Context Matters

Todd Deatherage is the Co-Founder of Telos, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit dedicated to the formation of communities of American peacemakers across lines of difference to bring healing to conflict at home and abroad. Today, Todd helps us see the value of curiosity to move beyond religious and political divides toward a shared pursuit of human dignity and common good. After all, that curiosity led him to travel to the Middle East...

In today's conversation, Dr. Felicia helps us understand how technology shapes not just what we do, but what we long for. In reality are our devices creating "burdens of choice" and are they training us to crave all that is possible instead of being present with other humans? What questions do we need to be mindful of when we determine how to use technology: What are we really living for? Where does our worth come from? What if fre...

Dr. Felicia Wu Song is a writer and speaker and cultural sociologist who studies the place of digital technologies in contemporary life. In this episode we trace American technological utopianism that optimistically believes every new invention will finally set us free. In reality, technology can lead to a psychological cocktail of pleasures, anxieties, and felt expectations that leave us feeling exhausted. What if we can learn to ...

In Part 2 of the conversation Dr. Warren Kinghorn continues his conversation with Cyndi, unpacking the ideas behind his book on mental health in dialogue with Thomas Aquinas. He challenges modern medicine's tendency to treat people as broken machines to be fixed or bundles of symptoms to be reduced and instead, offers Aquinas's image of the human as a wayfarer on a journey from God to God. This reframes care as accompaniment rather...

What does Peacemaking have to do with mental health? Dr. Warren Kinghorn is an excellent guide through the journey of discovery. Dr. Kinghorn challenges modern medicine's tendency to reduce people to "buckets of symptoms" or broken machines to be optimized. Instead he calls for a Christian vision of mental healthcare rooted in the belief that every person matters simply because they are made in the image of God -- not for their pro...

In Part 2 of the conversation ]about her book Hesed, the Seed of the Biblical Story, Dr. Matheny walks through her own working definition of hesed, describing it as both something God does and a way of being that God's people are invited to embody. She and Cyndi unpack how two-thirds of the word's biblical uses point back to God's character, and how that opens up space for humanity, as image-bearers, to reflect that same quality ba...

Ever tried explaining a word that shows up 250+ times in the Bible... and still can't quite pin it down? That's exactly the puzzle Old Testament scholar Jenny Matheny sits down to unpack with Cyndi this episode. Using her own growing up context in Napa Valley and the French wine concept of terroir to help people explore the concept of the Hebrew term hesed. This word defies easy translations because it is so thick with meaning.&nbs...

How does prayer fit into the formation and healing of our imagination? As we continue our conversation with Dr. Justin Bailey, he addresses prayer as reorienting our attention, priorities, and requests within Jesus' story. We also contrast cheap, clichéd hope with costly hope shaped by confession, suffering, and the Spirit’s reminder of the larger biblical story.

Find out more about Dr. Bailey and his book HERE

See his chapel...

In our recent conversations about spiritual formation, the use of the imagination has come up several times. Why is the imagination so significant in spiritual formation? Don't we simply need to learn more data about the Bible? Out of early misgivings about the models of discipleship we often use in the church, Rev. Dr. Justin Bailey decided to focus his work on discipleship and the imagination. Today Justin joins us to talk about ...

This is a re-edited broadcast of a conversation with Dr. Michael Rhodes from 2024. Is it possible that Western Christianity and modern American life is shaping us to become people who are NOT good at doing justice, and loving mercy, and showing kindness? We know of such concepts but do we embody such concepts in the world around us? This week kicks off a several week conversation with scholars about different aspects of discipleshi...

This is a re-edit conversation from 2024 with Dr. Lanta Davis. Her book Becoming by Beholding is a wonderful conversation partner with some of the recent podcast episodes.

Her book will prompt you to think about the connection between art, imagination, and theology. How did the historic church think about the imagination and spiritual formation, and can we do a better job of that in today's environment? Are we aware enough of what ...

Today we continue the conversation with Arrabon's founder, David Bailey. We talk about what the "Gospel of the Kingdom" means along with several of Arrabon's resources to equip all kinds of audiences for understanding Scripture and spiritual formation. There are so many tools  available to help a diverse group of Jesus followers, despite their differences, learn to grow and mature as God's people. 

Find out more about Arra...

David Bailey is the Founder and Chief Vision Officer of Arrabon. As a public theologian, David helps to bring wisdom, theological imagination, and moral imagination to the way that Christians show up in the world. He created Arrabon as a way to equip Christ's followers to actively, creatively pursue healing in their communities, to be a foretaste of the kingdom of God, an agent of healing, and an agent of reconciliation in their co...

When two contradictory commands about remembering past events refused to be reconciled, Dr. Megan Roberts began exploring new theories to help her exegetical work. Trauma theory helped explain the Israelites engagement with memory. And working on what God's comfort can say to traumatized people hit a deep and personal cord in her own life.  

Read more about her work in Isaiah HERE

You can find many of her sermons and teaching at...

Biblical texts can be hard to read for several reasons - the poetry or images are challenging, or the emotion is strong, or the text seems to contradict itself in strange ways. In this episode, Dr. Megan Roberts from Prairie College tells us what draws her to these challenging texts and how they have a personal impact on her own life. 

Read more about her work in Isaiah HERE

You can find many of her sermons and teaching at Prair...

Last week Dr. Faro introduced us to the significant literary theme of women who advance the story of salvation. Today we hear example of the Matriarch Sarah and how she and Mary the Mother of Jesus share some common characteristics. We also talk about Hannah's song and about a little known figure named Jehosheba. How do these unexpected women play critical roles in the salvation story?

Discover more about Dr. Faro HERE

Explore her ne...

Dr. Ingrid Faro joins us today to talk about the "highway" that runs through the literary structure of the salvation story. Seeing women as crucial players in moving the story of God forward is not common, but Dr. Faro introduces us to why this is so important for readers of the biblical text. Today we begin a conversation about her new book Redeeming Eden: How Women of the Bible Advance the Story of Salvation. 

Discover more a...

Brad Nelson and Brad Gray from Walking the Text continue their conversation about the rich theology embedded in every phrase of the Lord's Prayer. How does "Holy be Your name" involve the community of believers? Why is receiving and giving forgiveness so essential? This is only a taster for their new film called "The Lord's Prayer" and their recently released  book titled Bringing Heaven Here. 

Explore the wealth of resour...

So many of us memorized the Lord's Prayer. Some congregations quote it together every week. It is so familiar that we don’t always stop to think about the theologically rich statements it is making. Today, helping us slow down to think about the prayer are  Brad Gray and Brad Nelson from Walking the Text. They recently released a film called "The Lord's Prayer" and wrote a book titled Bringing Heaven Here. 

Explore t...