The Weight

Noncommunicable diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and respiratory diseases, wreak havoc on individuals, families, and communities. Almost three fourths of deaths from noncommunicable diseases occur in low- and middle-income countries, yet only one percent of healthcare spending is put toward NCD care. All across the world, poor and vulnerable communities cannot access the quality care, technologies, and medicines they need. What does it take to break down these barriers that burden so many of our neighbors?In this episode, Chris and Eddie are joined by Hal Beckham, Head of Finance at Medtronic LABS and Chief Financial Officer for Medtronic Philanthropy and Foundation. Medtronic LABS is a social business dedicated to expanding healthcare access to underserved communities and developing systems of care based on the unique contexts of countries such as Kenya, India, and Ghana. Beckham talks about the importance of corporate responsibility, his vocation and calling in the context of his career, and the impact of Medtronic’s programs and technology.Resources:Learn more about Medtronic LABS here:https://www.mdtlabs.org/about Read more about the impact of Medtronic LABS here:https://www.mdtlabs.org/impact-1 

In this episode, Eddie talks to Corey Mize, Executive Director of Base Camp Coding Academy in Water Valley, Mississippi. Base Camp Coding Academy offers high school graduates training in software development for 12 months, providing them with resources like computers and gas money for their commutes. The program also equips students with professional skills such as resume writing, email etiquette, and interviewing.Before joining Base Camp, Mize worked as a computer scientist and program manager with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) in Vicksburg, Mississippi. She’s passionate about shaping young leaders in the computer science field because she’s seen firsthand the lack of access that students in Mississippi have to computer science and programming. She talks to Eddie about what it looks like to create a flourishing environment for students and how our communities can better support students from all different backgrounds.Resources:Learn more about Base Camp Coding Academy here:https://basecampcodingacademy.org Apply to Base Camp Coding Academy hereKnow a high school student who would be a great fit for this program? Fill out a Student Nomination form here

God’s creation is a direct reflection of God’s glory, and Christians are called to be faithful stewards of the earth. While global issues of climate and environment can seem out of reach, our local communities give us space to learn and take action in small and large ways. How can we partner with our creator to build a better, more sustainable living environment? What simple, practical changes can we make to responsibly care for our local communities and our world?Chris and Eddie are joined by Ellen F. Davis, professor at Duke Divinity School and author of Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading of the Bible. An Old Testament scholar with deep wisdom about our ecological crisis, Davis views the land we’ve inherited as kin and a covenant partner. She speaks to our call to serve and preserve the land out of honor and love for what God has given us. Davis challenges us to hold onto a hope that is not just a passive, sunny optimism, but a collective vision of goodness and wholeness driven by human agency and creativity.Resources:Learn more about Ellen Davis here:https://divinity.duke.edu/faculty/ellen-davisOrder Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading of the Bible hereCheck out all books by Ellen Davis here

God’s creation is a direct reflection of God’s glory, and Christians are called to be faithful stewards of the earth. While global issues of climate and environment can seem out of reach, our local communities give us space to learn and take action in small and large ways. How can we partner with our creator to build a better, more sustainable living environment? What simple, practical changes can we make to responsibly care for our local communities and our world?Chris and Eddie are joined by Will Reed, who runs Native Son Farm in Tupelo, Mississippi. Reed has seen firsthand the preventable health issues facing people in Mississippi, and he began Native Son Farm eleven years ago to shift the food and farming landscape there. Reed understands the correlation between the ways we use our land and the work we provide to those in our communities, and he speaks to the picture of abundance that provides us with hope and true nourishment. Reed challenges us to choose transparency over convenience, inviting us to contribute to an atmosphere of health within our soil, our work, and our communities.Resources:Learn more about Native Son Farm here:http://www.nativesonfarm.com/about-the-farm Check out a list of Native Son’s recipes here!Follow Native Son Farm on social media:https://www.facebook.com/nativeson.farm https://www.instagram.com/nativeson.farm/ https://twitter.com/nativesonfarm 

God’s creation is a direct reflection of God’s glory, and Christians are called to be faithful stewards of the earth. While global issues of climate and environment can seem out of reach, our local communities give us space to learn and take action in small and large ways. How can we partner with our creator to build a better, more sustainable living environment? What simple, practical changes can we make to responsibly care for our local communities and our world?Chris and Eddie are joined by Dr. Norman Wirzba, the Gilbert T. Rowe Distinguished Professor of Christian Theology and Senior Fellow at the Kenan Institute of Ethics at Duke University. Wirzba’s upcoming book, This Sacred Life: Humanity’s Place in a Wounded World explores three central questions at the intersection of theology and ecology: Who are we? Where are we? What should we do? Wirzba acknowledges that the doctrine of creation is not simply the teaching about how the world began, and he views creation care as an act of honor to God. This episode discusses the realities of climate change as both an ideological and financial issue, the importance of God’s covenant relationship with all of creation, and the limits of the natural world.Resources:Follow Dr. Norman Wirzba on the web:https://normanwirzba.com Preorder This Sacred Life: Humanity’s Place in a Wounded World  hereFollow Dr. Norman Wirzba on social media:https://www.facebook.com/norman.wirzba https://twitter.com/NWirzba

God’s creation is a direct reflection of God’s glory, and Christians are called to be faithful stewards of the earth. While global issues of climate and environment can seem out of reach, our local communities give us space to learn and take action in small and large ways. How can we partner with our creator to build a better, more sustainable living environment? What simple, practical changes can we make to responsibly care for our local communities and our world?Chris and Eddie are joined by Jeff Bilbro, author of Virtues of Renewal: Wendell Berry's Sustainable Forms and Loving God's Wildness: The Christian Roots of Ecological Ethics in American Literature. Bilbro’s work on ecology and theology has been heavily influenced by Wendell Berry, an environmental activist and author best known for his book The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture. Bilbro calls his readers to a greater ecological and cultural imagination based in the idea of shalom, a vision of relational and community healing in the context of our environment. This episode explores the deep wisdom of Wendell Berry across his literary forms, the idea of interrelatedness within God’s creation, and how to hold onto hope while enacting hope in our communities.Resources:Follow Jeff Bilbro on the web:https://jeffbilbro.com Follow Jeff Bilbro on Twitter:https://twitter.com/jeff_bilbro

God’s creation is a direct reflection of God’s glory, and Christians are called to be faithful stewards of the earth. While global issues of climate and environment can seem out of reach, our local communities give us space to learn and take action in small and large ways. How can we partner with our creator to build a better, more sustainable living environment? What simple, practical changes can we make to responsibly care for our local communities and our world?Chris and Eddie are joined by Heather McTeer Toney, an activist, speaker, and author who serves as the National Field Director for Moms Clean Air Force. Toney is the former two term mayor of Greenville, Mississippi, and she was appointed by President Obama as the Regional Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Southeast Region. During her tenure as mayor, Toney observed the many connections between infrastructure, inequality, and the environment. She has enthusiastically championed her communities to ensure equitable access and a sustainable future for all. Toney speaks to the collaborative nature of creation care, the relationship between her upbringing and her heart for justice, her experiences with environmental challenges in the Mississippi Delta, and the responsibility that God has given each of us to this earth. Follow Heather Toney on the web:https://www.heathermcteertoney.com Learn more about Moms Clean Air Force here:https://www.momscleanairforce.org Learn more about Environmental Defense Fund here:https://www.edf.org Follow Heather Toney on social media:https://www.facebook.com/heathermcteer https://twitter.com/HeatherMcTeer 

When it comes to sexuality, the Church has often stuck to a black-and-white structure that leaves little to no room for honest dialogue. So many Christians believe they need to compartmentalize their spiritual and sexual lives, thinking that God must be embarrassed of their sexuality. While a black and white structure is easy to preach, it is much harder to live. How do we faithfully navigate the sexual scripts we’ve been given in a way that releases shame and embarrassment, bringing hard questions into the light?Kat Harris, author of “Sexless in the City” and host of The Refined Collective Podcast, is committed to releasing women from judgment and shame and helping them develop a healthy, Biblical view around sexuality. A single woman in her 30s, Kat openly shares about her experiences navigating the dating scene in New York City as a celibate Christian. Kat has received thousands of questions from women who haven’t felt permission to be curious about sexuality and desire. She talks to Eddie and Chris about how the Church’s narratives about sex and purity shape our expectations of women, God’s “very good” vision for human relationships, and how the Church can faithfully honor and celebrate single people. Resources“Sexless in the City” is out now! Order it here.Follow Kat Harris on the web:https://therefinedwoman.com Listen to The Refined Collective Podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.Check out Kat’s online courses here:https://therefinedwoman.com/shop Follow Kat Harris on social media:https://www.instagram.com/therefinedwoman/ https://www.facebook.com/TheRefinedWoman https://www.pinterest.com/therefinedwoman/ 

According to author Leigh Stein, the internet is run by “a thousand Oprahs,” influencers with beautiful lifestyles who post relatable content that makes them feel like friends to their thousands of followers. While internet friends might “like” the same things as us, they can never truly listen to our honest confessions and pain. Social media influencers cannot meet the expectations that we put on them. What is it that we expect from Instagram icons, and where do we need to look elsewhere?In this episode, Chris and Eddie talk with Stein about her New York Times article, “The Empty Religions of Instagram.” The article explores the ways social media users turn to influencers as moral authorities that offer structure, comfort, encouragement, and humor. Stein has observed the birth of a new online orthodoxy that resembles religious beliefs, but that is missing the mercy or grace of true human connections within faith communities. This episode offers insight into the disappointment of digital iconography, the outrage cycle of social media, and our innate urge to testify and tell our stories.ResourcesFollow Leigh Stein on the web:https://www.leighstein.com Read Leigh Stein’s article The Empty Religions of InstagramCheck out Leigh Stein’s novel Self Care hereFollow Leigh Stein on social media:https://www.instagram.com/leighstein/ https://twitter.com/rhymeswithbee 

Among 19-20 year olds, only 1% do not have social media accounts. This statistic emphasizes the ever-growing presence that social media and technology have in our day-to-day lives. While this comes with its advantages, it’s also important to consider the dangers of such constant connection and how to create wise boundaries that help us live a “tech-wise” life. How can controlled usage of social media help protect us from its negative effects?Amy Crouch is a student at Cornell University and, with her father Andy Crouch, co-author of “My Tech Wise Life: Growing Up and Making Choices in a World of Devices.” She joins Chris and Eddie to discuss what boundaries and understandings regarding technology are necessary to harness its advantages while mitigating its negative effects. Crouch bases her message around the understanding that technology is not a bad thing, but something that must be seen as a tool rather than a foundation of life. What does that look like practically? Tune in to the conversation to find out!Order a copy of “My Tech Wise Life” by Amy Crouch and Andy Crouch here.Follow Amy Crouch on social media:instagram.com/amy.crou/