Here is a recent conversation I had with Kate Boyd about her new book, An Untidy Faith. In the wake of scandal, culture wars, and abuse, many Christians are wondering whether the North American church is redeemable—and if not, whether they should even stay. While many are answering no to those questions, this book is for those who long to disentangle their faith from all the cultural baggage and recapture the joy of following Jesus. Through personal anecdotes, encounters with the global church, deep dives into Scripture, and helpful historical context about Christianity, An Untidy Faith takes readers on two journeys. The first journey lays out the grand vision of Christianity and the legacy passed on to us by the early believers in hopes of renewing readers’ belief in the church writ large. The second journey helps believers understand why they feel distant from their church settings and provides a reorientation drawn from Scripture of God’s vision for community. A gentle companion, Kate Boyd walks alongside those who have questions but can’t ask them for fear of being labeled by or cast out of their communities. An Untidy Faith is a guidebook for those who want to be equipped with practices to rebuild their faith and shape their communities to look more like Jesus.

Father James Martin discusses his new book 'Come Forth' on Jesus's miracle of raising Lazarus, exploring themes of love, family, and new life. The podcast delves into the power of names in the Bible, the significance of prayer, and the concept of eternal life. Visual storytelling through art and photography adds depth to the discussion on biblical narratives.

Dr. Tobias Cremer joins us on the pod this week to talk about his new book The Godless Crusade: Religion, Populism, and Right-Wing Idenity Politics in the West. Dr. Cremer is a Junior Research Fellow in Religion and the Frontier Challenges at Pembroke College Oxford. His research focuses on the relationship between religion, secularisation and the rise of right-wing identity politics throughout western societies. In his doctoral research (University of Cambridge, funded by the ESRC) Tobias explored how right-wing populist movements in Germany, France and the United States employ Christianity as a cultural identity marker, and how believers and church authorities are reacting to such references.

Today Jack is back! We have Jack Levison on to talk about his new book Seven Secrets of the Spirit-Filled Life: Daily Renewal, Purpose and Joy When You Partner with the Holy Spirit.

Better late than never! This week Teer talks with Godfather of the pod, Will Willimon, about Jason's new book, A Quid Without Any Quo: A Gospel Freedom According to Galatians Go grab you a copy!

This week our guest is Karen Marsh! Karen's new book, Wake Up to Wonder came out July 11th. It's 22 invitations to amazement in the everyday.

This week we are sharing an epsidoe from ReThinking Faith, a podcast hosted by our friend Josh Patterson! Hope ya'll enjoy!

Our guest for #414 is Isaac Sharp, author of The Other Evangelicals: A Story of Liberal, Black, Progressive, Feminist, and Gay Christians―and the Movement That Pushed Them Out. Isaac B. Sharp is director of online and part-time programs and visiting assistant professor at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. He is the coeditor of Evangelical Ethics: A Reader in the Library of Theological Ethics series (Westminster John Knox, 2015) as well as Christian Ethics in Conversation (Wipf & Stock, 2020). About the book: What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear “evangelical”?For many, the answer is “white,” “patriarchal,” “conservative,” or “fundamentalist”—but as Isaac B. Sharp reveals, the “big tent” of evangelicalism has historically been much bigger than we’ve been led to believe. In The Other Evangelicals, Sharp brings to light the stories of those twentieth-century evangelicals who didn’t fit the mold, including Black, feminist, progressive, and gay Christians.Though the binary of fundamentalist evangelicals and modernist mainline Protestants is taken for granted today, Sharp demonstrates that fundamentalists and modernists battled over the title of “evangelical” in post–World War II America. In fact, many ideologies characteristic of evangelicalism today, such as “biblical womanhood” and political conservatism, arose only in reaction to the popularity of evangelical feminism and progressivism. Eventually, history was written by the “winners”—the Billy Grahams of American religion—while the “losers” were expelled from the movement via the establishment of institutions such as the National Association of Evangelicals. Carefully researched and deftly written, The Other Evangelicals offers a breath of fresh air for scholars seeking a more inclusive history of religion in America.

In honor of the Annual Conference begginning we are sharing a special interview where Jason and Teer interview Bishop Sue Haupert. Bishop Sue was assigned to the Virginia Conference at the 2022 SEJ Conference. A Florida native, Bishop Haupert-Johnson (or “Bishop Sue”) is a graduate of the University of Florida (B.S. in Business Administration), University of Florida College of Law (J.D.), and Candler School of Theology at Emory University (M.Div.). She was a federal law clerk and a litigator with the Tampa law firm of Carlton, Fields before she answered her call to ministry. Enjoy this episode!