and the "old gods."
I am currently working on my PhD in Apologetics at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Over the last few years, I’ve been refining my direction for my dissertation and am zeroing in on a precise topic. Dissertation work is “diamond” style writing. You are searching for the very tip - the precise point - where you can make a unique contribution to the field. My research interest is in providing “mere Christian” direction to apologetic engagement with neo-paganism in America.
Read everything.
In defense of comic books, cookbooks, novels, and everything in between. There is an ever widening gap in almost every major “domain” of life. For many people, they feel helpless. What could they possibly do to not get left behind? I won’t pretend to be smart or skilled enough to give you a roadmap for bridging every chasm, but there is one thing you can start doing right now that will have a dramatic impact on every dimension of your life.
What is paganism?
I recently published an essay asking whether it was best to understand the culture of the global west as “pre-pagan or post-Christian?” Some have suggested it might be a bit of both. But one of the most common questions I received from readers of that article was a very simple one: What is paganism? (Or, what is neo-paganism?) Admittedly, even contemporary scholars of paganism struggle with providing a one size fits all definition.
3 Ways to Create a Bible Reading Culture in Your Church
Fa Barboza photo | Unsplash You can’t control people’s Bible-reading desires, but you can create spaces for them to learn how to engage Scripture on its own terms. By Kyle Worley Growing up, my mom only had three CDs in our minivan, and one was a “Best of the 70s” collection. Even though I didn’t see a second of that decade, I know its biggest hits by heart.
Why do we want an ice storm so badly?
North Texas hungers for an ice storm. And we are not the only ones. It doesn’t matter how much we shake our heads and say, “I hope it isn’t like the last one!” Or, “Everyone freaks out for nothing.” Or my personal favorite, “It isn’t even that bad.” I will allow no Pete Delkus slander in the comments - I am his #1 fan. Despite all the feigned protests, nobody wants an ice storm more than the people who live in North Texas. Sure, nobody says they want an ice storm.
High Time for an Honest Conversation about THC
Legal cannabis may be here to stay, but the Christian conversation is just getting started. It's high time we have an honest conversation about THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol-the main psychoactive compound in cannabis, also known as marijuana or weed. For years, people consumed cannabis almost exclusively by smoking the plant. Inhaling marijuana, whether by smoking or vaping, remains the dominant mode of using THC by a significant margin (nearly 80 percent of users).
High Time for an Honest Conversation about THC
CT Pastors It’s high time we have an honest conversation about THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol—the main psychoactive compound in cannabis, also known as marijuana or weed. For years, people consumed cannabis almost exclusively by smoking the plant. Inhaling marijuana, whether by smoking or vaping, remains the dominant mode of using THC by a significant margin (nearly 80 percent of users). But the ability to dose THC this way is very difficult.
The Shepherd's Way Is Slower
Wendell Berry's "Jayber Crow" reveals what pastors risk losing when they trade presence for productivity. I grew up under the tutelage of two different men: a farmer and a pastor. My father pastors a church in southeast Texas, serving the same place and people for nearly 30 years. He knows where to find the best gumbo in town and which neighborhoods flood first when hurricanes barrel through. He has performed around 500 funerals in that community and at that church. His roots run 'deep'.
The Shepherd’s Way Is Slower
CT Pastors I grew up under the tutelage of two different men: a farmer and a pastor. My father pastors a church in southeast Texas, serving the same place and people for nearly 30 years. He knows where to find the best gumbo in town and which neighborhoods flood first when hurricanes barrel through. He has performed around 500 funerals in that community and at that church. His roots run ‘deep’.
We were formed for fellowship, designed to live in communion with God and his people. The triune God created us out of the deliberate overflow of his own eternal delighting fellowship and love. Salvation is forgiveness and fellowship, acquittal and adoption, righteousness and relationship.
Union with Christ Fills Our Deepest Longings
This isn’t a new doctrine. It’s deeply biblical, and it’s been showcased by every major theologian in the church’s history. Union with Christ isn’t a new idea; it’s an old idea being rediscovered. Union with Christ is a believer’s identification with, incorporation into, and participation in all of Christ’s life. In Christ are all the blessings and benefits of salvation. To put it simply, union with Christ is our home with God.
How Worship Shapes Who You Are
There’s a striking image in The Magician’s Nephew from C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia series. Narnia isn’t built brick-by-brick or designed from a blueprint. It’s sung into being: “The Voice on the earth was now louder and more triumphant. . . . The Voice rose and rose, till all the air was shaking with it. And just as it swelled to the mightiest and most glorious sound it had yet produced, the sun arose. . . .
Union with Christ: The Gift of a “New Me”
It is in being received as a child of God that we find the love for which we long. We are born longing to become beloved. To feel beloved. Due to our homeless hearts, we have a strong bent toward misplacing this desire in things and people that can never deliver on it. Editor’s note: The following is excerpted with permission from Home with God: Our Union with Christ by Kyle Worley. Copyright 2024, B&H Publishing. Available for pre-order from B&H Publishing and wherever books are sold.
Union with Christ: The Gift of a “New Me” | For The Church
Editor’s note: The following is excerpted with permission from Home with God: Our Union with Christ by Kyle Worley. Copyright 2024, B&H Publishing. Available for pre-order from B&H Publishing and wherever books are sold. A well-wrapped gift creates curiosity, doesn’t it? Sitting under a Christmas tree or at a table next to a birthday cake, children can be driven crazy with the anticipation of unwrapping a gift, their minds racing with curiosity.
Sports Betting Has Become Too Prevalent for Christians to Ignore
Online gambling isn't necessarily sinful, but it's certainly not a careful use of the wealth God has given us. The odds are good that you know someone who wagered on sports in the past year. With the rise in online sports betting, the industry now makes more than all the US major pro sports leagues combined. Americans are expected to bet $35 billion on NFL games alone this season.
The Church Is Essential for Discipleship
The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy. JT English Good morning, everybody. How you doing? Hey, this is gonna feel a little conversational because we’re gonna have a conversation and we hope you have a conversation with us that we want to briefly introduce ourselves. My name is JT English I have the honor of serving as the lead pastor of storyline church in Arvada, Colorado.
Live at The Gospel Coalition on Apple Podcasts
Jen Wilkin, JT English, and Kyle Worley are joined by Jared C. Wilson and Dr. Matthew Barrett during The Gospel Coalition Conference to record a live episode!
Easter with Esau McCaulley on Apple Podcasts
Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin are joined by Esau McCaulley to have a conversation about Easter and why it is important.
Knowing Faith: #170 – Doctrine of God Roundup with Dr. Matthew Barrett on Apple Podcasts
Jen Wilkin, JT English, and Kyle Worley are joined by Matthew Barrett to discuss some big picture ideas on the Doctrine of God.
Don't Christians Oppose Diversity? with Justin Giboney on Apple Podcasts
Kyle Worley and Rebecca McLaughlin are joined by Justin Giboney to have a conversation about how Christians view diversity.
Preaching and Teaching a Big God with Dr. Jason Allen on Apple Podcasts
Kyle Worley is joined by Dr. Jason Allen to answer the question, how does a big view of God shape the way we preach and teach God’s word?
Why It’s Easier to Accept David as a Murderer than a Rap...
As a kid growing up in the church, I certainly heard a lot about Jesus. But just short of the Savior, I heard countless stories about King David: stories of bravery, courage, power, trust, risk, battle, war, triumph, and conquest. Christians have always recognized David’s brokenness to an extent, particularly his pursuit of Bathsheba, which has typically been considered (and decried as) adultery.
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