Faith in Motion, the Podcast

In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells us, “The truth will set you free.”  Rev. Christian Briones gives us some of that truth today. He speaks honestly about his experiences as a pastor in Minneapolis during the aftermath of George Floyd’s death and how he has seen first-hand the fact that lament and joy often travel side-by-side through our lives. Christian reminds us that, even in scripture, you can...

The next several Mondays of the #ladypreacherpodcast will be focused on parables! These little short stories by Jesus share some pretty big truths.  There are 55 parables in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke (though many of those repeat each other), but we will be studying 8 of them. Each one reveals to us something about who we are, who God is, what God’s Kin-dom is like, and who we are call...

When it comes to the refugee crisis around the world and the immigration crisis in America, Rev. Kelly Nieman Anderson allows her faith to be her guide. She has seen first-hand what it is like in refugee camps and communities in countries around the world, and has experienced what it is like to live in a country in which she is not a legal citizen. It has given Rev. Kelly a particular window in a...

As an RA in college, my primary job was building community. One of the most important aspects of doing so is cultivating an atmosphere of mutual trust, care, and accountability. To do that successfully, you have to truly live your values. A fellow RA, Ivan Ibarra, coined the phrase for us: "Don't just talk about it, be about it." You can't just tell people "no partying&quo...

#PissedOffPastor Pastor Kara Baylor is pissed off. She is pissed about racism. She is pissed about systemic racism. She is pissed about how racism affects her kids. She is pissed about the lack of historical knowledge regarding the deep roots of racism. Pastor Kara is angry, and righteously so. You can read more of what she is pissed about on her blog Pissed off Pastor . Today, I sit down with Pas...

As we go through life we pick up parts of our identity based off of what is said about us. If we are told that we are bad with money this will limit us to only be bad with money. If we are told we are smart we will live into that. But our truest identity comes from God. In that identity you are good, you are beloved, you are who Jesus says you are. 

Jesus Christ, liberator. The chains of racism, bigotry, homophobia, and white supremacy have gripped our world. As Christians who take on the name of Christ in their identity, we must take part in the liberation Christ brings by being a voice of love and justice, especially for the most vulnerable communities among us. Rev. Kelsey Brown is here today to call us to this work, and remind us that the...

Society has, for the longest time, focused on who is in and who is out. Whether it's because someone is part of the LGBTQ community, an immigrant, a woman, a BIPOC, from a different economic status; there are a multitude of reasons people have been "cast out." The written and unwritten rules about who is in, and who is out, are pervasive in our culture. Through the prophet Isaiah, a...

Most Sundays as I’m leaving church, I often have a hymn or worship song playing over and over in my head. That’s partially because of the powerful role music plays in our lives. It touches a part of us that spoken or written words can’t always reach. Today I had the privilege of sitting down with pastor and musician, Rev. Cydney VanDyke, and we dove into the world of faith and music. Rev. Cydney i...

A few weeks ago Rev Chris Davies was interviewed and shed some amazing insight on faith. It is something that we need to hold tightly and lightly. We should hold it tightly because this is something that will help us get through our storms in life. Jesus will never leave you to weather a storm alone, hold onto that tightly. But we must hold onto our faith lightly because God needs room to grow. It...

Calling all Enneagram lovers! This one is for you. (and if you don’t know what that is - don’t fret! This is for you, too!) What is the Enneagram? And what does it have to do with our faith? Rev. Allison Johnson dives into what this work is and how it can help us better understand ourselves, our relationships with others, and how doing the work of the Enneagram can even help deepen our faith.  We...

The last four months have been a roller coaster. 2020 has been harder than anyone could have ever imagined. Between a pandemic, struggles for justice, dwindling bank accounts, and our every day life, it has felt nearly unbearable. On the days when it's hard to get out of bed, when things feel too chaotic and hard, it begs the age-old question that even Biblical greats like Job asked: Where is...

What exactly is multiculturalism? And who is the Devil, really? These are just a few of the topics that Rev. Dr. Cheryl Pero covers in this interview. Rev. Pero assures us that God is truly reflected in the beautiful multiculturalism in this world, and reminds us that all lives matter to God, which is why we need to be proactive in the movement of civil rights. We are called by God stand strong wi...

On December 25th, we celebrate Emmanuel - God with us. But what if we celebrated this every day of the year? What if, instead of putting God and our faith on a shelf until we really needed it, we treated God and our faith as central to our lives, as the treasures they really are?

"I serve a vision of a world where all people are free." Rev. Dr. Chris Davies is prophetic in her words; guiding us to how we can live into a world that is abundant for all. She speaks of a Christianity that is "attentive to a liberatory message of Gospel" and reminds us that God is bigger and wider than the structures we have built to contain God. We serve God, we serve Chris...

As human beings we get stuck in dichotomies; it's always either good or evil, faithful or sinful, black or white. But this is not always the case. What happens when humans decide that it is their time to be the judge of this? To go out and weed the bad? We do far more harm than good. The Kingdom of God has both wheat and weeds within it, which helps us as Christians understand why is there go...

Humans are busy-bodies. It’s almost second-nature to us, especially in Western culture, to fill our schedules beyond capacity. We think we can do it all; but sometimes we do so much that we forget to leave room for the Holy Spirit to do Her work. We try to fill in all the blanks when, in reality, that’s just not possible. It’s okay to let go and leave room for God. Rev. Amy Lunde-Whitler is here t...

Whether you have a green thumb or not, the seeds of faith are planted within you. Jesus spreads the seeds throughout the world, and while there are soils that are not hearty for it, or whether a bird picks up the seed and takes it away, it will still grow.   In this scenario we are the soil, but we are also the Gardner. We need to tend to our faith in order for it to grow. But the good news is, Go...

When George Floyd cried out for his mother with his last breaths, our wombs ached. It sprung us into action. The Feminine Divine is up to something - stirring us, moving in us and through us, calling us forth. Tia Meredith echoes this call. A powerhouse writer, speaker, consultant, and coach, Tia helps us see that the work needed to heal the world starts within. The work of anti-racism, starts wit...

As Christians we know that we don't always act how we should. We do things that we know are wrong, yet we continue to do them. This calls us to focus on what is causing us to act in such a way. And while doing this know that God is not judging us.  How nice is it to know that Jesus did not give up hope when it came to our redemption? Jesus has always been in our corner, no matter how frustrat...

God is always on the side of the oppressed. That is the message we hear today from Rev. Rhina Ramos, who reminds us that as Christians we are called to be co-creators of the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. She speaks of her first-hand experience of hearing Father Oscar Romero preach and lead a movement of justice in El Salvador. This instilled in Rhina a message that God is with the op...

When you look at a child do you ever get that small spark of awe and wonder because they are seeing the world with fresh eyes that aren't jaded just yet? Do you remember playing in the dirt and not having a care in the world but just doing it because it filled you with joy? This week's sermon is a reminder to get back to the basics of what brings us joy. We all have an inner child who is...

We are not meant to live life on a meditative cushion. We are called to live a purpose-filled life - one that leads to change and transformation, both for ourselves in the world. When we aren't sure how to do it, the person we can look to is Jesus. He sets an example for us to follow. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." When we follow his example, we find the way, w...

In those moments when you feel cast out by the world, when you feel forgotten, unheard, unworthy, unloved… listen to Hagar’s story in Genesis. The Egyptian slave woman of Abraham and Sarah, Hagar is forced into surrogacy. She suffers a great deal and twice feels cast out into the wilderness. But each time, God finds her. God hears her cries and promises her redemption. Though she feels that all is...

One of the most common questions pastors get asked is for help on how to read the Bible. Rev. Emily Snowden breaks down the concept of how we can take the Bible seriously without taking it literally. She reassures us that something can be true without it being “capital T true.” Emily also helps us understand why adapting is not only important - it is vital. We can either adapt, change, or die - bo...