Church Potluck: A Smorgasbord of Christian Curiosity
A Smorgasbord of Christian Curiosity! Church Potluck serves up thoughtful, friendly, informal conversation at the intersection of Christianity and contemporary culture. Just like a church potluck, we offer variety: a variety of topics, a variety of academic disciplines, and a variety of Christian traditions. Guests are friends and colleagues who are also experts in the fields of sociology, political science, theology, philosophy, divinity, and more.
Episodes
It's a special Thanksgiving crossover episode of American Angst and Church Potluck! Dr. Michael Bailey and Dale McConkey start off-topic with a quick overview of 10 dizzying days in American politics. From there, they pivot to something far older, quieter, and deeper: Thanksgiving! Michael makes a bold claim—that Thanksgiving is the most American of all holidays—and builds his case like a true political theorist,...
Three candles, 10,000 downloads, and a table full of friends! This milestone episode of Church Potluck celebrates three years of “a smorgasbord of Christian curiosity.” Host Dale McConkey gathers the Core Four—Christy Snider, Michael Bailey, and Michael Papazian—for cupcakes, playful celebratory jingles, and a listener-powered reflection on what makes the show tick: variety, convivial conversation, thoughtful faith, a...
Host Dale McConkey sits down with Michael Papazian for a lively and accessible introduction to Orthodox Christianity. Dale reflects on his recent visit to an English-speaking Orthodox Vespers service in Tennessee—incense, chanting, icons, and a surprisingly young and growing congregation—while Dr. Papazian speaks from his dual vantage point as both a scholar of theology and philosophy and a lifelong member of the Arme...
This week on Church Potluck, Dale welcomes two guests who encourage us to stare death in the face. Dr. Sam Nazione, associate professor of business communication and a health communication scholar, opens the lid on her Honors course “A Good Death”—why she built it, what students learn, and how talking about death actually teaches us to live better. Rev. Chris Barbieri, a hospital chaplain and United Methodist minister...
Can Christian faith and scholarly inquiry coexist—and even thrive—together?
In this week’s Church Potluck, we have the honor to sit down with Berry College President Sandeep Mazumder. Dr. Mazumder (Economics) shares his faith journey from a Hindu upbringing in London to embracing Christian faith in graduate school, and reflects on how that experience shapes his vision for Berry College and academia more broadly.
D...
Premiere horror and Halloween enthusiast (and fashion icon) Clint Peters joins the podcast to discuss how horror taps our primal selves. We dig into how films like The Babadook, Jaws, Nosferatu, and even Midnight Mass reveal what we value, how fear works, and why the genre often takes the supernatural—and the Church—more seriously than most “serious” films.
Perennial guest and bud Michael Bailey argues Christianity is ...
Rev. Dr. Erin Moniz (Baylor chaplain and author of Knowing and Being Known) joins Church Potluck to rethink “intimacy” beyond sex and dating—into friendship, family systems, and a church that actually feels like family. Along with Dr. Margaret Ndwandwe (digital media specialist), Erin unpacks purity culture 2.0, attachment theory, boundaries vs. vulnerability, and why technology (yes, even AI chatbots) can’t replace e...
This episode features Dr. Todd Timberlake—our resident astrophysicist—at the center of the table. Todd walks us through three awe-inducing questions:
- Why is there something rather than nothing? What physics can say up to the Big Bang—and why “before” may be the wrong word. Fine-tuning, multiverse ideas, and what science can (and can’t) answer.
- How did life arise? From Miller–Urey to amino acids, to the leap toward s...
We’re back with another crossover of Church Potluck and American Angst—and it’s the middle slice of a three-part series. In Part 1, we explored evidence for a religious impulse at the founding of the United States. Today, we flip the coin and examine the “godless constitution” thesis: why the U.S. Constitution reads secular by design, how the framers imagined church–state separation, and what that meant in practice—fr...
In this week’s episode of Church Potluck, we sit down for a roundtable on Dilexi Te (“I Have Loved You”), Pope Leo XIV’s very first apostolic exhortation, a pastoral message of encouragement. Leo takes this opportunity to call Christians to a deeper commitment to the poor, broadly defined as those who are economically disadvantaged, displaced, or marginalized.
Together, we discuss how Leo grounds his message in both Sc...
It’s a crossover feast: American Angst meets Church Potluck for a lively, thoughtful dive into religion, politics, and the Founders—setting the table for an upcoming conversation on Christian nationalism. This one leans a bit more American Angst in tone, with Michael Bailey taking the lead while Dale McConkey jumps in with sociological insight and good-humored pushback. In this episode, the focus is squarely on the Ch...
This episode explores the Orthodox Christian tradition—and specifically Mary’s place within it—through a warm, curious conversation with philosopher and Orthodox theologian Dr. Michael Papazian. Together we look at how Orthodoxy understands salvation, worship, and church authority, then dive into what that means for honoring Mary.
- What makes Orthodoxy distinct? (spoiler alert: theosis, richly sensory worship, and a...
What happens when an astronomer, a political philosopher, and a retired pastor sit down at the potluck table? In this episode, Dr. Todd Timberlake, Reid Professor of Physics & Astronomy, joins host Dale McConkey and regular guest Dr. Michael Bailey for a lively conversation about awe and wonder.
Is science a cold explanation that drains the magic from the world—or can it actually deepen our sense of mystery? From t...
What happens when Christians disagree so deeply that dialogue itself feels dangerous? Can churches balance the call to love enemies with the responsibility to protect neighbors? And how do we speak the truth in love without sliding into silence—or into shouting?
In this episode, newbie Dr. Kathryn Heidelberger (comparative Christian–Islamic ethics) and relative newbie Dr. David Barr (Christian ethics) join oldie Michae...
The Core Four are back! Host Dale McConkey is joined by Christy Snider, Michael Papazian, and Michael Bailey for a wide-ranging conversation on faith and culture.
We start with reactions to the Charlie Kirk assassination, unpacking how instantly polarizing it was, how social media amplified extreme voices, and how it revealed the deep fusion of religion and politics in American life. The group compares this moment with...
Season 4 of Church Potluck kicks off with a joyful, thoughtful dive into Christian missions as Dale welcomes media pro and new colleague Margaret Ndwandwe and her newlywed husband Xolani from Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). They share their long-distance love story born on the mission field and introduce the Bound Together Eswatini Partnership, a long-standing coalition focused on evangelism, discipleship, meeting huma...
CROSSOVER EPISODE! In this first-ever crossover episode between Church Potluck and American Angst 101, host Dale McConkey, political scientist Michael Bailey, and historian Christy Snider dive into a hot-button political and theological controversy surrounding Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s recent social media post endorsing ideas from pastor Doug Wilson, a leader in the Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Chur...
In this delightfully sprawling new episode of Church Potluck, the "Core Four" reunite for a free-flowing conversation filled with laughter, deep reflection, and summer updates. Host Dale McConkey kicks things off by officially announcing his retirement as a United Methodist pastor, sharing heartwarming stories from his farewell sermon and his new children's book, The Little Church That Could. Joined by ...
In this episode of Church Potluck, host Dale McConkey welcomes Rev. Dr. Jonathan Huggins for a hearty and humorous conversation about his new book, What’s Christianity Really All About? A Guide to Essential Beliefs. Huggins, Berry College chaplain and theology professor, takes listeners on a whirlwind tour of the foundational beliefs of the Christian faith—offering a clear, accessible, and surprisingly compact summary...
How do we form meaningful relationships in an age of ghosting, digital overload, and chronic loneliness? In this episode, we explore the themes of Knowing and Being Known: Hope for All Our Intimate Relationships, the new book by chaplain and author Erin Moniz. Joined by Gabrielle Roes, ministry director at Berry College and counselor, and host Dale McConkey, a sociologist and pastor, the conversation delves into the c...
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