I'd Like to Teach the World to...
Worship is not meant to be a moment of just observing and taking in stimuli, but being a part of the experience, creating something and being a part of something that is greater than one’s self.
Read MoreListen and Sing
It is one thing to have a song that we sing and to want to share it with the world, but we also need to remember that others have their own songs and sometimes we need to stop and listen to what it is that others are singing/saying.
Read MoreAbsurd Conversations
Good conversations are important to have. It is a precious thing to have that space to get deep with someone, have a long-form conversation, to be honest, be pushed and to push back.
Read MoreEpisode 100!
The 100th episode! Adam Ericksen is the host and Jonathan is the guest for this historic episode. Fun for all!
Read MoreThe Perfect Lineup
One of the great things about the Bible is that the majority of the characters are multivalent in their strengths and weaknesses. We do not find many two dimensional characters in scripture who are all good or all evil. This means that there is more often than not a place where we can connect with the humanity of the people who are found in scripture.
Read MoreStop the Madness, Start the Healing
Bob Houghtaling joins Jonathan to talk about the problems with the death penalty, racial strife, and good books to read to keep us thinking.
Read MoreEmpathy Read
Part of the challenge of life is that we can never truly know what it is like to be someone else. We can only speak for ourselves and our experiences. Yet we live in community at various levels and thus need to try to understand each other.
Read MoreSlow Down, You Move to Fast
A conversation with Pastor Cheryl Harris about relaxing and enjoying life. This is something that we do not do very well as we are often told that we should be moving faster and faster. We need to figure out how to relax and let that feed our spirituality. Also, the book of Ruth, and some other great books to read.
Read MoreY'All, You Guys, Youse
It is very easy to become so comfortable in our context that we can lose our accent, our culture as Christians. It can become very ease to slip into a way of speaking that makes sense to everyone else, but that cannot be understood as a specifically Christian way of speaking and being.
Read MoreLARP-Ball!
Fantasy sports, old books, and LARPing. What else could you ask for? How about a good discussion about truth and knowing as well as what our religious accent might be and how we can let it be heard through our voice and actions.
Read MoreJazz Hands Turned Bad
We could view and experience Wicked on a surface level, enjoying the music and such and that would be nice. Or, we could engage on a deeper level, letting the symbolism and subtext shape and guide how we view our society and the ways that we live in society.
Read MoreIt's Complicated
Author and cofounder of The Raven Foundation, Suzanne Ross joins Jonathan for a conversation about religious freedom, having compassion towards those who do not agree with you, and the wonderful mess of spirituality.
Read MoreFamily Faith Feuds
There are good healthy ways to manage the demands between the expectations of the church and the experience and boundaries of the family.
Read MoreA Healthy Discomfort
April Beth Wiles joins Jonathan to talk about people who think everyone should know everything, prudes in the church (but not prunes), spirituality, healing, and geeking out with the Bible.
Read MoreComfortable Uncertainty
There is something to the mystery and the artistic approach to knowing. To have such an approach leaves room for creativity, for individuality, for the influence of society, and for the mess of humanity.
Read MoreBroken Safety
This episode was recorded right after the Pulse Night Club shooting in Orlando and responds in large part to that horror and pain. Where can we find hope and safety? Where can we find hope and safety in the presence of God? Jonathan and guest host Steve Williamson wrestle with such a question and respond to the tragedy of Orlando.
Read MorePretend to Care
The danger of guilt can weigh heavy on the pastor and can lead to burnout. It is important for the pastor to have a sense of her or his identity in one’s ordination and to hold to that identity. It is important to not be pulled too far in one direction or another because that can lead to exhaustion and burnout.
Read MoreMosquitos and Chill
From angry opinions to hatred of mosquitoes to chilling in the summer, Jonathan is joined by Phinn Marr and Jeff Savage to discuss those things that make them angry, and the human struggle that is found in the Psalms.
Read MoreUnity Hugs
Consider what your “best practices” might be for your own faith tradition and how those practices may overlap with other faith traditions. And try to be nice to each other.
Read MoreSilence the Troll
There is a brokenness in the community when one group of people look to make others angry just to make them angry. It is a demonstration of one showing a lack of compassion and humanity towards others. It is an immature expression that one would expect to see exhibited by toddlers, but not adults. Or at least one would hope.
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