Church Potluck: A Smorgasbord of Christian Curiosity

Send us Fan Mail In this second St. Nicholas episode of the Church Potluck Advent Calendar, Dr. Jordan Rowan Fannin returns to share how her family has built meaningful Christmas traditions rooted not in Santa Claus, but in the real fourth-century bishop who inspired him. Jordan describes how her family celebrates St. Nicholas Day—complete with shoes outside the door—and how the saint’s character...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s Church Potluck Advent Calendar episode, Dr. Jordan Rowan Fannin (Religion & Philosophy) joins us for the first of a three-part series on one of her greatest passions: the real Saint Nicholas . Before there was Santa Claus, there was a fourth-century bishop whose quiet generosity, courage, and compassion captured the imagination of Christians for centuries. Jordan wa...

Send us Fan Mail  In this deeply personal Advent reflection, Dale steps away from Church Potluck’s usual conversational format to share the most sacred Advent moment of his life. Thirteen years ago, during his wife Ingrid’s final days, the Berry College Choir arrived unannounced at his home after Lessons & Carols. Their voices filled the house with holy beauty, offering peace, hope, and love i...

Send us Fan Mail Get ready for a joyful episode as we celebrate the shimmering beauty of handbells —one of the most peaceful, communal, and unmistakably Christmas sounds of the season. Join us as we talk with a real-life handbell choir member about why these simple instruments feel so sacred, how they help us prepare the way of the Lord, and why they still bring calm, joy, and connection today. We...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Church Potluck Advent Calendar —a daily series of short, joyful reflections exploring simple traditions that help us prepare the way of the Lord .  In this episode , we welcome back Julianne Bailey to share her deep love for one of the most cherished Advent traditions: the Advent wreath with accompanying candles . Julianne reflects on seeing the candles lit week aft...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s Advent Calendar episode, Dale McConkey is joined once again by the Rev. Dr. Jonathan Huggins to explore the colors of the Advent and Christmas seasons. Why is purple traditional? Why are some churches shifting to blue? And what do the other liturgical colors—white, rose, gold, green, and even red—teach us about preparation, hope, and the rhythms of the Christian year? I...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Church Potluck Advent Calendar —a daily series of short, joyful reflections exploring simple traditions that help us prepare the way of the Lord . Each 5–10 minute episode highlights a different Advent or Christmas ritual, mixing heartwarming personal stories with gentle spiritual insight. A light, cozy way to slow down, savor the season, and rediscover the hope of...

Send us Fan Mail The Church Potluck Advent Calendar is a daily, 5–10 minute journey through Advent, the 12 days of Christmas, and Epiphany . Each day offers a simple reflection on an Advent or Christmas practice—from candles and colors to wreaths, rituals, and global traditions. Some days include guests; other days offer a brief devotional moment at the table. This introductory episode features ho...

Send us Fan Mail It's a special Thanksgiving crossover episode of American Angst and Church Potluck ! Dr. Michael Bailey and Dale McConkey start off-topic with a quick overview of 10 dizzying days in American politics. From there, they pivot to something far older, quieter, and deeper: Thanksgiving! Michael makes a bold claim—that Thanksgiving is the most American of all holidays —and builds...

Send us Fan Mail Three candles, 10,000 downloads, and a table full of friends! This milestone episode of Church Potluck celebrates three years of “a smorgasbord of Christian curiosity.” Host Dale McConkey gathers the Core Four— Christy Snider , Michael Bailey , and Michael Papazian —for cupcakes, playful celebratory jingles, and a listener-powered reflection on what makes the show tick: variety, c...

Send us Fan Mail Host Dale McConkey sits down with Michael Papazian for a lively and accessible introduction to Orthodox Christianity. Dale reflects on his recent visit to an English-speaking Orthodox Vespers service in Tennessee—incense, chanting, icons, and a surprisingly young and growing congregation—while Dr. Papazian speaks from his dual vantage point as both a scholar of theology and philos...

Send us Fan Mail This week on Church Potluck , Dale welcomes two guests who encourage us to stare death in the face. Dr. Sam Nazione , associate professor of business communication and a health communication scholar, opens the lid on her Honors course “A Good Death” —why she built it, what students learn, and how talking about death actually teaches us to live better. Rev. Chris Barbieri , a hospi...

Send us Fan Mail Can Christian faith and scholarly inquiry coexist—and even thrive—together? In this week’s Church Potluck , we have the honor to sit down with Berry College President Sandeep Mazumder . Dr. Mazumder (Economics) shares his faith journey from a Hindu upbringing in London to embracing Christian faith in graduate school, and reflects on how that experience shapes his vision for Berry...

Send us Fan Mail Premiere horror and Halloween enthusiast (and fashion icon) Clint Peters  joins the podcast to discuss how horror taps our primal selves. We dig into how films like The Babadook , Jaws , Nosferatu , and even Midnight Mass reveal what we value, how fear works, and why the genre often takes the supernatural—and the Church—more seriously than most “serious” films. Perennial guest and...

Send us Fan Mail Rev. Dr. Erin Moniz (Baylor chaplain and author of Knowing and Being Known ) joins Church Potluck to rethink “intimacy” beyond sex and dating—into friendship, family systems, and a church that actually feels like family. Along with Dr. Margaret Ndwandwe (digital media specialist), Erin unpacks purity culture 2.0, attachment theory, boundaries vs. vulnerability, and why technology...

Send us Fan Mail This episode features Dr. Todd Timberlake —our resident astrophysicist—at the center of the table. Todd walks us through three awe-inducing questions: Why is there something rather than nothing? What physics can say up to the Big Bang—and why “before” may be the wrong word. Fine-tuning, multiverse ideas, and what science can (and can’t) answer. How did life arise? From Miller–Urey...

Send us Fan Mail We’re back with another crossover of Church Potluck and American Angst —and it’s the middle slice of a three-part series. In Part 1, we explored evidence for a religious impulse at the founding of the United States. Today, we flip the coin and examine the “godless constitution” thesis: why the U.S. Constitution reads secular by design, how the framers imagined church–state separat...

Send us Fan Mail In this week’s episode of Church Potluck , we sit down for a roundtable on Dilexi Te (“I Have Loved You”), Pope Leo XIV’s very first apostolic exhortation, a pastoral message of encouragement. Leo takes this opportunity to call Christians to a deeper commitment to the poor, broadly defined as those who are economically disadvantaged, displaced, or marginalized. Together, we discus...

Send us Fan Mail It’s a crossover feast: American Angst meets Church Potluck for a lively, thoughtful dive into religion, politics, and the Founders—setting the table for an upcoming conversation on Christian nationalism. This one leans a bit more American Angst in tone, with Michael Bailey taking the lead while Dale McConkey jumps in with sociological insight and good-humored pushback. In this ep...

Send us Fan Mail This episode explores the Orthodox Christian tradition —and specifically  Mary’s place within it —through a warm, curious conversation with philosopher and Orthodox theologian  Dr. Michael Papazian . Together we look at how Orthodoxy understands salvation, worship, and church authority, then dive into what that means for honoring Mary. What makes Orthodoxy distinct? (spoiler alert...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when an astronomer, a political philosopher, and a retired pastor sit down at the potluck table? In this episode, Dr. Todd Timberlake , Reid Professor of Physics & Astronomy, joins host Dale McConkey and regular guest Dr. Michael Bailey for a lively conversation about awe and wonder . Is science a cold explanation that drains the magic from the world—or can it act...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when Christians disagree so deeply that dialogue itself feels dangerous? Can churches balance the call to love enemies with the responsibility to protect neighbors? And how do we speak the truth in love without sliding into silence—or into shouting? In this episode, newbie Dr. Kathryn Heidelberger (comparative Christian–Islamic ethics) and relative newbie Dr. David Ba...

Send us Fan Mail The Core Four are back! Host Dale McConkey is joined by Christy Snider, Michael Papazian, and Michael Bailey for a wide-ranging conversation on faith and culture. We start with reactions to the Charlie Kirk assassination , unpacking how instantly polarizing it was, how social media amplified extreme voices, and how it revealed the deep fusion of religion and politics in American l...

Send us Fan Mail Season 4 of Church Potluck kicks off with a joyful, thoughtful dive into Christian missions as Dale welcomes media pro and new colleague Margaret Ndwandwe and her newlywed husband Xolani from Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). They share their long-distance love story born on the mission field and introduce the Bound Together Eswatini Partnership , a long-standing coalition focused on...

Send us Fan Mail CROSSOVER EPISODE! In this first-ever crossover episode between Church Potluck and American Angst 101 , host Dale McConkey, political scientist Michael Bailey, and historian Christy Snider dive into a hot-button political and theological controversy surrounding Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s recent social media post endorsing ideas from pastor Doug Wilson, a leader in the Con...