When we’re struck by unexpected suffering, we ask question after question attempting to find meaning in the midst of our pain. We wonder why this diagnosis, disaster, or death had to happen to us or someone we love. We wonder if God is really good. We wonder if it’s possible to live within our reality and still have hope, joy, and peace. Though these questions are important, our human nature lends itself toward the comfort of ignorance and flimsy optimism. What are the cultural scripts that dictate our understanding of pain and suffering?  How can we come alongside one another through both the highs and lows? 

Chris and Eddie are joined by Kate Bowler, author of No Cure for Being Human, professor at Duke Divinity School and host of the podcast, Everything Happens. After receiving an unexpected cancer diagnosis at the age of 35, Kate began to observe that the world does not offer a safe space for people in pain. Her move from crisis to chronic has led her to asking deeper questions about faith, God, and human suffering. She talks to Eddie and Chris about the gift of presence, the absurdity of life, a robustly Christian account of time, and the many ways we try to make meaning out of everything.

Resources

Follow Kate Bowler on the web:

https://katebowler.com 

Order No Cure for Being Human here:

https://katebowler.com/no-cure-for-being-human/ 

Order Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved here:

https://katebowler.com/everything-happens-for-a-reason-2/ 

Listen to Kate Bowler’s podcast Everything Happens here:

https://katebowler.com/podcasts/ 

Follow Kate Bowler on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/katecbowler 

https://www.instagram.com/katecbowler/ 

https://twitter.com/katecbowler

Kate Bowler on YouTube

Kate Bowler on Goodreads

How do we deal with seasons of doubt? How do we wrestle with the big questions of suffering and pain within the context of God’s never-ending love and come out with a firmer spiritual foundation and a stronger sense of God’s grace and work in our lives? Can we even admit our doubt, and if so, is it productive to our lives as Christians?

In this episode, Eddie and Chris are joined by Dominic Done, author, pastor, teacher, and founder of Pursuing Faith. Dominic has gone through his own seasons of doubt, and openly shares his journey in his most recent book, When Faith Fails: Finding God in the Shadow of Doubt. He believes that we can not only push through doubt and step into a deeper faith, but we can and should come along side others in their seasons of doubt and struggle. If we are honest with our pain and willing to open ourselves to the grace of Jesus Christ through community, we grow as followers of Jesus.

Dominic earned his Master's Degree in theology from the University of Oxford and has served as a pastor in Oregon, North Carolina, and Hawaii. Dominic has also taught English for companies in Europe, lectured in theology and history at various Christian colleges, worked as a radio DJ, and lived as a missionary in Vanuatu and Mexico. He is currently the leader of Pursuing Faith, a ministry that equips Christians and church leaders to navigate issues of faith, doubt, and apologetics.

Resources:

Follow Dominic on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/DominicFrancisDone https://www.instagram.com/dominicdone/ https://twitter.com/dominicdone

Find out more about Pursuing Faith:

www.pursuingfaith.org

Find out more about When Faith Fails:
 https://www.pursuingfaith.org/whenfaithfails

Are you struggling with church? Do you have doubts and questions, but you aren’t sure where to go to talk them through? Do you have friends or family members who have been hurt by the church, or who have wandered away from the church, or, maybe, who have never been in church?

In this episode, Chris and Eddie are joined by Rev. Dr. Sam Wells, priest in the Church of England and vicar of St. Martin-in-the-Fields in central London since 2012. He served as the Dean of Duke Chapel and is the author of 35 books about Christian ethics, mission, ministry, scripture, liturgy, and preaching. Today’s conversation is about his book, Humbler Faith, Bigger God: Finding a Story to Live By. This book came out of Rev. Wells 2020 Easter sermon, which he preached in an empty garden during London’s first COVID-19 lockdown. Humbler Faith, Bigger God is written for those who seek, those who have lapsed, those of other faiths, and those who are hostile to Christianity.

As a preacher, Rev. Wells says that people tend to respond positively to his preaching because he doesn’t skirt around the issues of the day. He doesn’t hide Christianity’s often difficult past, and he isn’t afraid to have the hard conversations with believers, doubters, and nonbelievers, because he believes it’s all about trust. “We can trust God, and because we can trust God, we can trust ourselves and one another.”

Resources:
Buy Humbler Faith, Bigger God on Amazon

You might need a snack for today’s episode.

We welcome Kendall Vanderslice, baker, author, and theologian to The Weight for a discussion about the intersection of food--specifically, bread--and worship. Kendall explores the dichotomy of the simplicity and complexity of making bread and how it connects to the simplicity and complexity of a life of faith.

Kendall is the author of By Bread Alone: A Baker’s Reflections on Hunger, Longing, and the Goodness of God. She is also the founder of the Edible Theology Project, a nonprofit that creates resources for churches, families, and individuals to help you connect the meal shared at the Communion table to other meals you share. She is a graduate of Wheaton College with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, a graduate of Boston University with a Masters of Liberal Arts in Gastronomy, and a graduate of Duke University with a Masters of Theological Studies.  In 2018, Kendall was named the James Beard Foundation National Scholar for her work on food and religion.

Resources:

Find Kendall on Facebook and Instagram

Listen to her podcast, Kitchen Meditations

Learn more about the Edible Theology Project

Follow Edible Theology on Instagram

Purchase By Bread Alone

The Weight might be on a brief summer break, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have anything to listen to! We’ve got five seasons of excellent conversations, and Eddie and Chris offer their recommendations for re-listening to a few from this season. (They also share some life updates and a little advice at the end.)

We hope y’all have a wonderful summer, and we’ll see you in August with all new episodes of The Weight. 

Resources:

All of our episodes can be found at theweightpodcast.com, on Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

--1 Corinthians 13.13

This well-known, often quoted Bible verse is probably one you’re familiar with. But today’s guest, Dr. Luther Smith, wants to mix things up a little and get us to think like this: The greatest of these is hope.

Dr. Luther Smith is Professor Emeritus of Church and Community at Candler University (and one of Chris’s former professors). He earned his Ph.D. from Saint Lewis University and his Master’s of Divinity from Eden Theological Seminary. He has worked with, researched, and written extensively about civil rights leader and theologian Howard Thurman. His most recent book is Hope Is Here! Spiritual Practices for Pursuing Justice and Beloved Community.

Resources

Buy Hope Is Here!

No matter what your age is, you’re probably caught up in the 24-hour news cycle, the internet, social media, and doom scrolling. You probably spend a lot of your day with a screen in front of you, and that affects us socially, emotionally, and mentally. Today’s guest gives Eddie and Chris some insight into what the church can offer in our media-saturated world.

Dr. Angela Patterson is media psychologist, writer, and researcher with Springtide Research Institute, nonpartisan nonprofit organization. She earned her doctorate in media psychology from Fielding, where she focused on how media and technology affect cultural institutions. Her research centers on the impact of digital media in adolescents and young adults, especially in regards to religious and spiritual development. Her work with Springtide Research focuses on 13- to 25-year-olds, to give them a voice and to help others learn from them and serve them as we all figure out what’s next.

Resources:

Dr. Angela Patterson’s website

Follow her on Instagram

Springtide Research Institute’s website

Follow Springtide on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

Dr. Scott Morris is a medical school graduate and an ordained United Methodist minister who believes that healing the sick is a vital part of the Christian faith, and he lives that belief out in a very real way in Memphis, Tennessee through Church Health. Church Health is a faith-based, not-for-profit healthcare organization that offers whole person, comprehensive health care to people facing social and economic difficulties. No one should go without critical healthcare because they can’t afford it, and Scott has worked since 1985 to solve this injustice.

Dr. Morris earned his Master of Divinity degree from Yale University and his Doctor of Medicine from Emory University. He is a board-certified family practice physician and an ordained United Methodist Minister. He is also the author of Care: How People of Faith Can Respond to Our Broken Health System.

Resources:

Learn more about Church Health, how to support it, or how to start a similar organization in your community

Follow Church Health on Facebook or Instagram

Order Dr. Morris’s book, Care

Dr. Corneilus Plantinga has a few words to say about gratitude, and it may just change your life--physically, spiritually, and emotionally. A habit of gratitude can lower your blood pressure and help you sleep better. But the habit of gratitude also ties us together collectively, in community and in church. When there is genuine appreciation of an act of kindness or a loving word, the memory of that “thank you” is a cushion when disagreement tries to divide us. Gratitude for God’s gifts reminds us daily that we can find something good, even in tough situations.

A previous guest on The Weight, Dr. Plantinga is Senior Research Fellow at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and president emeritus of Calvin Theological Seminary. He also served as Dean of the Chapel at Calvin University. He is the author of many books, including his latest, Gratitude.

Resources:

Find Dr. Plantinga’s books on Amazon

Listen Dr. Plantinga’s previous conversation on The Weight

Dana Trent is an author, professor, and preschool drug dealer, and now she’s part of the three-timers club on The Weight. She talks to Eddie and Chris about her new book, Between Two Trailers, how to live in the present with a past that continues to live with you, what it means to go home when you feel like you can’t, and how important personal connections are when you’re trying to work through trauma.

Dana is a graduate of Duke Divinity School and an assistant professor in the Humanities Department at Wake Tech Community College. She is also an ordained Baptist minister who served as a hospital chaplain, where she accompanied individuals and their families through the passage from life to death. Her new book, Between Two Trailers, is a memoir about growing up the daughter of a drug dealing father and a mentally ill mother. Dana is open and candid about the trauma of her past, and she offers us all insight and hope for finding peace and empathy when your world has fractured.

Resources:

Dana’s previous episodes on The Weight: Breaking Good and Death, Dessert, and Paperwork

Buy Between Two Trailers

Follow Dana on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok

Listen to Breaking Good

What can the writings, speeches, and actions of historical figures teach us? How do we actually learn from them, instead of merely idolizing and romanticizing them? Dr. Danjuma Gibson gives us some clarity on that often difficult task, with his newest book, Through the Eyes of Titans.

Dr. Gibson is professor of pastoral theology, care, and counseling at Calvin Theological Seminary. He is a licensed, practicing psychotherapist, and served for 16 years as the senior pastor of a church in Chicago. Through the Eyes of Titans takes the lives of four people crucial to the civil rights movement--Ida B. Wells, Fannie Lou Hamer, Benjamin Mays, and Martin Luther King, Jr.--and offers their experiences as a way for us to really live into our own stories. These four people, despite their incredible accomplishments, were normal people. They weren’t superhuman or superheroes, even though we often think about them in those terms. They were normal people who grasped onto the imagination of living into a better world, despite their circumstances, and they used that imagination to propel them forward, even through moments of terror. 

Dr. Gibson talks Eddie and Chris through this process, and offers each of us something difficult and profound to think about: “We just can't sit back and think about courage. How can we become more courageous in our own environment? You have to go towards that thing that you fear.”

Resources:

Buy Through the Eyes of Titans

If you’re not hungry at the start of this episode, you probably will be by the end. And you’ll probably want to run down to Jackson, Mississippi to eat at Elvie’s.

Hunter Evans is the owner of Elvie’s that serves seasonal dishes and highlights ingredients from local farmers. For Hunter, owning a restaurant is first about hospitality. He focuses on making connections with his patrons, and is a champion of a city in Mississippi that often gets overlooked or looked down on. He also focuses on the wellbeing of his staff, because he believes that if he’s asking his staff to take care of others, they have to be taken care of first.

He is a graduate of the University of Mississippi and the Culinary Institute of America and has worked with acclaimed chefs like John Currence and in the kitchens of New York restaurants Le Bernardin, Cafe Boulud, and Daniel.

Resources:

Elvie’s website

Elvie’s Instagram

Living into a consistent ethic of life is central to the work of Kim Daniels. For Kim, that means living into a life that expands our moral imagination and puts the lives of other people front and center to whatever decision is being made, at every level in society. It means seeing people as the image of God, no matter their circumstances. It means looking out for the people on the edges, and bringing us all together to build a world that actively cares about those on the margins.

Kim is the director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown Univeristy, where is is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies. She is a graduate of Princeton University and the University of Chicago Law School. In 2016, Kim was appointed by Pope Francis as a Member of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication. She was appointed as a member of the Synod 2021-2024 Communications Commission.

“Politics is an essential forum in which we can love our neighbors.”

Michael Wear reminds us that Christians are called to love, love of God and love of neighbor. And if you are a Christian in politics, when you go into the political sphere, what are you doing? What is the orientation of your heart? This question is for everyone to answer, not just politicians. Are you using the vast resources of the Christian tradition—scriptures, history, theology—to guide your decision making? Are you acting out of a spirit of loving service as Jesus did?

Michael is the Founder, President and CEO of the Center for Christianity and Public Life, a nonpartisan, nonprofit institution which seeks to contend for the credibility of Christian resources in public life and for the public good. He has worked as a White House and presidential campaign staffer and as an advisor for a range of civic leaders on matters of faith and public life.

He is the author of The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life and Reclaiming Hope: Lessons Learned in the Obama White House About the Future of Faith in America.

Resources:

Learn more about Michael at his website, michaelwear.com

Learn more about the Center for Christianity and Public Life

Follow Michael on Facebook and Instagram

Listen to his podcast, Wear We Are, on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Buy his books on Amazon

Shownotes:

In this Holy Week episode, Chris and Eddie are joined by Kavin Rowe, author of Christianity’s Surprise: A Sure and Certain Hope. After 20 years of scriptural immersion as the George Washington Ivey Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Duke Divinity School, Rowe began to discern the growing significance of Christianity’s groundbreaking impact when it first entered the world. His book evokes the lost sense of the explosive power at the heart of Christian story, detailing the new hope and fresh vision that brushes up against the familiarity of scripture. Christianity’s Surprise draws readers closer to an understanding of Christianity as a gift from God, a never-ending mystery filled with a robust, joyful sense of surprise.

Rowe discusses the missing sense of imagination in American Christianity, how God’s promises for the future reach into the present, the interconnectedness of humanity, and how Christian institutions have evolved over time. Rowe’s insight in this conversation offers encouragement to all who need hope and who are longing to rediscover the heart of Christianity. It ushers in a refreshing perspective on the life-giving power of hope.

Check out Kavin Rowe’s book Christianity’s Surprise here:

https://www.abingdonpress.com/product/9781791008208/ 

Learn more about Kavin Rowe here:

https://divinity.duke.edu/faculty/c-kavin-rowe

Humility. Through. This episode hangs on those two words, and how they relate to Christianity today. Joel Muddamalle, Director of Theology and Research for Proverbs 31 Ministries, wrote the book on humility, The Hidden Peace. He explains that true, Christian humility--living out the humble life of Jesus--will bring us to God who will get us through the hurts, the hard times, and the exhaustion of life today. We find peace in humility, in that awareness that the Lord is with us always. And knowing that God is with us means God will walk through every broken moment with us.

Joel earned his PhD in Theology under the guidance of Dr. Patrick Schreiner and Dr. Michael Heiser. He serves on the preaching team at Transformation Church with Derwin Gray. He writes, studies, and teaches about scripture and theology and how they go hand-in-hand with our every day, busy lives. 

Resources:

Joel’s website

Follow Joel on Facebook and Instagram

Proverbs 31 Ministries

Buy The Hidden Peace

Neil White knows how to tell a story. He told his own story in his memoir, In the Sanctuary of Outcasts, about his time in a federal prison that also served as the United States’ last leper colony. He’s written articles, essays, and plays. He’s co-written other people’s memoirs. He can tell you a story, but really what he wants is for you to tell your story.

Neil talks to Eddie and Chris about the importance of storytelling. They talk about the process of writing, practical ways to get better at writing, and how special it is to help someone craft their own story--to dig deep into their lives and pull out all the small details that need to be shared. They also talk a little bit about pickleball.

Currently, Neil is the CEO of Nautilus Publishing in Oxford, MS. He is the author of plays including Lepers & Cons, Symmetry, Clandestine, and the editor of the anthology Ten-Minute Plays from Oxford. He has been a newspaper editor, magazine publisher, and advertising executive.

Resources:

Learn more about Nautilus Publishing.

Buy In the Sanctuary of Outcasts.

Traumatic events happen to us as individuals, but we also experience trauma as a community. How do we--individually and collectively--deal with trauma? How do we frame it within the narrative of our own stories and of our communities’ stories? How do we rebuild from traumatic fractures without leaning into the temptation to return to a false memory of a golden age that never existed in the first place?

This conversation on The Weight is built around a heavy topic, but Dr. Kimberly Wagner brings brightness, empathy, and hope to a discussion that is, well, weighty. Even though her most recent book is a resource for preaching, there’s something for everyone in this episode.

Kimberly is assistant professor of preaching at Princeton Theological Seminary and the author of Fractured Ground: Preaching in the Wake of Mass Trauma. Her doctoral dissertation centered around preaching and trauma, and she has seen first hand how disorienting mass trauma to a community and to individuals. 

Resources: 

Learn more on Kim’s website, preachingandtrauma.com.

Buy Fractured Ground.

We all know that things change. People change. Understanding changes. Ideas change. Even theological institutions change. In this episode, Chris and Eddie are joined by Dr. David F. Watson, Academic Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. David has helped change and shape the future of United, and has some ideas about how other theological institutions can move with the times. He looks to the rich history of the Christian tradition to form new ideas and train new pastors, all while being accountable to the Church universal.

David earned his Masters of Divinity at Perkins University in 1997 and his PhD at Southern Methodist University in 2005. He is the author of several books, including Scripture and the Life of God: Why the Bible Matters Today More than Ever.

Resources:

Follow David on Twitter.

Sign up for his Substack.

Listen to Firebrand Podcast, or read the Firebrand Magazine.

This episode of The Weight is with previous guest Dr. Andrew Root. He joined Eddie and Chris in 2021 for a discussion about the religious lives of younger generations. In today’s conversation, Andy talks about how the decline in mainline Christianity in the United States is a result of a lack of faithful imagination in a secular world. God is no longer seen as a living, breathing being still working in the world. Individual churches have muddied the waters by focusing on their own story, mission, and vision, instead of simply telling God’s story. He offers the idea of churches living into a watchword instead of building ministry around a mission statement.

Andy (Ph.D., Princeton Theological Seminary) is the Carrie Olson Baalson professor of youth and family ministry at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is a writer and researcher who focuses on theology, ministry, and culture. His most recent books include When the Church Stops Working (coauthored with Blair Bertrand), Churches and the Crisis of Decline, and The Congregation in a Secular Age. 

Resources:

Andy’s website

Follow Andy on Twitter and Facebook

Find all of Andy’s books here

Listen and subscribe to Andy’s podcast, “When The Church Stops Working,” on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

If you’re a parent or you know a parent, today’s conversation with Kayla Craig is a good word for you. But this episode also holds a lot of wisdom for everyone, in every season of life. Life is messy and chaotic and complicated, but finding time to pray doesn’t have to be.

Kayla is a writer, podcaster, former journalist, and mother to four kids, ages seven to thirteen. She is the creator of the Liturgies for Parents Instagram account. Kayla offers short prayers and liturgies because she found that, when you don’t know what to pray, borrowing someone else’s words will get you through the moment. She is encouraging, engaging, and not afraid to admit that she doesn’t have all the answers--and you don’t have to have them, either.

Resources:

Learn more about Kayla on her website

Liturgies for Parents on Instagram

Buy Every Season Sacred

Buy To Light Their Way

Liturgies for Parents Podcast

John T. Edge joins Chris and Eddie for a conversation that takes them all over the South. John T. is a writer, commentator, the former director of the Southern Foodways Alliance, and host of the television show True South. He is the director of the Mississippi Lab at the University of Mississippi, and his latest passion project is the Greenfield Farm Writers Residency, which will offer space for writers of all kinds to step away from the real world and put their focus and attention on their writing project, whether that’s a song, a poem, a novel, or a scientific paper.

John T. earned his MA in Southern Studies from the University of Mississippi and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Goucher College. He has written or edited more than a dozen books and has written columns for the Oxford American and the New York Times. He has also been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered as well as CBS Sunday Morning and Iron Chef.

Most importantly, he firmly believes that Birmingham, Alabama, is a Southern city, no matter what Chris says.

Resources:

John T.’s website

Greenfield Farm Writers Residency

True South

The wait is over... The Weight is back! (sorry for the pun)

We'll see you back, right here, next week for a brand new season of The Weight.

We’ve reached that time of year again--The Weight’s yearly wrap-up episode. It’s been a year of conversations that covered a wide range of emotions: joy, hope, grief, fear, love. We talked about seeing the Holy Spirit at work, disagreeing from a place of love, the decline of mainline Protestantism, and the Methodist movement and its history of missional work. We talked to authors, pastors, researchers, and artists. We got to hear Chris get schooled by a beloved United Methodist Bishop. We got to laugh a little and learn a lot, and we are so glad that you, our listeners, joined us.

Eddie and Chris are once again joined by producer Cody Hickman to recap our fourth year of The Weight. This time they pull back the curtain and reveal some behind-the-scenes secrets. Who did Eddie ask to be a guest and was immediately shot down? How do Chris and Eddie cue each other over Zoom? Exactly how many kids does Cody have?

Thank you for listening to The Weight. We’ll be back in February.

Esau McCaulley returns to The Weight for a discussion about his newest book, "How Far to the Promised Land.” This is a joyful conversation that covers some heavy topics, like reconciling yourself to your history while charting your own path and creating your own story. And sometimes, finding your place in the story means finding your place with God and allowing God’s grace to emerge in unexpected ways.

Esau is an author and associate professor of New Testament at Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL, with a Ph.D. from the University of St. Andrews. He is the author of Reading While Black as well as articles for the New York Times.

Resources:

Listen to Esau’s previous episode on The Weight

Order Esau’s books: Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope and How Far to the Promised Land: One Black Family's Story of Hope and Survival in the American South.

Read Esau’s articles in The New York Times here: https://www.nytimes.com/by/esau-mccaulley 

Follow Esau on the web: https://esaumccaulley.com 

Follow Esau on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

This episode goes deep into the theological concept of atonement. You may not know what atonement is (broadly, the reconciliation of the relationship between God and people through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ), but today’s guest is here to help. Fred Anderson, author of Why Did Jesus Die and What Does That Have to Do with Me?, is pastor emeritus at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City. He retired after forty-two years in ministry, but also served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War and is the author of hymn texts.

His book, Why Did Jesus Die…, looks at atonement biblically, theologically, historically, and sacramentally to give us a more holistic view of--and perhaps a better way to approach--the concept, which has come to mean more about what we can do to make things better, rather than what God has already done to reconcile our relationship with God.

Resources:

Buy Why Did Jesus Die and What Does That Have to Do with Me?

Don’t give up.

If you take anything away from today’s episode, let it be that simple phrase: Don’t give up. Eddie and Chris talk to Nick Connolly, founder and lead pastor of Bright City Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Nick has a few good words to share with anyone facing hardships, defeat, or resistance. His new book, Don’t Give Up Just Yet, comes out in February 2024 and offers some practical ways to work through doubt, seasons of waiting, and letting life’s difficulties strengthen your faith in God and the path God has ready for you.

Resources:

Bright City Church

Follow Nick on Instagram and Twitter

Pre-order Don’t Give Up Just Yet

Conflict in the Middle East.  It’s a phrase that has been a part of global conversations for years. The assumption is that any ongoing issues are the result of thousands of years of disagreement and strife, but the reality is that the current violence is a much more recent problem.

Today’s guest on The Weight gives us a framework and some history to think more critically about how we engage the news around Israel and Hamas. Dr. Graham Pitts is the Assistant Professor of History and Middle Eastern Studies at the Croft Institute for International Studies at the University of Mississippi. His focuses are food, famine, and environmental history in Lebanon and the Middle East. He first encountered Lebanon while he was a student at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, and his time studying abroad only increased his passion for the people of that region. Graham earned his Ph.D. at Georgetown University, and has worked at North Carolina State, Georgetown, and George Washington University.

Resources: 

Follow Graham on Twitter

Learn more about Graham’s research and writing

In this episode, Chris talks about the book Apeirogon by Colum McCann. You can buy that book here.

Transitions are often hard, especially when the transition comes after 27 years of following one career path. For Jorge Acevedo, following the ancient paths while creating new ones is making his transition into retirement a little easier. 

Jorge retired in August 2023 from Grace Church in Cape Coral, Florida, after serving as pastor there for 27 years. Jorge has degrees from Asbury College and Asbury Theological Seminary, as well as a Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary. He is a writer, a speaker, and a leadership coach who uses his years as a pastor and a leader to coach new leaders into building sustainable leadership practices.

Resources:

Learn more about Jorge at his website, jorgeacevedo.com

Follow Jorge on Facebook and Twitter

Find out more information about and buy his books here

Mentioned in this episode: 

John Ortberg, Become New

John Mark Comer, Practicing the Way

Dallas Willard

Ruth Haley Barton

Astonished by the Word by Dr. Brian Russell

This conversation is part of a special series, The Heart of Methodism. Eddie and Chris, who are both pastors in the United Methodist Church, will talk to guests who can help us dive a little deeper into Methodism and its history, theology, traditions, and future.

Today, Eddie and Chris are joined by a previous guest, Edgardo Colón-Emeric, Dean of Duke Divinity School. He is also the Irene and William McCutchen Professor of Reconciliation and Theology and the director of the Center for Reconciliation at Duke. He earned both his Masters of Divinity and his Ph.D. from Duke University. Dean Colón-Emeric was the first Latino to be ordained as an elder in the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Dean Colón-Emeric gives us a hopeful view of the future of the United Methodist Church through the lens of some of Christianity’s past saints, John Wesley and Thomas Aquinas, and their . Dean Colón-Emeric acknowledges the struggles and fragmentation of Christianity in the American context, but for him, the end is not a thing to worry about. The end is just the beginning, because the end, in the Christian context, means reconciliation. We may not see the way to reconciliation, but we don’t have to. God’s got this, and our story isn’t over.

Resources:

Learn more about Dean Colón-Emeric

The People Called Metodista: Renewing the Doctrine, Worship, and Mission from the Margins

Eddie and Chris continue a conversation about Methodism and what drives it with their resident Bishop Sharma Lewis. Bishop Lewis’s assignment in Mississippi began in January 2023, and she comes to the state with excitement and passion for the people of Mississippi and what is in their hearts. Despite being in a season of disaffiliation and fragmentation, Bishop Lewis sees great things happening in the Mississippi Annual Conference, with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Bishop Lewis is from Statesboro, Georgia. Before hearing God’s call in her life, she pursued degrees in biology and chemistry with an eye towards medicine. She eventually switched paths and earned her M.Div.  from Gammon Interdenominational Theological Center in 1999, and worked in the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church. She was the first African American woman to be elected bishop in the Southeastern Jurisdiction, and served the past six years in the Richmond area of the Virginia Annual Conference.

This conversation is part of a special series, The Heart of Methodism. Eddie and Chris, who are both pastors in the United Methodist Church, will talk to guests who can help us dive a little deeper into Methodism and its history, theology, traditions, and future.

Today’s guest is Dr. Laceye Warner,  Royce and Jane Reynolds Associate Professor of the Practice of Evangelism and Methodist Studies and Associate Dean for Wesleyan Engagement and Hybrid Programs at Duke University. Dr. Warner is the author of  Saving Women: Retrieving Evangelistic Theology and Practice, The Method of Our Mission: United Methodist Polity and Organization, and co-author of From Relief to Empowerment: How Your Church Can Cultivate Sustainable Mission and Grace to Lead: Practicing Leadership in the Wesleyan Tradition.

Dr. Warner is passionate about supporting, encouraging, and offering resources to pastors and congregations, using the traditions and history of the Methodist movement in England and the United States.

Resources:

Learn more about Dr. Warner’s on her website

The Method of Our Mission: United Methodist Polity & Organization 

Chris and Eddie are joined again by Reverend Dr. Will Willimon, Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry at Duke Divinity School and former Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church. Rev. Willimon, Chris, and Eddie talk about what it means to be part of the United Methodism, with its tradition of being the Gospel on the move, and how that tradition translates into today’s world.

Rev. Willimon has five decades of preaching and teaching experience, and as a lifelong Methodist, he’s got a few opinions and ideas about the current issues facing the denomination and American Christianity as a whole--and he shares those opinions with humor and candor, and also with urgency and sadness over the difficulties facing God’s Church today.

This particular conversation doesn’t cover Rev. Willimon’s newest book, Heaven and Earth: An Advent Incarnation, but we’ll be sure to have him back to talk about that.

Follow Will Willimon on the web:

https://willwillimon.com 

Heaven and Earth: An Advent Incarnation

Check out Will Willimon’s other books and publications here:

https://willwillimon.com/writing/ 

Follow Will Willimon on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/WillWillimon

https://twitter.com/willimontweets

This conversation is part of a special series, The Heart of Methodism. Eddie and Chris, who are both pastors in the United Methodist Church, will talk to guests who can help us dive a little deeper into Methodism and its history, theology, traditions, and future.

Today’s guest, Dr. John Wigger, is a professor at the University of Missouri, where he specializes in US social and cultural history, including religious history and the history of flight. His most recent book is about the mystery of hijacker D.B. Cooper, but he is also spent a lot of time researching and writing about the history of the Methodist movement in the United States. Dr. Wigger traces the roots of Methodism through other Protestant denominations, including the rise and growth of Pentecostalism.

Resources:

American Saint: Francis Asbury and the Methodists

Our guest today is Edward Grinnan, Editor-in-Chief and Vice President of Guideposts Publications, which includes Guideposts Magazine, Angels on Earth, and Mysterious Ways. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and earned his MFA from Yale School of Drama, where he studied playwriting. He is also the author of The Promise of Hope, Always By My Side, and A Journey of Faith.

Resources:

Guideposts Magazine

Follow Edward on Facebook and Twitter

Buy The Promise of Hope, Always By My Side, A Journey of Faith

How do you disagree with someone in ways that allows the Holy Spirit to work within you--in ways that promote love, patience, faithfulness, and peace instead of hatred, anger, and dissent? Kathy Khang and Matt Mikalatos are cohosts of the Fascinating Podcast and the authors of Loving Disagreement, and they offer some thoughts on living in community with one another and working through disagreements in a Spirit-led way.

Kathy is an author, speaker and yoga teacher. She has over 20 years experience in campus ministry, and has experience dealing with issues of gender, ethnicity, justice, and leadership development. 

Matt Mikalatos is an author, screenwriter, and speaker. He's the author of Journey to Love and the YA fantasy series The Sunlit Lands. He has written for Today.com, TIME magazine, Relevant, Nature, Writer's Digest, and Daily Science Fiction, among others.

Resources:

Preorder Loving Disagreement

Listen to the Fascinating Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher

Follow Kathy on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

Buy Kathy’s books, Raise Your Voice and More Than Service Tea

Learn more at kathykhang.com

Follow Matt on Twitter and Facebook

Buy Matt’s books

Learn more at mikalatos.com

Every moment--as mundane as doing laundry or as overwhelming as losing a loved one--can connect us back to God’s great story. But finding the words for those moments can be hard. Today’s guest has words to share. Doug McKelvey is author of the Every Moment Holy books, three volumes of prayers for the ordinary moments in our lives. 

Doug is an author, song lyricist, scriptwriter, and video director. His life journey, which he calls “meandering” has made him grateful for the steadfast nature of God, and for the moments in his life that brought him down to the bare foundation of faith: That God exists and Jesus is his Son.

Resources:

Every Moment Holy website, Instagram, Facebook

Buy Volume I and Volume II, and preorder Volume III

Matt Luke is a former football player and coach, who served as the head coach for the University of Mississippi (and was a member of Oxford University United Methodist Church while Eddie and Chris pastored there.) Matt is probably most well known for helping to lead the University of Georgia football team to a National Championship win in 2021 as associate head coach and offensive line coach. After that win, Matt stepped away from coaching football in February 2022. 

Walking away from professional success was not a decision Matt made lightly, but it was the right decision for him and his family. He is able to joy in the small, every day moments with his wife Ashley and their sons Harrison and Cooper. 

Today’s conversation with Shane Stanford will leave you with a lot to think about, a lot to pray about, and a lot to talk about. Shane is the CEO and founder of the Moore-West Center for Applied Theology and JourneyWise, a content network that seeks to equip people to love Jesus and to love like Jesus. He has been a United Methodist Pastor for over 30 years, including time as senior pastor at Christ UMC in Memphis, TN, and other churches in Florida, Mississippi, and North Carolina. He is also the author of Making Life Matter: Embracing the Joy in Every Day, What the Prayers of Jesus Tell Us about the Heart of God, The Eight Blessings: Rediscovering the Beatitudes, and the upcoming JourneyWise: Redeeming the Broken and Winding Roads We Travel.

Shane is very open and honest about his story. His childhood diagnosis of hemophilia led to him contracting HIV and hepatitis-C after a blood transfusion, which drastically changed the course of his life. The social stigma surrounding HIV almost stopped him from being ordained in the United Methodist Church, and led him to some difficult moments in his first appointment in the Mississippi Conference. Shane continues to hold on to the words of his grandfather, to make every day matter and to live his life so that every step he takes--no matter how many he has--matters.

Resources:

Learn more about JourneyWise

Order JourneyWise: Redeeming the Broken and Winding Roads We Travel

Buy other books written by Shane

Listen to the You Matter with Shane Stanford podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts 

Do you struggle with how to pray? Do you find yourself holding things back from conversations with God? Do you need a guide or a road map or something to help you deepen your prayer life? Today’s guest has one answer for you: pray the psalms.

Theologian W. David O. Taylor is an author, speaker, and minister with a heart for bringing together art and ministry. He is the director of the short film, Bono & Eugene Peterson on The Psalms. He currently serves as Associate Professor of Theology and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary. His most recent book, Open and Unafraid: The Psalms as a Guide to Life, shows readers how to use the poetry and song of the psalms to bring their anger, doubt, praise, and thanksgiving to God--even if what we’re feeling seems disrespectful or even unfaithful. The psalms are prayers that have been prayed for thousands of years, and cover the entire spectrum of the human experience.

Resources:

https://www.wdavidotaylor.com/

Find David on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

Buy Open and Unafraid

Watch Bono and Eugene Peterson on The Psalms

Streetlights, which David references in the interview

Having spaces for people to gather, play, and enjoy life with one another can change individual lives and whole communities. By and large, those spaces have begun to disappear. Creating those spaces and times for kids to gather is the passion project of today’s guest, Lowrey Crews.

Lowrey is the founder and CEO of the 18th Ward, a non-profit that provides high-quality, low-cost youth sports programs in New Orleans. All kids are welcome to join the 18th Ward, regardless of race, gender, income, or neighborhood. As a kid growing up in Tupelo, Mississippi (along with Chris), Lowrey got to experience the formation that comes from not only being able to play sports, but to do so in a lower-stakes environment that fostered teamwork and friendship. Many families can’t financially afford the expenses that come with competitive travel ball teams, so Lowrey is providing a path for all kids in New Orleans to reap the benefits of simply getting to play.

He is also a longtime friend of Chris’s, so he probably has some dirt he could share.

Learn more about The 18th Ward--website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok

Today’s conversation with Anne Snyder might give you a little hope. She joins Eddie and Chris in a rich discussion of the Christian imagination, bringing back our shared stories to build community and move forward with more grace and joy--concepts that have seemed a little hard to grasp over the last few years.

Anne is the editor-in-chief of Comment, a quarterly magazine that prints articles and essays focused on “public theology for the common good.” She oversees Breaking Ground, a network of institutions and people created by Comment in 2020 to use Christian humanist traditions to respond to the significant crises of 2020.  Anne is also the host of The Whole Person Revolution podcast.

Resources:

Follow Comment on Instagram

Follow Anne on Facebook

Learn more about Comment Magazine and Breaking Ground

Listen to The Whole Person Revolution podcast

Show Notes:

We are excited to welcome Barbara Brown Taylor to The Weight for a conversation about hospitality and being in the center and being at the edge of a religion--how is it different when you’re the outsider versus when you’re on the inside? How do you let people who believe in something completely different strengthen your own faith? Barbara leaned into these lessons when she taught a Religion 101 class at Piedmont College, now Piedmont University, in Georgia. She got to watch the real love and hospitality of Buddhist monks and Muslim Imams who “welcomed a bunch of awkward strangers, and fed us, and showed us where to sit and gave us places of honor and thanked us for coming.” And in return, she was able to deepen her own faith and extend hospitality and love to the others in her own life. She used her experiences teaching that course to write Holy Envy, which was published in 2019.

Barbara Brown Taylor is an Episcopal priest, teacher, and the best-selling. She has served on the faculties of Piedmont College, Emory University, Mercer University, Columbia Seminary, Oblate School of Theology, and the Certificate in Theological Studies program at Arrendale State Prison for Women in Alto, Georgia. 

Resources:

Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others

Find Barbara Brown Taylor on the Web:

https://barbarabrowntaylor.com 

Follow her on Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorBarbaraBrownTaylor/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/71455.Barbara_Brown_Taylor 

Shownotes:

Eddie and Chris join music legend Mac McAnally in a delightful conversation about music, making your mark, and leaving the world a better place than you found it. Mac is a native of Belmont, Mississippi, but he’s better known as a country music singer, songwriter, session musician, and record producer. He is an award-winning talent who has worked with country stars Kenny Chesney and Sawyer Brown, and he is a long-time member of Jimmy Buffett’s band, The Coral Reefers.

Mac’s career started at just 13 years old, when his parents allowed him to play piano in a honky tonk bar in Iron City, Tennessee. He left high school in the 11th grade to pursue his music career (which, even though it worked out for him down the line, he wouldn’t encourage anyone else to do). He sees his role in the music industry as being “Johnny Musicseed,” carrying the responsibility of helping up-and-coming artists realize their dreams.

Resources:

Find Mac online and on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, and Spotify.

Find his latest album, “Once in a Lifetime,” here.

Show Notes:

Today we are joined by Dr. Derwin Gray, Lead Pastor and Co-Founder of Transformation Church in Indian Land, South Carolina. Dr. Gray played professional football in the NFL following his graduation from Brigham Young University in 1993. After his NFL career, Dr. Gray graduated magna cum laude from Southern Evangelical Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree. He received an honorary doctorate from Southern Evangelical Seminary in 2015, and in 2018 he earned his Doctor of ministry in the New Testament in Context at Northern Seminary. He is also the author of several books, including his most recent, How to Heal Our Racial Divide.

Dr. Gray and his wife Vicki began Transformation Church in 2010 with the prayer that 700 people would show up. Their first service had 701 people in attendance. Transformation Church is a multiethnic, multigenerational, mission-shaped community that God completely, ourselves correctly, and our neighbors compassionately.

Resources:

Transformation Church Website

TC Facebook

TC Twitter

TC Instagram

Dr. Gray’s Website

Dr. Gray on Facebook

Dr. Gray on Twitter

Dr. Gray on Instagram

Buy Dr. Gray’s books here

Shownotes:

The language surrounding mental health often limits the fullness of each complex human experience. Stigma, stereotypes, and media representations perpetuate one-dimensional portraits of what it means to live with a mental illness. Additionally, Christians tend to view sadness and joy in a narrow manner, when the Bible speaks to a vast array of human emotions we all experience. With all of this in mind, how can we speak about mental health in a more liberating and comprehensive way?

In this episode, Chris and Eddie speak to John Swinton, author of “Finding Jesus in the Storm: The Spiritual Lives of Christians with Mental Health Challenges.” A registered mental health nurse, Swinton has listened to the multi-layered experiences of Christians who deal mainly with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression. Swinton maps out what it looks like to redefine health and healing in the context of connection, he speaks to the unique resources and community that the church can offer, and he addresses the sense of abandonment that Christians feel, especially when dealing with depression. We hope that this episode gives you permission to move through your story with freedom and greater imagination.

Resources:

Check out John Swinton’s book “Finding Jesus in the Storm” here

Follow John Swinton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/johnswintonabdn 

Shownotes:

Somewhere in the rhythm of spiritual practices and religious traditions, American Christians have lost the sense of beauty, awe, and wonder that permeates through familiar stories of the Bible. Conversely, Western Christian culture sanitizes the reality of darkness throughout the Biblical narrative. Our culture brings more attention to the glory of Easter than the brokenness of Good Friday, and we celebrate Mary bringing Jesus into the world while glossing over her grief from losing her Son. As we draw nearer to the holiday season, colorful decorations place a blanket of comfort over the harsh realities we live in, covering up the vulnerabilities of our human nature.

This was the inspiration behind Scott Erickson’s new book Honest Advent: Awakening to the Wonder of God-with-Us Then, Here, and Now. A painter, performance speaker, and writer, Scott offers familiar symbols steeped in what he describes as an “honest and robust spirituality.” Scott understands that we must experience an awakening within ourselves in order to connect to God with the level of depth our faith requires.

He joins Eddie and Chris to speak about the nature of prayer as a portal that is already inside of us, the aspects of communal worship and life together, and the ways we can expand our view of the Christian faith. Scott speaks to the transformation that comes when we fully embrace our brokenness, engage in life together, and search for our own stories in the symbols all around us.

Resources:

Follow Scott Erickson on the web: 

https://www.scottericksonart.com 

Order Honest Advent: Awakening to the Wonder of God-with-Us Then, Here, and Now here

Order Scott’s art here:

https://scottericksonartshop.com 

Check out Scott’s books here:

https://www.scottericksonart.com/books 

Follow Scott Erickson on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/scottericksonart 

https://www.instagram.com/scottthepainter/ 

https://twitter.com/scottthepainter 

Show Notes:

Becca Stevens is a speaker, social entrepreneur, author, priest, founder, and President of Thistle Farms. She has been featured on PBS NewsHour, The Today Show, CNN, ABC World News, named a CNN Hero, and White House Champion of Change. Becca founded Thistle Farms in 1997 with a single home for survivors of trafficking and addiction.

In this episode, Chris and Eddie sit down to talk with Becca about her work as an advocate for women--standing alongside women and helping them pull themselves, and by extension their communities, out of a history of trauma and poverty and into a life thriving with healing, hope, and often tea.

In her latest book (and her favorite book to date), Practically Divine, Becca invites us to see the divine in everyday, ordinary experiences and to find the potential for humor, wonder, and freedom by embracing our creativity and creating something from nothing. She threads wisdom from her mother into stories and poems to help us live a life that is practically divine.

Resources:

Learn more about Thistle Farms.

Order Practically Divine.

Watch Becca Stevens preach at Oxford University United Methodist Church.

Find out more about Becca.

Follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

Shownotes:

Chris and Eddie are joined by Kiese Laymon, a black southern writer, born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. He is the author of the best-selling memoir “Heavy,” a deeply honest reflection on his complex relationship with his mother, grandmother, anorexia, obesity, sex, writing, and ultimately gambling. The winner of multiple awards, including the Carnegie Medal for Nonfiction, Laymon’s writing in “Heavy” and other works exhibits a profound usage of prose and ability to enter into his memories to bring forward a voice that speaks to the experiences of Mississippi, specifically of black Mississippians.

Laymon speaks about the important role his grandmother plays in his life, the way in which the influences of our upbringing remain a part of us no matter what changes may come, and the incredible ability of art to unleash heavy truths from things we keep secret. This conversation, but more specifically Laymon’s art, speaks directly to the complexities of Mississippi in a way that helps listeners seek more understanding not just of one state, but an entire nation.


Resources:

Follow Kiese Laymon on the web:

https://www.kieselaymon.com 

Check out Kiese Laymon’s memoir Heavy here:

https://www.kieselaymon.com/heavy 

Follow Kiese on social media:

https://twitter.com/KieseLaymon

https://www.instagram.com/kieselaymon/

Parenting is hard. Parenting through a pandemic is even harder, but David Thomas and Sissy Goff are here to provide help and support. Sissy and David work at Daystar Counseling Ministries in Nashville, Tennessee. Sissy is the Director of Child and Adolescent Counseling and David is the Director of Family Counseling. When they aren’t counseling and ministering to kids and parents alike, they find time to write, travel and speak, and produce their own podcast, Raising Boys and Girls.

In this episode, David and Sissy offer encouragement, resources, and hope to parents dealing with all the challenges and joys of raising boys and girls, including how to write your family’s own mission statement and books and authors who have guided them in their counseling ministries.

Resources:

Raising Boys and Girls
Instagram
Facebook
Podcast

Books by David Thomas and Sissy Goff are available for purchase at https://www.raisingboysandgirls.com/store.

Resources mentioned in the episode:

How Children Raise Parents by Dan Allender
The Whole-Brain Child by Tina Payne Bryson & Dan Siegel
Best Friends, Worst Enemies by Michael Thompson
Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Lives of Boys by Dan Klindon & Michael Thompson
Birds & Bees

What does it take to imagine a world without war? How do we begin to believe that as a possibility? Eddie and Chris begin a series on war with guest Stanley Hauerwas, noted theologian and ethicist. Dr. Hauerwas asks us to contemplate the hard questions of war and nonviolence, but he knows the answers don’t come easily.

Dr. Hauerwas is a long-time professor at Duke Divinity School and Duke University School of Law. He served as chair of theological ethics at the University of Aberdeen and was named America’s best theologian by Time magazine in 2001. 

Dr. Hauerwas has authored numerous books, including Resident Aliens, co-authored by Will Willimon, Living Gently in a Violent World, and 2011’s War and the American Difference. 

Resources:

Find out more about Dr. Hauerwas, his publications, and appearances at stanleyhauerwas.org.

Buy War and the American Difference

Shownotes:

It is undeniable that sports have always played a significant role in our society. They have a unique way of uniting, inspiring, and exciting mass populaces in a manner that is irreplicable. For many communities in America, the sports scene plays a vital role in terms of general morale, and for many, economic vitality. Furthermore, sports have served as a therapeutic and restorative outlet for communities in the face of tragedy. 

However, this outlet that we have often taken for granted has turned from a therapy to a threat as COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the globe. Stadiums stand empty, seasons are postponed or cancelled, and the future of our favorite pastimes are up in the air.

We feel the weight of this absence in our lives. 

Joining us to discuss what it is that makes the absence of sports so impactful is Wright Thompson. Thompson is a senior writer for ESPN.com with an extensive career in sports journalism. A native Mississippian, Wright is well known for his work with ESPN’s 30 for 30 special covering the intersection of Ole Miss Football and the tumultuous events that took place on campus during its integration in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement in 1962.

Throughout his life, Wright has been immersed in the world of sports and has a deep understanding of the impact it has on culture, as well as the void it leaves when they are not around during times of crisis. 

Resources:

The Ghosts of Mississippi  http://www.espn.com/espn/eticket/story?page=mississippi62&redirected=true

Michael Jordan Has Not Left the Building

http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/page/Michael-Jordan/michael-jordan-not-left-building

Vulnerability is hard. Feeling broken can lead us to feeling shame, and shame can lead us down hard and difficult paths. But today’s guest has a resounding word of hope for all of us, despite our brokenness, despite our shame.

Toni Collier is the founder of an international women’s ministry called Broken Crayons Still Color, which helps women process through trauma and find hope for the future. She is a speaker, podcast host, and author who uses her own brokenness to help others see that good things can still happen, that broken crayons can still color. Toni and her husband Sam founded Story Church in Atlanta, Georgia, where they live with their two kids.

Resources:

Learn more about Toni 

Follow Toni on Instagram and Facebook

Buy Toni’s book, Brave Enough to Be Broken

Still Coloring Podcast

Lean more about Broken Crayons Still Color

James K.A. Smith is a returning guest to The Weight, this time for a conversation about his newest book, How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now. He, Eddie, and Chris talk about the redemptive work of God’s love and grace in the broken parts of our lives. Our brokenness is part of our story, and it’s something God uses to bring us to an even better place than we could have imagined. Getting to that better place is difficult, especially as we live in a world that would rather gloss over the problems of our past than acknowledge the pain in order to move forward.

Jamie is professor of philosophy at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is an award-winning author of a number of books, essays, and articles. His work focuses on building bridges between the academy, society, and the church.

Resources:

Learn more about James K.A. Smith

Find out about his books

Follow him on Twitter and Facebook

Listen to his previous episode on The Weight

Our guest today is Dr. Angie Ward, Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program and Associate Professor of Leadership and Ministry at Denver Seminary. Angie is the editor of a series of books called Kingdom Conversations, compilations of essays by various authors and theologians that help us reframe our context and the inherent love we should feel for those around us.

Angie has over 30 years of leadership and teaching experience in church, parachurch, and Christian higher education ministry. She believes that proximity is key to changing how we see the world around us, and being invested in our communities can lead to real change--within ourselves and those around us.

Resources:

Kingdom Conversations: 

When the Universe Cracks: Living as God’s People in Times of Crisis 

Kingdom and Country: Following Jesus in the Land that You Love 

The Least of These: Practicing a Faith without Margins

The intersection of science and theology can lead to some heated discussions, but for Dr. Josh Gladden, it’s more about being open and curious and willing to think beyond what the eye can see. Today’s episode dives into the Webb Telescope, the moral questions of certain scientific advancements, and how God fits into our ever-expanding world.

Dr. Gladden is the Vice Chancellor for Research and Sponsored Programs at the University of Mississippi. He earned his Ph.D. in physics from the Pennsylvania State University in 2003, and his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physics from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. He is a member of Oxford University United Methodist Church, where Chris serves as Lead Pastor (and where Eddie previously served as co-pastor with Chris). 

Resources:

Webb Space Telescope

Our world is busy. Our lives are busy. Our time is filled with tasks and lists and work and errands and obligations. How do we slow down and open ourselves up to letting God disrupt our lives? Today’s guest, Dr. Lyn Pace, talks Chris and Eddie through using the liturgical year to engage the season we’re in and how to emphasize certain moments within each season of the church calendar. 

Dr. Pace is Chaplain of Oxford College at Emory University. He joined Oxford College in 2009, after working at Wofford College as the associate chaplain, director of service learning, and director of the Bonner Scholars Program. He received his BA degree in religion and history from Wofford College in 1999 and earned his Master of Divinity degree from Emory's Candler School of Theology in 2002. He is the author of  The Sacred Year: A Contemplative Journey through the Liturgical Year. 

Resources: 

Buy The Sacred Year

HBCUs, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, serve an important role in the education system of the United States. Today on The Weight, Chris and Eddie talk to Dr. Ivy Taylor, the President of Rust College, an HBCU in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Dr. Taylor consistently values the importance of education in general and the significance of HBCUs specifically in the United States. 

Dr. Taylor is a native of Queens, New York. She received her academic degrees from Yale University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of Pennsylvania. She spent twenty years in San Antonio, Texas as an affordable housing advocate, educator and elected official before transitioning to her role as president of Rust College. Dr. Taylor served as mayor of San Antonio, Texas for three years and as a member of the San Antonio City Council for five years. Even before working at Rust College, Dr. Taylor identified education as a key factor to helping people thrive, which in turn helps communities thrive. 

Resources:

Learn more about Dr. Taylor

Learn more about HBCUs

Learn more about Rust College

Show Notes:

In this episode, Eddie and Chris have a hopeful conversation about the future of the church with guest Winfield Bevins. Winfield is an author, artist, pastor and church planter who sees younger generations longing to be a part of a bigger story. They are looking for something deeper, and they’re finding themselves diving into liturgical traditions of the Church.

Winfield is the director of Church Planting at Asbury Seminary and has helped train church leaders around the world and start churches and non-profit organizations. He is also the Executive Director of Creo Art Guild, a collective of Christian artists who bring beauty, goodness, and truth to the world through the arts.

Resources:

Learn more about Winfield on his website

Follow Winfield on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter

Learn about Creo Art Guild

Buy Liturgical Mission and Ever Ancient Ever New

We welcome Dr. Edgardo Colón-Emeric to The Weight for a discussion of Maundy Thursday (the day Christians commemorate Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples before his arrest, crucifixion, death, and resurrection) through the lens of the ministry of Fr. Oscar Romero, the Archbishop of El Salvador who was assassinated in 1980. Edgardo was drawn to the way Archbishop Romero read the gospel through the context of where and when he lived, especially how Romero dedicated himself in his short time as Archbishop to the lives of the people he served, who mostly lived in overwhelming poverty.

Edgardo is dean of Duke Divinity School, the Irene and William McCutchen Professor of Reconciliation and Theology, and director of the Center for Reconciliation. He earned his Masters of Divinity from Duke University in 1997 and his Ph.D. from Duke University in 2007. He was also the first Latino to be ordained as an elder in the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Resources:

Buy Óscar Romero’s Theological Vision: Liberation and the Transfiguration of the Poor

In this episode, Chris and Eddie are joined by Jenny and Tyler Somers, the singer/songwriter duo who met at the University of Delaware, where they began building a life together. They moved to Nashville in 2006 to pursue a musical career and have navigated the highs and lows of being in the music industry, all while staying true to their voice in the Christian music scene, raising a family, and working with the social justice organization International Justice Mission. They continue to tour (although not as much as they did before having children), perform, write, and produce music.

Jenny and Tyler use their platform to bring awareness to the problems of human trafficking and modern slavery. They produced two records that directly benefit IJM (For Freedom and For Freedom II), and speak about the work of IJM. Their love for Christ, their love for their family, and their love for each other are clear in everything they do. 

Resources:

Learn more about Jenny and Tyler’s music at their website, jennyandtyler.com.

Learn more about International Justice Mission.

Follow Jenny & Tyler on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube

Listen to their music on Spotify or Apple Music.

We welcome back Dana Trent to The Weight for a conversation about trauma and finding a path towards healing with empathy and faith. 

Dana Trent is a graduate of Duke Divinity School and professor of World Religions and Critical Thinking at Wake Tech Community College. An ordained Baptist minister, Dana served as a hospital chaplain where she accompanied individuals and their families through the passage from life to death. This time, Dana talks to Eddie and Chris about her childhood and the trauma of being raised in a poor household with drug-running parents who both had their own mental health challenges. 

Dana has shared her story through the Breaking Good podcast, which she is currently turning into a book. In today’s conversation, she offers some tips for how she centers herself spiritually every day to help her navigate every day challenges.

Resources:

Learn more about Dana on her website

Follow Dana on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube

Listen to Breaking Good on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Dana’s website

Buy Dessert First

Stay tuned for information about Dana’s next book, Vermillion, based on her Breaking Good podcast.

The Body Keeps Score by Bessel Van der Kolk

You might need a snack for today’s episode.

We welcome Kendall Vanderslice, baker, author, and theologian to The Weight for a discussion about the intersection of food--specifically, bread--and worship. Kendall explores the dichotomy of the simplicity and complexity of making bread and how it connects to the simplicity and complexity of a life of faith.

Kendall is the author of By Bread Alone: A Baker’s Reflections on Hunger, Longing, and the Goodness of God. She is also the founder of the Edible Theology Project, a nonprofit that creates resources for churches, families, and individuals to help you connect the meal shared at the Communion table to other meals you share. She is a graduate of Wheaton College with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, a graduate of Boston University with a Masters of Liberal Arts in Gastronomy, and a graduate of Duke University with a Masters of Theological Studies.  In 2018, Kendall was named the James Beard Foundation National Scholar for her work on food and religion.

Resources:

Find Kendall on Facebook and Instagram

Listen to her podcast, Kitchen Meditations

Learn more about the Edible Theology Project

Follow Edible Theology on Instagram

Buy By Bread Alone

What do you do after you win the College World Series?

If you’re Mike Bianco, head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels baseball team, you let your routine guide you. You go to work every day. You have the hard conversations. You give praise when it’s due and constructive criticism when it’s needed. And you absolutely love what you do.

Coach Bianco is now in his twenty-third year as head coach at the University of Mississippi. He is the winningest coach in the Rebels’ history with four SEC Western Division Championships, the 2006 SEC Baseball Tournament, the 2018 SEC Baseball Tournament, the 2009 Southeastern Conference Co-Championship, eight NCAA regional championships, and one national championship in 2022. Coach Bianco gives credit to consistency and communication in building such a strong college baseball program. 

He and his wife Cami are strong community leaders in Oxford, Mississippi, faithful members of St. John Catholic Church, and the parents of five children. 

Resources:

Follow Coach Bianco on Twitter and Instagram

Follow Ole Miss Baseball on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Learn more about Coach Bianco’s career here

Dr. Ethel Young Scurlock is a leader in two different spheres: education and religion. She is Dean of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, Associate Professor of English and African American Studies, and Senior Fellow of the Luckyday Residential College. Dr. Scurlock is also the pastor of two small Baptist churches in Mississippi, First United Missionary Baptist Church and Alvis Grove Missionary Baptist Church. She is an award-winning teacher and the author of Trusting God in Crisis, Chaos, and Confusion. 

These two vocations give Dr. Scurlock a perspective of leadership that she shares with us. Her energy and passion for her students and her congregants is clear, as is her determination to empower future generations and leave the world a better place that she found it.

Resources:

Watch Dr. Scurlock’s speech at the 60th Anniversary of the Integration of the University of Mississippi (at 56 minutes) here. 

Buy Trusting God in Crisis, Chaos, and Confusion here.

Learn more about Dr. Scurlock here, and learn more about the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College here.

In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Jason Vickers, professor of theology at Asbury Seminary. Jason is an ordained elder in full connection on the Western NC Conference of the United Methodist Church, past president of the Wesleyan Theological Society, and current editor of the Wesleyan Theological Journal.

He also has first-hand experience with the ongoing revival at Asbury University, which sits across the street from his office at Asbury Seminary. This revival started with a few students who stayed after chapel one day. These students stayed, prayed, and sang, and as they did, more and more people showed up to stay, pray, and sing with them. People from around the United States and the world showed up to the small town of Wilmore, Kentucky, hoping to experience the presence of the Holy Spirit that lead these students to stay, pray, and sing.

What happened in Hughes Auditorium at Asbury University wasn’t planned. It wasn’t packaged. It didn’t have a celebrity at the center. It was an organic movement that required the leaders of the school and the town to work quickly and together to provide for the thousands of people who showed up, looking to be part of this moment of revival. 

What does revival look like for you? What places in your life need renewal, the rekindling of your love of God and neighbor?

Resources:

Follow Jason on the Internet at jasonvickers.org.

Find Jason’s books here.

Follow Jason on Twitter and Facebook.

Listen to his previous episode on The Weight.

Kari Kampakis is an author, speaker, podcaster, and newspaper columnist from Birmingham, Alabama. She writes for teen girls and moms, and her books include 10 Ultimate Truths Girls Should Know, Liked, Love Her Well, and More than a Mom.

Kari offers advice to teens and parents, but more importantly she offers compassion and understanding. Parenting is hard at any stage, even if the struggles from family to family are different. As a mom of four girls, Kari has learned that parenting moves from a place of control to a place of influence. That transition can be hard without faith and without a strong support system. 

We live in a culture of child-centered parenting, which is why it’s important for parents and children that parents have a healthy adult life--passions, interests, and friends. For Kari and her husband, finding an identity in Christ and having hobbies and interests outside of parenting are vital to the overall health of their family.

Resources:

Website

Instagram

Facebook

Girl Mom Podcast

Kari’s Books:

10 Ultimate Truths Girls Should Know 

Liked: Whose Approval Are You Living For

Love Her Well 

More Than a Mom

Ryan Burge’s Twitter bio says that he makes graphs about religion, but what Ryan does is so much more than making graphs. As a social scientist, Ryan studies the macro-level forces that are shaping churches across the nation--mostly in mainline Protestant denominations. The data that Ryan studies doesn’t show a surge of people coming back to mainline religious institutions, so what does that mean for churches? In Ryan’s view, it gives churches an opportunity to get back into local communities, lean into the diversity of the world around us, and do what the Church used to do well: build bridges to people who are different from us.

Ryan is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and the Graduate Coordinator at Eastern Illinois University. He is the author of The Nones and 20 Myths. The second of edition of The Nones comes out in May 2023. He is also the pastor of an American Baptist Church and has served at his current church for the past 15 years.

Resources:

Ryan’s website (ryanburge.net)

Find Ryan on Twitter (@ryanburge)

Email Ryan: [email protected]

Ryan’s Books:

The Nones

20 Myths

This week, Chris and Eddie have an important conversation about leadership with Tod Bolsinger, senior congregational strategist and associate professor of leadership formation at Fuller Theological Seminary and author of Canoeing the Mountains, a book about adaptive leadership. 

Tod wants to help leaders--church leaders, community leaders, business leaders--understand how to lead in a world that is constantly changing. For a long time, leadership has been seen as solving technical problems with technical solutions. And while that aspect of leadership is incredibly important, especially in building trust, today’s world is vastly different from the world of 20 years ago. Today, the answer to the question, “Now what do we do?” is often, “I don’t know.” Today, leadership looks more like learning and less like exerting authority because of technical expertise.

So how do we lead change in the changing world? There is no simple answer to this complex question, but Tod has a few ideas and a lot of hope for current and future leaders, where we embrace what we don’t know and learn to lead the learning.

Resources: 

Find books by Tod, including Canoeing the Mountains, on IVPress

Learn more about AE Sloan Leadership

It’s hard to believe that we’re wrapping up three seasons of The Weight, but here we are! Eddie and Chris are joined by producer Cody Hickman to talk about some of the highlight episodes for each of them this year--including conversations with Mac McAnally, Alice Matagora, and Austin Carty. This season, we’ve listened to conversations about music, mental health, parenting, faith, and history. We’ve heard a hopeful word about the future of the Church, and we’ve been given moments for reflection and contemplation.

So thank you--to every guest on the podcast, to every listener, to everyone who has reached out to Chris or Eddie with thoughts and ideas. We could not have these conversations without you, and we can’t wait do it again next season!  

Mississippi’s history with slavery, segregation, and racism has deep roots, and has caused--and continues to cause--immense turmoil and violence. We like to think we’ve moved past it, but we haven’t. There is still work to do, and we can begin that work by looking to the leaders of the past, and take to heart what Jesus has tried, over and over again, to teach us.

Today’s guest helps us grapple with that history, and shares the story of a group of Methodist ministers who took a stand against racism and segregation in the 1960s. Joe Reiff, retired professor of religion at Emory & Henry College and ordained United Methodist minister, is the author of Born of Conviction: White Methodists and Mississippi’s Closed Society. This book tells the story of 28 white Methodist pastors who wrote a letter in response to white resistance to the civil rights movement in Mississippi. Their action against racism in the Mississippi Methodist church held consequences for them, as well as for white and Black Methodists in the state. 

The signers of Born of Conviction were:

Jerry Furr
Maxie D. Dunnam
Jim L. Waits
O. Gerald Trigg
James B. Nicholson
Buford A. Dickinson
James S. Conner
J. W. Holston
James P. Rush
Edward W. McRae
Joseph C. Way
Wallace E. Roberts
Summer Walters
Bill Lampton
Marvin Moody
Keith Tonkel
John Ed Thomas
Inman Moore, Jr.
Denson Napier
Rod Entrekin
Harold Ryker
N. A. Dickson
Ned Kellar
Powell Hall
Elton Brown
Bufkin Oliver
Jack Troutman
Wilton Carter

The full Born of Conviction statement can be found here.

Buy a copy of Born of Conviction: White Methodists and Mississippi’s Closed Society here.

Follow Joe on Facebook.

How do churches adapt to the world we’re in today? How do institutions with inherited traditions of membership and specific roles to play in a community change to actually fit their current context? Today’s guest, Lisa Greenwood, has a few ideas. Even if you’re not a pastor, this episode provides some thoughtful ways to engage the people around you and to help you better serve your community.

Lisa is an ordained elder in the North Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church. She currently serves as Vice President of Leadership Ministry at Texas Methodist Foundation and Wesleyan Investive. She is also the Executive Director of the National Association of United Methodist Foundations. These organizations offer financial services--loans, investments, endowments, donor advised funds, and grants--while also working with leaders across the country to help churches live out their mission and calling in their local communities.

Resources:

Texas Methodist Foundation

Wesleyan Investive

Suggestions from Lisa:

Gil Rendle, “Jacob’s Bones”

Kate Bowler’s podcast, “Everything Happens”

Anne Snyder’s “Comment”

Our world is increasingly polarized, and public discourse often leads to anger. The Church used to be at the center of these conversations, but Scott Black Johnston sees the church as becoming more decentered: stepping to the side, offering critique--or praise--and adding to the conversation. He talks about the current pervasiveness of anger with gentleness and grace, and challenges everyone to take a step towards temperance--being calm and encouraging, listening, and valuing each other.

Scott is the senior pastor at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. He is an author of several books. His most recent book is Elusive Grace: Loving Your Enemies while Striving for God’s Justice. 

Resources:

Scott Black Johnston’s website

Elusive Grace

Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church on YouTube

Mickenzie Vought is the Editorial and Community Director at Onsite Workshops in Cumberland Furnace, Tennessee. Onsite is an emotional wellness company that focuses on enhanced emotional health through retreats, intensives, residential trauma care, and digital resources. 

In her role at Onsite, Mickenzie is the producer and cohost of the Living Centered podcast and is the host of Onsite’s emotional wellness webinars. Although she is not a therapist, she is an advocate for mental health and dealing with and working through trauma, because trauma is something everyone experiences, and it affects us mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically.

In this episode, Mickenzie offers practical advice as well as websites, books, authors, and podcasts for starting--or continuing--your mental health journey:

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris’s ACEs TED Talk

Warmlines

To Write Love On Her Arms

Onsite Workshop’s For Immediate Support Page

Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Dr. Julie Smith

Living Centered podcast on Spotify and Apple

You can learn more about Onsite and the work they do for emotional wellbeing here.

Follow Mickenzie on Instagram

Shownotes:

Parenting is hard. Parenting through a pandemic is even harder, but David Thomas and Sissy Goff are here to provide help and support. Sissy and David work at Daystar Counseling Ministries in Nashville, Tennessee. Sissy is the Director of Child and Adolescent Counseling and David is the Director of Family Counseling. When they aren’t counseling and ministering to kids and parents alike, they find time to write, travel and speak, and produce their own podcast, Raising Boys and Girls.

In this episode, David and Sissy offer encouragement, resources, and hope to parents dealing with all the challenges and joys of raising boys and girls, including how to write your family’s own mission statement and books and authors who have guided them in their counseling ministries.

If you are in or near Oxford and would like to hear Sissy and David speak, register for the Parent Conference, November 4-5, at Oxford University United Methodist Church. The conference is $35.

Resources:

Raising Boys and Girls

Instagram

Facebook

Podcast

Books by David Thomas and Sissy Goff are available for purchase at https://www.raisingboysandgirls.com/store.

Resources mentioned in the episode:

How Children Raise Parents by Dan Allender

The Whole-Brain Child by Tina Payne Bryson & Dan Siegel

Best Friends, Worst Enemies by Michael Thompson

Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Lives of Boys by Dan Klindon & Michael Thompson

Birds & Bees

Shownotes:

Eddie and Chris join music legend Mac McAnally in a delightful conversation about music, making your mark, and leaving the world a better place than you found it. Mac is a native of Belmont, Mississippi, but he’s better known as a country music singer, songwriter, session musician, and record producer. He is an award-winning talent who has worked with country stars Kenny Chesney and Sawyer Brown, and he is a long-time member of Jimmy Buffett’s band, The Coral Reefers.

Mac’s career started at just 13 years old, when his parents allowed him to play piano in a honky tonk bar in Iron City, Tennessee. He left high school in the 11th grade to pursue his music career (which, even though it worked out for him down the line, he wouldn’t encourage anyone else to do). He sees his role in the music industry as being “Johnny Musicseed,” carrying the responsibility of helping up-and-coming artists realize their dreams.

Resources:

Find Mac online and on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, and Spotify

Find his latest album, “Once in a Lifetime,” here.

Today’s episode covers some heavy topics--suicide, depression, mental health and physical health issues--with hope. Our guest, Jacob Armstrong, is the author of Breaking Open: How Your Pain Becomes the Path to Living Again. As a pastor and a person, Jacob has firsthand experience not only with his own pain and suffering, but those of the people around him--his family, his friends, and his congregation. All these experiences led Jacob to the idea of breaking open, not just breaking down or breaking in, but allowing real Christian hope and God’s joy and delight to find you in those dark places.

Jacob and his wife Racel helped found Providence Church in Mt. Juliet, TN, in 2008. He is an author and a pastor. He and Rachel have three daughters, Mary, Lydia, and Phoebe.

Resources:

Find Jacob online and on social media:
Website: http://www.jacob-armstrong.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/provpastor

Breaking Open

Website: www.breakingopenbook.com
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0785258329?tag=hcads-20

Eddie and Chris are joined by a previous guest on The Weight, Kevin Watson, for a discussion about Christian perfection, or the Wesleyan doctrine of entire sanctification--that Christians can live without sin. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, believed that the grace of God is available to all who hear the gospel, repent, and believe. The Christian life of faith means opening yourself to being fully holy through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.

In Kevin Watson’s book, Perfect Love: Recovering Entire Sanctification—the Lost Power of the Methodist Movement, he offers an in-depth explanation of entire sanctification and helps Christians pursue a life of thriving in the love of Christ.

Kevin is Associate Pastor at First Methodist Church of Waco, Texas. He is also an Affiliate Research Professor at Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary. He is an author, teacher, and speaker, and previously served Associate Professor of Wesley and Methodist Studies at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology.

Resources:
Buy books by Kevin on  Amazon

Find Kevin on social media:

Twitter
Website

How do we as Christians have hope in a world that is more secular than ever? With decreasing church attendance, fracturing denominations, and new scandals coming out all the time, what does the future of the Church look like? Today’s guest on The Weight, Dr. Cornelius Plantinga, shares some good news with Eddie and Chris--hopeful, bright news that God isn’t done moving and shaping the world.

Dr. Plantinga is a Senior Research Fellow at the Calving Institute of Christian Worship and the president emeritus of Calvin Theological Seminary. He is an author, a speaker, and a preacher, and his 50-year career has given him a thoughtful, hopeful perspective: while we live in a broken, hurting world, there is a rich history of the church doing good amidst that brokenness, and this period of decline is not the last word.

Resources:
Find books authored by Dr. Plantinga on Amazon

Shownotes:

How do we save the world?

That’s a big question with a thousand answers, but today’s guest on The Weight has a simple solution: make disciples like Jesus did.

Alice Matagora has worked with The Navigators, a Christian disciple-making ministry, for nearly 20 years and is currently leading a Leader Development Initiative to develop leaders all over the world. She is also a licensed marriage and family therapist.

She is the author of How to Save the World: Disciplemaking Made Simple” and for her, disciple making boils down to building relationships and allowing ourselves to be broken, vulnerable humans who relate to other broken, vulnerable humans with the power of the Holy Spirit. God wants to use us, so it’s time to let him do the work.

Resources:

Learn more about Alice Matagora on her website, www.alicematagora.com

Learn more about The Navigators here.

Follow Alice on Facebook and Instagram, 

Buy How to Save the World here.

Shownotes:

We often look at books as a way into getting more information, but today’s guest, Rev. Austin Carty, looks at reading as a way of deeper formation. To him, reading--especially fiction--is a way to deepen our well of empathy, of relating to one another with kindness and charity. Even if we don’t realize that what we’re reading is impacting our lives, Austin believes that it is. For those of us who aren’t readers, Austin simply asks that we treat it like any hobby. Carve out dedicated time--30 minutes to an hour--each day and trust that what you’re reading is having a positive impact on the formation of that well of wisdom.

Austin Carty is the Pastor of Boulevard Baptist Church in Anderson, South Carolina. He is a former high school English teacher and earned degrees from High Point University and Wake Forest University.

Resources:

Follow Austin on Twitter and Facebook

Purchase his book “The Pastor’s Bookshelf” here.

Show Notes:

In this episode, Eddie and Chris are joined by previous guest Jeff Bilbro in a continuing conversation about reading and contemplation. Jeff is an author and essayist whose most recent book, Reading the Times: A Literary and Theological Inquiry into the News, is about how we consume the news--and how sometimes we let the news consume us. Jeff challenges us to think about how we spend our time and attention and to think about how we can have a healthier reading diet. Just like athletes and musicians practice their skills, reading, praying, and contemplation require practice, too--and they are activities we can improve upon or allow to atrophy.

Jeff is an editor at Front Porch Republic and an Associate Professor of English at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. If you want to hear more from Jeff, check out his first episode on The Weight, Wendell Berry and Local Place.

Resources:

Follow Jeff Bilbro on the web:  https://jeffbilbro.com

Check out all of Jeff Bilbro’s books:  https://jeffbilbro.com/books/

Follow Jeff Bilbro on social media:  https://twitter.com/jeff_bilbro

Continuing our series reading and contemplation, Chris and Eddie are joined by Marilyn McEntyre, teacher, author, and lover of words. They primarily discuss two of Marilyn’s books, Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies and Speaking Peace in a Climate of Conflict. Throughout this episode, you’ll hear how much love and care Marilyn has for words, for language, and for the lost art of conversation. She gives practical ways to shift the tone of conversation, taking it from accusatory to something open-ended and compassionate. 

Marilyn considers herself to be a writer who teaches after being a teacher who writes. Although she no longer is a full-time teacher, she continues to teach and speak and offer writing workshops throughout the year. She is the author of 18 books, including Make a List and When Poets Pray. She remains interested in the intersection of language, spirituality, and healing, and her writing reflects that.

Resources:

Find Marilyn on Twitter  and Facebook.

Learn more about Marilyn at https://www.marilynmcentyre.com

Find out more about her books at https://www.marilynmcentyre.com/books

Chris and Eddie are joined again by Reverend Dr. Will Willimon, Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry at Duke Divinity School and former Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church. This time around, Rev. Willimon is here to talk about preaching--but not as a preacher. In his most recent book, Listeners Dare: Hearing God in the Sermon, Rev. Willimon helps listeners get more out of a sermon (and helps preachers listen to their listeners) because “to be a Christian is to be a listener of God.”

With five decades of preaching and teaching experience, Rev. Willimon has great respect for the listeners of God’s Word. Listening to sermons is one of the main ways that God reaches God’s people, so how do you listen well? How do you open yourself to a sermon that might not be about you or for you and come away with a change in your perspective? And how do preachers step aside and let the conversation happen between God and God’s people freely? Rev. Willimon has a few ideas.

Resources:

Follow Will Willimon on the web:

https://willwillimon.com 

Listeners Dare: Hearing God in the Sermon

Check out Will Willimon’s other books and publications here:

https://willwillimon.com/writing/ 

Follow Will Willimon on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/WillWillimon

https://twitter.com/willimontweets

Are you struggling with church? Do you have doubts and questions, but you aren’t sure where to go to talk them through? Do you have friends or family members who have been hurt by the church, or who have wandered away from the church, or, maybe, who have never been in church?

In this episode, Chris and Eddie are joined by Rev. Dr. Sam Wells, priest in the Church of England and vicar of St. Martin-in-the-Fields in central London since 2012. He served as the Dean of Duke Chapel and  is the author of 35 books about Christian ethics, mission, ministry, scripture, liturgy, and preaching. Today’s conversation is about his book, Humbler Faith, Bigger God: Finding a Story to Live By. This book came out of Rev. Wells 2020 Easter sermon, which he preached in an empty garden during London’s first COVID-19 lockdown. Humbler Faith, Bigger God is written for those who seek, those who have lapsed, those of other faiths, and those who are hostile to Christianity.

As a preacher, Rev. Wells says that people tend to respond positively to his preaching because he doesn’t skirt around the issues of the day. He doesn’t hide Christianity’s often difficult past, and he isn’t afraid to have the hard conversations with believers, doubters, and nonbelievers, because he believes it’s all about trust. “We can trust God, and because we can trust God, we can trust ourselves and one another.”

Resources:

Buy Humbler Faith, Bigger God on Amazon

We are excited to welcome Barbara Brown Taylor to The Weight for a conversation about hospitality and being in the center and being at the edge of a religion--how is it different when you’re the outsider versus when you’re on the inside? How do you let people who believe in something completely different strengthen your own faith? Barbara leaned into these lessons when she taught a Religion 101 class at Piedmont College, now Piedmont University, in Georgia. She got to watch the real love and hospitality of Buddhist monks and Muslim Imams who “welcomed a bunch of awkward strangers, and fed us, and showed us where to sit and gave us places of honor and thanked us for coming.” And in return, she was able to deepen her own faith and extend hospitality and love to the others in her own life. She used her experiences teaching that course to write Holy Envy, which was published in 2019.

Barbara Brown Taylor is an Episcopal priest, teacher, and the best-selling. She has served on the faculties of Piedmont College, Emory University, Mercer University, Columbia Seminary, Oblate School of Theology, and the Certificate in Theological Studies program at Arrendale State Prison for Women in Alto, Georgia. 

Resources:

Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others

Find Barbara Brown Taylor on the Web:

https://barbarabrowntaylor.com 

Follow her on Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorBarbaraBrownTaylor/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/71455.Barbara_Brown_Taylor 

Shownotes:

God is not afraid of our exhaustion, grief, and pain. Honest prayers of lament draw us into deeper connection with God and help us cultivate a greater awareness of our needs. As a culture, however, we have withdrawn into numbing habits of distraction. Even the Church often serves as a place of escape rather than a comfortable place to bring our burdens. Where does God meet us in the empty space of deep sorrow and pain? How can we give ourselves more permission to grieve in our personal prayers?

In this episode, Chris and Eddie are joined by Tish Harrison Warren, author of Prayer in the Night. When Warren found herself at a place filled with too many questions to bear, she began to write about the empty space of night and how we can present the weariness of our souls to God. Warren discusses prayer as communion with the presence of God, a practice that shapes who we are, how we believe, and our vision of the world. We hope this episode moves you toward peace and comfort as Warren illustrates ways to draw near to God in the midst of uncertainty and fear.


Resources:

Follow Tish Warren on the web:

https://tishharrisonwarren.com 

Check out Tish Warren’s book “Prayer in the Night” here:

https://tishharrisonwarren.com/prayer-in-the-night 

Follow Tish Warren on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/TishHarrisonWarrenAuthor 

https://www.instagram.com/tishharrisonwarren/ 

https://twitter.com/Tish_H_Warren 

Shownotes:

According to a Gallup poll released in March of 2021, less than half of Americans belong to a church, mosque, or synagogue. The politicization of evangelical Christianity has resulted in utter disillusionment, specifically among young Christians who were once eagerly committed to the ideals of the faith. Christians and non-Christians alike are longing for truth and openness in conversation within the church, as well as a sense of connection rooted in hope, grace, and love.

In this episode, Chris and Eddie are joined by Dr. Russell Moore, the President of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. Moore’s recent article “Losing Our Religion” addresses the ways many churches do not seem to believe what they teach and the reasons many have chosen to disaffiliate from the church. Moore speaks of the ways in which he was disillusioned as a fifteen year old by Bible Belt Christianity, his journey back through fear to a genuine faith, and his courage to stand for mercy and justice in the public square. Throughout this conversation and in his work, Moore poses a hopeful vision for the future of the church rooted in the promises of Jesus rather than cultural agendas.

Resources:

Follow Russell Moore on the web:

https://www.russellmoore.com 

Read Russell Moore’s article “Losing Our Religion” here

Check out Russell Moore’s books here:

https://www.russellmoore.com/books/ 

Follow Russell Moore on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/russellmoore 

https://twitter.com/drmoore 

https://www.instagram.com/russellmoore/ 

Shownotes:

Among 19-20 year olds, only 1% do not have social media accounts. This statistic emphasizes the ever-growing presence that social media and technology have in our day-to-day lives. While this comes with its advantages, it’s also important to consider the dangers of such constant connection and how to create wise boundaries that help us live a “tech-wise” life. How can controlled usage of social media help protect us from its negative effects?

Amy Crouch is a student at Cornell University and, with her father Andy Crouch, co-author of “My Tech Wise Life: Growing Up and Making Choices in a World of Devices.” She joins Chris and Eddie to discuss what boundaries and understandings regarding technology are necessary to harness its advantages while mitigating its negative effects. Crouch bases her message around the understanding that technology is not a bad thing, but something that must be seen as a tool rather than a foundation of life. What does that look like practically? Tune in to the conversation to find out!

Series Info:

Social media has changed the way messages are shared throughout the world with a rapidity that is unparalleled. Its effects on culture, for better and for worse, are undeniable and seemingly inescapable. It’s impossible to grasp in totality what the increasing role of social media will mean for our society, but one thing is for sure: the Church needs to talk about it. 

In our new series “Social Media Culture,” Chris and Eddie will engage in conversations about how Christians can establish healthier habits with technology and cultivate a more faithful manner of engagement on social media. It’s important for the Church to consider the advantages of this cultural shift, such as innovative outreach and the uplifting of important voices and messages, while also guarding against the threats, such as constant comparison, misinformation, and dissociation from the surrounding world. Be a part of this conversation beginning on June 3rd!

Resources:

Order a copy of “My Tech Wise Life” by Amy Crouch and Andy Crouch here.

Follow Amy Crouch on social media:

instagram.com/amy.crou/

Shownotes:

Chris is joined by contemporary artist Makoto Fujimura, author of Art + Faith: A Theology of Making. His book explores the role of creativity in the spiritual life, and it draws upon quiet disciplines such as awareness and waiting. The meditative space that Fujimura creates for prayer and praise breaks open new avenues to seek the never-ending depths of God’s beauty and grace. Sophisticated and intellectual, Fujimura’s art has been praised as a vehicle for hope, healing, redemption, and refuge.

Fujimura explains how the power, mystery, and depth of art drive us to ask deeper questions. He introduces his spiritual discipline of “slow art,” speaks to the nuances of tradition, and ponders the ways art can liberate us in our cultural context. Fujimura gives us space to identify where we meet Jesus in both making and consuming. This conversation speaks to the healing gift of art as culture care, rather than a commodity.

Series Info:

Christians spend a lot of time talking about what is true or exploring goodness, but we do not spend as much time exploring beauty, aesthetics, and the arts. In a world full of content curated to our specific taste, we need more time and space to fill our souls with the kind of art that breaks open our curiosity and makes us come alive. Where does God meet us in the beauty of our imagination? How does art and culture shape our desires and longings?

In this series “Art and Culture,” we’ll talk about imagination, memory, culture making, and memoir writing. We will have three guests guide us through the relationship between art, faith, life, story, trauma, healing, place, and nature. We pray that these conversations allow breathing room for deeper introspection, greater awareness of the natural world, and space to explore the depths of the imagination.

Resources:

Follow Makoto Fujimura on the web:

https://makotofujimura.com 

Check out Makoto Fujimura’s book Art and Faith: A Theology of Making here:

https://culturecarecreative.com 

Learn more about Makoto Fujimura’s art here:

https://www.waterfall-gallery.com/makoto-fujimura 

Read Makoto Fujimura’s biography here:

https://imagejournal.org/artist/makoto-fujimura/ 

Follow Mako on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/makotofujimuraart 

www.instagram.com/iamfujimura 

https://twitter.com/iamfujimura

Shownotes:

Abortion is a multi-faceted, multi-layered issue that the church often fails to engage with the depth and compassion it requires. Regardless of one’s position on this issue, the stories of those who have struggled with this impossible decision have been discounted in the midst of political fervor. Poverty forces many vulnerable, marginalized women to grapple with the decision to have an abortion, yet this factor is often overlooked. How do we make space for grace, respect, and empathy in such a nuanced conversation?

Author, speaker, and podcast host Ashley Abercrombie has a strong passion for justice ignited by family members who taught her that faith extends further than a Sunday and helped her practice the ministry of presence. Ashley has pastored for many years, has served as a prison chaplain, and has participated in anti-human trafficking work. For 10 years, she has walked alongside vulnerable women leading abortion recovery groups, and she is familiar with what this issue looks like on both a policy level and a personal level. 

She joins Eddie and Chris to discuss what it means to be pro-life for the whole life, the shame and stigma associated with the impossible decision to have an abortion and the healing process that follows, the role of the evangelical church in perpetuating a harmful discourse around this issue, and the way our convictions can motivate our compassion in a broken world. Ashley encourages us to mind our words and have a faithful witness when it comes to such a divisive topic, and she challenges us to broaden our perspective with empathy to the most vulnerable members of our communities.

Resources:

Follow Ashley Abercrombie on the web: 

https://www.ashabercrombie.org 

Order Ashley’s book Rise of the Truth Teller here

Check out Ashley’s podcast “Why Tho” here:

https://www.ashabercrombie.org/podcast 

Learn more about the history of the evangelical church:

https://www.npr.org/transcripts/731664197  

Follow Ashley on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/ashleyabercrombienyc 

https://www.instagram.com/ashabercrombie/ 

https://twitter.com/ashabercrombie

Shownotes:

When we’re struck by unexpected suffering, we ask question after question attempting to find meaning in the midst of our pain. We wonder why this diagnosis, disaster, or death had to happen to us or someone we love. We wonder if God is really good. We wonder if it’s possible to live within our reality and still have hope, joy, and peace. Though these questions are important, our human nature lends itself toward the comfort of ignorance and flimsy optimism. What are the cultural scripts that dictate our understanding of pain and suffering?  How can we come alongside one another through both the highs and lows? 

Chris and Eddie are joined by Kate Bowler, author of No Cure for Being Human, professor at Duke Divinity School and host of the podcast, Everything Happens. After receiving an unexpected cancer diagnosis at the age of 35, Kate began to observe that the world does not offer a safe space for people in pain. Her move from crisis to chronic has led her to asking deeper questions about faith, God, and human suffering. She talks to Eddie and Chris about the gift of presence, the absurdity of life, a robustly Christian account of time, and the many ways we try to make meaning out of everything.

Resources:

Follow Kate Bowler on the web:

https://katebowler.com 

Order No Cure for Being Human here:

https://katebowler.com/no-cure-for-being-human/ 

Order Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved here:

https://katebowler.com/everything-happens-for-a-reason-2/ 

Listen to Kate Bowler’s podcast Everything Happens here:

https://katebowler.com/podcasts/ 

Follow Kate Bowler on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/katecbowler 

https://www.instagram.com/katecbowler/ 

https://twitter.com/katecbowler

Kate Bowler on YouTube

Kate Bowler on Goodreads

Chris and Eddie are joined by Aimee Nezhukumatahil, author of Barnes and Noble’s 2020 Book of the Year, World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments. Whimsical and introspective, this book inspires the reader to look to the natural world for guidance, curiosity, and delight. Aimee’s work has been integrated into high school, college, and university curriculum as part of contemporary poetry, environmental studies, women’s studies, and Asian-American literature classes. Currently, Aimee teaches environmental literature and poetry writing in the MFA program of the University of Mississippi.

Aimee discusses the gift of attention as the highest form of prayer, her perception of wealth and privilege in relation to her upbringing, and what the diverse, multifaceted nature of creation says about each of us. She challenges listeners to carve out time for stillness and careful attention in order to recognize the beauty in everything. This conversation reveals the precious mysteries of God’s nature and the ways our love for God constantly prompts a response of awe and wonder.


Check out Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s book World of Wonders here:

https://aimeenez.net 

Follow Aimee on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/AimeeNezhukumatathil 

https://twitter.com/aimeenez

https://www.instagram.com/aimee_nezhukumatathil/ 

Shownotes:

When it comes to racial reconciliation, the church is quick to educate its congregants about the power of forgiveness. Pastors often jump to the solution without acknowledging the full extent of the problem. What do we do when we’re enraged by the things we’ve seen or experienced? How do we make a conscious, faithful choice to practice Christianity even when it seems harder than we can bear?

In his new book, Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope, Dr. Esau McCaulley aims not to answer questions the church is asking, but to answer questions that Black Christians are asking. A New Testament scholar, Anglican Priest, and theologian, McCaulley understands that the way we interpret the Bible often depends on our communities and context. He invites listeners to take an unfiltered look into the Black experience and to ponder how all of us can interpret the Bible as an exercise in hope.

He joins Eddie and Chris to discuss how Christians can have open dialogue about riots and protests, and how white Christians can interpret the truth behind the phrase “Black Lives Matter.” They talk about specific passages in the Bible that point to the grief and rage Black Americans feel and where the cross of Christ fits into the scope of human emotion.


Resources:

You can order Esau’s book “Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope” here

Learn more about Esau’s podcast “The Disrupters” here: https://esaumccaulley.com/the-disrupters-podcast/  

Read Esau’s articles in The New York Times here: https://www.nytimes.com/by/esau-mccaulley 

Follow Esau on the web: https://esaumccaulley.com 

Follow Esau on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/OfficialEsauMcCaulley 

https://www.instagram.com/esaumccaulley/ 

https://twitter.com/esaumccaulley 

Shownotes:

Christians spend a lot of time talking about what is true or exploring goodness, but we do not spend as much time exploring beauty, aesthetics, and the arts. In a world full of content curated to our specific taste, we need more time and space to fill our souls with the kind of art that breaks open our curiosity and makes us come alive. Where does God meet us in the beauty of our imagination? How does art and culture shape our desires and longings?

In this episode, Chris and Eddie are joined by James K.A. Smith, Professor of Philosophy at Calvin University and Editor-in-Chief of Image Journal. Smith aspires to bridge the gap between the academy, society, and church, and he discusses the art of culture-making as it relates to the Christian faith. Smith recognizes the tension between the view of culture as the result of a broken world and God’s vision for culture as creational good, and he calls us to recognize that we all take part in framing culture.

Smith believes that what we make of the world is much more of a reflection of what we want for the world than how we think about the world. He invites us to create habits of putting ourselves in the way of things we don’t understand and making ourselves available to be encountered. By expanding our imagination, we give our souls space to carefully consider the stories we carry in our bones and the ways that those stories frame our culture.

Resources:

Follow James K.A. Smith on the web:

https://jameskasmith.com 

Check out James K.A. Smith’s books here:

https://jameskasmith.com/books/ 

Read James K.A. Smith’s article Healing the Imagination: Art Lessons from James Baldwin

Follow James K.A. Smith on social media:

https://twitter.com/james_ka_smith 

https://www.facebook.com/jameskasmith

Once again, Eddie and Chris are joined by Cal Turner Jr, the former chairman and CEO of Dollar General, a chain of stores founded by his father Cal Turner Sr. 

Cal earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Vanderbilt University in 1962 then joined the Dollar General corporation in 1965. His first job was sweeping the warehouse floor, but he worked his way up to being president in 1977 and then chairman in 1988. He served as chairman and CEO until 2003.

Cal’s faith led him through several very difficult moments with his family and their growing business, especially 1988 when he had to fire his brother as Chief Operating Officer, his mother passed away unexpectedly, and then he had to force his father to retire from the Board. But through it all, the love of God guided him and held him strong, so that when he retired in 2003, his successors could be even more successful than he had, and allowed him to focus more on philanthropy and giving back to the families that built his family’s fortune.

Show Notes:

In part one of a two-part conversation, Eddie and Chris are joined by Cal Turner Jr. Cal was the chairman and CEO of Dollar General, a chain of stores founded by his father Cal Turner Sr. 

Cal earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Vanderbilt University in 1962 then joined the Dollar General corporation in 1965. His first job was sweeping the warehouse floor, but he worked his way up to being president in 1977 and then chairman in 1988. He served as chairman and CEO until 2003.

Cal’s faith and deep connection to his family grounded him throughout his life. When he was 11 years old, he experienced a moment of spiritual clarity that has guided him since. In this episode, Cal, Eddie, and Chris talk about his faith, his family, and touch briefly on his leadership style, which boils down to being a follower of Christ and a follower of the employees and customers that were his to lead.

Join us next week for part two, where we discuss business and philanthropy with Cal.

Dr. Brett McCarty joins Chris (no Eddie this week)  in a conversation about the intersection of faith and healthcare, specifically as it relates to the opioid crisis in the US. Dr. McCarty is a theological ethicist from Duke University, where he is the associate director of the Theology, Medicine, and Culture Initiative at Duke Divinity School. He has written essays in  The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, the Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics, and the compilation Spirituality and Religion within the Practice of Medicine. Dr. McCarty’s research has centered greatly on the recovery communities of Appalachia and how these communities create space for truth telling, healing, and the transformative power of walking with someone through a journey of recovery.

Show Notes:

In this episode, Eddie and Chris are joined by Melissa Maher, Lead Pastor at Mercy Street in Houston, Texas. Mercy Street is a sister church to Chapelwood United Methodist Church in Houston and began out of a ministry of love. Mercy Street seeks to create a safe harbor of hope and transformation so all may experience the radical grace of God. Put more simply (and boldly at mercystreet.org): Hope. Everyone needs some.

The ministry of Mercy Street is to reach folks who are in recovery from almost anything in life--whether that’s an addiction, a bad marriage, financial difficulties, or wounds from a different religious setting. As Melissa says in the podcast, everyone is in recovery from something, and the doors of Mercy Street are wide.

Melissa’s journey into ministry began by way of a degree in finance from Louisiana Tech. She then went on to graduate from Asbury Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity and has been the lead pastor at Mercy Street for seven years. Melissa has a lot to say about the work of recovery and how churches, church members, and pastors can come alongside those in that journey with humility and love, sharing in the grace of God that is extended to all.

Books:

Breathing Underwater by Father Richard Rohr

Addiction and Grace by Dr. Gerald May

Mercy Street:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

Today’s guest is Dr. Michael Battle, an Episcopal moral theologian whose work centers around the spirituality, life, and work of Archbishop Desomd Tutu of South Africa. Dr. Battle discusses his most recent work, Desmond Tutu: A Spiritual Biography of South Africa’s Confessor, and touches on how Archbishop Tutu saw forgiveness, reconciliation, and the work of the Holy Spirit in the world.

Dr. Battle is currently appointed as Herbert Thompson Professor of Church and Society and Director of the Desmond Tutu Center at General Theological Seminary in New York. He has an undergraduate degree from Duke University, received his master’s of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, a master’s of Sacred Theology from Yale University and a PhD in theology and ethics, also from Duke University. He was ordained a priest by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in 1993. He lived and worked with Archbishop Tutu for two years, where he saw the deep faith that guided the Archbishop’s life in every way.

Resources:

Learn more about Dr. Battle

Buy Desmond Tutu: A Spiritual Biography of South Africa’s Confessor

Find Dr. Battle on Facebook and Twitter

Shownotes:

In this Holy Week episode, Chris and Eddie are joined by Kavin Rowe, author of Christianity’s Surprise: A Sure and Certain Hope. After 20 years of scriptural immersion as the George Washington Ivey Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Duke Divinity School, Rowe began to discern the growing significance of Christianity’s groundbreaking impact when it first entered the world. His book evokes the lost sense of the explosive power at the heart of Christian story, detailing the new hope and fresh vision that brushes up against the familiarity of scripture. Christianity’s Surprise draws readers closer to an understanding of Christianity as a gift from God, a never-ending mystery filled with a robust, joyful sense of surprise.

Rowe discusses the missing sense of imagination in American Christianity, how God’s promises for the future reach into the present, the interconnectedness of humanity, and how Christian institutions have evolved over time. Rowe’s insight in this conversation offers encouragement to all who need hope and who are longing to rediscover the heart of Christianity. It ushers in a refreshing perspective on the life-giving power of hope.


Resources:

Check out Kavin Rowe’s book Christianity’s Surprise here:

https://www.abingdonpress.com/product/9781791008208/ 

Learn more about Kavin Rowe here:

https://divinity.duke.edu/faculty/c-kavin-rowe

Show Notes:

What does it take to imagine a world without war? How do we begin to believe that as a possibility? Eddie and Chris begin a series on war with guest Stanley Hauerwas, noted theologian and ethicist. Dr. Hauerwas asks us to contemplate the hard questions of war and nonviolence, but he knows the answers don’t come easily.

Dr. Hauerwas is a long-time professor at Duke Divinity School and Duke University School of Law. He served as chair of theological ethics at the University of Aberdeen and was named America’s best theologian by Time magazine in 2001. 

Dr. Hauerwas has authored numerous books, including Resident Aliens, co-authored by Will Willimon, Living Gently in a Violent World, and 2011’s War and the American Difference. 

Resources:

Find out more about Dr. Hauerwas, his publications, and appearances at stanleyhauerwas.org.

Buy War and the American Difference

Show Notes:

In the final episode of our series on consequences, Eddie and Chris welcome Susan Bradley and Bob Norman, two members of Oxford University United Methodist Church who have extensive experience in the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi--the opposite side from our previous guest, Merrill Nordstrom.

Susan grew up in Meridian, Mississippi, and received her undergraduate degree from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1993 and her law degree from the University of Mississippi in 1996.  Upon graduating from law school, she moved with her husband Patrick to Yuma, Arizona, where he was stationed with the United States Marine Corps. Susan worked as a Deputy County Attorney in Yuma, Arizona before joining the United States Attorney's Office in the District of Arizona in 1998. During her career as a prosecutor, she has worked in Yuma and Phoenix, Arizona and in the U.S. Attorneys' Office for the Southern District of Texas in Houston, Texas. In 2004, she and her family had the opportunity to return to Mississippi where she joined the US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Mississippi. She currently serves as the First Assistant United States Attorney and lives in Oxford, where she and Patrick are members of OUUMC. Susan and Patrick have two children: Connor who is a freshman in college and TK, who is a sophomore in high school.

Bob Norman grew up in Oxford and graduated from the University of Mississippi with a B.A. in philosophy. Eleven years in the Marine Corps and a law degree followed. After working in the offices of two district attorneys, Bob settled into the United States Attorney's Office in 1989, where he serves currently as Criminal Chief. Bob, Brenda and their two sons, Neal and Rob are members of O.U. Methodist Church. 

In today’s episode, Chris and Eddie continue the discussion of justice and mercy with Federal Public Defender Merrill Nordstrom. Merrill is a lifelong member of Oxford University United Methodist Church, the church Eddie and Chris currently serve. She graduated from the University of Mississippi Law School in 2002, and worked as a public defender for Lafayette County until 2019, when she joined the federal court system as a public defender.

Merrill’s faith informs how she approaches her job. By getting to know her clients and digging into their histories, their families, and their motivations, she sees each client as a whole person--not just a statistic. Merrill helps them see that their worst day isn’t their last day. Her faith gives her hope, and she extends that hope to her clients in a moment when they need an advocate the most.

The death penalty is a controversial topic, especially for Christians--people who see the reign of God as one of forgivenss, restorative justice, and mercy. How do we reconcile ending someone’s life with the all-encompassing grace and love of Jesus Christ? Today’s guest, Dr. Jenny McBride, talks us through those conflicting concepts.

Jenny is Associate Dean and Associate Professor at McCormick Theological Seminary. She was the Board of Regents Endowed Chair in Ethics at Wartburg College in Iowa and was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Initiative in Religious Practices and Practical Theology at Emory University, where she served as program director for the Atlanta Theological Association’s Certificate in Theological Studies at Metro State Prison for Women. 

Jenny’s deep friendship with Kelly Gissendaner, Georgia’s only female death-row inmate who was executed in September 2015, grew out of her experience as a professor in the certificate program. Jenny got to experience Kelly’s deep and growing faith and walked with Kelly through the final moments of her life, reminding her that “Jesus is going to be with you.” Jenny’s latest book, You Shall Not Condemn, tells Kelly’s story through her own friendship with Jenny and other religious leaders and advocates.

You Shall Not Condemn doesn’t have a release date yet, but as soon as it does, we’ll let you know on The Weight’s social media.

Eddie and Chris revisit the conversation on  social innovation with Greg Jones. Greg is the President of Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, and is an author, speaker, minister, and the former Dean of Duke Divinity School. The theme of his appointment at Belmont is “Let Hope Abound,” and he is using that theme to create an ecumenical, Christ-centered culture for the flourishing of all people, not only the students, staff, and faculty.

Greg is dreaming the God-sized dreams, and he has a few ideas on how to lead all of us onto that path. His most recent book, Navigating the Future: Traditioned Innovation for Wilder Seas (with co-author Andrew P. Hogue) outlines his perspective on traditioned innovation as “a habit of being and living that cultivates a certain kind of moral imagination shaped by storytelling and expressed in creative, transformational action.”

Resources:

Learn more about Greg here.

Buy Navigating the Future

Eddie and Chris continue the conversation around deconstruction with Sarah Heath. If the name sounds familiar, she was one of our very first guests, way back in Season 1.  Sarah is a United Methodist clergywoman who is going through her own season of deconstruction and trying to figure out how, exactly, to do that as a pastor--how to navigate the difficulty of being a person and a pastor who is going through a season of doubt, how to find networks of support, how to provide that support when it’s not readily available, and how to continue to see God’s grace in the small moments of life… in an airstream trailer.

Sarah is an ordained elder in the California Pacific Annual Conference. She is also an actress, an author, a dancer, a designer, a podcaster, and a creator. She has written several books, including 2019’s The 21-Day Authenticity Challenge. She is one of the founders of the Irreverent Media Group, a podcast media collective and co-hosts the REVcovery Room podcast with Justin Gentry, which is about leaving ministry, recovering from being a professional Christian, and finding meaning after a calling.

Resources:

Learn more about Sarah and her ministry at www.revsarahheath.com.

You can find her at:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revsarahheath/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/minirevsarahheath/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/revsarahheath

REVcovery Room Podcast: https://www.irreverent.fm/show/revcovery/

Irreverent Media Group: https://www.irreverent.fm

Sarah’s previous The Weight Episode: https://www.theweightpodcast.com/episodes/0007-the-weight-sarah-heath-the-theology-of-huh?rq=Sarah%20

In this episode of our series on deconstruction, guest Dave Stovall explains what deconstruction means to him: examining your faith, studying scripture, and pulling out all the parts that aren’t Biblically sound--the parts of faith that come to us from popular culture, from our families, from our friends--and then building your faith back up on a much stronger foundation. It’s less about starting from a blank slate and more about reforming and reframing what’s already there.

Dave brings a unique perspective to this topic with his extensive history in the Christian music scene. He is currently the Musical Director at Harpeth Christian Church in Franklin, TN, and he was also a bass player for the Christian rock band Audio Adrenaline (2015-2017) and the lead vocalist of Wavorly. He is a contributor at renew.org, a network of Christian leaders that helps equip disciple makers and church planters of all backgrounds.

Follow Dave on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/wavorlydave

https://www.instagram.com/davewstovall/

Read more from Dave:

https://renew.org/losing-my-faith-in-progressive-christianity-part-1/

Listen:

https://wavorly.bandcamp.com

Audio Adrenaline 

How do we deal with seasons of doubt? How do we wrestle with the big questions of suffering and pain within the context of God’s never-ending love and come out with a firmer spiritual foundation and a stronger sense of God’s grace and work in our lives? Can we even admit our doubt, and if so, is it productive to our lives as Christians?

In this episode, Eddie and Chris are joined by Dominic Done, author, pastor, teacher, and founder of Pursuing Faith. Dominic has gone through his own seasons of doubt, and openly shares his journey in his most recent book, When Faith Fails: Finding God in the Shadow of Doubt. He believes that we can not only push through doubt and step into a deeper faith, but we can and should come along side others in their seasons of doubt and struggle. If we are honest with our pain and willing to open ourselves to the grace of Jesus Christ through community, we grow as followers of Jesus.

Dominic earned his Master's Degree in theology from the University of Oxford and has served as a pastor in Oregon, North Carolina, and Hawaii. Dominic has also taught English for companies in Europe, lectured in theology and history at various Christian colleges, worked as a radio DJ, and lived as a missionary in Vanuatu and Mexico. He is currently the leader of Pursuing Faith, a ministry that equips Christians and church leaders to navigate issues of faith, doubt, and apologetics.

Resources:

Follow Dominic on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/DominicFrancisDone

https://www.instagram.com/dominicdone/

https://twitter.com/dominicdone

Find out more about Pursuing Faith:

www.pursuingfaith.org

Find out more about When Faith Fails:

https://www.pursuingfaith.org/whenfaithfails

The latest research about youth ministry and its actual effect on the lives and faith of young people can seem disheartening, and the data tells us that something has to change. Kenda Creasy Dean, the Mary D. Synnott Professor of Youth, Church, and Culture at Princeton Theological Seminary and an ordained United Methodist pastor in the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference, has a few ideas on what we can learn and what we should remember about our Christian roots: that the Church itself started as a social innovation movement. 

In addition to teaching in practical theology, education, and formation (specifically youth and young adult ministry, Christian social innovation, and theories of teaching), Dean works closely with Princeton’s Institute for Youth Ministry and the Farminary. Dean is the author of numerous books on youth, church, and culture, the best known of which include Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers Is Telling the American Church (Oxford, 2010), Practicing Passion: Youth and the Quest for a Passionate Church (Eerdmans, 2004), and The Godbearing Life: The Art of Soul Tending for Youth Ministry with Ron Foster (Upper Room, 1998).

She has directed numerous grants on youth, innovation, and the church, including The Zoe Project (2017-2021), and was co-director with Harold Masback of The Joy and Adolescent Faith and Flourishing Project through Yale’s Center for Faith and Culture. In 2013, she co-founded Ministry Incubators, Inc., an educational and consulting group that supports Christian social innovation and entrepreneurial ministries. A graduate of Wesley Theological Seminary, she served as a pastor in Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey and as a campus minister in suburban Washington, D.C. before receiving her PhD from Princeton Seminary in 1997.

Resources: 

Princeton Seminary

https://www.ptsem.edu/people/kenda-creasy-dean

Ministry Incubators

https://ministryincubators.com/about/who-are-we/kenda-dean/

instagram.com/mincubators

Zoe Project

https://zoeproject.ptsem.edu/

Fuller Studio

Re-imagining Church as a Missional Incubator

https://fullerstudio.fuller.edu/re-imagining-church-as-a-missional-incubator-kenda-creasy-dean/

Becca Stevens is a speaker, social entrepreneur, author, priest, founder, and President of Thistle Farms. She has been featured on PBS NewsHour, The Today Show, CNN, ABC World News, named a CNN Hero, and White House Champion of Change. Becca founded Thistle Farms in 1997 with a single home for survivors of trafficking and addiction.

In this episode, Chris and Eddie sit down to talk with Becca about her work as an advocate for women--standing alongside women and helping them pull themselves, and by extension their communities, out of a history of trauma and poverty and into a life thriving with healing, hope, and often tea.

In her latest book (and her favorite book to date), Practically Divine, Becca invites us to see the divine in everyday, ordinary experiences and to find the potential for humor, wonder, and freedom by embracing our creativity and creating something from nothing. She threads wisdom from her mother into stories and poems to help us live a life that is practically divine.

Resources:

Learn more about Thistle Farms.

Order Practically Divine.

Watch Becca Stevens preach at Oxford University United Methodist Church.

Find out more about Becca.

Follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

That's a wrap!

Season 2 of The Weight is now finished. With this last episode, Chris and Eddie take some time to reflect back on this second season. All the wonderful guests. All the inspiring, heavy, important topics:  mental health, racism, art and culture, creation care, faith and politics, human sexuality. 

Don't skip out on this episode though. We think you might be inspired to go back check out some previous episodes. And, surprisingly, Chris and Eddie actually have a few nuggets of wisdom to share themselves. 😂

To our guests, thank you! 

To our listeners, thank you!

We're already busy making plans and recording episodes for Season 3 of The Weight. See you soon!

Editorial cartoonist Marshall Ramsey has been involved in the journalistic life of Mississippi for quarter of a century. Ramsey’s cartoons have served as cultural artifacts for both local and national events such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. In his personal life, Ramsey’s spirit of empathy and resilience has given him a unique sense of sensitivity to the world around him. He joins Eddie and Chris to talk about the cultural impact of Ted Lasso, the power of reframing our stories, and how our relationships keep us grounded.

Follow Marshall Ramsey on the web:
http://marshallramsey.com

Check out Marshall Ramsey's cartoons here:
https://mississippitoday.org/cartoons/

Now You're Talking with Marshall Ramsey Radio Show

Mississippi Stories with Marshall Ramsey Podcast

Follow Marshall Ramsey on social media:
https://www.facebook.com/marshall.ramsey
https://www.instagram.com/marshallramsey/
https://twitter.com/MarshallRamsey

We live in a reactive, anxious culture both in person and online. When we hold onto pride, we are resistant to change and resistant to vulnerability. Though God understands the reasons we’re angry and the frustrations we deal with, God has a merciful heart towards the offender and the offended. How can we offer a gracious public witness as Christians in the midst of all of this polarization? Why do we resist the act of peacemaking as demonstrated by Jesus?

Chris and Eddie are joined by Ashley Abercrombie, author of Love is the Resistance. In this book, Abercrombie describes love as a habit and practice, not just a feeling. Bent toward compassion and deep hope, she teaches us what healthy, normal conflict looks like in a Christian community. They talk about the danger of echo chambers, the definition of what love is and what love is not, and the power of expanding our imagination as an inspiration to hope.

Order Love is the Resistance here:

https://www.ashabercrombie.org/book 

Listen to our other episode with Ashley Abercrombie here:

The Weight - Ashley Abercrombie - From Womb to Tomb

Check out Ashley’s podcast “Why Tho” here:

https://www.ashabercrombie.org/podcast 

Follow Ashley Abercrombie on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/ashleyabercrombienyc

https://www.instagram.com/ashabercrombie/

https://twitter.com/ashabercrombie

Whether we’re a teenager, college student, established professional, or retired, we’re constantly asking questions about our identity. All of us deeply desire to understand the truth of who we are and where we come from. For those of us in strained relationships with our families of origin, questions of identity, purpose, and belonging can get increasingly complicated. What does it take to tell a truthful story about our lives? Where does God meet us in our fractured, imperfect stories? 

In this episode, Chris and Eddie are joined by David Magee, author of Dear William: A Father's Memoir of Addiction, Recovery, Love, and Loss. Dedicated to his late son, William Magee, Dear William details David’s pain of losing a child, destructive family patterns, and the grace of God in the midst of intense tragedy. He talks to Eddie and Chris about the freedom found in forgiving ourselves, the issue of codependency within a family system, and the power of testimony.

Dear William: A Father’s Memoir of Addiction, Recovery, Love, and Loss

Follow David Magee on the web:

https://www.daviddmagee.com 

Learn more about the William Magee Center for Wellness Education here:

https://magee-center.olemiss.edu 

Give to the William Magee Center here:

https://ignite.olemiss.edu/project/16124/donate 

Follow David Magee on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/davidmageeauthor 

https://www.instagram.com/davidmageewriter/ 

https://twitter.com/dmagee_writer 

The sobering thought of death stirs up tension and uncertainty within our souls. Oftentimes, we see life and death as two separate events, but our living and dying are intrinsically linked. In order to flourish as humans, we must lean into the God-given virtues that inform our perspective on a life well-lived and move beyond viewing death as defeat. Jesus exhibited this in His human life on earth, teaching us the importance of trusting God in the face of life’s greatest uncertainty. How do we talk about death in a way that isn’t demeaning to the end? How can we accept our limitations in humility and surrender?

Chris and Eddie are joined by Dr. Matthew Levering, author of Dying and the Virtues. In this book, Levering articulates the nine virtues that we need to die (and live) well: love, hope, faith, penitence, gratitude, solidarity, humility, surrender, and courage. Drawing upon his unique experience of faith, Levering explores how the reality of death draws us nearer to God in dependence and trust. He talks to Eddie and Chris about the significance of rituals within the Christian tradition, living a life of praise to God, and what the book of Job teaches us about our humanity.

Dying and the Virtues by Matthew Levering

The Spiritual Benefits of Dying: Review of Dying and the Virtues by The Gospel Coalition

The Gospel is a claim about who God is and what God is up to. The Church’s role in embodying the Gospel means that we meet each other in community. Intergenerational community is one of the vital aspects of a healthy church environment. What does it mean to be part of a “church family?” How can the Church serve each generation within its community, bringing people together in unity?

Chris and Eddie are joined by Reverend Dr. Will Willimon, Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry at Duke Divinity School and former Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church. Willimon’s experience as a professor has informed his perspective on the ongoing vocational questions we ask at many different stages of life. They talk about cultural idols, what the Gospel looks like in a college or university setting, and the problems and pressures that American Christianity faces.

Follow Will Willimon on the web:

https://willwillimon.com

Aging: Growing Old in the Church by Will Willimon

Check out Will Willimon’s other books and publications here:

https://willwillimon.com/writing/ 

Stanley Hauerwas and Will Willimon on the dangers of providing pastoral care 

Follow Will Willimon on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/WillWillimon

https://twitter.com/willimontweets 

Sometimes the tendency to preserve our image gets in the way of the type of raw, messy love that Jesus exhibited. Within the Church and Christian spaces, we place limits on our language out of fear, ignoring the painful realities of the people in the pews in favor of comfort and harmony. We get scared to open ourselves up to that pain and the reality of temptation within each one of us. When we open a door to embrace others despite our differences, and when we use our language to get into the depths of human experiences, we learn to love better. We learn to love more like Jesus.

Chris and Eddie are joined by Adam Weber, pastor of Embrace Church in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Adam’s most recent book, Love Has A Name, details the kind of healing love that draws people closer to Jesus and the true heart of the Gospel. His experience as a pastor has been greatly enriched by the work of ministry that happens right on his front porch. He talks to Chris and Eddie about his passion for mental health awareness, the problems and questions from people outside of the church, and how to use language to build empathy and trust.

Follow Adam Weber on the web:

http://adamweber.com 

The Conversation with Adam Weber on Apple Podcasts

The Conversation with Adam Weber on Spotify

Learn more about Adam’s book Love Has A Name here:

http://adamweber.com/book/ 

Follow Adam Weber on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/adamaustinweber

https://www.instagram.com/adamaweber/

https://twitter.com/adamweber 

When we’re struck by unexpected suffering, we ask question after question attempting to find meaning in the midst of our pain. We wonder why this diagnosis, disaster, or death had to happen to us or someone we love. We wonder if God is really good. We wonder if it’s possible to live within our reality and still have hope, joy, and peace. Though these questions are important, our human nature lends itself toward the comfort of ignorance and flimsy optimism. What are the cultural scripts that dictate our understanding of pain and suffering?  How can we come alongside one another through both the highs and lows? 

Chris and Eddie are joined by Kate Bowler, author of No Cure for Being Human, professor at Duke Divinity School and host of the podcast, Everything Happens. After receiving an unexpected cancer diagnosis at the age of 35, Kate began to observe that the world does not offer a safe space for people in pain. Her move from crisis to chronic has led her to asking deeper questions about faith, God, and human suffering. She talks to Eddie and Chris about the gift of presence, the absurdity of life, a robustly Christian account of time, and the many ways we try to make meaning out of everything.

Follow Kate Bowler on the web:

https://katebowler.com 

Order No Cure for Being Human here:

https://katebowler.com/no-cure-for-being-human/ 

Order Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved here:

https://katebowler.com/everything-happens-for-a-reason-2/ 

Listen to Kate Bowler’s podcast Everything Happens here:

https://katebowler.com/podcasts/ 

Follow Kate Bowler on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/katecbowler 

https://www.instagram.com/katecbowler/ 

https://twitter.com/katecbowler

Kate Bowler on YouTube

Kate Bowler on Goodreads  

Many believe that the Church’s traditional teachings on marriage condemn LGBTQ+ Christians to a life without love. How can we broaden our view of same-sex love, kinship, and commitment? Eddie and Chris are joined by Eve Tushnet, author of Gay and Catholic: Accepting My Sexuality, Finding Community, Living My Faith and Amends: A Novel. Eve identifies as an openly lesbian woman who has chosen a life of celibacy within the Catholic Church, and for some, her story may seem like a contradiction. Faithful to historical Catholic tradition, Eve writes primarily for gay Christians and anyone who wants to make the churches more welcoming for gay and lesbian members. In this episode, she discusses the harm the church has caused to LGBTQ+ Christians, what we learn from scripture regarding same-sex friendship, and healthy approaches for creating inclusive environments within the church.

Order Eve Tushnet’s book Gay and Catholic here.

I'm Gay, but I'm Not Switching to a Church That Supports Gay Marriage 

Read Eve Tushnet’s articles in America Magazine here:

https://www.americamagazine.org/voices/eve-tushnet 

Check out Guiding Families of LGBT+ Loved Ones here.

Follow Eve Tushnet on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/evetushnet

Where words create division, art creates a new space to broaden understanding. Our creativity draws us nearer to God and gives us a channel to process a wide range of experiences, from hope and joy to pain and suffering. In this episode, Chris and Eddie are joined by Jonathan Kent Adams, a queer artist based out of Water Valley, Mississippi. After exploring multiple faith traditions throughout childhood, high school, and college, Jonathan has found a place of freedom within the beauty of art both within Christianity and outside of it. They talk about cultural masculinity and conformity, the challenges of coming out both internally and externally, and finding God as a place of consistent safety.

After the Orlando Pulse Shooting in 2016, Jonathan Kent Adams created a tribute to tell the victims’ stories. View his tribute here:

http://www.jonathankentadams.com/a-tribute-orlando-shooting

We can’t have a conversation about sexuality without talking about the human body. Christians have disregarded the body as separate from spirituality, and culture has devalued the body through objectification. All in all, when we talk about a theology of the body, the conversation tends to have a negative spin. In a moment when Christians are known more for what they are against than what they are for, what do traditionalists stand for when it comes to the body and sexuality? 

Chris and Eddie are joined by Dr. Tim Tennent, President of Asbury Theological Seminary and author of For the Body: Recovering a Theology of Gender, Sexuality, and the Human Body. Dr. Tennent stands for honoring our bodies’ unique design and purpose. He views the body as not just a biological category, but a theological category as well. He talks to Chris and Eddie about the differences between protestant liberalism and evangelical reductionism regarding same-sex marriage and gender reassignment, his view of the balance between inclusion and transformation within the church, and what the incarnation of Jesus Christ means for Christians.

Follow Dr. Tennent on the web:

https://timothytennent.com  

Purchase For the Body: Recovering a Theology of Gender, Sexuality, and the Human Body here:

https://www.amazon.com/Body-Recovering-Theology-Sexuality-Resources-ebook/dp/B086BT8HT3 

Follow Dr. Tennent on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/TimTennent 

Over the past several years, the conversation around human sexuality has stirred up deep division and tension within the United Methodist Church. Arguments over policies and rules have left little room for embracing each others’ humanity with compassion and grace. What does it mean for the church to honor the weight of individual experiences and perspectives? How can church leaders and congregants lead in love and humility while navigating complex issues?

Chris and Eddie are joined by Adam Hamilton, pastor of Church of the Resurrection, the largest United Methodist church in the country. Hamilton’s book Making Sense of the Bible explores the most controversial questions Christians ask while interpreting scripture, including issues of sexuality and gender. Hamilton believes context is necessary to understanding the character of God, and he challenges us to consider what is lost in translation. He talks to Eddie and Chris about how to be guided by an ethic of love, how his position on sexuality has changed over the years, and ways we can argue ethically without shutting each other down.

Follow Adam Hamilton on the web:

https://www.adamhamilton.com 

Follow Adam Hamilton on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/PastorAdamHamilton 

https://www.instagram.com/revadamhamilton/ 

Check out Adam Hamilton’s book Making Sense of the Bible here:

​​https://www.adamhamilton.com/books/item/9780062234988 

Learn more about Church of the Resurrection here:

https://cor.org 

Healthcare institutions are an essential part of a community’s fabric, and each healthcare facility has a civic responsibility to each member of its community. At this moment in history, our nation’s healthcare system is facing insurmountable challenges with COVID-19 cases spreading rapidly among citizens, in addition to the PTSD and fatigue experienced among hospital staff. To help us gain a greater understanding of the healthcare system’s nature right now, we decided to bring in one of the top healthcare professionals in our community to provide his expertise and perspective. In this episode, Chris and Eddie are joined by Michael Ugwueke, President & Chief Executive Officer at Methodist Le Bonheur Hospital. Driven by a deep passion for individuals to thrive, Ugwueke desires a more proactive approach to spending and preventative care. They discuss Ugwueke’s role as a minority executive in healthcare, the social determinants of health, and the role of the healthcare system in the health of the community.

Offering a testimony creates space to witness to God’s real and present hope in the world. Testimonies are necessary elements to spiritual development in adolescents as they are navigating their own journeys of faith. However, for many Christians, sharing a testimony can be an intimidating practice and a source of comparison. Personal testimonies offered on a Sunday morning or at a church camp tend to follow a three-step pattern: one was lost, one found Jesus, and now one’s life is changed. How can we view testimony in light of our past experiences and current experiences? How do we help adolescents build a faith language that helps them gain confidence in their identity?

In this episode, Chris and Eddie are joined by Dr. Amanda Drury, associate professor of practical theology at Indiana Wesleyan University. Dr. Drury defines a testimony as “a story we tell where Jesus pops up.” She believes that our testimonies are shaped by small, everyday moments and that they make space for every person from every background to be heard. Dr. Drury challenges us to broaden our definition of testimony in terms of past, present, and future storytelling. She talks to Eddie and Chris about the importance of building a faith language, the power of narrative and story in therapy, and how to display appropriate vulnerability when telling your story.

Purchase Dr. Drury’s book Saying Is Believing: The Necessity of Testimony in Adolescent Spiritual Development here

Learn more about the Scripture Squared App here:

https://appadvice.com/app/scripture-squared/1491075049 

We all have a deep desire to belong and to be understood. As we move through different stages of life and different cultural realities, we are constantly navigating what it looks like to live into our most authentic selves. For teenagers, this process carries a lot of insecurity and awkwardness, which can stir up anxiety in pastors, youth ministers, and church leaders. How can we faithfully equip young people with a strong sense of identity and purpose, given to them by God? How can we help young people gain a better understanding of their unique stories?

In this episode, Chris and Eddie are joined by Dr. Andrew Root, professor of Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary. Dr. Root has written a series of books revolving around Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age, and his book Faith Formation in a Secular Age specifically examines the church’s hopeful attitude that a “youthful spirit” will save the church. Root speaks to the power of testimony, confession, and storytelling to help teenagers and young adults navigate their own complicated stories. Root challenges us to greater curiosity and stronger questions that will benefit not only the lives of young people, but the church as a whole.

Follow Dr. Andrew Root on the web:

http://andrewroot.org 

Check out Dr. Andrew Root’s books here:

http://andrewroot.org/books/ 

Follow Dr. Andrew Root on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/andrew.root

https://twitter.com/RootAndrew 

Broad historical and cultural changes have shifted traditional life scripts from generation to generation. Over the past several decades, the changing nature of families and work has made a significant impact on the role of religion, particularly in teenagers and young adults. While many young people have embraced religion as a part of their lives, sociologists and pastors have observed a compartmentalized version of faith rather than a rich solid ground for growth in love and grace. What factors make the idea of church-going less plausible or less attractive in our modern society? Where can true, meaningful change happen in the lives of young people?

In this episode, Chris and Eddie are joined by Dr. Christian Smith, the William R. Keenan Professor of Sociology at the University of Notre Dame and author of Handing Down the Faith: How Parents Pass Their Religion on to the Next Generation. Dr. Smith’s work examines the variety of reasons that individuals and communities are religious, as well as the impact of the family institution on traditional religious beliefs. Dr. Smith talks to Eddie and Chris about a general form of faith called “moralistic therapeutic deism,” the structures of society and culture that have made transitions challenging for young people, and the expectations that parents have for church congregations.

Learn more about Dr. Smith's work here:

https://christiansmith.nd.edu

Check out all of Dr. Smith’s books here

Order Handing Down the Faith: How Parents Pass Their Religion on to the Next Generation here:

https://www.amazon.com/Handing-Down-Faith-Religion-Generation/dp/0190093323

Read more about The National Study of Youth and Religion here:

https://youthandreligion.nd.edu