The Eternal Current Podcast

Aaron welcomes Todd Deatherage, co-founder of the Telos Group, about his provocative vision to build a pro-Israel, pro-Palestine, pro-peace movement in America and the world. As a peacemaker and a Christ-follower, Todd helps us explore ways that our private faith can and must be connected to our public mission. We don’t need to become an exhausted activist or an isolated contemplative, we can choose a third way.

Mark Scandrette has been leading practice-based experiments in San Francisco and around the world for over twenty years. In this episode, he shares stories from that experience that will fire our imagination for what practicing the way of Jesus can look like WITH OTHERS. And beyond inspiration, Mark offers a series of tools, resources, and practical next steps. We don’t have to do this alone. 

Rev Canon Dr Stephanie Spellers joins Aaron for a wide-ranging conversation about the necessity and challenge of moving outside of our faith traditions. The gift of Ecumenism. Can we remain open to new experiences of God without losing our roots? Can we hold onto the gifts of our preferred tradition without needing it to be dominant? Can we embrace the “both/and” without compromising our deepest values? What are the unique dynamics that our racial identities play in all this? Rev Stephanie guides us masterfully into this conversation. Her wisdom is deep and her hope is infectious. 

Pastor Rich Villodas joins Aaron to explore the tangible ways we can join with the Spirit’s movement in our actual, everyday life. The invitation is participation. In this highly practical episode, Rich teaches a historic framework that can help us stay in the flow of God’s unforced rhythms of Grace, Monday through Sunday. 

Exploring the transformative power of communion and the Eucharist, focusing on forming community, identity in Christ, and reconciliation. Delving into the significance of weekly communion over the sermon, embracing diverse eucharistic traditions. Finding grace and strength in challenging circumstances by seeking a new perspective.

Explore the structure of practice-based gatherings with experienced leaders merging traditions for enriching worship. Discuss transitioning from worship to pastoral roles, fostering community through liturgy and the Eucharist, navigating liturgical changes, embracing diversity in spiritual access points, and empowering through practice and silence in worship.

Shauna Niequist joins Aaron for an honest conversation about the beauty and struggle of a spiritual life that bears good fruit--inside and out. They talked about the spirituality of a well-balanced meal, four cultural lies that are starving us, her story of burnout and soul recovery, and then they walked through a few concrete practices to keep us plugged into the Good Vine. Shauna brings deep wisdom and really fresh language (usually food related!) for a practice-based faith.

In Episode 4, Aaron welcomes Fr Michael Sparough, SJ, to explore the idea and practice of The Kingdom of God. What is The Kingdom and how do we learn to swim in it? From a deep foundation as a Jesuit Priest and a lifetime spent walking with Christians as a spiritual director, Fr Michael brings a winsome wisdom to this incredibly important conversation. At the end, he guides a powerful "Sign of the Cross Meditation" that helps us get swept up into the deep streams.

This is the story of the birth of The Practice, which is a practice-based, contemplative, neo-liturgical, ecumenical, eucharistic gathering we started in the Willow Creek Chapel in 2014. Aaron Niequist shared some of the story and then sat down with three founding members--Lori Shoults, Kellye Fabian, and Jason Feffer--to share reflections from the beginning of this experimental community.

In this episode, Aaron Niequist and author Sarah Bessey share their stories of faith, losing faith, and re-finding it in a new way. The conversation moves into deep and quite honest places, and they try to honor the messy reality of the spiritual life. At the end, Sarah offers three concrete practices that help us not lose our souls in a season of questioning and deconstruction. Friends, new life is possible.