Begin Again Podcast

Shane and I sat down to talk about how Rusty Bowers, a witness of one of the January 6th hearings, referenced the Constitution as "inspired." Of course, this led to a further discussion about faith and politics, a conversation that goes all the way back to Constantinian times and the start of the Church's seduction to political power. It was a great convo. Shane is such a good dude. www.redletterc...

Keith Giles is an author of numerous books, a former Southern Baptist pastor, and currently lives in Texas with his wife. He has multiple podcasts and started a home church in which all tithing goes directly to local charities. His personal mantra and mission statement is: "I introduce Christians to Jesus." How fantastic is that? In this episode we talk about his most recent book, Sola Mysterium,...

What does it look like to have a Christianity that is anchored in the best of the old while integrating the best of the new? Check out my website at www.johnchaffee.com!

Shane Claiborne is one of the founders of https://www.redletterchristians.org, an organization based out of Philly that emphases the "red letters of Jesus." He is the author of many books and frequently travels the US to speak at churches and rallies and more. Shane clearly has a Franciscan heart in today's world and has settled into being a great example of "walking the walk." In case you are int...

Alexander John Shaia is a renowned author and speaker on Christian spirituality, psychology and is a self-proclaimed "ritual nerd." It was a privilege and a joy to talk with him seeing as his work has expanded my own heart, mind and soul so very much. To see more of what he is about, check out www.quadratos.com. - For John's Website: www.johnchaffee.com For John's Free Email the 5 on Friday: signu...

Brian Zahnd is the senior pastor of Word of Life Church (www.wolc.com) in St. Joseph, Missouri. He is the author of a number of books, all of which can be found on Amazon. His personal website is www.brianzahnd.com. For more, check out John's website: www.johnchaffee.com To sign up for his weekly email: signup.johnchaffee.com

It was a joy and a privilege to talk with Cameron Trimble! Cameron is a serial entrepreneur committed to the triple bottom line – a concern for people, progress and the planet. Driven by an adventurous spirit, she runs businesses and NGO organizations, both secular and faith-based. She serves as a consultant, a frequent speaker on national speaking circuits, is a pilot, and an author. In this epis...

As a result of recent news, I was experiencing some heavy anger... and I don't think it was unjustified. The things I saw and the things that I read about actively led me to become angry over the injustices of the world... and I believe that we perhaps need to come to a better understanding of anger. So buckle up, in this one we are going to talk about healthy and holy anger. My hope is that it he...

This one is a straight up shout out and encouragement for all the thru-hikers on the AT this year. I met a good number of you at Trail Days in Damascus, VA last week, and I hope we stay in touch. Please share this with any other thru-hikers that listen to podcasts. Just trying to pay forward the good times. Remember, "Last one to Katahdin wins!" ----- For more, check out John's website: www.johnch...

This week I thought it would be great to share with you two lengthier quotes from Thich Nhat Hanh's Living Buddha, Living Christ. TNH was good friends with the Catholic monk, Thomas Merton, and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by his friend, MLK Jr. I believe that it is helpful to be inspired by what is good, beautiful, true and loving in someone else's tradition as well as to listen to wha...

I want to share with you a personal story of mine from 10 years ago, what it taught me, and then shift to talking about Luke 13, Ram Dass, and doing your own self-work. - Check out my website and sign up for the free weekly email: www.johnchaffee.com - Also check out a paid email subscription I do every Monday that is a devotional reflection on another quote from a Christian mystic: learningfromth...

Bouncers and Bellhops. Interesting title, right? It's all about you and the life of faith. Sign up for John's Weekly Email Here ---> signup.johnchaffee.com Sign up for the Learning from the Mystics Email Here ---> learningfromthemystics.johnchaffee.com Social Media: @thatjohnchaffee

Happy Easter, y'all! Here is a straight up sermon about Jesus being a "True Rebel" and how we are invited to be "True Rebels" in his footsteps. Have a wonderful day! signup.johnchaffee.com

Brian McLaren (http://brianmclaren.net) is the author of an upcoming book entitled, "Do I Stay Christian?" The book is broken up into three parts: No, Yes and How. It gives an honest look at the reasons why someone might want to leave Christianity, reasons why someone might want to stay, and some perspectives on how someone might choose to stay. So here is an interview about "Do I Stay Christian?"...

This past week I happened to come across a particular quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer that I first highlighted years ago. Bonhoeffer is a fantastic Christian ethicist, pastor, and figure of Church history. So here is an episode devoted to what he had to say about living in an already reconciled world. For more, check out www. JohnChaffee.com and be sure to join the email list.

Been on a kick the past week about "liminal spaces", the in-between spaces, seasons between the seasons of life, etc.  Apparently, this is where learning and growth happen the most.  So let's chat through some insights about that. To sign up for my email list mentioned at the beginning, check out www.johnchaffee.com

This most recent episode is all about the book of James saying that showing favoritism actually discredits for him whether or not someone is following the Way of Jesus.  To show partiality to the greatest, the first, the never lost, never victimized and the robust is still giving into the old formula of religion.  I hope this one challenges you in the right ways. Check out John's Website: www.john...

Interested by that title? This one might get me in some heat but its okay, the Good News is supposed to be Good News, not Good Advice. Perhaps this one will invite you to "begin again" about how you think about Judgment Day... because what if God has good, and true, and beautiful, and loving things planned for us? Check out my website at www.johnchaffee.com and feel free to contact me through that...

Suzanne Stabile is a master enneagram teacher that often brings it alongside other topics and themes that you may not immediately associate with the enenneagram. Her most recent book, The Journey Toward Wholeness focuses on what she considers is the untapped wisdom of the enneagram to help people be transformed (which for her, is NOT the same thing as "changing"). This was an absolute delight and...

My goodness, this was an ABSOLUTE gift being able to talk with Dr. Jerome Lubbe. He is an accomplished doctor, author and family man. In this, we chat through neuroscience, the enneagram, growth mindsets, and more. Hands down I look forward to the day I can take this guy out for a cup of coffee in person. I hope you enjoy listening to this! If you are able, go to his website and get his book on th...

This episode was a real treat. I've been a long time fan of this guy since being in seminary together... the Very Reverend Randy van Osten (van Awesome).  Randy is a fantastic and stand up gentleman with the heart of a lion (and the mane to match it).  A family man, pastor, and dreamer, Randy embodies for me and enacts what a good pastor can be when they are present to the needs of their community...

Don't worry. It's all good. Nothing but gratitude for all that brought me to this point. This is just to invite you into what I will try to do next. Sometimes it's just time to grow, even if it isn't "good timing." Join my email list by checking out the link: simplesignup.johnchaffee.com

I think the title says all you need to know, but stay to the end, because there is a humble surprise for you... To check out more from John, check out these links: Website - johnchaffee.com Twitter and Instagram - @thatjohnchaffee Email List - https://newsletter.johnchaffee.com/

The word "metanoia", which is often translated as "repent" is better understood as "change your mind." So, let's chat through the life of Peter, and chat through what it means to constantly be "changing our minds" all life long. In this episode I also reference Teilhard de Chardin on the Gospels by Louis Savary. It's a fantastic and thought provoking book. The amazon link to the book is this: http...

On the 53rd anniversary of Thomas Merton's death, let's chat through contemplation, deep seeing, activism, false religion vs true religion, and learning to look at the world the same way that God might. To check out more from John, check out... Website - johnchaffee.com Twitter and Instagram - @thatjohnchaffee Email List - https://newsletter.johnchaffee.com/