The Cartographers

Andrew Wilson, pastor and historian, writes about the context of the WEIRDER world in Remaking the World. We wanted to dig deep on the way this context affects Christian worship and practice. Listen in for helpful terms, thoughtful analysis, and how we might actually believe what we say we believe.Links:Andrew Wilson, Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian WestPodcast, Post-Christianity?King's Church LondonSpecial Offer: Do you want to invest in your marriage and work out some relationship kinks?For the month of March, for readers of “Beauty Leads the Way” and Cartographers listeners, we have a code for the Thrive Marriage Lab, a cohort program to get out of relational autopilot from our friends at ReStory Counseling.Use code “Hales” for $20/ off each month. Last day to sign up is April 7!The Cartographers is a production of Willowbrae Institute. Find out more at willowbrae.org. Be sure to signup for Willowbrae's newsletter and rate and review the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We all know technology forms us -- but how? How does technology intersect with our spiritual lives? It's tempting to just toss tech out the window, but how do we think more Christianly about the tech we use? Whether as parents or leaders, we have to reckon with the affect of technology on our affections. We end the episode with a few small, practical ways to get started thinking about formation, worship, and technology's affect on our affections.Links:Ted Gioia's Substack article, "The State of the Culture"Jon Haidt, The Anxious Generation and The Coddling of the American MindSocial DilemmaDallas Willard on vision, intention, means.We've got a limited-time, special offer for you!: What if God has more for your marriage? We're so excited to partner with Restoration Project! They're some of our favorites and now they've started a cohort for married folks called THRIVE. With code HALES you'll get $20 off each month. Go to Restory.life/thrive for details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How do our brains grow? What does lasting change look like? Where do things like character and pain fit?Curt Thompson brings neurobiology and the hope of the gospel together to live out a formationally-minded Christian life in this episode. We talk about how durable transformation happens often through suffering, the reasons for Christian hope, confessional communities, and how we live the life of faithful resilience when it's easier to follow "3 quick steps."Listen to the end as we've got a fun little surprise for you.Curt's newest book is The Deepest Place: Suffering and the Formation of Hope.The Cartographers is a production of Willowbrae Institute. Find out more at willowbrae.org. Be sure to signup for Willowbrae's newsletter and rate and review the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Everything we do forms us. How does this apply to the tasks of the church, like worship?We've considered some of the trends: de-churching, loneliness, and culture wars. What's really happening in worship, why do we do it? Join us as we pull back the curtain as we consider how worship is more than preferences, it's about formation. A formative view of worship differs from a functional view of worship and this paradigm shift affects the resilient fruit that is (or isn't) growing in a Christian's life.Join us in this new series as we consider how worship forms us both away from secularized narratives and towards goodness, truth and beauty.The Cartographers is a production of Willowbrae Institute. Find out more at willowbrae.org. Be sure to signup for Willowbrae's newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Need a book for someone on your list about leadership, culture, or a good piece of literature? Find out what are some of our most memorable reads from this year! Please take a minute to rate and review The Cartographers. It'll be a terrific present for us. We'll back in 2024!Resources mentioned: Watkin, Biblical Critical TheoryKey, How to Stay MarriedMcChrystal, Team of TeamsCrouch, The Life We're Looking ForSmith, Wisdom from BabylonWilson, Remaking the WorldL'Engle, Circle of QuietTaylor, A Secular AgeAugustine, City of GodMinich, Bulwarks of UnbeliefBryant, A Quiet Mind to Suffer With*When you order from the link provided we make a few pennies that helps The Cartographers! Thank you.The Cartographers is a production of Willowbrae Institute. Find out more at willowbrae.org. Be sure to signup for Willowbrae's newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you've been hurt or are unsure about how to engage in community, this interview with Justin Whitmel Earley on his book, Made for People, is a great starting place. Listen in to Bryce Hales and Ashley Hales as they speak with Justin about creating community in the church and in your neighborhoods. It's a practical starting place that follows up from the dechurching episode (so listen to that one too if you haven't yet).Resources:Made for People by Justin Whitmel EarleyTo find out more about Justin and his work, visit his website.The Cartographers is a production of Willowbrae Institute. Find out more at willowbrae.org. Be sure to signup for Willowbrae's newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Graham, co-author of The Great Dechurching, discusses the reasons behind people leaving the church. Topics include the concept of de-churching, characteristics of ex-fangelicals, impact of the internet and media, addressing disappointment and conflict, and realignment of belief, belonging, and behavior in religious communities.

What did we learn about the culture wars? What's providing us with hope? And, what's coming next on The Cartographers?We'd love it if you rated and reviewed the show. Share an episode with a friend!Other episodes in this series:Episode 1: Stuck in the MiddleEpisode 2: How'd we Get Stuck in the Middle?Episode 3: A Culture War Alternative with Mark LabbertonEpisode 4: Agent of Grace or Culture War Victim with Dan DarlingEpisode 5: What if Culture Wars are your Work? with Pete WehnerEpisode 6: Beauty as an Antidote to the Culture Wars with Susannah Black RobertsEpisode 7: The Burning House of American Evangelicalism with Brandon WashingtonEpisode 8: Humor Deflates the Culture Wars with Harrison Scott KeyThe Cartographers is a production of Willowbrae Institute. Find out more at willowbrae.org. Be sure to signup for Willowbrae's newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if humor was more than just a way to break tension or get a laugh? Humor takes the air out of anger, leads towards forgiveness, and provides a way to opt out of culture war thinking. In this thoughtful, funny, and moving conversation, Bryce and Ashley sit down with Harrison Scott Key, author of How to Stay Married. They speak about restoration, faith, and the role humor plays.How to Stay Married is a book about an affair and the outrageous mercy of God. Find a pathway to the true, good, and beautiful even in the darkest of times -- without pandering to platitudes.Please leave us a rating or review or share an episode with a friend!Resources mentioned:Harrison's book, How to Stay MarriedHarrison's websiteJamie Quattro, Fire SermonLeo Tolstoy, Anna KareninaBarbie movieOther episodes in this series:Episode 1: Stuck in the MiddleEpisode 2: How'd we Get Stuck in the Middle?Episode 3: A Culture War Alternative with Mark LabbertonEpisode 4: Agent of Grace or Culture War Victim with Dan DarlingEpisode 5: What if Culture Wars are your Work? with Pete WehnerEpisode 6: Beauty as an Antidote to the Culture Wars with Susannah Black RobertsEpisode 7: The Burning House of American Evangelicalism with Brandon WashingtonThe Cartographers is a production of Willowbrae Institute. Find out more at willowbrae.org. Be sure to signup for Willowbrae's newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are the culture wars a White thing? How do we think about race in America and the church? What might be the way forward? In this hopeful conversation with Pastor Brandon Washington he describes his multi-ethnic ministry and how the gospel compels us to strive for deliberate and sacrificial integration—the unity of believers of all ethnicities.Be sure to listen to other episodes in the series and we'd be grateful if you left us a review on iTunes.Resources mentioned:Brandon's book, A Burning House: Redeeming American Evangelicalism by Examining Its History, Mission, and MessageBrandon's "Black and Evangelical" article in Christianity TodayJames Baldwin, The Fire Next TimeOther episodes in this series:Episode 1: Stuck in the MiddleEpisode 2: How'd we Get Stuck in the Middle?Episode 3: A Culture War Alternative with Mark LabbertonEpisode 4: Agent of Grace or Culture War Victim with Dan DarlingEpisode 5: What if Culture Wars are your Work? with Pete WehnerEpisode 6: Beauty as an Antidote to the Culture Wars with Susannah Black RobertsThe Cartographers is a production of Willowbrae Institute. Find out more at willowbrae.org. Be sure to signup for Willowbrae's newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices