Jamie Smith is a thinker, but that doesn’t mean he’s not willing to accept things he doesn’t completely understand. Especially when a personal conversion experience tells him there is a God who is willing to be present with us. In this interview you’ll wrestle a bit with faith and reason, about the way community can be an anchor, and choose the three pieces of art you’d take to your monastery room forever… Dr. James K. A. Smith is from Calvin University. (Special thanks to the Wheatley Instituti...
Oct 25, 2020•34 min•Season 2020Ep. 76
Dr. Ravi Gupta, a scholar of Hinduism and holder of The Charles Redd Chair of Religious Studies at USU, talks about Vaishnava Hinduism and many questions of faith; Does becoming a scholar of your faith rob you of the joy of simply believing and practicing? Is holy writ to be taken as literal or symbolic--or does it even matter as long as it is "true"? In this interview he shares a favorite verse of the Bhagavata Purana (which he has translated into English and published) in Sanskrit, and shares ...
Oct 18, 2020•46 min•Season 2020Ep. 75
Clare Stober from Fox Hill, a Bruderhof near Walden, NY, shares her journey from the world of business, to a life in Christian community. Yes, it is possible to create a society where there are no rich or poor, where children and elderly are welcome, where no one lives in isolation. In the new book, "Another Life Is Possible," you'll meet 100 individuals from diverse backgrounds who ventured everything to build a life together where everyone belongs and each can contribute--pooling their income,...
Oct 11, 2020•35 min•Season 2020Ep. 74
Henry Bakarr, from Sierra Leone. Henry talks about finding a personal relationship with God in college, how his family survived the civil war in Sierra Leone, and why he always trusts God, even during the "exams" or trials we experience. Sierra Leone
Oct 04, 2020•23 min•Season 2020Ep. 73
Harry Kraemer, Jr. from the Kellogg School of Management, and former Chairman and CEO of Baxter International, talks about faith, life balance, and the importance of self-reflection, from his book, "Your 168: Finding Purpose and Satisfaction in a Values-Based Life."
Sep 20, 2020•45 min•Season 2020Ep. 72
Dr. Catherine Taylor has long enjoyed exploring the histories and lives of women in scripture texts, but she's also discovered a way to read between the lines and fill in some of the blanks in their stories, using the material culture of ancient & Medieval times--paintings, mosaics, tapestries, and everyday household objects. Together they give us an amazing larger view. This week as we enter the Christmas season, we turn to Dr. Taylor's research on The Annunciation to Mary. I know you'll en...
Sep 13, 2020•36 min•Season 2020Ep. 71
British-born Geraldine Buckley is known nationally and even internationally as a professional storyteller who is quite open about her faith in her stories, including her tales of being the Chaplain in the largest men's prison in Maryland. In this interview she talks about how the Lord can make his desires become our own, how she's kept track of the ways God has come through on his promises, and about her own Damascus Road experience. First aired Sunday, September 15, 2019 (Pictured, Geraldine Bu...
Aug 30, 2020•33 min•Season 2020Ep. 70
From her first experience of healing through prayer at age 12, Michelle Nanouche has felt called to help others heal, emotionally and spiritually as well as physically; first as a Christian Science nurse, then as a lecturer and teacher on the Christian Science Board. She talks about forgiveness and releasing anger, how she came to see herself as God sees her, and how the Lord's Prayer can be a model for our own prayers. (First aired Sunday, November 3, 2019) Michelle Nanouche, CSB
Aug 23, 2020•35 min•Season 2020Ep. 69
New York Times no. 1 best-selling author Reza Aslan, a Sufi Muslim, talks about his journey of faith to Christianity and back again, and how we tend to create God in our own image instead of the other way around. I think any believer will enjoy this discussion with an author who has done a lot of thinking and research world-wide on the subject of faith in God. Is faith different from religion? And are we hard-wired to believe? (We're grateful to Lindsay Hansen Park and the Sunstone Foundation fo...
Jul 12, 2020•37 min•Season 2020Ep. 68
Bob Greiner serves as a Deacon at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Boston, and works as an administrator at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, where he spoke with me about his faith journey through several denominations, on receiving his call to ministry at an age when most people are retired, and how he feels connected to God through service. Originally aired 5/19/2019 (Photos: Top, Deacon Bob Greiner. Bottom, Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston, Massachusetts, where the interview took place.) De...
Jun 14, 2020•27 min•Season 2020Ep. 67
Ala'a Asarhan and Rasha Qudisat are a Jordanian couple committed to God, to each other and their children, and to education. You'll hear about Ramadan and fasting, why questioning is good, and patience to trust God's will. (Originally aired on Sunday, December 10, 2017) Ala'a Asarhan & Rasha Qudisat
May 24, 2020•56 min•Season 2020Ep. 66
House Church, with Pastor Logan Wolf Been holding your own "church" services in your house lately, like much of the world? That's actually not far from how worship was done in the early Christian world. Today Pastor Logan Wolf shares his congregation's experience in the last year of moving from traditional church worship in chapels and church buildings, to being part of the "house church" movement. Pastor Logan Wolf and his family
Apr 04, 2020•27 min•Season 2020Ep. 65
Rev. Keith Cupples, United Methodist Reverend Keith Cupples
Jan 12, 2020•28 min•Season 2020Ep. 64
Kristin Chenoweth, sharing music and conversation from "Angels Among Us," with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square and the Orchestra at Temple Square.
Dec 22, 2019•25 min•Season 2019Ep. 63
Advent - with Dr. Eric Huntsman One of the most surprising things about Christmas is that the earliest Christians didn't celebrate it--it would have been too pagan. Soon thereafter though, the human propensity to observe important events--and to have a party--began to create the celebration we know today. So how do we keep Christ at the center of it all? Dr. Eric D. Huntsman talks about Advent--the preparation for the celebration of the birth of Christ, in this interview on his book, "Good Tidin...
Dec 08, 2019•28 min•Season 2019Ep. 62
Larry Cesspooch was born on the Uintah & Ouray Ute Reservation in Northern Utah, where his grandmother picked him out when he was still a child as having spiritual gifts. But it wasn't until after he returned from serving in the Navy as a radioman in Vietnam that he began to take on the duties of a spiritual leader among his people in the Ute tribe. He talks about the creator, our purpose in life, and how all living things are connected. Visit Larry's website at: ThroughNativeEyes.net Larry ...
Oct 27, 2019•42 min•Season 2019Ep. 61
Dr. Tala'at al-Shuqairat is a medical doctor who found himself leading worship in his local mosque when he came to the US, since there was no one else to do it. As he studied more deeply, he found himself more and more committed to his faith, and discovered that he actually saw the differences between his religion and his culture more clearly once he had left his homeland in Jordan. In this episode, he shares a recitation of a favorite section from the Quran and how prayer and fasting improve hi...
Oct 20, 2019•31 min•Season 2019Ep. 60
Dr. Richard Mouw was the President of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA, for 20 years, where he still teaches. He is known world-wide for extended interfaith dialogue with adherents of Islam, Catholicism, and the LDS Church, among others, and shares why he feels that's important, and how civil conversation with those of other faith traditions can strengthen your own faith. (Also, his favorite hymn? Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.) Dr. Richard Mouw
Oct 13, 2019•27 min•Season 2019Ep. 59
Chaplain (and retired Major General) Douglas L. Carver has served at every level of the Army, from Platoon to the Pentagon--ending his 38-year career serving as Chief of Chaplains. In this interview he talks about what makes a good chaplain, putting listening ahead of preaching, and about finding your "life verse" in the scriptures.
Aug 18, 2019•31 min•Season 2019Ep. 58
Lieutenant Colonel Ruth Segres wasn’t looking for a ministry. In fact—as a child of the 4th generation of preachers in her family—she was looking elsewhere, but when ministry came calling, she finally answered that call and found herself completely at home in a place she had never imagined, as a Chaplain in the United States Air Force. You’ll love her spirit, her commitment to the men and women she serves, and be inspired by her preparations for her daily walk with God among his children as a ca...
Jul 21, 2019•29 min•Season 2019Ep. 57
Author and activist Dr. Eboo Patel is nationally and even internationally known for his interfaith work on college campuses as the founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core, but as a young man, religion wasn’t even on his radar. In this interview we’ll follow his path back to faith and to interfaith work, and why he feels it’s important enough to devote his life to it. If you’ve ever wondered what interfaith work is or why it should matter to you, please take a listen. The interview is foll...
Jul 14, 2019•53 min•Season 2019Ep. 56
Whether it's in her books, her podcasts, or her online articles, Elissa Bjeletich finds ways to make her Orthodox Christian beliefs more than Sunday-only events, and to live them out with her family and in her private moments throughout the week as well.
Jul 07, 2019•29 min•Season 2019Ep. 55
Bob Greiner serves as a Deacon at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Boston, and works as an administrator at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, where he spoke with me about his faith journey through several denominations, on receiving his call to ministry at an age when most people are retired, and how he feels connected to God through service. (Photos: Top, Deacon Bob Greiner. Bottom, Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston, Massachusetts, where the interview took place.) Deacon Robert Greiner St. Pau...
May 19, 2019•27 min•Season 2019Ep. 54
Rev. Elizabeth McVicker, Pastor at First United Methodist Church and Centenary United Methodist Church, shares her family's journey from China to Burma to the US, and how her call to ministry unfolded bit by bit. And, she'll tell us why she considers herself a "utility pastor." Rev. Elizabeth McVicker
May 12, 2019•27 min•Season 2019Ep. 53
Dr. Dale Coulter, Associate Professor at Regent University School of Divinity in Virginia Beach, shares his faith as a Pentecostal member of the Church of God. He talks about combining faith and scholarship for a broader view of each, and about the experiential nature of Pentecostal worship. "I've come to the conclusion that we're shaped today by the prayers that were uttered by our ancestors 100 years ago. Not because they knew how those prayers would shape us, but because the God to whom they ...
May 05, 2019•34 min•Season 2019Ep. 52
Mike Hampton, from Christ United Methodist, talks about the turning points in his faith journey, and the ways he sees the hand of God in his life.
Apr 28, 2019•27 min•Season 2019Ep. 51
Dr. Steve McKinion, from the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC, talks about his own turning points--including whether he'd commit himself to what he believed, and about the way real faith in God doesn't just prepare us for heaven, but teaches us how to live with each other here and now. Dr. Steve McKinion
Jan 13, 2019•51 min•Season 2019Ep. 50
It was a simple childhood prayer for her father's healing from mental illness that set Leide Lessa on a path of physical and spiritual healing in her faith. She shares how God speaks to each of us in a way we can understand, and how as a member of the Christian Science Board of Lectureship, she does her "real job" of expressing love whether it's speaking to a group or with an individual. Leide Lessa
Jan 06, 2019•53 min•Season 2019Ep. 49
At a certain point in her life, Jennifer Ristine, a Consecrated Woman of the Catholic order Regnum Christi, found herself drawn to Mary Magdalene, and asking to have a heart like Mary's was; faithful even to the foot of the cross. It was years later she received an unexpected answer to that prayer when she found herself sent to the excavation of ancient Magdala--the city of Mary Magdalene--on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, for several years of service, learning, and eventually writing about w...
Dec 30, 2018•55 min•Season 2018Ep. 48
"When the picket lines went up at all the downtown stores [to boycott stores which wouldn't serve black people], there were white priests and nuns on the picket line and I remember seeing that and thinking that there's another way to be Christian, this is the real deal." From his origins in Mississippi, writer and teacher Danny Duncan Collum has always wanted to change the world for the better, through activism and his writing, but more than anything, through seeking the presence of God in his l...
Nov 25, 2018•56 min•Season 2018Ep. 47
