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
Miraculous Turnaround (CaD Est 9)
Esther isn’t just a story of survival. It’s a story of reversal. A chapter-a-day podcast from Esther 9. The text version may always be found and shared at…
- Wayfarer
In a System I Don’t Control (CaD Est 8)
Both Mordecai and Esther have no control over the culture of the foreign Persian Empire in which they live. In this game of thrones, they found themselves…
- Wayfarer
Evil Implodes (CaD Est 7)
Evil eventually implodes—and when it does, it often finds its own unforeseen justice. A chapter-a-day podcast from Esther 7. The text version may always be…
- Wayfarer
Machinery of Heaven (CaD Est 6)
The machinery of heaven is astonishingly quiet. A chapter-a-day podcast from Esther 6. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.
- Wayfarer
Shrewd (CaD Est 5)
Esther reminds me that when it comes to dealing with enemies and those who wish me ill will, I don’t need to force the outcome. A chapter-a-day podcast from…
- Wayfarer
Choosing Real (CaD Est 4)
One of the lessons I've have learned along this life journey is that it’s best to choose to get real about what’s real. A chapter-a-day podcast from Esther 4…
- Wayfarer
Bowing (CaD Est 3)
What would it take to make me bow? A chapter-a-day podcast from Esther 3. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.
- Wayfarer
Taken (CaD Est 2)
Esther isn’t Jasmine on a magic carpet singing A Whole New World. Esther is more Destiny’s Child roaring out a gritty I’m a Survivor. A chapter-a-day podcast…
- Wayfarer
Divine Bulletin Boards (CaD Est 1)
A poster in my high school classroom caught my eye. It changed my life. A chapter-a-day podcast from Esther 1. The text version may always be found and shared…
- Wayfarer
Two Sides of Heresy (CaD Jude)
Intellectual pride and control of others is as destructive an appetite as pleasures of the flesh. A chapter-a-day podcast from Jude. The text version may…
- Wayfarer
Perhaps Today. Likely Not. (CaD 2 Pet 3)
No matter how far I get in the journey, it’s always a good day to grow. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Peter 3. The text version may always be found and shared…
- Wayfarer
The Question Beneath the Ash (CaD 2 Pet 2)
Along my spiritual journey, Jesus has continuously asked me to set fire to my personal ladders. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Peter 2. The text version may…
- Wayfarer
God’s QA Program (CaD 2 Pet 1)
God has His own Quality Assessment process — not one of condemnation, but of cultivation. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Peter 1. The text version may always…
- Wayfarer
Due Time (CaD 1 Pet 5)
If I’m going to trust the Story. I have to trust His timing. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Peter 5. The text version may always be found and shared at…
- Wayfarer
Fiery Ordeals (CaD 1 Pet 4)
What I am observing — and at times personally experiencing — in our current social landscape is a return of social ostracism as a form of punishment. None of…
- Wayfarer
Without Words (CaD 1 Pet 3)
In my upcoming book I share the story of how as a young man I believed with certainty that I was supposed to become a pastor, and how God made clear that He…
- Wayfarer
An Open Invitation (CaD 1 Pet 2)
I have for many years had a recurring brainstorm that returns every four years or so like the spring rains on the fields of Iowa. A chapter-a-day podcast from…
- Wayfarer
Wise Investments (CaD 1 Pet 1)
Peter urges his fellow believers to embrace the very words Jesus spoke to him: Consider your investment strategy. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Peter 1. The…
- Wayfarer
The View from James’ Sandals (CaD Jam 5)
James' final pleas feel far more poignant when I place my feet in the sandals of one of the letters’ original recipients. A chapter-a-day podcast from James 5…
- Wayfarer
Grace, Served Neat (CaD Jam 4)
As I did some spiritual cardio evaluation yesterday, I had to come clean with the fact that I sometimes allow my self-righteous desires and pride free rein…
- Wayfarer
Diagnosis I Didn’t Ask For (CaD Jam 3)
As I meditated on the tongue this morning I likened it to a living cardiogram — my words revealing symptoms of heart trouble. A chapter-a-day podcast from…
- Wayfarer
Of Yeast and Fruit (CaD Jam 2)
Monday was one of my favorite days. Wendy made fresh, homemade Italian bread. A chapter-a-day podcast from James 2. The text version may always be found and…
- Wayfarer
Not Our Ways (CaD Jam 1)
As I read through the chapter in the quiet this morning, I couldn’t help but pick up on a strong undercurrent in James’ encouragement: His ways are not our…
- Wayfarer
Journey’s End (CaD Deu 34)
In the quiet this morning, I find myself meditating on what I can learn from Moses in the end. A chapter-a-day podcast from Deuteronomy 34. The text version…
- Wayfarer
The Blessing (CaD Deu 33)
In the quiet this morning, I find the chapter inviting me to do something wildly countercultural: Receive blessing without scrambling to deserve it. A…
- Wayfarer
A Love Song that Aches (CaD Deu 32)
The prophesied rebellion of God’s people does not happen out of suffering, trial, or condemnation. It happens when things go well. A chapter-a-day podcast from…
- Wayfarer
“Give Them a Song” (CaD Deu 31)
In all of creation, God infused music with a secret super power. A chapter-a-day podcast from Deuteronomy 31. The text version may always be found and shared…
- Wayfarer
Teshuvah (CaD Deu 30)
When it comes to what my young adult children do, the only thing I really control is my response. A chapter-a-day podcast from Deuteronomy 30. The text version…
- Wayfarer
Of Covenant and Mystery (CaD Deu 29)
Mystery stays veiled. Responsibility does not. A chapter-a-day podcast from Deuteronomy 29. The text version may always be found and shared at…
- Wayfarer
Bad Motorcycle, Better Covenant (CaD Deu 28)
Today’s chapter is arguably as tough as it gets when it comes to harsh Old Testament language. It’s the kind of chapter that causes modern readers to close the…
- Wayfarer
The Rocks Remember (CaD Deu 27)
The further I get in my earthly journey, the more I’ve realized my ignorance regarding creation’s role in the Great Story. It plays a central role in today’s…
- Wayfarer
Trust the Story, Tell the Story (CaD Deu 26)
Very rarely has anyone recited back to me the content of a training session or message I’ve delivered. It is very common for people to tell me, “I remember…
- Wayfarer
Same Table, Same Measure (CaD Deu 25)
God through Moses doesn’t flirt with abstractions when it comes to the justice of every day life and business. It rolls up its sleeves, plants its feet in the…
- Wayfarer
Stories and Choices (CaD Deu 24)
“Remember” is a word Moses uses three times in today’s chapter. He returns to what Jewish teachers called zakhor, memories that help build moral muscle. A…
- Wayfarer
The Place God Dwells (CaD Deu 23)
Who was in our home last weekend mattered deeply to us. And that reality informed our thoughts, our decisions, and our behavior that day. A chapter-a-day…
- Wayfarer
Controlled Burns (CaD Deu 22)
As I lace ‘em up for this another day on this earthly journey, I’m not so much thinking about what’s out there. I’m thinking about what’s in me. A…
- Wayfarer
Wooden Spoon on the Headboard (CaD Deu 21)
God in today's chapter is not cold—He is careful with blood, with power, with people. A chapter-a-day podcast from Deuteronomy 21. The text version may always…
- Wayfarer
Go Big! (or Maybe Not) [CaD Deu 20]
There is something innately human—and perhaps especially American—that equates big numbers with success, status, and safety. A chapter-a-day podcast from…
- Wayfarer
A Step Toward Refuge (CaD Deu 19)
Mercy has an address. A chapter-a-day podcast from Deuteronomy 19. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.
- Wayfarer
Presence, not Possession (CaD Deu 18)
Faith is not the absence of uncertainty — it is the refusal to worship false certainty. A chapter-a-day podcast from Deuteronomy 18. The text version may…
- Wayfarer
Authority with Ink-Stained Fingers (CaD Deu 17)
In today’s chapter, Moses prescribes the most astonishing of tasks for every person appointed to the throne: Handwrite a copy of the Torah onto a single scroll…
- Wayfarer
Not History - A Moment Relived (CaD Deu 16)
God does not dwell just in places. He inhabits moments. A chapter-a-day podcast from Deuteronomy 16. The text version may always be found and shared at…
- Wayfarer
Open Hands, Open Heart (CaD Deu 15)
At Christmas, God provides an eternal object lesson of what Deuteronomy 15 is all about. A chapter-a-day podcast from Deuteronomy 15. The text version may…
- Wayfarer
Holiness, Heart, & Hearth (CaD Deu 14)
Today’s chapter whispers to me of God’s heart: generous, selfless, and servant-hearted. From the beginning God's prescription for Life flowed from His Spirit…
- Wayfarer
The Knife, the Cradle, and the Cross (CaD Deu 13)
Today’s chapter is jarring, especially at the beginning of the week of Christmas as I hum O Little Town of Bethlehem. Yet one of the things that I’ve…
- Wayfarer
Gathering (CaD Deu 12)
For eleven chapters Moses has been teaching Israel how to remember. Today, he teaches them how to desire. A chapter-a-day podcast from Deuteronomy 12. The text…
- Wayfarer
Land That Drinks Rain (CaD Deu 11)
The message I found flowing through the chapter in the quiet this morning was that the danger is not rebellion or disobedience. The danger is forgetting. A…
- Wayfarer
“Because You Were Foreigners” (CaD Deu 10)
As I meditated on these things in the quiet this morning, I was amazed at how much it resonated with our current culture and headlines. A chapter-a-day podcast…
- Wayfarer
Stiff-Necked, Still Chosen (CaD Deu 9)
In the quiet this morning, sentimental twinkle-light memories get balanced with the sobriety of zakhor memories. Moral memory isn’t shame, it’s schooling. It’s…
- Wayfarer
The After-Meal Blessing (CaD Deu 8)
Many years ago I memorized Deuteronomy 8:10. I began quietly quoting Deuteronomy 8:10 to myself as a post meal blessing. I didn’t know it, but I had stumbled…
- Wayfarer
What’s In a Name? (CaD Deu 7)
God promises protection, fruitfulness, and flourishing—not as wages earned, but as the natural overflow of covenant intimacy. Obedience here is not…
- Wayfarer
The Story We Tell With our Lives (CaD Deu 6)
In my Bible there is a photograph. I don’t even remember putting it there. I think it randomly surfaced and I just shoved it inside the cover of my bible…
- Wayfarer
Ten Words (CaD Deu 5)
Suddenly, my life-long perception of ten black-and-white “commands” is laid bare for the hollow and meager interpretive shell it has always been. A…
- Wayfarer
Final Message (CaD Deu 4)
Deuteronomy is Moses taking the face of his people lovingly in his withered hands and looking them in the eye one last time. These are the words of his…
- Wayfarer
Facing the Giants (CaD Deu 3)
Before there was Goliath there was Og, King of Bashan. There are moments for all of us when we’re facing our own giants. Sometimes they are just rumors…
- Wayfarer
A Season of Waiting, A Moment to Move (CaD Deu 2)
Today’s chapter is about restraint, timing, and finally stepping into what God has purposed, planned, and prepared. A chapter-a-day podcast from Deuteronomy 2…
- Wayfarer
An 11-Mile Journey in 40-Years (CaD Deu 1)
What could and should have been an eleven day trip has taken them 40 years to bring them to this place in this moment — because they were afraid to follow God…
- Wayfarer
Last Day of Camp (CaD Heb 13)
Today’s final chapter of Hebrews reads like the last day of camp. A a heart-felt list of loving marching orders from a camp counselor to a tearful camper who…
- Wayfarer
Run (CaD Heb 12)
The author of Hebrews is writing to an audience of believers in the middle of a grueling real-life marathon. They are at risk of hitting the wall. The author…
- Wayfarer
Seduced by the Unseen (CaD Heb 11)
When today’s chapter speaks of the unseen — of walking toward a country you’ve never seen, of trusting a God that cannot be measured — it presses all my…