Gravity Commons Podcast

We talked with theologian and professor Lee C. Camp about his podcast  No Small Endeavor , and what it means to live "the good life." Lee C. Camp is an award-winning teacher and Professor of Theology & Ethics at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee. Lee is also the host of  No Small Endeavor  – an acclaimed podcast series exploring the habits, practices, and dispositions that fa...

We talked with Palestinian pastor and theologian Munther Isaac about his book  Christ in the Rubble: Faith, the Bible, and the Genocide in Gaza , which challenges USAmerican Christians' uncritical embrace of the modern State of Israel. Speaking from his unique vantage point as a Christian pastor on the ground in Bethlehem, he reveals how Israel's campaign to eliminate the Palestinian peopl...

We talked with professor and author Andrew Root about the ironic reality that our modern pursuit of happiness has made us stressed, anxious, lonely, and depressed, and what evangelism and outreach might look like in this age of despair. Andrew Root is the Carrie Olson Baalson Professor of Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary. He is the author of more than 20 books and hosts the influential...

We talked with Anglican priest and spiritual director D.T. (Danny) Bryant about his book  Unless a Seed Falls to the Ground: Welcoming the Death of the Whiteness Gospel , where he shares the wounds and rewards of being a native son of the puritanical way of life called "whiteness," and offers the hope of inviting us into a season of "hospice spirituality" that allows the church roo...

We talked with Mariko Clark about conceiving, writing, and publishing a new children's Bible story book:  The Book of Belonging: Bible Stories for Kind and Contemplative Kids . Mariko Clark is a Japanese American author, mother, and storyteller on a mission to help kids embrace diversity and wonder. Her time as an editor at National Geographic Learning sharpened her ability to make complex top...

We talked with Tom Oord again about a lot of questions that came up in light of  our conversation  about his book  God Can’t: How to Believe in God and Love after Tragedy, Abuse, and Other Evils :  If "God Can't" determine outcomes unilaterally, what  can  God do? What about miracles? What about the renewal of all things? Can we be confident that God's love will "win" in th...

Content Warning: situations of sexual abuse and rape are mentioned in this podcast. We talked with internationally recognized psychologist Diane Langberg about coming face to face with the crushing trauma of sexual abuse, trafficking, domestic abuse, and rape—and its cover-up, all tragically encountered within Christian communities and the church. In her book,  When the Church Harms God’s People ,...

We talked with "TikTok Pastor" Brandan Robertson about how the Bible has been weaponized to exclude LGBTQ+ individuals, despite Jesus’ radical message of inclusion. In his book  Queer & Christian: Reclaiming the Bible, Our Faith, and Our Place at the Table , Robertson offers compelling, evidence-based counterarguments to the "clobber verses" often used to condemn queerness, and...

We talked with former evangelical pastor Jeff Mikels about the evangelical church's embrace of cultural and political idols, and his regret of his complicity in this trend. Jeff's book  Evangelical Idolatry: How Pastors Like Me Have Failed the People of God  is both a confession and a call to repentance. Reflecting on his twenty-year pastoral ministry with candor and humility, Mikels ackno...

We talked with author and hospice chaplain Kevin Sweeney about his new book  The Cosmic Christ and the Concrete Jesus , where he talks about how Christian mystics and the Black prophetic tradition have helped him find his footing as a Christian. Kevin Sweeney is the author of two other books, The Making of a Mystic and The Joy of Letting Go . He is also chaplain for hospice care, and currently liv...

We talked with trauma therapist and Licensed Clinical Social Worker Adam Young about exploring our past stories to help us make sense of where we are now and begin to imagine who we would like to become. Adam wrote Make Sense of Your Story to help people explore their personal stories, and how they still impact us today. Adam Young is a trauma therapist and the host of The Place We Find Ourselves...

We talked (again!) with Sheila Wray Gregoire about dispelling the pervasive myths about what makes a happy marriage, and looking at actual evidence to understand what creates intimacy, emotional health, and connection. Sheila's new book is  The Marriage You Want: Moving Beyond Stereotypes for a Relationship Built on Scripture, New Data, and Emotional Health,   co-written with her husband Dr. K...

This week, we spoke with Dr. Emily Hunter McGowin about reimagining the definition of a "biblical" family and the ways that family can embody the work of the Kingdom. Her new book is Households of Faith: Practicing Family in the Kingdom of God . Dr. Emily Hunter McGowin is Associate Professor of Theology at Wheaton College. She is the author of Quivering Families (2018), Christmas (2023),...

We talked with theologian Stephen Morrison about the anti-mammon witness of the Early Church and its relevance for today, which Stephen argues points toward anti-capitalism. Stephen explores these ideas in his new book  All Riches Come from Injustice . Stephen D. Morrison is a prolific American writer probably best known for his ongoing, mulit-volume "in Plain English" Series (as in: Karl...

We talked with Tom Oord about open and relational theology and how it can help us trust God after tragedy, abuse, and evil. We talked about the ideas and implications of his book God Can't: How to Believe in God and Love after Tragedy, Abuse, and Other Evils . Thomas Jay Oord is a theologian, philosopher, and scholar of multi-disciplinary studies. Oord is a best-selling and award-winning auth...

We talk with author and mediator Cheryl Miller about how restorative justice practices can transform the lives of survivors of sexual violence. In her book Enough Silence: Creating Sacred Space for Survivors of Sexual Assault Through Restorative Justice , Cheryl outlines of these practices and offers a road map for implementing victim-offender dialogue, surrogate dialogue, circles, and more. Her b...

We talked with Dr. Andrew Bauman about the preponderance of sexism and abuse in the church, and what we can do to counteract and guard against it, which are the themes of his book Safe Church: How to Guard Against Sexism and Abuse in Christian Communities . Dr. Andrew J. Bauman is the founder and director of the Christian Counseling Center: For Sexual Health & Trauma (CCC) and a licensed menta...

We talked with pastor and historian Malcolm Foley about the not-well-known-enough truth that racism is NOT about hate and ignorance; it's about greed. And it always has been. Foley's new book The Anti-Greed Gospel: Why the Love of Money Is the Root of Racism and How the Church Can Create a New Way Forward explores how the desire for power and money causes violence and exploitation, rooted...

We talked with podcaster and author Jonathan Foster about indigo: the color of grief , his book of poems that came from processing the painful loss of his daughter. Jonathan is the partner of one and father of three, founder of lovehaiti.org, podcaster, and award-winning author with some degrees in open and relational theology who loves to hike. You can connect with Jonathan and his work at jonath...

We talked with pastor and author Marc Alan Schelske about the practicalities of following Jesus on the path of other-centered, so-suffering love. Marc's new book Walking Otherward is a forty-day devotional (just in time for Lent!) that follows the Gospel texts of Jesus' final weeks before his crucifixion. Each entry invites you to try on Jesus' attitude, setting aside self-centered, eg...

Essayist Liz Charlotte seeks to “read life” into the Bible, a text long limited by rigid evangelical notions of biblical inerrancy. In her book Knock at the Sky: Seeking God in Genesis after Losing Faith in the Bible , rshe draws on a broad range of sources to unpack the first 32 chapters of Genesis in a remarkably fresh way. Liz Charlotte Grant   is an award-winning writer whose work has been pub...

Matt and Ben continue reflecting on the process of leaving the white evangelical spaces they both came to faith in. Show notes: Mako Nagasawa: Thinking More Clearly About Abortion On How I Left White Evangelicalism and How it Left Me Redefining the History and Historiography on American Evangelicalism in the Era of the Religious Right My Comments Last Night at the "Evangelicals for Harris"...

Matt and Ben continue reflecting on the process of leaving the white evangelical spaces they both came to faith in. Show notes: Mako Nagasawa: Thinking More Clearly About Abortion On How I Left White Evangelicalism and How it Left Me Redefining the History and Historiography on American Evangelicalism in the Era of the Religious Right My Comments Last Night at the "Evangelicals for Harris"...

Matt and Ben reflect on the process of leaving the white evangelical spaces they both came to faith in. Show notes: On How I Left White Evangelicalism and How it Left Me Redefining the History and Historiography on American Evangelicalism in the Era of the Religious Right My Comments Last Night at the "Evangelicals for Harris" Online Event Trump has changed what it means to be evangelical...

We talk with pastor (and Gravity Commons Podcast co-host!) Christy Penley about how our emotions relate to living faithfully as disciples of Jesus (the subject of her doctoral dissertation). Connect with Gravity Commons: Leave us a message or ask a question  about this or any other episode and we'll answer it on a future episode. Join the Gravity Community to interact with other listeners, and...