Companions

If Proverbs gives us the rule, Job offers the painful exception. How do we respond when righteous living does not keep us from suffering? In this conversation, Pastors Angelo and Becca talk about grief, sorrow, and stubborn hope, as we glean wisdom from the first 19 chapters of Job. Will you join us on the journey?

In this episode, Pastors Angelo and Becca talk about wisdom literature, the book of Proverbs, and why it is important to understand the difference between a probability and a promise.

This week on Companions, we celebrate reaching the halfway point in our Bible in a Year reading plan! As we finish the Minor Prophets and prepare to turn toward wisdom literature, Pastor Becca is joined by Rev. Beth Hood, former pastor at Wesley Memorial and current Assistant to the Bishop for Clergy Life with the North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church. Together, they reflect on...

Recording from Annual Conference, Pastors Angelo and Becca reflect on the Minor Prophets and their ongoing call to the church today. From justice and mercy to truth-telling and hope, this episode explores what it means for the church to live prophetically—not by predicting the future, but by bearing witness to God’s heart in the present.

This week on Companions on the Journey, Pastors Angelo and Becca leave the Major Prophets behind and enter the world of the Minor Prophets. Together they explore Hosea's powerful message of covenant love, Joel's vision of repentance and renewal, Amos's passionate call for justice, and Obadiah's warning against exploiting the vulnerable. Along the way, they discuss why these prophets still matter t...

In this episode, Pastors Angelo and Becca finish reflecting on Ezekiel. Together, they discuss the valley of dry bones, dragons, and the close connection between despair and hope.

This week on Companions, Pastor Angelo is joined by Wesley Memorial’s summer pastoral intern, Emma Strickland, for a special episode. Before diving into the strange and powerful world of Ezekiel 1–24, Emma shares about her life, faith journey, calling to ministry, and passion for social work. Together, they reflect on what it feels like to read prophetic literature honestly for the first time—the...

In this episode, Pastors Angelo and Becca close out their reflection on Jeremiah by discussing prophets and pretenders. What is a false prophet? How do we discern the difference between God's voice and the voice of the enemy? Do false prophets still exist today? Join us as we discuss these questions and more!

In this episode, Pastors Angelo and Becca reflect on the first half of Jeremiah. Does God speak through visions and dreams? What does it look like to be obedient even when it produces personal turmoil? What is the cost of seeing the world as God sees it? Listen as we explore these questions and offer greater insight into this weeping prophet.

In this episode on companions, Pastors Angelo and Becca share their thoughts on the end of Isaiah, the importance of remembering (and not remembering) in scripture, and what it means to celebrate a servant who suffers at the hands of his people.

Isaiah doesn’t let us stay on the surface. In this episode of Companions, we walk through Isaiah 1–48—moving from confrontation in Jerusalem to comfort in exile. Along the way, we explore what it means to trust God in uncertain times, how worship and justice belong together, and why God’s promises still speak in the middle of disruption. If the prophets have been stretching you, this conversation...

This week on Companions, we step into the Prophets—and discover they’re not nearly what we thought. Far from distant predictors of the future, the prophets speak directly into moments of drift, calling God’s people back to covenant faithfulness, justice, and true worship. We unpack some of the most common misconceptions that keep us from understanding these books and offer practical ways to read t...

What happens when a people slowly drift from the God who formed them? In this episode of Companions, we walk through 1 & 2 Kings, tracing nearly 400 years of Israel’s history—from the height of Solomon’s temple to the devastation of exile. Along the way, we explore the division of the kingdom, the repeated failures of its leaders, and the prophetic voices that refuse to stay silent. Why does the p...

This week, we hit another checkpoint in our Bible-in-a-year journey—and we’re slowing down to spend some time in the Psalms. Joined by a very special guest (and Pastor Becca's dad!), Paul Detterman, we explore what the Psalms actually are, why they show up alongside the rest of Scripture, and how they give voice to the full range of human experience—from joy and gratitude to grief, anger, and ever...

This week on Companions, we step into one of the messiest stretches of Scripture yet—where power is complicated, leadership is unpredictable, and the line between faithfulness and failure feels razor thin. From Saul’s unraveling to David’s rise (and fall), this episode wrestles with a central tension: What does it mean that God’s covenant continues through deeply flawed people? We talk about: • Wh...

This week on Companions, we step into the story of 1 Samuel—a world filled with leadership failure, spiritual confusion, and people grasping for control. From Hannah’s quiet, costly faith to Israel’s demand for a king, we see what happens when trust in God gets replaced with the desire for something more predictable. Along the way, we wrestle with big questions: Why does God sometimes give people...

This week, we step into one of the most unsettling sections of the Bible. The Book of Judges is raw, chaotic, and at times deeply troubling—so much so that listener discretion is advised. But beneath the violence and confusion, there’s a pattern worth paying attention to: a downward spiral where God’s people drift, cry out, are rescued, and then slowly forget again (Judges 2:16–19). Joined by our...

This week on Companions, we journey through the book of Joshua and reflect on what courage really looks like in the life of faith. When God tells Joshua to “be strong and courageous,” it turns out the courage he’s talking about isn’t primarily about winning battles—it’s about remaining faithful to God’s word. Along the way we explore unexpected characters like Rahab, difficult stories like Achan,...

This week on Companions, we reach a major milestone: the end of the Torah. After journeying from Genesis through Deuteronomy, we pause to reflect on what this foundational part of Scripture is really trying to do. Along the way we explore how the end of Deuteronomy echoes the beginning of Genesis, wrestle with some of the most challenging laws in the Torah, and consider why, in Jesus’ day, some gr...

What does it really mean to listen to God? In this episode, we spend most of our time in Deuteronomy 6 and the Shema—exploring how, in the Hebrew imagination, listening and obedience are inseparable. We talk about the difference between hearing words and responding with our lives, and why Scripture keeps pushing us from passive awareness to embodied faithfulness. If you’ve ever known what’s right...

This week on Companions, we journey through Numbers 14–32 and Psalms 44–50—a stretch of Scripture filled with rebellion, accusation, ritual, and worship. From the wilderness sentence in Numbers 14 to Korah’s rebellion in Numbers 16, from the intensity of Sabbath laws to the mystery of an “eternal covenant of salt,” we wrestle honestly with what feels heavy and confusing. Along the way, we explore...

What do we do with the intense language of Leviticus? How do we keep reading when the text feels repetitive or monotonous? In this episode of Companions, we explore Leviticus 20 through Numbers 13 and wrestle with the weighty warnings of Leviticus 26, the rhythms of festivals and census lists, and the purpose behind Israel’s wilderness storytelling. Along the way, we reflect on how the Psalms give...

Leviticus doesn’t ease us in—and neither does faith when God feels distant. In this episode of Companions, Angelo and Becca wrestle with offerings, holiness, purity laws, and atonement, asking what the law was really for and how Jesus fulfills it. From sacrifice and anointing oil to clean and unclean bodies, they explore how God makes a way back into relationship when closeness feels impossible—an...

What do we do when Scripture feels heavy, repetitive, or even troubling? In this episode of Companions, Angelo and Becca reflect on Exodus 19–40 and the Psalms, naming resistance where it shows up—in the text, in the people, and in ourselves. From laws about bulls and bribes to the beauty of the tabernacle, from the Golden Calf to God’s self-revelation as merciful and faithful, this conversation e...

In this episode of Companions, Angelo and Becca return to last week’s lingering question—what feels unresolved?—as they step into the book of Exodus. Together, they explore what happens after salvation: the freedom, the fear, the frustration, and the formation that follows. From Pharaoh’s grip to Israel’s constant complaining, from Sabbath before commandments to shared leadership through Jethro’s...