Crazy Faith Talk

Recently many Christians celebrated the arrival of the Magi to find the Christ-child by the light of a star--and their story shows us yet again how often God seems intentional about drawing outsiders and calling the unexpected. This Epiphanytide, we'll be exploring a number of the stories in the Bible in which God calls outsiders, and we invite you to join us here on Crazy Faith Talk to consid...

For all the fluff and shallow Christmas-season pop culture out there, there are some real treasures that sincerely do get something right about what Christmas means. In this episode of Crazy Faith Talk, our colleagues in ministry Sarah, Erica, Natalie, and Steve lift up some favorites that we keep coming back to.

There are COUNTLESS ways to celebrate the Christmas season, although a lot of them don't really have much to do with the birth of Jesus. So what do we make of them? Are they harmful or good? Permissible or forbidden? What do we make of cultural traditions like candy-filled Advent calendars or recent creations like Elf-on-the-Shelf? And how can we allow fun traditions not to crowd out the birth...

The church organ was unplayable and damaged, just a day or so before Christmas Eve--what would the congregation do for worship to celebrate the birth of Christ? A musical crisis gave rise to the composition of "Silent Night," which has now become a worldwide favorite carol of Christmas, but whose tune was first written to be played by guitar on a Christmas Eve where the more impressive i...

On a busy street corner in Toledo, Ohio, in 2018, a large weed grew up out of the curb, only to be decorated by passersby that Christmas season, until it became a local landmark and a place for charitable giving, all spontaneously. In a story that calls to mind both the classic "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree" and the imagery from the prophets of the new sprout that comes up out of the dea...

For at least a night--Christmas Eve--at a handful of places along the trench lines of the war front early in World War I, peace broke out in No Man's Land, and warring armies paused to greet each other, sing, and even play games. How do we speak of God's presence in the midst of a war, even if the hope of peace only lasts for a brief time? Join us for this second conversation in our Advent...

As we begin a new series corresponding to the church year season of Advent, colleagues in ministry Natalie, Sarah, Erica, and Steve are exploring stories from different eras and settings where the Spirit of God moved in people's lives--sometimes in life-or-death situations, and sometimes in more lighthearted ways. Join us for our first story, involving a blackout on a German train and the ligh...

Intuitively, there seems to be a connection between mercy and forgiveness, at least in the abstract. But how do we manage to practice forgiveness toward others while also being merciful to people who have been hurt and still have wounds, who might still be struggling to forgive someone who has wronged them? How does mercy affect our thinking about forgiveness? Join us for our concluding conversati...

At first blush, mercy and justice seem like opposites: justice is all about giving people what is due to them and ensuring what is fair, and mercy often involves giving people more than they deserve! So how these two relate? What is the goal of justice? And in times of conflict, can we speak of just wars? Join us for a wide-ranging conversation on this week's Crazy Faith Talk!

In times when many are especially struggling with access to food or help with making ends meet, plenty of people want to offer assistance. But how can we offer care that truly meets the needs of people, and how can we use our resources and time in ways that support both the physical needs of neighbors and also honor their worth and dignity as people? How does mercy show up in our public life? That...

The Christian claim is not only that God is merciful, but that we are called to be "merciful as your Father is merciful." In this episode, colleagues in ministry Erica, Sarah, Natalie, and Steve explore how God's kind of unconditional, enemy-embracing love becomes the pattern for our lives, even when it's difficult--and even when we don't want to even recognize those we might...

Plenty of folks know the song, "Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound," but... what are we actually singing about? When it comes to the grace and mercy of God, what do we mean? Does grace only show up in our lives once we have come to faith in Jesus, or gotten baptized, or gone to church? Does grace mean that God leaves us as we are, with our rough edges and persistent struggles with sin? W...

It's one of those words that Christians toss around frequently--in prayer and liturgy as well as in our action in the world--mercy. But what exactly are we talking about when we talk about "mercy"--is it a feeling, a mindset, a character trait, an action? And how is God's mercy supposed to connect to our actions and posture in the world? Are there times when mercy doesn't &qu...

In this concluding episode of our series on "Profiles in Courage" from church history, we look at the witness of Anne Hutchinson, who crossed an ocean to follow a pastoral voice she found compelling, then taught in small groups for women and men in a time when women's leadership was typically forbidden, and then risked exile for speaking up against what she saw as the bad theology of...

He was instrumental in organizing the March on Washington at which Dr. King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech was delivered, and was a part of a precursor to the Freedom Rides that attempted to desegregate bus lines across America, and yet many don't know his name or story. But Bayard Rustin was not only an important figure in the Civil Rights movement, but also he insisted on kee...

In the midst of the German occupation of World War II, a village full of ordinary French citizens took it upon themselves to hide and protect Jewish refugees from the clutches of the Reich. And they did it, not because a bishop had ordered them to, but with the guidance of their faith and pastoral leadership, they recalled their own experience having been persecuted before and saw the need to take...

Some people know the figure of Saint Francis from stories of his chosen poverty or care for animals (and even preaching to them, in some stories). But there's another episode told about Francis of Assisi that models courage in facing "the other" even when it is risky--the story of Francis seeking a meeting with the Sultan during the time of the Fifth Crusade. In this week's episo...

She approaches Jesus while he is on the way to heal someone else, at a point of desperation after twelve years of suffering, and her name wasn't even recorded for us. Yet her willingness to step forward and say "Jesus' goodness and healing are for me, too," is preserved in Scripture as one more profile in courage for us to look at. This week, colleagues in ministry Sarah, Erica,...

He's a towering figure in the New Testament (even though his name means "little"!) remembered for his numerous letters, his bold missionary journeys, and his endurance through brutal persecutions. But we don't often think about the bravery that Paul the apostle had to use before all of that, simply to admit his old way of thinking was wrong, and to be willing to let the risen Chr...

In a scene that feels like the climax of an action movie like John Wick or Die Hard, this lesser-known "judge" of ancient Israel plots a daring attack on an enemy king who was oppressing the Israelites that inspired them to fight back for their freedom. His name is Ehud, and if you've never heard his story, this is one that's worth getting to know. Join us for this week's &qu...

In a new series for this fall, colleagues in ministry Sarah, Erica, Natalie, and Steve take a look at figures in the Bible who offer us surprising pictures of bravery, often in unexpected ways. We start this series with the story of Abigail, a less-well-known figure in the book of 1 Samuel who is brave enough to avert a massacre from a young David, to prevent her husband from being foolish, and to...

While human beings go about their busy lives making money, going to work, buying and selling stuff, and tracking the markets, vast worlds of life are buzzing and blooming in our back yards, blissfully unaware of how the Dow Jones is doing, and yet gloriously reflecting the goodness of God. In this final conversation of our "Divine Fingerprints" series, Sarah, Natalie, and Steve talk abou...

What can we learn about God from the creepy crawlies and eight legged arachnids we find in the corners of our living room or spinning webs between branches of trees? And what possible living parables of Christ's self-sacrificial love could we find in the smallest of creatures around us, even if we are usually tempted to squish them? Join us for this week's conversation on Crazy Faith Talk...

What can we learn about our connection to God from our relationships with our pets? How do pets help us see our connection to other creatures that are a part of God's creation, and how might that help us better understand the storytelling in Genesis about human beings and animals, as well as our responsibilities to care for the world and the life within it? Join us on this week's episode o...

From the expansiveness of the ocean to the flowing motion of the river to the refreshment of a summer rain shower, water can remind us of the majesty, justice, and grace of God. In this episode of our series, "Divine Fingerprints," we look at how different experiences with water in creation--as well as in the swimming pool and baptismal font--can point us to dimensions of God's chara...