Many people who have read The Parable of the Sower interpret it as: You have to be the “good soil”, or else.

However, in my conversation with Jeff Chu, he reframes what good soil actually means and how it’s made. Pulling from his latest book, Good Soil: The Education of an Accidental Farmhand, Jeff guides us through a beautiful discussion on the theology of compost, returning to cultural roots, embracing diversity, being attentive to beauty, befriending the dark, and more. Perhaps even withered plants, thorns, and rock-laden soil can be used for our flourishing. I hope you’ll listen.

Get the full show notes and links here. 📄

Guest Spotlight ✨

Jeff Chu is an award-winning journalist and editor-at-large at Travel+Leisure. He is the author of Does Jesus Really Love Me? and the co-author, with the late Rachel Held Evans, of the New York Times bestseller Wholehearted Faith. Chu is a former Time staff writer and Fast Company editor whose work has also appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and Modern Farmer. In his weekly newsletter, “Notes of a Make-Believe Farmer,” Chu writes about spirituality, gardening, food, travel, and culture. He lives with his husband, Tristan, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Links & Resources 🔗

Website | Instagram | Substack
Good Soil by Jeff Chu Amazon | Bookshop
Othered by Jenai Auman Amazon | Bookshop
A Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church by Wil Gafney Amazon | Bookshop

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#429 Watching the Mind - Aspects of Sufism by Musa Muhaiyaddeen