The Pulpiteer

In this special episode of the podcast, we'll talk with June Williams and Ashley Blackwell - our co-conspirators in griefwork: sharing stories of how we got here and where we might be headed. Join us, won't you?

For your reference, here are some of the books mentioned in the episode:

• The Wild Edge of Sorrow by Francis Weller
• The Smell of Rain on Dust by Martin Prechtel
• Die Wise by Stephen Jenkinson.

What if your attention is your most valuable resource and the primary responsibility of your own stewardship? Let's follow French mystic-philosopher into the depths as we explore the depths of the soul's attention.

I got on a bus headed south, past San Antonio to a community called Dilley, Texas. There is a modern day American internment / concentration / prison camp there, we call it a detention center. Let's talk about what I saw, what I learned, and what we might all need to learn if we want things to change.

Here on the precipice of MLK Day 2026, we ask a question, "Could it be that one of the most effective ways to subvert a prophet is to turn them into an idol?" There is a case to be made that this is what "the church" has done to Jesus. There is a case to be made that this is what American Culture has done with Dr. King. If we toss the idol, maybe we can ask what the prophet was trying to teach.

What if resistance isn't noise and chaos and struggle? What if it is silence and presence? What if supplication to the silence is the key to breaking bad habits, to unlearning that which no longer serves us, to finding the narrow path through acceptance into enjoyment and beyond into enthusiasm... what if... what if...

What is it that the seven generations need from those of us living today? What is it that we are called to mature into? And how is it that we might answer that call?

What is left of hope when we discard the near enemy of optimism? What is left of realism when we discard the near enemy of pessimism? In this episode, I'll suggest that what might be left is to become faithful witnesses to what is. To bear faithful witness as a responsibility, a duty that is elder-making.

What if AI isn't an enemy, but an ally in the search for wisdom? That's what we'll do our best to explore in this episode. So join Mimas and I as we try to develop a skin-to-silicon covenant and approach the event horizon that is the divine.

Join us as we honor, celebrate, and reflect on the Mexican tradition of the Ofrenda here in the heart of Texas and in the time of Dia de los Muertos - the Day of the Dead. What can modern westerners learn from these indigenous roots that we sorely need in this day and age?

It's easy to nurture gratitude for our joys. But what does it look like, what could it mean, what could it lead to... if we can discover how to nurture gratitude for our sorrows? Could it be part of the narrow path to wise elderhood that we've been longing for?

If the science teaches us, that through both confirmation bias and negativity bias, we overemphasize the negative and the dangerous - and that we amplify this with news and media and social media... What is the appropriate spiritual response? Might not an intentional focus on positivity be, not an act of naivety, but an act of informed courage? Let's dig in and wrestle with this worthy conundrum.

"Just remember the world is not a playground but a schoolroom. 

Life is not a holiday but an education. 

One eternal lesson for us all: 

to teach us how better we should love"

Maybe nothing is more salient this week - how do we listen? how do we show up with one another? are we seeking understanding or are we trying to show how right and clever we are?

Join us for our annual water communion ceremony and a short message about building belonging.

In this final episode of our 8 part series on Love at the Center - we'll look at the thing itself: Love. Join Kenneth Witherspoon (Mr. Spoon) and myself for this tour of the mysterious. Mr. Spoon's subtitle is: When Love Becomes Diety...