John 4 *** Jesus endlessly fascinates. There is not a single moment, word, or action in his life that is not pregnant with something more. There is a qualitative difference that is unmistakable about Jesus, though. John puts in simply, "In him was life and that life was the light of all people." (John 1:4) As John writes about Jesus, he knows that he is touching the infinite. He charmingly says that the world was too small to record what could be said about him. (John 21:25) So, what to do? How ...
Mar 13, 2022•29 min•Season 8Ep. 26
Jesus endlessly fascinates. There is not a single moment, word, or action in his life that is not pregnant with something more. There is a qualitative difference that is unmistakable about Jesus, though. John puts in simply, "In him was life and that life was the light of all people." (John 1:4) As John writes about Jesus, he knows that he is touching the infinite. He charmingly says that the world was too small to record what could be said about him. (John 21:25) So, what to do? How to tell a s...
Mar 07, 2022•29 min•Season 8Ep. 25
“There is little doubt that our doctrine of the Holy Spirit is one of the least developed areas in mainstream Christianity.” —Alwyn Marriage Whether you’ve been around the Christian story for a while—or you’ve recently started exploring, there’s a certain mystique around the idea of God as Spirit. And that mystique is all the more compelling when we acknowledge that many of us feel some distance between Jesus’ promise to send the Spirit to his friends and our experience in the world. An advocate...
Feb 27, 2022•28 min•Season 8Ep. 24
In my mind talking about the nature of God shouldn't be an exercise in gatekeeping—all of our God-talk is provisional, after all. There are, however, some important ideas in the Christian imagination of God that we are attempting to preserve with the doctrine of Trinity. So let's talk about that. ★ Support this podcast ★
Feb 25, 2022•10 min
Acts 10 + 15 *** “There is little doubt that our doctrine of the Holy Spirit is one of the least developed areas in mainstream Christianity.” —Alwyn Marriage Whether you’ve been around the Christian story for a while—or you’ve recently started exploring, there’s a certain mystique around the idea of God as Spirit. And that mystique is all the more compelling when we acknowledge that many of us feel some distance between Jesus’ promise to send the Spirit to his friends and our experience in the w...
Feb 20, 2022•26 min•Season 8Ep. 23
John 14 *** “There is little doubt that our doctrine of the Holy Spirit is one of the least developed areas in mainstream Christianity.” —Alwyn Marriage Whether you’ve been around the Christian story for a while—or you’ve recently started exploring, there’s a certain mystique around the idea of God as Spirit. And that mystique is all the more compelling when we acknowledge that many of us feel some distance between Jesus’ promise to send the Spirit to his friends and our experience in the world....
Feb 13, 2022•28 min•Season 8Ep. 22
“There is little doubt that our doctrine of the Holy Spirit is one of the least developed areas in mainstream Christianity.” —Alwyn Marriage Whether you’ve been around the Christian story for a while—or you’ve recently started exploring, there’s a certain mystique around the idea of God as Spirit. And that mystique is all the more compelling when we acknowledge that many of us feel some distance between Jesus’ promise to send the Spirit to his friends and our experience in the world. An advocate...
Feb 06, 2022•30 min•Season 8Ep. 21
Toward. Away. Against: This is a really simple way to think about our default reaction to conflict, our stress reaction to conflict, and how as healthy humans we can choose to respond with the strategy that is most appropriate in any given encounter. ★ Support this podcast ★
Feb 01, 2022•13 min
The experience of the global pandemic has changed us. And it has changed our friendships. Some may have deepened, while others have dwindled without getting a solid chance to take root. Let's begin the new year with a conversation on that deeply personal connection with others we all long for but often struggle to cultivate. Friendship is essential to our humanity. It is also a gift that we are free to receive and to offer. Some friendships help us become our true selves. You might remember with...
Jan 30, 2022•29 min•Season 8Ep. 20
The experience of the global pandemic has changed us. And it has changed our friendships. Some may have deepened, while others have dwindled without getting a solid chance to take root. Let's begin the new year with a conversation on that deeply personal connection with others we all long for but often struggle to cultivate. Friendship is essential to our humanity. It is also a gift that we are free to receive and to offer. Some friendships help us become our true selves. You might remember with...
Jan 23, 2022•29 min•Season 8Ep. 19
The experience of the global pandemic has changed us. And it has changed our friendships. Some may have deepened, while others have dwindled without getting a solid chance to take root. Let's begin the new year with a conversation on that deeply personal connection with others we all long for but often struggle to cultivate. Friendship is essential to our humanity. It is also a gift that we are free to receive and to offer. Some friendships help us become our true selves. You might remember with...
Jan 18, 2022•27 min•Season 8Ep. 18
The experience of the global pandemic has changed us. And it has changed our friendships. Some may have deepened, while others have dwindled without getting a solid chance to take root. Let's begin the new year with a conversation on that deeply personal connection with others we all long for but often struggle to cultivate. Friendship is essential to our humanity. It is also a gift that we are free to receive and to offer. Some friendships help us become our true selves. You might remember with...
Jan 09, 2022•28 min•Season 8Ep. 17
Try this thought experiment. What moments in your life do you consider pivotal? Maybe it’s a big trip, grad school graduation, or the birth of a child. Now, imagine yourself taking ten minutes to write from memory what happened, how you felt, and who said what. Next, imagine someone else who was with you writing down what they saw, how they felt, and who said what. Can you imagine the differences? One story feels intimate, the other distant. One story catches a mortifying detail, the other only ...
Jan 05, 2022•27 min•Season 8Ep. 16
Try this thought experiment. What moments in your life do you consider pivotal? Maybe it’s a big trip, grad school graduation, or the birth of a child. Now, imagine yourself taking ten minutes to write from memory what happened, how you felt, and who said what. Next, imagine someone else who was with you writing down what they saw, how they felt, and who said what. Can you imagine the differences? One story feels intimate, the other distant. One story catches a mortifying detail, the other only ...
Dec 20, 2021•28 min•Season 8Ep. 15
Try this thought experiment. What moments in your life do you consider pivotal? Maybe it’s a big trip, grad school graduation, or the birth of a child. Now, imagine yourself taking ten minutes to write from memory what happened, how you felt, and who said what. Next, imagine someone else who was with you writing down what they saw, how they felt, and who said what. Can you imagine the differences? One story feels intimate, the other distant. One story catches a mortifying detail, the other only ...
Dec 12, 2021•26 min•Season 8Ep. 14
Try this thought experiment. What moments in your life do you consider pivotal? Maybe it’s a big trip, grad school graduation, or the birth of a child. Now, imagine yourself taking ten minutes to write from memory what happened, how you felt, and who said what. Next, imagine someone else who was with you writing down what they saw, how they felt, and who said what. Can you imagine the differences? One story feels intimate, the other distant. One story catches a mortifying detail, the other only ...
Dec 05, 2021•28 min•Season 8Ep. 13
Try this thought experiment. What moments in your life do you consider pivotal? Maybe it’s a big trip, grad school graduation, or the birth of a child. Now, imagine yourself taking ten minutes to write from memory what happened, how you felt, and who said what. Next, imagine someone else who was with you writing down what they saw, how they felt, and who said what. Can you imagine the differences? One story feels intimate, the other distant. One story catches a mortifying detail, the other only ...
Nov 28, 2021•30 min•Season 8Ep. 12
Church tradition holds that 16th-century reformer Martin Luther despised the epistle of James, going so far as to say that it contained little to none of “the nature of the Gospel.” One of Luther’s biggest complaints was that this early Christian letter contains only the slightest mention of Jesus, which is why he thought it had so little to offer. But part of why we think the book of James deserves our attention is because, if you look close enough, it says some profound things about what it me...
Nov 22, 2021•28 min•Season 8Ep. 11
Church tradition holds that 16th-century reformer Martin Luther despised the epistle of James, going so far as to say that it contained little to none of “the nature of the Gospel.” One of Luther’s biggest complaints was that this early Christian letter contains only the slightest mention of Jesus, which is why he thought it had so little to offer. But part of why we think the book of James deserves our attention is because, if you look close enough, it says some profound things about what it me...
Nov 17, 2021•30 min•Season 8Ep. 10
Church tradition holds that 16th-century reformer Martin Luther despised the epistle of James, going so far as to say that it contained little to none of “the nature of the Gospel.” One of Luther’s biggest complaints was that this early Christian letter contains only the slightest mention of Jesus, which is why he thought it had so little to offer. But part of why we think the book of James deserves our attention is because, if you look close enough, it says some profound things about what it me...
Nov 07, 2021•26 min•Season 8Ep. 9
Church tradition holds that 16th-century reformer Martin Luther despised the epistle of James, going so far as to say that it contained little to none of “the nature of the Gospel.” One of Luther’s biggest complaints was that this early Christian letter contains only the slightest mention of Jesus, which is why he thought it had so little to offer. But part of why we think the book of James deserves our attention is because, if you look close enough, it says some profound things about what it me...
Oct 31, 2021•28 min•Season 8Ep. 8
Church tradition holds that 16th-century reformer Martin Luther despised the epistle of James, going so far as to say that it contained little to none of “the nature of the Gospel.” One of Luther’s biggest complaints was that this early Christian letter contains only the slightest mention of Jesus, which is why he thought it had so little to offer. But part of why we think the book of James deserves our attention is because, if you look close enough, it says some profound things about what it me...
Oct 24, 2021•30 min•Season 8Ep. 7
One of Jesus' key ideas was that of the kingdom of God. An imagination for the world as it could be pervades not only Jesus' teaching but all of his interactions. In fact, this is a uniquely human ability to think in sequence and to understand meaning through the lens of past, present, and future. Simply put, we live in a storied world, and one of the most important questions for any story is, "Where is it going?" Jesus taught from these three aspects of reality: There is a past from which we li...
Oct 17, 2021•31 min•Season 8Ep. 6
One of Jesus' key ideas was that of the kingdom of God. An imagination for the world as it could be pervades not only Jesus' teaching but all of his interactions. In fact, this is a uniquely human ability to think in sequence and to understand meaning through the lens of past, present, and future. Simply put, we live in a storied world, and one of the most important questions for any story is, "Where is it going?" Jesus taught from these three aspects of reality: There is a past from which we li...
Oct 10, 2021•29 min•Season 8Ep. 5
One of Jesus' key ideas was that of the kingdom of God. An imagination for the world as it could be pervades not only Jesus' teaching but all of his interactions. In fact, this is a uniquely human ability to think in sequence and to understand meaning through the lens of past, present, and future. Simply put, we live in a storied world, and one of the most important questions for any story is, "Where is it going?" Jesus taught from these three aspects of reality: There is a past from which we li...
Oct 03, 2021•29 min•Season 8Ep. 4
One of Jesus' key ideas was that of the kingdom of God. An imagination for the world as it could be pervades not only Jesus' teaching but all of his interactions. In fact, this is a uniquely human ability to think in sequence and to understand meaning through the lens of past, present, and future. Simply put, we live in a storied world, and one of the most important questions for any story is, "Where is it going?" Jesus taught from these three aspects of reality: There is a past from which we li...
Sep 26, 2021•27 min•Season 8Ep. 3
One of Jesus' key ideas was that of the kingdom of God. An imagination for the world as it could be pervades not only Jesus' teaching but all of his interactions. In fact, this is a uniquely human ability to think in sequence and to understand meaning through the lens of past, present, and future. Simply put, we live in a storied world, and one of the most important questions for any story is, "Where is it going?" Jesus taught from these three aspects of reality: There is a past from which we li...
Sep 19, 2021•28 min•Season 8Ep. 2
One of Jesus' key ideas was that of the kingdom of God. An imagination for the world as it could be pervades not only Jesus' teaching but all of his interactions. In fact, this is a uniquely human ability to think in sequence and to understand meaning through the lens of past, present, and future. Simply put, we live in a storied world, and one of the most important questions for any story is, "Where is it going?" Jesus taught from these three aspects of reality: There is a past from which we li...
Sep 12, 2021•28 min•Season 8Ep. 1
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” –Mahatma Ghandi Doesn’t it feel like there’s a shortage of true happiness? Whether the news—or our own experience—or a string of rainy afternoons, we can find ourselves wondering why the world always seems to be frowning. Which is why—this summer—we’re striking out in search of some real, wholesome, happy-face-emoji moments. And in this series, we’re gathering individuals and stories from our community to answer th...
Sep 07, 2021•30 min•Season 7Ep. 52
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” –Mahatma Ghandi Doesn’t it feel like there’s a shortage of true happiness? Whether the news—or our own experience—or a string of rainy afternoons, we can find ourselves wondering why the world always seems to be frowning. Which is why—this summer—we’re striking out in search of some real, wholesome, happy-face-emoji moments. And in this series, we’re gathering individuals and stories from our community to answer th...
Aug 30, 2021•26 min•Season 7Ep. 51
