The Cartographers

If the social fabric has broken down, what do we do about it? What might Christians have to offer our neighbors who are in search of the common good? We talk everything from loneliness, work, and ideas about how the church can be good neighbors, and how to build real community.Join me as I chat with Jake Meador — he’s the author of In Search of the Common Good and editor-in-chief of Mere Orthodoxy. He lives with his wife and three children in Lincoln, Nebraska.LISTEN on APPLE PODCASTS OR ONLINE AT MEGAPHONE, or wherever you listen to podcasts subscribe to the FINDING HOLY podcast.LINKSMere OrthodoxyJake’s book: In Search of the Common GoodAshley’s book, Finding Holy in the Suburbs: Living Faithfully in the Land of Too Much: https://amzn.to/2FQr67Z SHAREHow can Christians be a good neighbor in a very alienating culture? @jakemeador on #findingholypodcastMarriage, work, and sabbath are the norms of people before the Fall. @jakemeador on #findingholypodcastWe shouldn’t be surprised that people who are hungry are finding their own way to the dinner table. On faith and the common good with @jakemeador on #findingholypodcastWe have neighbors who are desperately lonely and we have something to offer them. @jakemeador on #findingholypodcastONE SMALL STEPNotice something beautiful. Draw your own attention to things going around you that are beautiful and done well. Use it to talk with the others in your real life — your kids, your colleagues — bring someone along with you.Consider ways to share in your neighborhood — share resources. Find a need. Use the need to create relationships.SUBSCRIBE AND SHARE! We’re a new podcast and we’d love for more people to connect the dots between the things that really matter and their everyday lives. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and share with a friend! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For three weeks, our Suburban Bootcamp helps you take the big ideas of secularism and connect the dots to your everyday, holy life. How do we live ordinary lives well in a secular age? Here’s some practical places to start.Bryce Hales (church planter at Resurrection Orange County) and Ashley Hales talk about freedom and secularism, how social media changes us, and how secularism affects those of us who live in suburbs and live rather ordinary lives. We talk about secularism of the right, give you some resources, and help you connect the dots between secularism and habits to move you towards the things of God. Listen in, share and subscribe!LISTEN on APPLE PODCASTS OR ONLINE AT MEGAPHONE, or wherever you listen to podcasts subscribe to the FINDING HOLY podcast. Check out Episode 32 for our first episode in Suburban Bootcamp 2020.LINKSOur church, Resurrection Orange County: https://www.resurrectionoc.com/Ashley’s book, Finding Holy in the Suburbs: Living Faithfully in the Land of Too Much: https://amzn.to/2FQr67Z And particularly check out this resource specifically for churches: aahales.com/forchurchesMentioned this episode: Faith for Exiles: 5 Ways for a New Generation to Follow Jesus in Digital Babylon, David Kinneman and Mark MatlockSHAREHow has secularism infiltrated not only urban progressive places but the suburbs? Join @aahales and pastor @bahales of @res_oc talk about #secularism:Join @aahales and @bahales as they talk right-leaning secularism on #findingholypodcastWe talk resilient disciples, information from @barnagroup, secularism, and more on #findingholypodcastThe secularism of the right looks more reactionary than outward-focused. #findingholypodcastMeaningful life = community + freedom in a suburban secular age. Listen in to @aahales and @bahales on #findingholypodcastThick identities are formed through story, attention and what community we’re doing life with. @aahales and @bahales on #findingholypodcastWe have the story of the gospel in our heads but we have the story of the culture in our bones. @bahales and @aahales #findingholypodcastONE SMALL STEPTo form a gospel identity — consider what you give your attention to and what people you’re doing life with.Choose to commit to your community: go to church. Make it a priority from now before Easter. Choose to show up for the same group of ordinary people and see how it goes!If regular church-going is already your thing, consider what you might do to show up and volunteer regularly. We don’t want to see our church communities as yet another consumer product.SUBSCRIBE AND SHARE! Get special info for your church here: www.aahales.com/forchurchesWe’re a new podcast and we’d love for more people to connect the dots between the things that really matter and their everyday lives. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and share with a friend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For three weeks, our Suburban Bootcamp helps you take the big ideas of secularism and connect the dots to your everyday, holy life. How do we live ordinary lives well in a secular age? Here’s some practical places to start.Bryce Hales (church planter at Resurrection Orange County) and Ashley Hales talk about freedom and secularism, how social media changes us, and how secularism affects those of us who live in suburbs and live rather ordinary lives. We talk about secularism of the right, give you some resources, and help you connect the dots between secularism and your phone. Listen in, share and subscribe!LISTEN on APPLE PODCASTS OR ONLINE AT MEGAPHONE, or wherever you listen to podcasts subscribe to the FINDING HOLY podcast.LINKSOur church, Resurrection Orange County: https://www.resurrectionoc.com/My book, Finding Holy in the Suburbs: Living Faithfully in the Land of Too Much: https://amzn.to/2FQr67ZMentioned this episode: Faith for Exiles: 5 Ways for a New Generation to Follow Jesus in Digital Babylon, David Kinneman and Mark MatlockTish Harrison Warren, “Want to Get into the Christmas Spirit?” New York Times Pete Scazzero, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day-by-Day and the EHS course here.More on secularism: Charles Taylor, A Secular Age: https://amzn.to/2FQSqTAJames K. A. Smith’s synopsis of Taylor, How (Not) to be Secular: https://amzn.to/2FRhLx1SHAREHow has secularism infiltrated not only urban progressive places but the suburbs? Join @aahales and pastor @bahales of @res_oc talk about #secularism:Join @aahales and @bahales as they talk right-leaning secularism on #findingholypodcastWe justify ourselves and the right-now experience and so we use our kids as the excuse for that” @bahales and @aahales talk about suburban secularism on the #findingholypodcastWe talk resilient disciples, information from @barnagroup, secularism, and more on #findingholypodcastChristianity is important because we do talk about routines, habits, and liturgies, yet nothing of those are supposed to be rote. #findingholypodcast #secularism“Secularism sees suffering as the only evil. When we’ve been insulated from suffering, we don’t feel our need for God” — #findingholypodcast with @aahales and @bahalesThere’s even secular ways to even read your bible. @bahales and @aahales on #findingholypodcast talking on secularism.We don’t like the idea that God is going to shake things up in the affluent suburbs. @bahales and @aahales on #findingholypodcastGut check: I’ve been pursuing happiness. Am I happy? asks @bahales @aahales on #secularism on #findingholypodcastONE SMALL STEPPractice pausing in the middle of your day to remind yourself that you’re in God’s presence. We’re often not aware that we are always in God’s presence. Put an alarm on your phone or put a bright orange sticky note on your bathroom mirror to practice pausing during your day.Read a Psalm. Move your body in a different way — sit down or stand up, kneel or go for a walk. Practice one small step to connect with the grander story of the gospel instead of the story of hurry and hustle.Let us know how it goes: tag me at @aahales or use the hashtag #findingholypodcast to tell us about it.SUBSCRIBE AND SHARE! We’re a new podcast and we’d love for more people to connect the dots between the things that really matter and their everyday lives. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and share with a friend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For the month of January, our Suburban Bootcamp helps you take the big ideas of secularism and connect the dots to your everyday, holy life. How do we live ordinary lives well in a secular age? Here’s some practical places to start.Bryce Hales (church planter at Resurrection Orange County) and Ashley Hales talk about freedom and secularism, how social media changes us, and how secularism affects those of us who live in suburbs and live rather ordinary lives. We talk about secularism of the right, give you some resources, and help you connect the dots between secularism and your phone. Listen in, share and subscribe!LISTEN on APPLE PODCASTS OR ONLINE AT MEGAPHONE, or wherever you listen to podcasts subscribe to the FINDING HOLY podcast.LINKSThis Cultural Moment podcast with Mark Sayers and John Mark ComerOur church, Resurrection Orange County: https://www.resurrectionoc.com/My book, Finding Holy in the Suburbs: Living Faithfully in the Land of Too Much: https://amzn.to/2FQr67ZCharles Taylor, A Secular Age: https://amzn.to/2FQSqTAJames K. A. Smith’s synopsis of Taylor, How (Not) to be Secular: https://amzn.to/2FRhLx1James K. A. Smith, On the Road with St. Augustine: https://amzn.to/3acimqJSHAREHow has secularism infiltrated not only urban progressive places but the suburbs? Join @aahales and pastor @bahales of @res_oc talk about #secularism:Join @aahales and @bahales as they talk right-leaning secularism on #findingholypodcast“What looks like happiness is: “I get to choose.” We see this on the right and the left. In cities and suburbs and everywhere in-between.” Join @aahales and @bahales for Suburban Bootcamp on the #findingholypodcast:“With social media, we are the product now.” Join @aahales and @bahales as they talk about secularism in the suburbs for #findingholypodcast“Political ideology of the left and the right is taking the place of religion in people’s lives.” @bahales and @aahales on #findingholypodcast“We don’t have to create an identity for ourselves.” Listen in to #findingholypodcast with @bahales and @aahales:ONE SMALL STEPThink about where you put your phone! Grab an old-fashioned alarm clock and plug in your phone across the house. Instead of reaching for your phone as a first step each day — essentially giving our to-do lists, email and social media accounts pride of place in our lives — start your day with your true identity. Read a psalm to start off your day to remind yourself of whose you are.Let us know how it goes! Tag @aahales and use the hashtag #findingholypodcast to share what changes you’re making (and your laundry routine)!SUBSCRIBE AND SHARE! We’re a new podcast and we’d love for more people to connect the dots between the things that really matter and their everyday lives. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and share with a friend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kate Bowler, academic and author, writes about women and power in Christian circles in her latest book, The Preacher’s Wife: The Precarious Power of Evangelical Women Celebrities. Ashley Hales was able to interview Kate Bowler courtesy of The Englewood Review of Books. You can read the interview at The Englewood Review. Thanks to Englewood, here’s a longer version of the article that appeared in print.We talk about roles of women, authenticity, forms of power, and what cuts it in the marketplace and in institutions. This is not an episode to miss!At the Finding Holy podcast, we connect the dots between the things that really matter and your everyday, holy life. Subscribe now.LINKSThe Preacher’s Wife: https://amzn.to/2QyBMyuEverything Happens for a Reason: https://amzn.to/2N8wyXWKate’s website: KateBowler.comSHARE“I would be nothing without the institutions that shelter me.” @katecbowler with @aahales on #findingholypodcast“Why else spend a decade researching? I just want to be helpful.” @katecbowler on #thepreacherswife on #findingholypodcast“The marketplace can’t punish people appropriately. Without time and nuance, irresponsible promises are made because they sell.” @katecbowler on #findingholypodcast“When I was researching this book, I was trying to not die.” @katecbowler on #findingholypodcast“My research made me more empathetic to these women who have been release valves for other women.” @katecbowler on performed #vulnerability on #findingholypodcastSUBSCRIBE AND SHARE! We’re a new podcast and we’d love for more people to connect the dots between the things that really matter and their everyday lives. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and share with a friend.COMING UP! Suburban Bootcamp where we talk real-talk about ministry boots-on-the-ground and the influence of secularism and the digital age. Subscribe so you don’t miss it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re busy and yet we want to connect with God. Listen in to these four weeks of short conversations that you can listen to in the midst of your real life with Ashley Hales and Jen Pollock Michel. We talk about the reality of December with busy schedules and messy pine needles and how to meet God in the real instead of the ideal.Listen in wherever you listen to podcasts!*A quick note: I wanted to let you know that we’ve changed podcast hosts. So make sure you’ve subscribed to this RSS feed: https://feeds.megaphone.fm/CHRTDY4295404622LINKSJen’s reflections on Advent are available to her email subscribers here.Jen’s book, Surprised by Paradox (which has a section on the incarnation).Ashley’s book, Finding Holy in the Suburbs, (which is helpful on consumerism and generosity this season).Works mentioned (and recipes):Acedia and Me, Kathleen NorrisJen’s plum torte recipe available here.Ashley’s millionaire shortbread recipe here.SHAREFood sure makes us laugh this episode. Get @jenpmichel’s plum torte and @aahales’ millionaire shortbread this episode! #findingholypodcastMeals were so special that the whole story of Jesus can be told in a meal. This brings us back to the why. @jenpmichel @aahales #findingholypodcastWe deny the pleasures of eating. Hospitality portends something different. Listen in to @aahales and @jenpmichel on #findingholypodcastThere is both an asceticism and a pleasure or indulgence to the story of God. @aahales and @jenpmichel on #findingholypodcastThe food imagery in the Bible is no accident. @jenpmichel and @aahales on #findingholypodcastONE SMALL STEPWho needs a spot at my table? Take this question with you through the month of December.Touch your table and pray. Ask God to show you how you can use your table as a welcome for Jesus.Keep the conversation going by tagging Ashley at @aahales on Twitter or using the hashtag, #findingholypodcast.SUBSCRIBE AND SHARE! We’re a new podcast and we’d love for more people to connect the dots between the things that really matter and their everyday lives. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and share with a friend.See you in January! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re busy and yet we want to connect with God. Listen in to these four weeks of short conversations that you can listen to in the midst of your real life with Ashley Hales and Jen Pollock Michel. We talk about the reality of December with busy schedules and messy pine needles and how to meet God in the real instead of the ideal.Listen in wherever you listen to podcasts!*A quick note: I wanted to let you know that we’ve changed podcast hosts. So make sure you’ve subscribed to this RSS feed: https://feeds.megaphone.fm/CHRTDY4295404622LINKSJen’s reflections on Advent are available to her email subscribers here.Jen’s book, Surprised by Paradox (which has a section on the incarnation).Ashley’s book, Finding Holy in the Suburbs, (which is helpful on consumerism and generosity this season).Tish Harrison Warren in the NYT: “Want to Get into the Spirit of Christmas? Face the Darkness”SHARE“Advent isn’t just a private experience. It’s public witness.” @jenpmichel on #Advent with @aahales on #findingholypodcastWe have to face that Advent actually sends us into the public sphere: a cataclysmic message that God is fixing the world through Jesus. @jenpmichel and @aahales on #findingholypodcastGod surprises us in how he fulfills our longings. @aahales @jenpmichel on #findingholypodcast this #AdventWho am I in relationship with that I can be more intentional with? @aahales @jenpmichel on #findingholypodcastONE SMALL STEPTake 5 minutes each day to slow down. There’s so much to be gained by In those 5 minutes! Put away your to-do list, your sense of control, and instead welcome a bigger story by giving your full attention to the people around you — from your family, to friends, to a neighbor.Chat on social media chat with us by using the hashtag #findingholypodcast and let us know how your five minutes a day goes!And for you planner-types, consider Jen’s question: How am I going to make room for God’s mission in 2020?SUBSCRIBE AND SHARE! We’re a new podcast and we’d love for more people to connect the dots between the things that really matter and their everyday lives. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and share with a friend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re busy and yet we want to connect with God. Listen in to these four weeks of short conversations that you can listen to in the midst of your real life with Ashley Hales and Jen Pollock Michel. We talk about the reality of December with busy schedules and messy pine needles and how to meet God in the real instead of the ideal.Listen in wherever you listen to podcasts!LINKSJen’s reflections on Advent are available to her email subscribers here.Jen’s book, Surprised by Paradox (which has a section on the incarnation).Ashley’s book, Finding Holy in the Suburbs, (which is helpful on consumerism and generosity this season).SHARE“I like that stories of doubt are included in the Christmas story. Uncertainty is part of faith.” @jenpmichel and @aahales on #findingholypodcast“Scripture is full of real people, not idealized ones.” Listen in to the #findingholypodcast this #Advent with @aahales and @jenpmichelAdvent is a reminder that the road never becomes clear. We don’t have certainty, just a little bit of light.” @jenpmichel and @aahales on #findingholypodcast“Faith is not formed when we have all the coordinates,” @jenpmichel and @aahales on detours, plans, and saying yes to God on #findingholypodcast“Our yeses are built incrementally” @jenpmichel and @aahales on #findingholypodcast on #Advent.ONE SMALL STEPAdvent might be a time for you to take a posture of submission, to practice some silence to hear God speak.Make a list: what are yeses, what are your no’s, and what are your “wish you could’ve” things this Advent season. Bring your list to God. This helps us bring our actual self to God, not an idealizedSUBSCRIBE AND SHARE! We’re a new podcast and we’d love for more people to connect the dots between the things that really matter and their everyday lives. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and share with a friend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re busy and yet we want to connect with God. Listen in to these four weeks of short conversations that you can listen to in the midst of your real life with Ashley Hales and Jen Pollock Michel. We talk about the reality of December with busy schedules and messy pine needles and how to meet God in the real instead of the ideal.LINKSJen’s reflections on Advent are available to her email subscribers here.Jen’s book, Surprised by Paradox (which has a section on the incarnation).Ashley’s book, Finding Holy in the Suburbs, (which is helpful on consumerism and generosity this season).Other works mentioned:James K. A. Smith, You Are what You Love and On the Road with St. AugustineEdith Schaeffer, What is a Family? Athanasius, On the IncarnationSHARE“On the one hand I sense a longing for God and yet there are a gazillion things to do.” @jenpmichel on the #findingholypodcastListen in to @jenpmichel and @aahales talk about the surprise of Advent in this series on the #findingholypodcastIncarnation is the death of abstraction. The invitation is for us notice being in a body this Advent. Listen to @jenpmichel and @aahales on #findingholypodcast“We keep pushing off the ideal for the real” @aahales and @jenpmichel on #findingholypodcast“Advent had been the occasion of my annual meltdown” @jenpmichel and @aahales on #findingholypodcastONE SMALL STEPA question for you to ponder:What would it look like for you to embrace the real rather than the ideal this season? Practice embracing the real instead of pining for the ideal this Advent season?SUBSCRIBE AND SHARE! We’re a new podcast and we’d love for more people to connect the dots between the things that really matter and their everyday lives. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and share with a friend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After three great episodes on how our places shape our loves and what we do about it as believers, Ashley Hales and Brandon J. O’Brien give listeners a road map for what to do next. We invite you into a thicker discussion about faith and culture here at the Finding Holy Podcast.LINKSWin a free book here: aahales.com/giveawayAshley’s book: amzn.to/2OdABDiBrandon’s book: amzn.to/2DcVqskJose’s book: amzn.to/2QH0NIeSHAREEven with different places and cultural histories, we’ve been able to identify why place matters with @dennaepierre @brandonjobrien and @aahales on #findingholypodcast. Listen in.The places we live pre-date us. Our relationship to place and time are complex. @aahales and @brandonjobrien on #findingholypodcastStaying put helps you take place seriously for your own formation. Listen in to @josehumphreys @dennaepierre @brandonjobrien on #findingholypodcast on culture, church planting and place.There’s something deeply Christ-like to stay put, to let a place shape you even if you expect there are ‘better’ opportunities elsewhere. Listen in to @aahales and @brandonjobrien on a #theologyofplace on #findingholypodcast.ONE SMALL STEPWe ask you a few questions to help you work through your spot in your place: Look at the root systems where you live — how did things become the way they are? Start as locally and concretely as possible. How can I see a bigger picture about what my place is really like right now? What do I not see? Explore the idea of staying put — what’s appealing and what’s scary about it? Place effects us internally. What is God asking me to do right now: Who is in front of me who needs to be seen? Enter to win a free book in our big November giveaway: aahales.com/giveawaySign up for Brandon’s free email course here: www.brandonjobrien.com. SUBSCRIBE, SHARE AND WIN:Subscribe, rate and review the Finding Holy Podcast on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts! Make sure to win a free book in our big giveaway this month: www.aahales.com/giveawayWe want to invite you into a free email course Brandon is offering for our polarized nation! Sign up here: https://mailchi.mp/2c670cdfc8b6/email-courseComing up this December: Advent reflections coming up with Jen Pollock Michel on the Finding Holy Podcast during the month of December. Sign up for Jen’s reflections here. Make sure you’re subscribed to the Finding Holy Podcast so you don’t miss our conversations! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices