Joel V. webb
PASTOR – WRITER – Podcaster – THEOLOGIAN
“the sacramental life” is a space devoted to exploring the Christian faith through the lens of a sacramental worldview. Here, we approach Scripture, tradition, and daily life with the conviction that God’s grace is not only spiritual but also tangible, made visible and present in the ordinary, the material, and the liturgical. Drawing from the richness of historic Christianity, this blog reflects on how the sacraments, liturgy, and spiritual rhythms shape both our understanding of God and our participation in His ongoing work in the world.
Vita Sacramentum seeks to bridge academic reflection and pastoral care, offering insights that are thoughtful yet accessible, intellectually rigorous yet deeply devotional. It invites readers to encounter the divine in the fabric of everyday life, to see creation as charged with God’s glory, and to experience faith not merely as belief but as lived, embodied, and relational. Through study, meditation, and reflection on Scripture and tradition, this blog is a space for cultivating wonder, deepening devotion, and discovering the transformative power of a sacramentally attuned life.
Recent Blog Posts
Cult Math – When Things Don’t Add Up
I never tested well when it came to math. Even if I studied, I would get to the test and I could never get the numbers to add up just right. I remember the distinct feelings of being in a math exam, knowing something was wrong, nut just not able to put my...
A Modern Theology of Lament and Questioning
A Synthesis and Review of J. Richard Middleton’s Abraham’s Silence: The Binding of Isaac, the Suffering of Job, and How to Talk Back to GodOne of the buzzwords in our culture is that of “deconstructing”, where those of usually Christian faith begin a...
Good Friday
Good Friday...a seemingly paradoxical kind of day. One that represents suffering, pain and death. For us as humans, disillusionment, fear, betrayal and cowardice. What can be good about this day? Of course having the knowledge of the end of the matter, that...
Hope in the face of Death
Death and taxes. It's a quippey pretty well known phrase for the reality an inevabilitu of both things. Right now tax season in the USA is coming up in a few weeks. And we just entered Holy Week, as we prepare the remember in solemnity the death of Christ on the...
Gnosticism and 1 Timothy 2
Has it ever happened to you, in the middle of a conversation someone jumps in at exactly the wrong moment, and without the context of the last few minutes, hears a line that on its own sounds really bad? I could be talking with someone about their computer not...
The Centrality of the Cross
I think this is a phrase we usually hear about “keeping the gospel central”. But what does it actually mean? It becomes more complicated because our modern world offers a plethora of frameworks and methods of dissecting and understanding the world around...
Losing our Direction
Whenever I tell my wife that I love her, what usually happens is she smiles, and says “I love you” back, something chuckling out of the joy that came from that statement. The question is, what came first, the statement or the reaction? From this example...
Book Recommendation: Kingdom Race Theology
There is a deep tension in our society right now when it comes to the issue of race and racial relations. Up until recently, I have found many of the methods to identify and answer these questions to be severely wanting. They would either deny there is a problem...
can I be plucked?
One of my favorite songs of all time is In Christ Alone written by the Getty’s. In its last verse comes a very rousing theme of being secure in Christ. No guilt in life, no fear in death— This is the pow’r of Christ in me; From life’s first cry to final...
How Does He Get Us?
A lot of buzz has been going around the Christian internet sphere about the recent ad campaign from “He Gets Us”. I have seen a lot of posts from people who are either for or against the campaign. For myself personally I think they both have valid points. For the...
Hi, my names is Joel
Joel Webb is an ordained Elder in the Free Methodist Church, and as a pastor, theologian, and writer explores the intersection of Scripture, historic worship, and spiritual formation through a sacramental worldview. He is committed to helping the Church recover theological depth and faithful worship practices as a means of shaping disciples in a polarized age. Through his preaching, published writings, and podcasts, Joel emphasizes the importance of Scripture in its historical context, the formative power of liturgical tradition, and the call of the Gospel to transform both individuals and communities. He lives with his family and pastors in Eastern Michigan where he enjoys reading, writing, teaching, and engaging in meaningful conversations about faith and culture.
Lead Pastor – Croswell FMC
Joel is lead pastor at Croswell Free Methodist Church. A liturgical and sacramental expression of Free Methodism that seeks to bring the beauty of Christian worship to the modern world.
