The Weight

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:In this Holy Week episode, Chris and Eddie are joined by Kavin Rowe, author of Christianity’s Surprise: A Sure and Certain Hope. After 20 years of scriptural immersion as the George Washington Ivey Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Duke Divinity School, Rowe began to discern the growing significance of Christianity’s groundbreaking impact when it first entered the world. His book evokes the lost sense of the explosive power at the heart of Christian story, detailing the new hope and fresh vision that brushes up against the familiarity of scripture. Christianity’s Surprise draws readers closer to an understanding of Christianity as a gift from God, a never-ending mystery filled with a robust, joyful sense of surprise.Rowe discusses the missing sense of imagination in American Christianity, how God’s promises for the future reach into the present, the interconnectedness of humanity, and how Christian institutions have evolved over time. Rowe’s insight in this conversation offers encouragement to all who need hope and who are longing to rediscover the heart of Christianity. It ushers in a refreshing perspective on the life-giving power of hope.Resources:Check out Kavin Rowe’s book Christianity’s Surprise here:https://www.abingdonpress.com/product/9781791008208/ Learn more about Kavin Rowe here:https://divinity.duke.edu/faculty/c-kavin-rowe

Show Notes:What does it take to imagine a world without war? How do we begin to believe that as a possibility? Eddie and Chris begin a series on war with guest Stanley Hauerwas, noted theologian and ethicist. Dr. Hauerwas asks us to contemplate the hard questions of war and nonviolence, but he knows the answers don’t come easily.Dr. Hauerwas is a long-time professor at Duke Divinity School and Duke University School of Law. He served as chair of theological ethics at the University of Aberdeen and was named America’s best theologian by Time magazine in 2001. Dr. Hauerwas has authored numerous books, including Resident Aliens, co-authored by Will Willimon, Living Gently in a Violent World, and 2011’s War and the American Difference. Resources:Find out more about Dr. Hauerwas, his publications, and appearances at stanleyhauerwas.org.Buy War and the American Difference

Show Notes:In the final episode of our series on consequences, Eddie and Chris welcome Susan Bradley and Bob Norman, two members of Oxford University United Methodist Church who have extensive experience in the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi--the opposite side from our previous guest, Merrill Nordstrom.Susan grew up in Meridian, Mississippi, and received her undergraduate degree from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1993 and her law degree from the University of Mississippi in 1996.  Upon graduating from law school, she moved with her husband Patrick to Yuma, Arizona, where he was stationed with the United States Marine Corps. Susan worked as a Deputy County Attorney in Yuma, Arizona before joining the United States Attorney's Office in the District of Arizona in 1998. During her career as a prosecutor, she has worked in Yuma and Phoenix, Arizona and in the U.S. Attorneys' Office for the Southern District of Texas in Houston, Texas. In 2004, she and her family had the opportunity to return to Mississippi where she joined the US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Mississippi. She currently serves as the First Assistant United States Attorney and lives in Oxford, where she and Patrick are members of OUUMC. Susan and Patrick have two children: Connor who is a freshman in college and TK, who is a sophomore in high school.Bob Norman grew up in Oxford and graduated from the University of Mississippi with a B.A. in philosophy. Eleven years in the Marine Corps and a law degree followed. After working in the offices of two district attorneys, Bob settled into the United States Attorney's Office in 1989, where he serves currently as Criminal Chief. Bob, Brenda and their two sons, Neal and Rob are members of O.U. Methodist Church. 

In today’s episode, Chris and Eddie continue the discussion of justice and mercy with Federal Public Defender Merrill Nordstrom. Merrill is a lifelong member of Oxford University United Methodist Church, the church Eddie and Chris currently serve. She graduated from the University of Mississippi Law School in 2002, and worked as a public defender for Lafayette County until 2019, when she joined the federal court system as a public defender.Merrill’s faith informs how she approaches her job. By getting to know her clients and digging into their histories, their families, and their motivations, she sees each client as a whole person--not just a statistic. Merrill helps them see that their worst day isn’t their last day. Her faith gives her hope, and she extends that hope to her clients in a moment when they need an advocate the most.

The death penalty is a controversial topic, especially for Christians--people who see the reign of God as one of forgivenss, restorative justice, and mercy. How do we reconcile ending someone’s life with the all-encompassing grace and love of Jesus Christ? Today’s guest, Dr. Jenny McBride, talks us through those conflicting concepts.Jenny is Associate Dean and Associate Professor at McCormick Theological Seminary. She was the Board of Regents Endowed Chair in Ethics at Wartburg College in Iowa and was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Initiative in Religious Practices and Practical Theology at Emory University, where she served as program director for the Atlanta Theological Association’s Certificate in Theological Studies at Metro State Prison for Women. Jenny’s deep friendship with Kelly Gissendaner, Georgia’s only female death-row inmate who was executed in September 2015, grew out of her experience as a professor in the certificate program. Jenny got to experience Kelly’s deep and growing faith and walked with Kelly through the final moments of her life, reminding her that “Jesus is going to be with you.” Jenny’s latest book, You Shall Not Condemn, tells Kelly’s story through her own friendship with Jenny and other religious leaders and advocates.You Shall Not Condemn doesn’t have a release date yet, but as soon as it does, we’ll let you know on The Weight’s social media.

Eddie and Chris revisit the conversation on  social innovation with Greg Jones. Greg is the President of Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, and is an author, speaker, minister, and the former Dean of Duke Divinity School. The theme of his appointment at Belmont is “Let Hope Abound,” and he is using that theme to create an ecumenical, Christ-centered culture for the flourishing of all people, not only the students, staff, and faculty.Greg is dreaming the God-sized dreams, and he has a few ideas on how to lead all of us onto that path. His most recent book, Navigating the Future: Traditioned Innovation for Wilder Seas (with co-author Andrew P. Hogue) outlines his perspective on traditioned innovation as “a habit of being and living that cultivates a certain kind of moral imagination shaped by storytelling and expressed in creative, transformational action.”Resources:Learn more about Greg here.Buy Navigating the Future

Eddie and Chris continue the conversation around deconstruction with Sarah Heath. If the name sounds familiar, she was one of our very first guests, way back in Season 1.  Sarah is a United Methodist clergywoman who is going through her own season of deconstruction and trying to figure out how, exactly, to do that as a pastor--how to navigate the difficulty of being a person and a pastor who is going through a season of doubt, how to find networks of support, how to provide that support when it’s not readily available, and how to continue to see God’s grace in the small moments of life… in an airstream trailer.Sarah is an ordained elder in the California Pacific Annual Conference. She is also an actress, an author, a dancer, a designer, a podcaster, and a creator. She has written several books, including 2019’s The 21-Day Authenticity Challenge. She is one of the founders of the Irreverent Media Group, a podcast media collective and co-hosts the REVcovery Room podcast with Justin Gentry, which is about leaving ministry, recovering from being a professional Christian, and finding meaning after a calling.Resources:Learn more about Sarah and her ministry at www.revsarahheath.com.You can find her at:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revsarahheath/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/minirevsarahheath/Twitter: https://twitter.com/revsarahheathREVcovery Room Podcast: https://www.irreverent.fm/show/revcovery/Irreverent Media Group: https://www.irreverent.fmSarah’s previous The Weight Episode: https://www.theweightpodcast.com/episodes/0007-the-weight-sarah-heath-the-theology-of-huh?rq=Sarah%20

In this episode of our series on deconstruction, guest Dave Stovall explains what deconstruction means to him: examining your faith, studying scripture, and pulling out all the parts that aren’t Biblically sound--the parts of faith that come to us from popular culture, from our families, from our friends--and then building your faith back up on a much stronger foundation. It’s less about starting from a blank slate and more about reforming and reframing what’s already there.Dave brings a unique perspective to this topic with his extensive history in the Christian music scene. He is currently the Musical Director at Harpeth Christian Church in Franklin, TN, and he was also a bass player for the Christian rock band Audio Adrenaline (2015-2017) and the lead vocalist of Wavorly. He is a contributor at renew.org, a network of Christian leaders that helps equip disciple makers and church planters of all backgrounds.Follow Dave on social media:https://www.facebook.com/wavorlydavehttps://www.instagram.com/davewstovall/Read more from Dave:https://renew.org/losing-my-faith-in-progressive-christianity-part-1/Listen:https://wavorly.bandcamp.comAudio Adrenaline 

How do we deal with seasons of doubt? How do we wrestle with the big questions of suffering and pain within the context of God’s never-ending love and come out with a firmer spiritual foundation and a stronger sense of God’s grace and work in our lives? Can we even admit our doubt, and if so, is it productive to our lives as Christians?In this episode, Eddie and Chris are joined by Dominic Done, author, pastor, teacher, and founder of Pursuing Faith. Dominic has gone through his own seasons of doubt, and openly shares his journey in his most recent book, When Faith Fails: Finding God in the Shadow of Doubt. He believes that we can not only push through doubt and step into a deeper faith, but we can and should come along side others in their seasons of doubt and struggle. If we are honest with our pain and willing to open ourselves to the grace of Jesus Christ through community, we grow as followers of Jesus.Dominic earned his Master's Degree in theology from the University of Oxford and has served as a pastor in Oregon, North Carolina, and Hawaii. Dominic has also taught English for companies in Europe, lectured in theology and history at various Christian colleges, worked as a radio DJ, and lived as a missionary in Vanuatu and Mexico. He is currently the leader of Pursuing Faith, a ministry that equips Christians and church leaders to navigate issues of faith, doubt, and apologetics.Resources:Follow Dominic on social media:https://www.facebook.com/DominicFrancisDonehttps://www.instagram.com/dominicdone/https://twitter.com/dominicdoneFind out more about Pursuing Faith:www.pursuingfaith.orgFind out more about When Faith Fails:https://www.pursuingfaith.org/whenfaithfails