Faith Improvised
Tim Gombis
Exploring what it means to be faithfully Christian in our always-changing world with its challenges and opportunities. I like to think out loud and talk with friends about biblical texts, books, politics, sports, music, films, and basically anything that interests me. This is all an attempt to be fully alive in God’s good world and to enjoy the liberating reality of the Christian gospel.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 25, 2025 • 1h 2min
God's Cosmic Enemies in Ephesians
In this episode, I talk about the role of the powers and authorities in Paul's letter, and their background in the Old Testament and the Jewish literature of Paul's day.
Mar 18, 2025 • 58min
Ephesians & Me
In this episode, I revisit my history with Paul's letter called Ephesians.
Mar 11, 2025 • 43min
Introducing Season 6
In this episode, I talk about what I've been up to the last six months, and I introduce what I'm going to talk about in this upcoming season: Paul's letter called Ephesians.I also mention a number of scholars and journalists whose work I have benefitted from: Timothy Snyder, Anne Applebaum, Jason Stanley, Tom Nichols, Andrea Chalupa, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Sarah Kendzior, and John Ganz.
Sep 17, 2024 • 1h 1min
Showing Up
In this episode, Steve and I talk about enjoying some good beers sent from a listener, and about the importance of showing up.
Aug 20, 2024 • 58min
Autocracy, Inc.
In this episode, Steve and I talk about Anne Applebaum's new book, Autocracy, Inc.
Aug 13, 2024 • 1h 8min
Salman Rushdie's Memoir
In this episode, Steve and I talk about a bunch of things, but especially Salman Rushdie's memoir entitle Knife: Meditations after an Attempted Murder.
Aug 6, 2024 • 1h 10min
Buffoonery & Autocracy
In this episode, Steve and I discuss the March 29, 2024 episode of the Ezra Klein Show, on which Ezra interviewed political journalist John Ganz. Ganz's new book, When the Clock Broke, is a survey of political and cultural developments in the 1990s that gave rise to the sorts of resentments and grievances at work in the upcoming election.
Feb 27, 2024 • 1h 12min
Reason, Passion, Ignorance, and Expertise in Politics
Steve and I talk about passion and reason in the populace, and the place of expertise in politics.
Feb 20, 2024 • 54min
What We've Learned About Teaching
Steve and I talk about a bunch of stuff, but especially about what we've learned about teaching.
Feb 13, 2024 • 55min
You Are Not Your Job, Pt. 2
In this episode, Steve and I continue our conversation about who we are and what we do, along with a bunch of other stuff.
