The Weight

Having spaces for people to gather, play, and enjoy life with one another can change individual lives and whole communities. By and large, those spaces have begun to disappear. Creating those spaces and times for kids to gather is the passion project of today’s guest, Lowrey Crews.Lowrey is the founder and CEO of the 18th Ward, a non-profit that provides high-quality, low-cost youth sports programs in New Orleans. All kids are welcome to join the 18th Ward, regardless of race, gender, income, or neighborhood. As a kid growing up in Tupelo, Mississippi (along with Chris), Lowrey got to experience the formation that comes from not only being able to play sports, but to do so in a lower-stakes environment that fostered teamwork and friendship. Many families can’t financially afford the expenses that come with competitive travel ball teams, so Lowrey is providing a path for all kids in New Orleans to reap the benefits of simply getting to play.He is also a longtime friend of Chris’s, so he probably has some dirt he could share.Learn more about The 18th Ward--website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok

Today’s conversation with Anne Snyder might give you a little hope. She joins Eddie and Chris in a rich discussion of the Christian imagination, bringing back our shared stories to build community and move forward with more grace and joy--concepts that have seemed a little hard to grasp over the last few years.Anne is the editor-in-chief of Comment, a quarterly magazine that prints articles and essays focused on “public theology for the common good.” She oversees Breaking Ground, a network of institutions and people created by Comment in 2020 to use Christian humanist traditions to respond to the significant crises of 2020.  Anne is also the host of The Whole Person Revolution podcast.Resources:Follow Comment on InstagramFollow Anne on FacebookLearn more about Comment Magazine and Breaking GroundListen to The Whole Person Revolution podcast

Show Notes:We are excited to welcome Barbara Brown Taylor to The Weight for a conversation about hospitality and being in the center and being at the edge of a religion--how is it different when you’re the outsider versus when you’re on the inside? How do you let people who believe in something completely different strengthen your own faith? Barbara leaned into these lessons when she taught a Religion 101 class at Piedmont College, now Piedmont University, in Georgia. She got to watch the real love and hospitality of Buddhist monks and Muslim Imams who “welcomed a bunch of awkward strangers, and fed us, and showed us where to sit and gave us places of honor and thanked us for coming.” And in return, she was able to deepen her own faith and extend hospitality and love to the others in her own life. She used her experiences teaching that course to write Holy Envy, which was published in 2019.Barbara Brown Taylor is an Episcopal priest, teacher, and the best-selling. She has served on the faculties of Piedmont College, Emory University, Mercer University, Columbia Seminary, Oblate School of Theology, and the Certificate in Theological Studies program at Arrendale State Prison for Women in Alto, Georgia. Resources:Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of OthersFind Barbara Brown Taylor on the Web:https://barbarabrowntaylor.com Follow her on Social Media:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorBarbaraBrownTaylor/Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/71455.Barbara_Brown_Taylor 

Shownotes:Eddie and Chris join music legend Mac McAnally in a delightful conversation about music, making your mark, and leaving the world a better place than you found it. Mac is a native of Belmont, Mississippi, but he’s better known as a country music singer, songwriter, session musician, and record producer. He is an award-winning talent who has worked with country stars Kenny Chesney and Sawyer Brown, and he is a long-time member of Jimmy Buffett’s band, The Coral Reefers.Mac’s career started at just 13 years old, when his parents allowed him to play piano in a honky tonk bar in Iron City, Tennessee. He left high school in the 11th grade to pursue his music career (which, even though it worked out for him down the line, he wouldn’t encourage anyone else to do). He sees his role in the music industry as being “Johnny Musicseed,” carrying the responsibility of helping up-and-coming artists realize their dreams.Resources:Find Mac online and on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, and Spotify.Find his latest album, “Once in a Lifetime,” here.

Show Notes:Today we are joined by Dr. Derwin Gray, Lead Pastor and Co-Founder of Transformation Church in Indian Land, South Carolina. Dr. Gray played professional football in the NFL following his graduation from Brigham Young University in 1993. After his NFL career, Dr. Gray graduated magna cum laude from Southern Evangelical Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree. He received an honorary doctorate from Southern Evangelical Seminary in 2015, and in 2018 he earned his Doctor of ministry in the New Testament in Context at Northern Seminary. He is also the author of several books, including his most recent, How to Heal Our Racial Divide.Dr. Gray and his wife Vicki began Transformation Church in 2010 with the prayer that 700 people would show up. Their first service had 701 people in attendance. Transformation Church is a multiethnic, multigenerational, mission-shaped community that God completely, ourselves correctly, and our neighbors compassionately.Resources:Transformation Church WebsiteTC FacebookTC TwitterTC InstagramDr. Gray’s WebsiteDr. Gray on FacebookDr. Gray on TwitterDr. Gray on InstagramBuy Dr. Gray’s books here

Shownotes:The language surrounding mental health often limits the fullness of each complex human experience. Stigma, stereotypes, and media representations perpetuate one-dimensional portraits of what it means to live with a mental illness. Additionally, Christians tend to view sadness and joy in a narrow manner, when the Bible speaks to a vast array of human emotions we all experience. With all of this in mind, how can we speak about mental health in a more liberating and comprehensive way?In this episode, Chris and Eddie speak to John Swinton, author of “Finding Jesus in the Storm: The Spiritual Lives of Christians with Mental Health Challenges.” A registered mental health nurse, Swinton has listened to the multi-layered experiences of Christians who deal mainly with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression. Swinton maps out what it looks like to redefine health and healing in the context of connection, he speaks to the unique resources and community that the church can offer, and he addresses the sense of abandonment that Christians feel, especially when dealing with depression. We hope that this episode gives you permission to move through your story with freedom and greater imagination.Resources:Check out John Swinton’s book “Finding Jesus in the Storm” hereFollow John Swinton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/johnswintonabdn 

Shownotes:Somewhere in the rhythm of spiritual practices and religious traditions, American Christians have lost the sense of beauty, awe, and wonder that permeates through familiar stories of the Bible. Conversely, Western Christian culture sanitizes the reality of darkness throughout the Biblical narrative. Our culture brings more attention to the glory of Easter than the brokenness of Good Friday, and we celebrate Mary bringing Jesus into the world while glossing over her grief from losing her Son. As we draw nearer to the holiday season, colorful decorations place a blanket of comfort over the harsh realities we live in, covering up the vulnerabilities of our human nature.This was the inspiration behind Scott Erickson’s new book Honest Advent: Awakening to the Wonder of God-with-Us Then, Here, and Now. A painter, performance speaker, and writer, Scott offers familiar symbols steeped in what he describes as an “honest and robust spirituality.” Scott understands that we must experience an awakening within ourselves in order to connect to God with the level of depth our faith requires.He joins Eddie and Chris to speak about the nature of prayer as a portal that is already inside of us, the aspects of communal worship and life together, and the ways we can expand our view of the Christian faith. Scott speaks to the transformation that comes when we fully embrace our brokenness, engage in life together, and search for our own stories in the symbols all around us.Resources:Follow Scott Erickson on the web: https://www.scottericksonart.com Order Honest Advent: Awakening to the Wonder of God-with-Us Then, Here, and Now hereOrder Scott’s art here:https://scottericksonartshop.com Check out Scott’s books here:https://www.scottericksonart.com/books Follow Scott Erickson on social media:https://www.facebook.com/scottericksonart https://www.instagram.com/scottthepainter/ https://twitter.com/scottthepainter 

Show Notes:Becca Stevens is a speaker, social entrepreneur, author, priest, founder, and President of Thistle Farms. She has been featured on PBS NewsHour, The Today Show, CNN, ABC World News, named a CNN Hero, and White House Champion of Change. Becca founded Thistle Farms in 1997 with a single home for survivors of trafficking and addiction.In this episode, Chris and Eddie sit down to talk with Becca about her work as an advocate for women--standing alongside women and helping them pull themselves, and by extension their communities, out of a history of trauma and poverty and into a life thriving with healing, hope, and often tea.In her latest book (and her favorite book to date), Practically Divine, Becca invites us to see the divine in everyday, ordinary experiences and to find the potential for humor, wonder, and freedom by embracing our creativity and creating something from nothing. She threads wisdom from her mother into stories and poems to help us live a life that is practically divine.Resources:Learn more about Thistle Farms.Order Practically Divine.Watch Becca Stevens preach at Oxford University United Methodist Church.Find out more about Becca.Follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

Shownotes:Chris and Eddie are joined by Kiese Laymon, a black southern writer, born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. He is the author of the best-selling memoir “Heavy,” a deeply honest reflection on his complex relationship with his mother, grandmother, anorexia, obesity, sex, writing, and ultimately gambling. The winner of multiple awards, including the Carnegie Medal for Nonfiction, Laymon’s writing in “Heavy” and other works exhibits a profound usage of prose and ability to enter into his memories to bring forward a voice that speaks to the experiences of Mississippi, specifically of black Mississippians.Laymon speaks about the important role his grandmother plays in his life, the way in which the influences of our upbringing remain a part of us no matter what changes may come, and the incredible ability of art to unleash heavy truths from things we keep secret. This conversation, but more specifically Laymon’s art, speaks directly to the complexities of Mississippi in a way that helps listeners seek more understanding not just of one state, but an entire nation. Resources:Follow Kiese Laymon on the web:https://www.kieselaymon.com Check out Kiese Laymon’s memoir Heavy here:https://www.kieselaymon.com/heavy Follow Kiese on social media:https://twitter.com/KieseLaymonhttps://www.instagram.com/kieselaymon/

Parenting is hard. Parenting through a pandemic is even harder, but David Thomas and Sissy Goff are here to provide help and support. Sissy and David work at Daystar Counseling Ministries in Nashville, Tennessee. Sissy is the Director of Child and Adolescent Counseling and David is the Director of Family Counseling. When they aren’t counseling and ministering to kids and parents alike, they find time to write, travel and speak, and produce their own podcast, Raising Boys and Girls.In this episode, David and Sissy offer encouragement, resources, and hope to parents dealing with all the challenges and joys of raising boys and girls, including how to write your family’s own mission statement and books and authors who have guided them in their counseling ministries.Resources:Raising Boys and GirlsInstagramFacebookPodcastBooks by David Thomas and Sissy Goff are available for purchase at https://www.raisingboysandgirls.com/store.Resources mentioned in the episode:How Children Raise Parents by Dan AllenderThe Whole-Brain Child by Tina Payne Bryson & Dan SiegelBest Friends, Worst Enemies by Michael ThompsonRaising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Lives of Boys by Dan Klindon & Michael Thompson Birds & Bees