The Weight

What can the writings, speeches, and actions of historical figures teach us? How do we actually learn from them, instead of merely idolizing and romanticizing them? Dr. Danjuma Gibson gives us some clarity on that often difficult task, with his newest book, Through the Eyes of Titans.Dr. Gibson is professor of pastoral theology, care, and counseling at Calvin Theological Seminary. He is a licensed, practicing psychotherapist, and served for 16 years as the senior pastor of a church in Chicago. Through the Eyes of Titans takes the lives of four people crucial to the civil rights movement--Ida B. Wells, Fannie Lou Hamer, Benjamin Mays, and Martin Luther King, Jr.--and offers their experiences as a way for us to really live into our own stories. These four people, despite their incredible accomplishments, were normal people. They weren’t superhuman or superheroes, even though we often think about them in those terms. They were normal people who grasped onto the imagination of living into a better world, despite their circumstances, and they used that imagination to propel them forward, even through moments of terror. Dr. Gibson talks Eddie and Chris through this process, and offers each of us something difficult and profound to think about: “We just can't sit back and think about courage. How can we become more courageous in our own environment? You have to go towards that thing that you fear.”Resources:Buy Through the Eyes of Titans

If you’re not hungry at the start of this episode, you probably will be by the end. And you’ll probably want to run down to Jackson, Mississippi to eat at Elvie’s.Hunter Evans is the owner of Elvie’s that serves seasonal dishes and highlights ingredients from local farmers. For Hunter, owning a restaurant is first about hospitality. He focuses on making connections with his patrons, and is a champion of a city in Mississippi that often gets overlooked or looked down on. He also focuses on the wellbeing of his staff, because he believes that if he’s asking his staff to take care of others, they have to be taken care of first.He is a graduate of the University of Mississippi and the Culinary Institute of America and has worked with acclaimed chefs like John Currence and in the kitchens of New York restaurants Le Bernardin, Cafe Boulud, and Daniel.Resources:Elvie’s websiteElvie’s Instagram

Living into a consistent ethic of life is central to the work of Kim Daniels. For Kim, that means living into a life that expands our moral imagination and puts the lives of other people front and center to whatever decision is being made, at every level in society. It means seeing people as the image of God, no matter their circumstances. It means looking out for the people on the edges, and bringing us all together to build a world that actively cares about those on the margins.Kim is the director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown Univeristy, where is is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies. She is a graduate of Princeton University and the University of Chicago Law School. In 2016, Kim was appointed by Pope Francis as a Member of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication. She was appointed as a member of the Synod 2021-2024 Communications Commission.

“Politics is an essential forum in which we can love our neighbors.”Michael Wear reminds us that Christians are called to love, love of God and love of neighbor. And if you are a Christian in politics, when you go into the political sphere, what are you doing? What is the orientation of your heart? This question is for everyone to answer, not just politicians. Are you using the vast resources of the Christian tradition—scriptures, history, theology—to guide your decision making? Are you acting out of a spirit of loving service as Jesus did?Michael is the Founder, President and CEO of the Center for Christianity and Public Life, a nonpartisan, nonprofit institution which seeks to contend for the credibility of Christian resources in public life and for the public good. He has worked as a White House and presidential campaign staffer and as an advisor for a range of civic leaders on matters of faith and public life.He is the author of The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life and Reclaiming Hope: Lessons Learned in the Obama White House About the Future of Faith in America.Resources:Learn more about Michael at his website, michaelwear.comLearn more about the Center for Christianity and Public LifeFollow Michael on Facebook and InstagramListen to his podcast, Wear We Are, on Spotify or Apple PodcastsBuy his books on Amazon

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.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

Humility. Through. This episode hangs on those two words, and how they relate to Christianity today. Joel Muddamalle, Director of Theology and Research for Proverbs 31 Ministries, wrote the book on humility, The Hidden Peace. He explains that true, Christian humility--living out the humble life of Jesus--will bring us to God who will get us through the hurts, the hard times, and the exhaustion of life today. We find peace in humility, in that awareness that the Lord is with us always. And knowing that God is with us means God will walk through every broken moment with us.Joel earned his PhD in Theology under the guidance of Dr. Patrick Schreiner and Dr. Michael Heiser. He serves on the preaching team at Transformation Church with Derwin Gray. He writes, studies, and teaches about scripture and theology and how they go hand-in-hand with our every day, busy lives. Resources:Joel’s websiteFollow Joel on Facebook and InstagramProverbs 31 MinistriesBuy The Hidden Peace

Neil White knows how to tell a story. He told his own story in his memoir, In the Sanctuary of Outcasts, about his time in a federal prison that also served as the United States’ last leper colony. He’s written articles, essays, and plays. He’s co-written other people’s memoirs. He can tell you a story, but really what he wants is for you to tell your story.Neil talks to Eddie and Chris about the importance of storytelling. They talk about the process of writing, practical ways to get better at writing, and how special it is to help someone craft their own story--to dig deep into their lives and pull out all the small details that need to be shared. They also talk a little bit about pickleball.Currently, Neil is the CEO of Nautilus Publishing in Oxford, MS. He is the author of plays including Lepers & Cons, Symmetry, Clandestine, and the editor of the anthology Ten-Minute Plays from Oxford. He has been a newspaper editor, magazine publisher, and advertising executive.Resources:Learn more about Nautilus Publishing.Buy In the Sanctuary of Outcasts.

Traumatic events happen to us as individuals, but we also experience trauma as a community. How do we--individually and collectively--deal with trauma? How do we frame it within the narrative of our own stories and of our communities’ stories? How do we rebuild from traumatic fractures without leaning into the temptation to return to a false memory of a golden age that never existed in the first place?This conversation on The Weight is built around a heavy topic, but Dr. Kimberly Wagner brings brightness, empathy, and hope to a discussion that is, well, weighty. Even though her most recent book is a resource for preaching, there’s something for everyone in this episode.Kimberly is assistant professor of preaching at Princeton Theological Seminary and the author of Fractured Ground: Preaching in the Wake of Mass Trauma. Her doctoral dissertation centered around preaching and trauma, and she has seen first hand how disorienting mass trauma to a community and to individuals. Resources: Learn more on Kim’s website, preachingandtrauma.com.Buy Fractured Ground.

We all know that things change. People change. Understanding changes. Ideas change. Even theological institutions change. In this episode, Chris and Eddie are joined by Dr. David F. Watson, Academic Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. David has helped change and shape the future of United, and has some ideas about how other theological institutions can move with the times. He looks to the rich history of the Christian tradition to form new ideas and train new pastors, all while being accountable to the Church universal.David earned his Masters of Divinity at Perkins University in 1997 and his PhD at Southern Methodist University in 2005. He is the author of several books, including Scripture and the Life of God: Why the Bible Matters Today More than Ever.Resources:Follow David on Twitter.Sign up for his Substack.Listen to Firebrand Podcast, or read the Firebrand Magazine.

This episode of The Weight is with previous guest Dr. Andrew Root. He joined Eddie and Chris in 2021 for a discussion about the religious lives of younger generations. In today’s conversation, Andy talks about how the decline in mainline Christianity in the United States is a result of a lack of faithful imagination in a secular world. God is no longer seen as a living, breathing being still working in the world. Individual churches have muddied the waters by focusing on their own story, mission, and vision, instead of simply telling God’s story. He offers the idea of churches living into a watchword instead of building ministry around a mission statement.Andy (Ph.D., Princeton Theological Seminary) is the Carrie Olson Baalson professor of youth and family ministry at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is a writer and researcher who focuses on theology, ministry, and culture. His most recent books include When the Church Stops Working (coauthored with Blair Bertrand), Churches and the Crisis of Decline, and The Congregation in a Secular Age. Resources:Andy’s websiteFollow Andy on Twitter and FacebookFind all of Andy’s books hereListen and subscribe to Andy’s podcast, “When The Church Stops Working,” on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.