The Zeitcast with Jonathan Martin

Whether it's behind the bar at The Whisk or behind the pulpit, if the right Reverend Joel Everson is pouring...trust me, it's only going to be the good stuff!!! My instant favorite sermon on the woman at the well, this Women's History Month.

If you find yourself in a place of "deep darkness," a place so dark not even "your word is a light unto my feet"...if you feel far from home, don't know how to get back, don't know where home is, feel trapped inside the nightmare you can't wake up from...this one is for you.

U2. Songs of Surrender. With our good friends Stella and Brother George Dickel.

MEAAAANNN...by God, GENE!!! On this Zeitcast, we are talking about how people can think they are culture-free, but everybody else is shaped by "the culture," inglorious ways of defining the "glory of God," how it's possible to take Revelation literally but not the Sermon on the Mount (!?), the relationship between Jesus and Paul, "the world," "the flesh," and Shusaku Endo's epic novel, Silence. WOOOOO!!!

Do you speak--to any size crowd, behind a podium, or behind a screen? Our daughter Kaitlyn is competing for Miss Teen Oklahoma, so I've been talking to her about speaking--which got me thinking more broadly about the handful of things I most deeply believe about public speaking: as art, as magic, as an opportunity to break something human inside of someone else. Whatever kind of speaking you do or are interested in doing, I hope you find something helpful here! Why for me it's all about relaxing into the moment, avoiding over-hyping yourself to the point of over-shooting the landing, why being hyper aware of your surroundings generally trumps even great content, being vulnerable without over-sharing, and my current mantra: VARY YOUR TONE!

We can't speak the truth about faith, without speaking the truth about our bodies--without speaking the truth about our trauma. Whether you are dealing with your own trauma or someone else's (chances are pretty high you are dealing with both!), this episode will hopefully speak the language of your spirit.

Does theology exist to set boundaries and parameters for how we think/speak about God--or blow them up?

What is the difference between finding Jesus, losing religion, finding crystals or tarot cards, or coming into money? Apparently sometimes...not all that much.

It does seem like a bit of missed opportunity not to just call this "a rabbi, an imam, and two pastors walk into a bar," even though we weren't in a bar! I am so excited to introduce you to my wonderful spiritual friends and colleagues, and I love the vulnerability at the heart of this conversation--where we all talk about something unique our tradition brings to the table...but also something we have struggled with within our own respective traditions!

a Lenten sermon by Jonathan Martin