The Eternal Current Podcast

We live in a culture that is coarse, frantic, and frenetic. Pastor and author Sean Palmer explores what it means to consider something holy. Set apart. He helps us receive Jesus’ phrase “Hallowed be Your Name” as less of a religious appeal to an insecure God in need of worship, and more of a pathway to anchor our trust in the One who cannot fail us or the world. 

Episode 2 asked “Is God a dude?”  This episode asks “Does God live on a cloud somewhere far away?”  And I can’t imagine a better guide to help us explore these questions than Diana Butler Bass. In her words, the first line of The Lord’s Prayer “explodes” many of our concepts of God...inviting us into a wider and more beautiful space.  At the end, Aaron Niequist teaches a new practice—creatively titled “My crazy, made up, underwater coffee shop practice”. May we learn to find God's presence everywhere.

As we explore The Lord's Prayer, the brilliant Diana Butler Bass helps us think theologically and historically about Jesus' choice to name God "Our Father". Is God a dude? Or is the invitation to pray "Our Father" something deeper and wider and more beautiful?  Pulling from scripture, church history, and the world we live in, Diana helps us reimagine and fully embody this historic prayer.

In a season of pandemic and social tumult, we are spending the next 9 episodes exploring The Lord's Prayer and learning to put it into practice. One line per episode. A short conversation and a tangible practice. In this episode, Aaron Niequist shares the invitation of this historic prayer, and debuts the new song from A New Liturgy No 8: The Lord's Prayer. Please join us as the journey begins.

David Bailey, founder of Arrabon, helps us wrestle with the realities of race in the U.S.  After a short history lesson, David offers a brilliant definition of “white supremacy”, teaches a roadmap for constructive action, and leads a powerful spiritual practice.  A masterclass by a truly gifted guide…for such a time as this.  

Angie Hong shares her experience as a Korean-American woman...feeling like she was the wrong body in the place she found herself. But in view of The Creator, she learned that she was actually given the right body; but she was simply in the wrong place. Angie invites us into a four part practice of being the right body in the right place: Truth, Communion, Lament, and Creative Imagination.

Aaron shares a personal experience from the week, reflecting on ways that quarantine has turned his focus overly inward. After telling the story of writing the song “Changed” for the Mars Hill community, he invites us into a short “blessed to be a blessing” liturgy. Join us as we pray for (and seek to serve) our neighbors, family, enemies, and world. 

Writer and public theologian Brian Mclaren helps us reflect on a Christianity that helps us love the world rather than escape from it. We explore the tension of rejecting an “us vs them” posture without choosing false equivalence. And then Brian guides a sincere and prophetic prayer for President Trump based on 1 Corinthians 13.

Pastor and author Ashlee Eiland offers a vision and practice for radical kindness. Sharing from her book Human(kind), she calls for something deeper than mere “niceness”--inviting us to embrace our own imago Dei and honor it in everyone we meet. A beautifully prophetic practice for our divided times.

(Part 2 of 2) Fr Michael Sparough, SJ, returns to guide a two part prayer of imagination on the Two Standards by St Ignatius. Together with an original score by Aaron Niequist, we invite you into a fully immersive prayer experience for your heart, mind, imagination, and body. Join us?