a real-time first take review of U2's new "Songs of Surrender!"
U2. Songs of Surrender. With our good friends Stella and our brother from TN, George Dickel.
grace also to you, John MacArthur
MEAAAANNN...by God, GENE!!! On this Zeitcast, we are talking about how people can think they are culture-free, but everybody else is shaped by "the culture," inglorious ways of defining the "glory of God," how it's possible to take Revelation literally but not the Sermon on the Mount (!?), the relationship between Jesus and Paul, "the world," "the flesh," and Shusaku Endo's epic novel, Silence. WOOOOO!!!
speaking, on speaking
Do you speak--to any size crowd, behind a podium, or behind a screen? Our daughter Kaitlyn is competing for Miss Teen Oklahoma, so I've been talking to her about speaking--which got me thinking more broadly about the handful of things I most deeply believe about public speaking: as art, as magic, as an opportunity to break something human inside of someone else. Whatever kind of speaking you do or are interested in doing, I hope you find something helpful here! Why for me it's all about relaxing into the moment, avoiding over-hyping yourself to the point of over-shooting the landing, why being hyper aware of your surroundings generally trumps even great content, being vulnerable without over-sharing, and my current mantra: VARY YOUR TONE!
Who is TRULY marginalized? (also, do you have to be married to know what it really means to be loved? Do you need to be a sheep to know God as good shepherd?)
Does theology exist to set boundaries and parameters for how we think/speak about God--or blow them up?
when the house is swept
What is the difference between finding Jesus, losing religion, finding crystals or tarot cards, or coming into money? Apparently sometimes...not all that much.
growing deeper across difference: an interfaith conversation with Imam Ahmed Alamine, Rabbi Bruce Pfeffer, & Rev. Dr. Maureen Knudsen Langdoc
It does seem like a bit of missed opportunity not to just call this "a rabbi, an imam, and two pastors walk into a bar," even though we weren't in a bar! I am so excited to introduce you to my wonderful spiritual friends and colleagues, and I love the vulnerability at the heart of this conversation--where we all talk about something unique our tradition brings to the table...but also something we have struggled with within our own respective traditions!
the one where I tell everything I really think about Scripture interpretation
Okay maybe not all that hot, but spicy for me?! Why I think Christians oftentimes overstate the case in making the first testament sound incomplete, when in fact everything we need (from mercy and justice to death and resurrection) was all THERE even before Jesus…and also how strange it is to hear people wrangle with the “problematic” things in the Bible—who love Game of Thrones? It’s all in how you read, and it is illiteracy perhaps rather than any texts that is ultimately killing us.
The Criminal Injustice System: On Death, Faith, & Black History in America, Pt. 2, with CeCe Jones Davis and Antoinette Jones
Can you hear the sound of God? We sure did at the historic Mendenhall lecture, in which Rev. CeCe Jones Davis and Antoinette Jones tell the story not only of Julius Jones, but a universal story--the Christ story. From Gobin United Methodist Church, and the campus of DePauw University
The Criminal Injustice System: on death, faith, and black history, pt. 1--with Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III and Shane Claiborne
In this historic Mendenhall lecture, from the campus of DePauw University and Gobin United Methodist Church, our favorite preacher in America, Rev. Otis Moss III and author/activist Shane Claiborne come together to bring a unique narrative of the kind of faith that leads to death—and the broader faith story/history that leads to life. With full lectures from each of these amazing guests and a Q and A after, prepare yourself for a feast on this one!
In this historic Mendenhall lecture, from the campus of DePauw University and Gobin United Methodist Church, our favorite preacher in America, Rev. Otis Moss III and author/activist Shane Claiborne come together to bring a unique narrative of the kind of faith that leads to death—and the broader faith story/history that leads to life. With full lectures from each of these amazing guests and a Q and A after, prepare yourself for a feast on this one!
The Sound of God Revisited, with Otis Moss III
On this Martin Luther King Day, we revisit one of our favorite conversations with one of America’s most needed prophetic voices—Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III, pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, who just released a brand new book which we highly recommend—Dancing in the Darkness: Spiritual Lessons for Turbulent Times. He is a preacher, poet, activist, author and filmmaker with an eye toward justice and equality, as evidenced through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Dr. Moss preaches a theology of liberation rooted in a Black Spirituality of love and justice. His passion for African American culture and history combined with a deep appreciation for jazz and hip hop, have culminated in a unique message of hope and healing through a jazz narrative on American democracy. Dr. Moss was identified by the Baylor University George W. Truett Theological Seminary as one of the 12 most effective preachers in the English language in 2018.
In the belly of the whale: womb or tomb? with Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso
For Yom Kippur, experience the first of an all-new iteration of the Zeitcast that will speak to anybody who has left one place/sense of identity, but doesn’t know who or what they are becoming yet…featuring a wise guide you need to know, Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso! #yomkippur #depauwuniversity #spirituality
When the Story Gets Too Small, with Tony Caldwell
Therapist/spiritual director Tony Caldwell helps us navigate the complex soul space, of when and why we have to leave certain spaces, when the story/script we have been given becomes too constricting.
bonus track: closer than you think
Live from the Table OKC, passing along a treasure I received from a wise guide in my life, Dr. Rickie Moore--a word that "you are closer than you think."
