Crazy Faith Talk

Over the course of the last several episodes, pastors Sarah, Erica, and Steve have looked at ways things go wrong when Christianity gets wedded to the power structures of empire or culture of a particular nationality or ethnicity.  And that track record is pretty bad—history is full of warnings about what happens when particular governments are equated with the kingdom of God.  But does that mean...

Like an addiction (to power) that we just can't break ourselves from, institutional Christianity has a habit of calling back into the dangers of getting entangled with nationalism, tribalism, and warfare.  So far in this series, pastors Erica, Sarah, and Steve have explored the warnings of both the biblical witness and the last two millennia of Christian history where things can go terribly wrong...

When the movement of Jesus and his followers first started, it quickly was seen as an enemy of the state, subverted the empire's claims of eternal dominance, and drew people from all nationalities, languages, social locations, and walks of life.  But after several centuries, the Empire co-opted Christianity as its official state religion, turning the cross into a symbol for conquest, and forging a...

Jesus is not a "Christian nationalist."  Seriously--not even close. If that sounds surprising to you, then this conversation is one worth listening to. Despite what some people assume, the biblical writers--in both the Old and New Testaments--don't expect Christians to "take back" any country to make their governments enforce their faith.  In fact, the overwhelming majority of voices in the Script...

Coming right on the heels of the celebration of Memorial Day, plenty of Americans feel especially patriotic. And if patriotism is a love for one's country and a commitment to see it do well, care for its people, and grow beyond its shortcomings, that can just be another form of the broad commandment to "love your neighbor."  But in this new series, pastors Sarah, Erica, and Steve look at what happ...

In this final episode of their series on the way our callings grow and change over time, pastors Erica and Sarah ask colleague Steve about what it is like to have served in ministry in the same place and setting for nearly sixteen years--the joys, the sadnesses, the challenges, and the comforts.  And as we look at one pastor's experience in ministry, it opens up an opportunity to see each of our o...

Sometimes the next step God leads you to take is do what you are already good at, but in a new location.  And sometimes, you are led to do something new altogether, not just more of the same in a different location.  And, to be sure, sometimes, it's a little of both.  As they continue sharing their own call stories and reflections on how our callings from God change over time, pastors Erica and St...

Hearing the stories of how people in ministry first listened or discerned for God's call can sound like the end of a journey--but really it's just the beginning.  As our series on our calling stories continues, each of our pastoral colleagues around the table will take turns exploring how their own sense of calling has grown, changed, and transformed over time--whether that's moving to a new place...

As they continue to share the stories of their own calling to ministry, pastors Sarah, Erica, and Steve take a look at how other people in our lives have the power either to encourage us and open doors for us, or to detour and discourage us.  In this episode, Sarah shares her own discernment of calling to ministry, as well as the influences of family members, mentors, and the welcome of a congrega...

It's not that God calls SOME people, but NOT others to use their lives in ways that channel God's work in the world.  Rather, it's a question of WHAT God is calling EACH of us to do with our lives.  God's call sometimes looks like work in the institutional church, whether in pastoral ministry or other kinds of church vocations, but sometimes God's call leads people to classrooms, office buildings,...

Each week, pastors Erica, Sarah, and Steve share conversation talking about OTHER things--theology, Bible, church life, pop culture, and their own takes on the Big Questions of life.  But what about their own stories?  This Eastertide, our co-hosts on Crazy Faith Talk will take turns sharing their own experiences of calling into ministry, how they have come to where they are now, and how their cal...

If your problem is a debt, then rescue looks like having your debt paid.  If your problem is a sickness, though, what you need is healing.  If your problem is a broken relationship, no amount of money or punishment will bring reconcilation.  And if your problem is being pointed in the wrong direction, what you need most is to be turned around and pointed in the right way.  In other words, our diff...

In an era when the phrase, "thoughts and prayers" can feel like an empty gesture when not accompanied by action in line with those prayers, or when it's easy (and cheap) to use social media for mere virtue signalling rather than doing something, maybe it's obvious that "sin" includes the things we don't do that we should do.  Classic theology has talked about "sins of omission"--what we leave undo...

It's really easy (and tempting) for "religious" voices to equate sickness with sin--as in, "If you're sick, you must have done something wrong."  And what's difficult is that there are at least some Biblical passages that give that suggestion, not to mention a long strand of Christian theology that suggests all sickness, maladies, and death are the consequence of human sin, whether now or in our a...

In their series for Lent, pastors Erica, Sarah and Steve continue to explore what we really mean when we talk about "sin."  We've looked at some standard images the Bible uses, like sin as breaking God's law, or incurring debt with the divine, or missing the mark, but now we'll turn to another way of thinking of sin--in terms of relationship.  In other words, sin isn't just the breaking of tedious...

If all we've ever heard is that our mistakes demand punishment, we'll be constantly afraid of a God who stands over us as judge.  But as we're discovering this Lent in this new series from pastors Erica, Sarah, and Steve, the Scriptures actually have a number of ways of talking about the problem we call "sin." And while sometimes that includes the language of breaking laws or incurring debts, the...

In a new series for Lent 2022, pastors Erica, Sarah, and Steve unpack a BIG IDEA of Christian theology that we rarely think about deeply--what do we actually mean when we talk about "sin"?  We probably have some shallow assumptions about what the idea of "sin" is all about, but chances are, we haven't looked more deeply at the surprising variety of understandings the Bible itself employs to talk a...

Increasingly in church communities, people are familiar with Ash Wednesday as the beginning of the season of Lent for Christians, with its somber call to repentance and fasting, and the characteristic ashes marked on people's foreheads.  And even more well-known are the festivities around the world on the day before known as Mardi Gras, Carnival, Fat Tuesday, or--slightly less well-known--Shrove T...

Here's a palate-cleanser for your soul.  Sure, there are some well-known and long-established traditional practices within Christian spirituality--serious and somber things like contemplative prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, daily devotions, or the daily office of praying the hours.  But spirituality doesn't happen only in medieval monasteries or fixed rituals--sometimes we stumble into it by discover...

In a culture where you audition, interview, or apply for positions to try and prove your worth, and where you can be dismissed or voted off the show at a moment's notice if you don't make the cut, Jesus has a surprising way of gathering disciples to share in his work.  He seeks them out, not from among the brightest and the best, but from among ordinary people who just had a bad day at work.  In t...

Like newly elected presidents give an inaugural address to lay out their priorities, vision, and the kind of administration they want to lead, the early chapters of each of the four Gospels in the New Testament give us public words from Jesus that lay out his vision and values.  The thing is, Jesus' inaugural address reveals a "platform" that takes society's usual expectations and turns them upsid...

Immediately after being baptized, having heard a voice from heaven claim him as God's own beloved Son, Jesus heads out into the middle of nowhere to face down the Tempter.  And leading the way to drive him toward that confrontation with the devil is the very same Holy Spirit who had descended on him at his baptism.  What a strange turn of events--but what does it mean, and how does it introduce us...

Every year, the church's pattern for keeping time sets aside a season--called Epiphanytide--for getting to know Jesus all over again.  As we get new angles on introductions to Jesus, today we turn to a story told in some form by each of the Gospel writers, about Jesus' being baptized.  Clearly, this is a story that helps introduce who Jesus is--after all, there is a literal booming voice from heav...

Although they are less well-known or widely-practiced than the Advent wreaths, nativity scenes, and pageants around Christmas, or the disciplines and ashes of Lent, there are some really beautiful practices to explore in the season of Epiphany for individuals, families, and churches.  In today's episode of Crazy Faith Talk, pastors Sarah, Erica, and Steve introduce us to some of them and how they...

In the earliest centuries of the Christian church, the first celebrations of Jesus' coming were less focused on the manger scene and more on Christ being revealed to all the world, from the visit of the Magi to all the nations of the world.  Maybe our ancestors in the faith were onto something: maybe we need to recover a sense of wonder and appreciation that God not only comes to us in Jesus, but...