Season 2 of Bridges Over Walls is coming at the beginning of 2025! In this bonus episode, our production team takes you inside the show - exploring what we learned making our first season, what we hope to achieve in Season 2, and the challenges we've faced along the way.You'll hear from:Kaleb Eisele, producer & hostMitchell Kessler, producer & editorJonathan Russell, general producerWe can't wait to share our next season with you soon!

Dr. Seth Pierce, from Beast & Bible, discusses Christianity's use of fear and its impact on faith and interactions. Topics include historical fears, fear-driven churches, distortion of reality, social media influence, and fostering positive change in church communities.

Mayor Michael Milch of Gladstone, Oregon, joins Bridges Over Walls for an episode exploring the relationship between churches and the local community.Are our evangelistic efforts, our service projects, and our relationships to our neighbors really making the impact we think they are? How does the local community think about your church? We explore all that and more in this episode of Bridges Over Walls!

Exploring the painful legacy of Christianity on indigenous communities in the United States. Cultural sensitivity in ministry and the challenges of bringing together Christianity and indigenous culture. The role of apology and repentance on an individual and societal level. Building resilience and tenacity in cross-cultural relationships.

Grief recovery coach Hannah Wachter shares insights on supporting suffering people, the impact of grief on the body, and making Christian spaces safe for grievers. They discuss the process of grief recovery, using media for healing, connecting with music during grief, and the importance of safe spaces and supportive relationships.

Grief Recovery Coach, Hannah Wachter, discusses how to create safe spaces for grieving people in Christian communities. The podcast explores the damaging effects of loneliness and isolation, the different types of grief, the personal experiences of grief from the speaker, and the power of tears and acceptance of emotions.

Kevin Wilson, TikTok's CEO of Chai, joins Bridges Over Walls to discuss the scary misconceptions of deconstruction, the vital role of doubt in faith development, and the backlash faced when asking big questions. They explore personal journeys of navigating success, building bridges through content creation, and the process of self-reflection and growth within Christianity.

Humans have been passing down stories to each other for as long as we possibly could. Before we try a new restaurant, we see what others have experienced there. We look at reviews of products, schools, and businesses before we venture further with them. In fact, much of what we know about the world doesn't come from personal experience at all - but the stories we've been told about it.Today's culture can make it difficult to communicate well across generational lines. Something we seem to be losing in our current polarized society is the value we place on the wisdom of our elders. While it is incredibly important to challenge the harmful patterns of the past, humans will never stop needing to hear from those who came before us - just like when we travel to a new place.Our guest for this episode is Pastor José Rojas, who has spent nearly 50 years in Christian ministry and has served as an advisor to multiple US presidents. He helped develop and implement a variety of humanitarian programs including working alongside General Colin Powell to launch America's Promise Alliance in 1997, which established 70 tutoring centers for underprivileged children across the United States.In this episode we ask the question: how can we work with our elders when we seem to disagree on so much?

Christianity in the United States is aging. Just 30 years ago in the 90s, about 90% of Americans identified as Christian. But in the past few decades that number has declined significantly - and the difference is especially obvious in Americans under 50 years old. The concerns around this issue have been a focus of many Christian groups for years now - with seminars and training initiatives that focused on finding ways to get Millennials back in church.But Millennials are no longer the youngest generation of adults, and the trends in young people detaching themselves from religious organizations has just continued to grow even faster. Many conversations about young people and church focus on theological and social disagreements. They often focus on differences in ideas about gender roles, race relations, climate change and sexual orientation. And when you look at the data, those are definitely major areas of separation.But what if politics and theology aren’t the whole story? What if there’s more separating us than we realize?In the United States, Generation Z is the first generation to grow up having social media around them for their entire lives. They are the first true digital natives - the first to have access to smart phone technology as children, and the first to be exposed to so many mass shootings, climate disasters, and social movements on a near daily basis. They spent several of their formative years in the COVID-19 pandemic, which interrupted major milestones like high school and college graduations. And although both Millennials and Gen Z spend a lot of time online - we may not be crossing paths as much as you might think.In this episode we interviewed Lindsey Gispert, who is currently studying at Walla Walla University. Lindsey works as a Student DJ for a local radio station, and finished among the top 10 finalists in NPR’s 2022 National Public Radio Student Podcast Challenge.Does the future of church still look like buildings and sermons? Or is the future of Christianity something far more interactive, more versatile, and more involved? We’ll talk about relationship obstacles between Millennials, Gen Z, and the church in this episode of Bridges Over Walls!

Alex Bryan, leader in university, local church, and faith-based healthcare settings, joins to discuss the importance of humility in maintaining healthy relationships. The podcast explores the healing ministry of Jesus, the importance of loving others and redefining family, finding grace and challenging tribalism, and the connection between humility and curiosity in building an inclusive church community.