Crackers and Grape Juice

Two longtime Mockingbird writers, Charlotte Getz and Stephanie Phillips, have written a book that features a patchwork of personal essays, pocket liturgies, and pseudo-fictional plays, and not a dull moment between them. Stephanie Phillips and Charlotte Getz never expected to raise their families anywhere but home, in the American South. But then…life happened. Quirky, hilarious, and (mostly) true...

Luke Norsworthy is known for a few things: amazing hair, a CrossFit body most dads dream of, and a keen awareness that what we say about God has implications that go beyond the cliché. In his new book, 'God Over Good,' Luke explores what it means to save your faith by letting go of the expectations we place on God. An excerpt from the book: "God doesn't always seem to be what we would call good. A...

Natasha S. Robinson joins the podcast to talk about her new book, 'A Sojourner's Truth.' Natasha is a Naval Academy graduate, served in the United States Marine Corps, was the Senior Diversity Admissions Counselor in the Office of Admissions at the Naval Academy, and is a graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary Charlotte. The journey of one of us is the journey of all of us. In these pages...

Everyone has a backstory, and for preachers, that backstory sets the stage for preaching. Lisa Cressman is the author of 'Backstory Preaching: Integrating Life, Spirituality, and Craft' (The Liturgical Press: Collegeville, 2018), and Craft an Effective Sermon by Friday, ( www.backstorypreaching.com ), a guest preacher, preaching instructor, and speaker. Lisa is a Certified Daring Way® Facilitator,...

In this episode Jason talks with Parker Palmer about his new book On The Brink Of Everything: Grace, Gravity, and Getting Old. In addition to the book they talk about a number of other subjects including community organizing during social unrest, incarnation politics, and treating depression with medication.

I met Dr. Rolf Jacobson at the Festival of Homiletics where, eavesdropping on me preaching, he said I sounded more Protestant than any of his students at Luther Seminary. You can check out his sermon here. Dr. Jacobson is the author of Crazy Talk and hosts his own lectionary-based podcast as well. In this episode, he and I talk about the distinction between the Law and the Gospel as a particular e...

Dr. Johanna Hartelius, host of the (Her)Men*You*Tics podcast, offers her 3 do's and don'ts of preaching. Johanna has a Ph. D. in communication/rhetoric from the Moody College of Communication at The University of Texas at Austin. I teach undergraduate and graduate courses in digital rhetoric, public discourse analysis/criticism, political communication, professional communication skills.

“Protest that precedes prayer is theologically disordered. “It’s pastorally cruel to exhort unbelievers who do not have the gift of the Holy Spirit to live up to the standards of our baptismal covenant.” ”There’s no urgency in either Testament for God’s People to get involved in the politics of the Principalities and Powers.” John Nugent is professor of Old Testament at Great Lake Christian Colleg...

A conversation between Teer & Taylor about Taylor's sermon, "The Elephant in the Room" which can be found in the #1 New Release, 'I Like Big Buts.' https://www.amazon.com/Like-Big-Buts-Reflections-Letter/dp/1983368830/

During our recent live podcast event in Hampton, Virginia we were able to open the space up for questions to our guests Dr. Johanna Hartelius and Dr. Kendall Soulen. In their responses they address kinship language, the fullness of God, proper names, true freedom, and what it means to be the church.

The team hosted a live podcast in Hampton, Virginia and invited Dr. Kendall Soulen and Dr. Johanna Hartelius to join us for a conversation about what we talk about when we talk about God. During the first part of the evening we covered a range of topics including the Doxology, the 10 Questions from Inside The Actor's Studio, theological grammar, the power of words, gendered pronouns, the challenge...

Mark Galli is the editor in chief at Christianity Today and he recently published a book entitled Karl Barth: An Introductory Biography for Evangelicals. Jason was able to sit down with Mark to talk about the book and in particular the effects of Barth's Romans, the errancy of scripture, moving from the pulpit to the classroom, and weakness in American preaching.

In this episode Taylor talks with 2/3 of the writers of The Prayer Wheel (Patton Dodd and Jana Riess). In 2015 a group of rare manuscripts went on display in New York and inside the front cover was a very well worn prayer wheel. Their book unpacks the discovery of the medieval prayer wheel and how it can speak prayerful disciplines into our lives today.

What happens when an entire denomination struggles with language regarding human sexuality and three pastors try to ask questions?

Taylor talks with Teer about a sermon Teer contributed to the newly released book from Crackers and Grape Juice. 'I Like Big Buts' is a collection of reflections and sermon from the C&GJ team on Paul's letter to Rome. In this episode Taylor and Teer discussion Teer's sermon "Words Are Always Necessary" From the back cover: It is in Romans that Paul reveals that he is convinced that neither death n...

It is in Romans that Paul reveals that he is convinced that neither death nor life nor angels nor demons nor the present or future—really not anything or any power in all of creation—can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus ([8:38]). And even pithier—I love this one especially—Paul assures us in Romans that if God is for us, who could be against us? ([8:31]). In this collection...

In this episode Jason Micheli talks with Ken Jones, the pastor of Glendale Missionary Baptist Church in Miami, Florida and the co-host of the radio show "The White Horse Inn." They cover a number of subjects including the Scofield Bible, grace over race, serving a church in Compton, the folly of institutional diversity, peculiar speech, and unhealthy alliances.

Taylor and Teer got together to record an episode shortly before our last live event. Their conversation covers a range of topics including steep learning curves, the challenges of regular preaching, pastoral transitions, the intersection of politics and theology, faithful hospitality, proper boundaries, ecclesial whiplash, sleeping in church, and what it's like to work with the Tamed Cynic (Jason...

For Episode #157, we talked with Erin McKenney who is the Executive Director of Just Neighbors, a legal aid and advocacy organization for immigrants in the DC-Northern Virginia Region. We talked to Erin amidst the furor over the administration's policy of separating children from their parents at the border. Erin helps us think about the issue of immigration from a broader systemic perspective as...

If its true that clergy suffer from certain health issues at a rate higher than the general population, the why are pastors in such poor health? And what can be done to help them step into the abundant life God desires for them? We tackle these questions and more with the co-authors of Faithful and Fractured: Responding to the Clergy Health Crisis, Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell, and Jason Byassee. From...

Jason has a conversation with Robert Hudson about his book The Monk's Record Player. They discuss the connections between Bob Dylan's music and Thomas Merton's spirituality in addition to debating whether or not engaging with the wider world is a greater challenge today than ever because we're never really alone.

What if we told you 1/123 people were displaced refugees? What if we told you that means there are 65 million people displaced today? Would that have an impact and change the way you think of refugees? Teer had a chance to interview the co-chairs of the One Journey Festival Wendy Chan and Vanda Berninger. They talk refugees, messy book shelves, and why you need to attend the One Journey Festival o...

Teer and Jason talk with Episcopal priest, school chaplain, and Mockingbird writer Connor Gwin about deconstruction, doubt vs. faith vs. authenticity, Stan the Man, formation, and life after near death.

Happy Strangely Warmed Day!