Crazy Faith Talk

Every so often, it seems there is a flare-up of folks worried about Jesus' coming again, or whether current events in the news could be triggering the end of the world. In this new series for Eastertide, colleagues in ministry Sarah, Erica, Natalie, and Steve will be exploring why a faithful and thoughtful end-times theology (sometimes called "eschatology") matters, and why it's...

While we often think of Mary, the mother of Jesus, around Christmas time, amid the stories of angels, shepherds, and mangers, the gospels and the book of Acts remind us that Mary was a presence throughout Jesus' ministry, that she persevered through the horror of the cross, and continued to be an important figure in the early Christian community as well. We'll consider Mary's example i...

While many think of the apostle Paul primarily as a theologian--someone who talked and wrote about what Christians believe --he also gives us a powerful example of Christian discipleship as a matter of taking the gospel seriously, and living out what we understand by faith. In this conversation, we'll explore how Paul's life story, journeys, and writing give us a glimpse of the kind of lif...

Of course, Christians would look to Jesus as part of their faith, right? But is everything Jesus did in the Gospels meant to be copied? Are there some ways in which Jesus is unique? And if two people sincerely ask, "What would Jesus do?" and they get very different answers, what do we do about it? How do we take Jesus seriously as a model of our discipleship, and also find hope in Jesus&...

In many Christian traditions, when new disciples are baptized or affirm their faith, they are explicitly asked if they will speak and act in ways that seek peace and justice for all people. That might look different for each of us, but we can learn something about this calling to work for the good of those who are suffering and speak to help end mistreatment from the story of Moses, who spoke up t...

In much of the ancient biblical world, it was taken as a given that one must show hospitality and genuine welcome to strangers who come to your door. That's visible in the early storytelling in Genesis when Abraham welcomes the three divine visitors, but it also becomes a central theme in the Torah when Israel is commanded to welcome foreigners and treat them the same as their own citizens, be...

In our previous series, we explored how God has a way throughout the Bible of calling unlikely and unexpected people to belong... but what exactly is the life we have been called into really all about? That's what discipleship is all about, and in this new series for Lent, we're going to explore several big ideas of what it looks like to be a disciple, starting with a classic description f...

The entire book of Acts traces the course of the followers of Jesus reaching across boundaries in increasingly wide circles, "beginning in Jerusalem, to Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." The Christian community, in other words, has always been one to take seriously God's desire to call outsiders and draw all people in. We'll explore that story as it unfolds in Act...

Even though we think of them as heroes of the faith and might name church buildings after them, the disciples of Jesus were often outsiders in a number of ways. From Jesus' unlikely way of choosing his disciples rather than having them audition and prove their skills, to his inclusion of women among his followers and as witnesses of the resurrection, to his way of reaching out to outcasts like...

Even with in ancient Israelite society, God raised up people from the margins who could speak difficult truths and see with clarity what the "insiders" might not be able to recognize any longer. That was the role of the prophets, who often had to be the ones brave enough to say when the emperor was wearing no clothes, so to speak. But beyond that, the message of many of the prophets also...

When the Israelite spies preparing to take over Jericho are in danger of being found out, a resident of Jericho named Rahab helps to hide them and keep them safe from the authorities. She could have been viewed only as "the enemy" or looked down on for being a prostitute, but she ends up saving their lives and becoming an ancestor of Jesus himself, too! We'll explore more of the mean...

In the Bible, the first person to give a name to God isn't a priest or an official prophet; it's not a king or a patriarch like Abraham, either. She is an enslaved woman from north Africa, Hagar, and God provides for both her and her child, Ishmael, even when they have been cast out by Abraham and Sarah--because that's how God operates. Join us for this next conversation in our series,...

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...