Gravity Commons Podcast

We talked with pastor and historian Malcolm Foley about the not-well-known-enough truth that racism is NOT about hate and ignorance; it's about greed. And it always has been. Foley's new book The Anti-Greed Gospel: Why the Love of Money Is the Root of Racism and How the Church Can Create a New Way Forward explores how the desire for power and money causes violence and exploitation, rooted...

We talked with podcaster and author Jonathan Foster about indigo: the color of grief , his book of poems that came from processing the painful loss of his daughter. Jonathan is the partner of one and father of three, founder of lovehaiti.org, podcaster, and award-winning author with some degrees in open and relational theology who loves to hike. You can connect with Jonathan and his work at jonath...

We talked with pastor and author Marc Alan Schelske about the practicalities of following Jesus on the path of other-centered, so-suffering love. Marc's new book Walking Otherward is a forty-day devotional (just in time for Lent!) that follows the Gospel texts of Jesus' final weeks before his crucifixion. Each entry invites you to try on Jesus' attitude, setting aside self-centered, eg...

Essayist Liz Charlotte seeks to “read life” into the Bible, a text long limited by rigid evangelical notions of biblical inerrancy. In her book Knock at the Sky: Seeking God in Genesis after Losing Faith in the Bible , rshe draws on a broad range of sources to unpack the first 32 chapters of Genesis in a remarkably fresh way. Liz Charlotte Grant   is an award-winning writer whose work has been pub...

Matt and Ben continue reflecting on the process of leaving the white evangelical spaces they both came to faith in. Show notes: Mako Nagasawa: Thinking More Clearly About Abortion On How I Left White Evangelicalism and How it Left Me Redefining the History and Historiography on American Evangelicalism in the Era of the Religious Right My Comments Last Night at the "Evangelicals for Harris"...

Matt and Ben continue reflecting on the process of leaving the white evangelical spaces they both came to faith in. Show notes: Mako Nagasawa: Thinking More Clearly About Abortion On How I Left White Evangelicalism and How it Left Me Redefining the History and Historiography on American Evangelicalism in the Era of the Religious Right My Comments Last Night at the "Evangelicals for Harris"...

Matt and Ben reflect on the process of leaving the white evangelical spaces they both came to faith in. Show notes: On How I Left White Evangelicalism and How it Left Me Redefining the History and Historiography on American Evangelicalism in the Era of the Religious Right My Comments Last Night at the "Evangelicals for Harris" Online Event Trump has changed what it means to be evangelical...

We talk with pastor (and Gravity Commons Podcast co-host!) Christy Penley about how our emotions relate to living faithfully as disciples of Jesus (the subject of her doctoral dissertation). Connect with Gravity Commons: Leave us a message or ask a question  about this or any other episode and we'll answer it on a future episode. Join the Gravity Community to interact with other listeners, and...

On the cusp of a new year, Christy talks with Ben and Matt about what it means to create a "rule of life" that is helpful and freeing, rather than burdensome. Connect with Gravity Commons: Leave us a message or ask a question  about this or any other episode and we'll answer it on a future episode. Join the Gravity Community to interact with other listeners, and get our list of curated...

As the year draws to a close, Christy, Ben, and Matt open some Christmas gifts and talk about some of the "gifts" of 2024. Merry Christmas, everyone! Connect with Gravity Commons: Leave us a message or ask a question  about this or any other episode and we'll answer it on a future episode. Join the Gravity Community to interact with other listeners, and get our list of curated links ea...

Ben, Matt, and Christy continue their discussion from last week of a few post-election commitments that are crystalizing for them as they contemplate what it means to live as followers of Jesus in the coming season. Here are the commitments we discuss in this episode (listen to Part 1 for the ones at the beginning of the list): Stay awake. Don’t numb your longing for the world to be made right. Ke...

Ben, Matt, and Christy discuss a few post-election commitments that are crystalizing for them as they contemplate what it means to live as followers of Jesus in the coming season. Here are the commitments we discuss in this episode (more coming in Part 2): Stay awake. Don’t numb your longing for the world to be made right. Keep caring for one another. Keep telling the truth about systems of injust...

Matt and Ben reflect on a practical question from a listener on how to resist the power of Mammon in a specific situation. Show Notes: Matt Tebbe on the Liminal Living Podcast Sheryllin Ifill's article on practical ways to respond to the election . Connect with Gravity Commons: Leave us a message or ask a question  about this or any other episode and we'll answer it on a future episode. Jo...

Christy, Matt, and Ben discuss what they're learning about navigating difficult relationships during the holidays post-election. Connect with Gravity Commons: Leave us a message or ask a question  about this or any other episode and we'll answer it on a future episode. Join the Gravity Community to interact with other listeners, and get our list of curated links each week to all things edi...

Christy, Matt, and Ben discuss the virtues of participating in book clubs, and some of the goodness that has emerged from the new Gravity Book Club. (We are selecting our next book right now, by the way!) Let us know what you think we should read and discuss together. Connect with Gravity Commons: Leave us a message or ask a question  about this or any other episode and we'll answer it on a fu...

We talked with Dr. Thomas J. Oord about the recent heresy trial he underwent in his denomination for LGBTQ+ affirmation, what led him to fully affirm LGBTQ+ people, and many of the issues and questions that come up when discussing human sexuality. Thomas Jay Oord is a theologian, philosopher, and scholar of multi-disciplinary studies. Oord is a best-selling and award-winning author, having written...

In this impromptu bonus episode, Matt Tebbe convenes a panel of pastors to discuss the spiritual, emotional and social implications of a second Donald Trump presidency. They explore personal reflections on identity, the challenges of fostering unity in diverse communities, and the importance of recognizing and addressing systemic issues such as racism and immigration. The discussion emphasizes the...

We talk with Pastor Timothy McCain about how to have healthy, honest conversations with those different from us. Timothy's new book is Honest Conversations: Talking to Understand; Not to Win , which explores how to have conversations across differences in culture, experience, and lifestyle. Whether you want to learn more about someone's culture as you share a meal or have a more intense co...

We talk with Hebrew Bible scholar Jacob L. Wright about why no other ancient society produced anything like the Bible: a testimony of survival, but also an unparalleled achievement in human history. Wright's book Why the Bible Began: An Alternative History of Scripture and Its Origins was on The New Yorkers BEST OF 2023 list, as well as one of the best five books on religion according to Publi...

Pastor and writer Joel A. Bowman, Sr. joins us for a wide-ranging discussion on thinking about and practicing politics through the lens of Christian faith. We touch on the upcoming presidential election, the history and theology of the Black church tradition, and the culture war. Rev. Joel A. Bowman, Sr. is a native of Detroit, Michigan, and has been in ministry for 29 years. He is the founder and...

Spiritual director, podcast host, and author Emily P. Freeman joins us to talk about what to do when you start to feel a shift and must decide if it's time to make a change, and how to know when the time is right. Emily's book How to Walk Into a Room: The Art of Knowing When to Stay and When to Walk Away helps us begin to uncover the silent, nuanced, and hidden arrows for anyone asking que...

We talked with Chuck DeGroat about how to heal from the hidden hurt of what's happened to us that we couldn't control. His new book Healing What’s Within: Coming Home to Yourself—and to God—When You're Wounded, Weary, and Wandering is available today. Chuck DeGroat is a professor of pastoral care and Christian spirituality at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan, where he...

Professor Grace Ji-Sun Kim join us to talk about the historical origins and theological implications of how the olive-skinned Jesus "became white" and how the invisible, infinite God became a white male. In her book When God Became White: Dismantling Whiteness for a More Just Christianity , she outlines how the myth of the white male God has had a devastating effect as it enabled Christian...

Author and mental health advocate Chris Morris has battled depression and suicidality his entire adult life: the grief of unrelenting illness, the shame of struggling, and the pain of poor guidance. In his book Resilient and Redeemed: Lessons about Suicidality and Depression from the Psych Ward , he shares how he has dealt with these challenges--and invites you to do the same, no matter your diagn...

Professor David Gushee is back on the podcast to talk about how the moral teachings of Jesus can help those who feel the old version of their faith is no longer working to cultivate a more examined and robust faith. In Gushee's new book, The Moral Teachings of Jesus: Radical Instruction in the Will of God , he examines forty teachings of Jesus, drawn from all four New Testament Gospels, to cla...