The Living Church Podcast

Where were you were when you first started feeling the stirrings of a call — to the faith, to a deeper more inquiring life, to a vocation to engineering, nursing, motherhood, or the ministry? Today we’re taking a look at what Jesus might mean when he says, "Come follow me.” Specifically, we’ll talk about how this might work with young adults fresh out of college and just beginning their careers, and how other Christians can help them hear and obey that call. Joining me to tell me what she knows about this — and she knows a lot — is my friend, Theresa Wilson. Theresa is the director of the Louisville Fellows Program in Kentucky and has a passion for developing young leaders committed to the flourishing of the local economy. She is married to the Rev. Clint Wilson, an Episcopal priest. They have a rambunctious 4-yr-old son and an equally tolerant black lab. Sharpen your pencils, because you may have graduated, but school’s not over yet. Theresa recommends:  iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us by Jean M. Twenge Visions of Vocation by Steven Garber "Why Work?" by Dorothy Sayers Every Good Endeavor by Timothy Keller Explore Living Church Books Find out more about the Louisville Fellows. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Join us in Oklahoma City for the Love's Redeeming Work Conference. Podcast listeners use discount code FRIEND25 for 25% off all tickets. Click here for tickets. -- What happened at the Lambeth Conference? This week we've got two bishops fresh from Lambeth, coming in to share what they saw and heard. We'll talk Resolution I.10, missing provinces, the ministry of the archbishop, practical takeaways, how easy it is to get lost in the woods of Kent, and much more. After all the important forecasting and reporting, we note this week the importance of presence. The sense of places and people, emotional impressions, food, weather, silences, tense moments, and what makes you laugh -- they're vital. Both of our guests today brought home a lot from the conference, for themselves and their communities. With differing perspectives, and with the different communities they minister to, our guests today describe a diversity and yet striking commonality to what they experienced at Lambeth -- a commonality that is enlightening. The Rt. Rev. Dr. Joseph Wandera is Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Mumias, Kenya, former professor at St. Paul’s University, Limuru, and has served on various committees of the Anglican Communion, including Theological Education in the Anglican Communion (TEAC). The Rt. Rev. Jenny Andison is Rector at St. Paul's Bloor St. in Toronto. She's the former area Bishop of York-Credit Valley in the Diocese of Toronto and has served in Toronto for many years. Bishop Jenny has also served in the Diocese of London (UK), and the Diocese of Tokyo. -- Join us in Oklahoma City for the Love's Redeeming Work Conference. Podcast listeners use discount code FRIEND25 for 25% off all tickets. Click here for tickets. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Pentecost and ecumenism; magical realism and the environment; the Trump era and the rise of the religious right; Azusa street and the empowering of the poor; and a few Lord of the Rings references for good measure. Today we have two very special guests, one of them a professor of mine from grad school, the other a new friend and colleague in the Anglican Church in Brazil. All of us have a Pentecostal background as well as an interest in theology, the social sphere, and ecumenical conversation. My guests have a trove of wisdom and stories about how Pentecosalism in the U.S. and Latin America shape the Christian imagination, interact with institutional Christianity, affect the lives of the poor, and challenge the Church to a more sensitive witness in our time. The Rev. Dr. Cheryl Bridges Johns is visiting professor at United Theological Seminary and director of their Global Pentecostal House of Studies. She is past president of the Society for Pentecostal Studies and a leading Pentecostal ecumenist, and was a participant in the International Roman Catholic-Pentecostal Dialogue and active in the Commission on Faith and Order for the National Council of Churches (1992-1996). She is the author of Pentecostal Formation: A Pedagogy Among the Oppressed and Reenchanting the Text: Discovering the Bible as Sacred, Dangerous, and Mysterious. Dr. Joanildo Burity is a political scientist, lead researcher and professor in the Professional Masters of sociology at the Joaquim Nabuco Foundation in Brazil, and professor in the Postgraduate Programme in Sociology and Political Science at the Federal University of Pernambuco. He was senior lecturer and Director of the Faith and Globalisation Programme at Durham University, UK and a member of the Anglican Consultative Council. Joanildo is an active lay leader in the Anglican Church in Brazil. He is the author of Faith in Revolution: An Analysis of the Northeastern Conference (2012), and a recent number of articles on religion and politics in South America. Check out Cheryl's work. Check out Joanildo's work. Subscribe to the Living Church. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Today we're speaking with someone who never thought she could be a leader until she discovered she was called to be a leadership expert, disrupting and healing patterns of Christian leadership. My guest has a refreshing and hard-won take on leadership that focuses on the way we use our physical selves in space in order to assert or share power. Where does power come from? Why do some people just walk in a room and seem to have "the it factor"? What do you do if you have it? What if you don't? Is it OK to tell a garrulous person in a staff meeting to stop talking? Whether you have a lot of natural influence or not, our guest says, power is our God-given birthright to steward, and how we use it starts with the body. The Rev. Dr. MaryKate Morse is Executive Dean of the Portland Seminary of George Fox University and lead mentor for the Leadership and Spiritual Formation D.Min. track. She has taught for nearly 30 years in New Testament Greek, spiritual formation, leadership, and organizational change and serves as a spiritual director for evangelists and church planters. She's the author of Lifelong Leadership: Woven Together through Mentoring Communities; Making Room for Leadership: Power, Space, and Influence; and A Guidebook to Prayer: Twenty-Four Ways to Walk with God, as well as various other writing projects. Check out Living Church Books. Check out MaryKate's book, Making Room for Leadership. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

It's Lambeth Week! The Lambeth Conference is a gathering of bishops every ten years from across the Anglican Communion — though the schedule occasionally gets off track, such as during WWII and the Covid pandemic. They meet for prayer and reflection, fellowship and dialogue on church and world affairs. Why should you, O listener who may not be an Anglican bishop, or even an Anglican, care about the Lambeth Conference? We'll get to that. What has been up since the last Lambeth Conference in the church globally? The last 14 years in the world? Quite a lot. How will church leaders respond to complex questions on issues like Christian teaching on human sexuality and human rights? How will they make room for everyone at the table? Is there safe space to be honest, and how do people who disagree discern the call of the gospel together? How do you reconcile ecclesial tensions and heal old wounds? What do we make of former Abp. Rowan Williams's and Abp. Justin Welby's different approaches to the paradoxes and pressures of Anglicanism, including the rise of the ACNA and GAFCON, and important bishops who boycott the conference altogether? We'll discuss all of these things and more with the Rev. Dr. Andrew Goddard and the Rev. Dr. David Goodhew. Andrew Goddard was on a previous episode discussing the Living in Love and Faith curriculae. He's assistant minister at St James the Less, Pimlico, London; tutor in Christian ethics at Ridley Hall in Cambridge and Westminster Theological Centre; and member of the Church of England Evangelical Council. He published two recent pieces on our Covenant blog on "Lambeth in Retrospect." David Goodhew is a visiting fellow of St. Johns College, Durham University, and vicar at St. Barnabas Church, Middlesbrough, England. He has also been prolific on Covenant lately with four articles: "Lambeth 2022 and African Anglicanism"; "Is the Anglican Communion Growing or Dying? New Data"; "Whither the CofE?"; and "The Episcopal Church in 2050." Read the Windsor Report. Read the Lambeth Calls. Keep up with Lambeth news on livingchurch.org or by following us on Twitter or Facebook. Read our blog, Covenant. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Under the Banner of Heaven is a true-crime series based on a book, about the murder of a young Mormon woman, Brenda Lafferty (Daisy Edgar Jones), and her young daughter and the subsequent investigation of that murder. The show's creator is an ex-Mormon, Dustin Lance Black. And he invents a character, a police detective, Jeb Pyre (Andrew Garfield), who is also a Mormon. And Jeb's investigation of this case starts interacting with his faith, it brings up larger questions about religious faith and faithfulness as it faces evil, hypocrisy, and the ugliest truths. Can it survive? How does media tend to get these kind of pictures right, bring up the right kinds of questions? And what does it often miss? Today we welcome Dr. Patrick Q. Mason. Patrick holds the Leonard J. Arrington Chair of Mormon History and Culture at Utah State University. He is the author of several books including Mormonism and Violence: The Battles of Zion; The Mormon Menace: Violence and Anti-Mormonism in the Postbellum South; and Proclaim Peace: The Restoration's Answer to an Age of Conflict. He was a Fulbright Scholar and is a past president of the Mormon History Association. Patrick is frequently consulted by the media on stories related to Mormon culture and history and is himself a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Now put on your sunglasses and sunblock, because we're headed to Utah, and into the heart of some tough questions about what it means to be a person of faith, not just as a Mormon in the 1980s, but as a Christian in our world today. We hope you enjoy the conversation. Check out Patrick's books. Visit TLC's blog, Covenant. View TLC's new books! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Clergy and performing artists have a lot in common. How is liturgy like a concert? A staff meeting like a band rehearsal? All leaders, and all Christians, can learn so much from artists, good art, and artistic discipline about God's world, God's work, and life in Christ. Today I'm joined by the Rev. Jonathan Jameson, also known as Jon Jameson of the indie rock band Delta Spirit. We talk about his own giftings in the arts and ministry and how they've been mutually illuminating. We talk about about discipleship on the concert circuit, the importance of geeking out and loving what you love, steps to discerning vocation, and how Björk accidentally ended up in a conversation about sin and grace with Arvo Pärt. Jonathan is associate rector at St. John’s Episcopal Church Savannah, Ga. Until becoming a priest he was a full-time professional musician. Jonathan and his wife Amy, a fashion designer, recently moved from Montreal, and have two young children. Delta Spirit is the Americana-influenced indie band he's been part of for 17 years, along with four other musicians. They've toured with My Morning Jacket, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Cold War Kids, and The Shins. Turn up your Fender Frontman -- maybe even to 11. Get those headphones on tight. We hope you enjoy the conversation. Watch Björk with Arvo Pärt Visit Delta Spirit's website Give to the Living Church --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

From Charles Darwin to sex robots to the Big Bang and the Gospel of John—we are going to take a journey today into the wild and woolly world of faith and science. Faith and science—how do we have these conversations?—evolution, artificial intelligence, Covid, When does life begin?, How should it end?—how do we have these conversations in ways that are charitable and as smart as possible and leave behind some of the my-yard-sign-is-more-loving-than-your-yard sign Babel, but also admit tough questions and pose rich gospel responses? Allow me to send all of you to our blog, Covenant, to check out two of our most recent articles on faith and science. You can find links for both of those below. The Rev. Dr. Kara Slade will be joining me today to talk about learning how to run our fingers along the seams of faith and science. They're not seamless, not two ways of talking about the exact same thing. They don't always "agree together quickly on the way," but that disagreement need not lead us into internecine Christian wars, or wars with our neighbors—though it probably will lead us at times, and for seasons, into conflict with a prevailing ethic or vision of the world, especially when the vision threatens our ability to be human. Kara Slade is associate rector of Trinity Church in Princeton, N.J., and canon theologian of the Diocese of New Jersey. She shepherds Anglican and Episcopal students at Princeton Theological Seminary. She holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and materials science and a Ph.D. in theology, both from Duke University. Her latest book is The Fullness of Time: Jesus Christ, Science, and Modernity (Wipf and Stock). Read Kara Slade's article, "Follow the Science? Yes and No." Read Sarah Coakley's article, "God, Evolution, and Cooperation." Check out Kara's latest book, The Fullness of Time: Jesus Christ, Science, and Modernity. Find out more about the Love's Redeeming Work conference. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Midterm elections. General Convention. Lambeth Conference. Family dinner. A work meeting. Interacting with parishioners on social media. Seeing for the first time the bumper stickers and various car decals of the person you thought you really liked. From friendships, family, and marriage to church leadership to international politics, we live in zones of conflict. We can, and sometimes have to, avoid it. We can, and sometimes have to, manage it. But the people who lead peacebuilding programs at Jerusalem Peacebuilders believe you can always, with the right tools and time, participate in transforming conflict. What the heck does that mean? Transforming conflict. And without avoiding religion, politics, or anything else spicy and personal. That's the question we ask today. This topic is for everyone. How can we broach tough topics rather than protecting ever-widening safety zones of silence? The topics we avoid are often the things that make us human and able to know others as full humans. And they're often our soft spots. So if you're not a hider, and you're more a wear-your-opinion-on-your-sleeve kind of person, this episode is for you too. What if our soft spots are right where God is calling us to connect? Calling us to be courageous witnesses to relationship in polarized communities? How can we face relational challenges without running away or exploding? How do we deal with feeling triggered? And what are some tools we can use for investing patiently in the relational long run, instead of trying to fix everything now? The Rev. Canon Nicholas Porter joins us today with his colleague Sarah Benazera. Nicholas is the founder and executive director of Jerusalem Peacebuilders, an interfaith, non-profit organization that promotes transformational, person-to-person encounters among the peoples of Jerusalem, Israel, Palestine, and the United States. A long-time resident of Europe and the Middle East, Nicholas is an educator and Episcopal priest. Sarah is Senior Educator and Curriculum Advisor of Jerusalem Peacebuilders. She is a humanist, peace-activist, storyteller and educator, with years of hands-on experience in international and intercultural dialogue. They'll share their wisdom with us today. They'll also tell some beautiful and inspiring stories about the messy but rewarding experience of working with young people from some of the world's most contentious contexts. As Sarah and Nicholas tell us today, peacebuilding is a marathon. So let's join them to get hydrated, and get stretched. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

David Downing, a scholar of C.S. Lewis, and Crystal Downing, co-director of the Marion E. Wade Center, dive deep into the concept of theosis, a core Christian hope often linked to Eastern Orthodoxy. They explore Lewis's limited exposure to Eastern thought and how his experiences shaped his understanding of love and sanctification. The discussion includes the communal nature of theosis versus Protestant individualism, the significance of desire in Lewis's writing, and how relationships serve as crucibles for personal transformation.