The Weight

What can the writings, speeches, and actions of historical figures teach us? How do we actually learn from them, instead of merely idolizing and romanticizing them? Dr. Danjuma Gibson gives us some clarity on that often difficult task, with his newest book, Through the Eyes of Titans . Dr. Gibson is professor of pastoral theology, care, and counseling at Calvin Theological Seminary. He is a licens...

If you’re not hungry at the start of this episode, you probably will be by the end. And you’ll probably want to run down to Jackson, Mississippi to eat at Elvie’s. Hunter Evans is the owner of Elvie’s that serves seasonal dishes and highlights ingredients from local farmers. For Hunter, owning a restaurant is first about hospitality. He focuses on making connections with his patrons, and is a cham...

Living into a consistent ethic of life is central to the work of Kim Daniels. For Kim, that means living into a life that expands our moral imagination and puts the lives of other people front and center to whatever decision is being made, at every level in society. It means seeing people as the image of God, no matter their circumstances. It means looking out for the people on the edges, and brin...

“Politics is an essential forum in which we can love our neighbors.” Michael Wear reminds us that Christians are called to love, love of God and love of neighbor. And if you are a Christian in politics, when you go into the political sphere, what are you doing? What is the orientation of your heart? This question is for everyone to answer, not just politicians. Are you using the vast resources of...

Shownotes: In this Holy Week episode, Chris and Eddie are joined by Kavin Rowe, author of Christianity’s Surprise: A Sure and Certain Hope. After 20 years of scriptural immersion as the George Washington Ivey Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Duke Divinity School, Rowe began to discern the growing significance of Christianity’s groundbreaking impact when it first entered the world. His b...

Humility . Through . This episode hangs on those two words, and how they relate to Christianity today. Joel Muddamalle, Director of Theology and Research for Proverbs 31 Ministries, wrote the book on humility, The Hidden Peace . He explains that true, Christian humility--living out the humble life of Jesus--will bring us to God who will get us through the hurts, the hard times, and the exhaustion...

Neil White knows how to tell a story. He told his own story in his memoir, In the Sanctuary of Outcasts , about his time in a federal prison that also served as the United States’ last leper colony. He’s written articles, essays, and plays. He’s co-written other people’s memoirs. He can tell you a story, but really what he wants is for you to tell your story. Neil talks to Eddie and Chris about th...

Traumatic events happen to us as individuals, but we also experience trauma as a community. How do we--individually and collectively--deal with trauma? How do we frame it within the narrative of our own stories and of our communities’ stories? How do we rebuild from traumatic fractures without leaning into the temptation to return to a false memory of a golden age that never existed in the first p...

We all know that things change. People change. Understanding changes. Ideas change. Even theological institutions change. In this episode, Chris and Eddie are joined by Dr. David F. Watson, Academic Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. David has helped change and shape the future of United, and has some ideas about how other theological insti...

This episode of The Weight is with previous guest Dr. Andrew Root. He joined Eddie and Chris in 2021 for a discussion about the religious lives of younger generations. In today’s conversation, Andy talks about how the decline in mainline Christianity in the United States is a result of a lack of faithful imagination in a secular world. God is no longer seen as a living, breathing being still worki...

If you’re a parent or you know a parent, today’s conversation with Kayla Craig is a good word for you. But this episode also holds a lot of wisdom for everyone, in every season of life. Life is messy and chaotic and complicated, but finding time to pray doesn’t have to be. Kayla is a writer, podcaster, former journalist, and mother to four kids, ages seven to thirteen. She is the creator of the Li...

John T. Edge joins Chris and Eddie for a conversation that takes them all over the South. John T. is a writer, commentator, the former director of the Southern Foodways Alliance, and host of the television show True South . He is the director of the Mississippi Lab at the University of Mississippi, and his latest passion project is the Greenfield Farm Writers Residency, which will offer space for...

The wait is over... The Weight is back! (sorry for the pun) We'll see you back, right here, next week for a brand new season of The Weight.

We’ve reached that time of year again--The Weight’s yearly wrap-up episode. It’s been a year of conversations that covered a wide range of emotions: joy, hope, grief, fear, love. We talked about seeing the Holy Spirit at work, disagreeing from a place of love, the decline of mainline Protestantism, and the Methodist movement and its history of missional work. We talked to authors, pastors, researc...

Esau McCaulley returns to The Weight for a discussion about his newest book, "How Far to the Promised Land.” This is a joyful conversation that covers some heavy topics, like reconciling yourself to your history while charting your own path and creating your own story. And sometimes, finding your place in the story means finding your place with God and allowing God’s grace to emerge in unexpe...

This episode goes deep into the theological concept of atonement. You may not know what atonement is (broadly, the reconciliation of the relationship between God and people through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ), but today’s guest is here to help. Fred Anderson, author of Why Did Jesus Die and What Does That Have to Do with Me? , is pastor emeritus at Madison Avenue Presbyteria...

Don’t give up. If you take anything away from today’s episode, let it be that simple phrase: Don’t give up. Eddie and Chris talk to Nick Connolly, founder and lead pastor of Bright City Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Nick has a few good words to share with anyone facing hardships, defeat, or resistance. His new book, Don’t Give Up Just Yet , comes out in February 2024 and offers some practi...

Conflict in the Middle East.   It’s a phrase that has been a part of global conversations for years. The assumption is that any ongoing issues are the result of thousands of years of disagreement and strife, but the reality is that the current violence is a much more recent problem. Today’s guest on The Weight gives us a framework and some history to think more critically about how we engage the n...

Transitions are often hard, especially when the transition comes after 27 years of following one career path. For Jorge Acevedo, following the ancient paths while creating new ones is making his transition into retirement a little easier.  Jorge retired in August 2023 from Grace Church in Cape Coral, Florida, after serving as pastor there for 27 years. Jorge has degrees from Asbury College and Asb...

This conversation is part of a special series, The Heart of Methodism. Eddie and Chris, who are both pastors in the United Methodist Church, will talk to guests who can help us dive a little deeper into Methodism and its history, theology, traditions, and future. Today, Eddie and Chris are joined by a previous guest, Edgardo Colón-Emeric, Dean of Duke Divinity School. He is also the Irene and Will...

Eddie and Chris continue a conversation about Methodism and what drives it with their resident Bishop Sharma Lewis. Bishop Lewis’s assignment in Mississippi began in January 2023, and she comes to the state with excitement and passion for the people of Mississippi and what is in their hearts. Despite being in a season of disaffiliation and fragmentation, Bishop Lewis sees great things happening in...

This conversation is part of a special series, The Heart of Methodism. Eddie and Chris, who are both pastors in the United Methodist Church, will talk to guests who can help us dive a little deeper into Methodism and its history, theology, traditions, and future. Today’s guest is Dr. Laceye Warner,  Royce and Jane Reynolds Associate Professor of the Practice of Evangelism and Methodist Studies and...

Chris and Eddie are joined again by Reverend Dr. Will Willimon, Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry at Duke Divinity School and former Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church. Rev. Willimon, Chris, and Eddie talk about what it means to be part of the United Methodism, with its tradition of being the Gospel on the move, and how that tradition translates int...

This conversation is part of a special series, The Heart of Methodism. Eddie and Chris, who are both pastors in the United Methodist Church, will talk to guests who can help us dive a little deeper into Methodism and its history, theology, traditions, and future. Today’s guest, Dr. John Wigger, is a professor at the University of Missouri, where he specializes in US social and cultural history, in...

Our guest today is Edward Grinnan, Editor-in-Chief and Vice President of Guideposts Publications, which includes Guideposts Magazine, Angels on Earth , and Mysterious Ways . He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and earned his MFA from Yale School of Drama, where he studied playwriting. He is also the author of The Promise of Hope, Always By My Side , and A Journey of Faith . Resources: G...