Gravity Commons Podcast

We continue our series on Mental Health and the Church with our own stories and experiences with therapy and mental health: good, bad and ugly. Connect with Gravity Leadership Leave us a message or ask a question  about this or any other episode and we'll answer it on a future episode. Join our online community  for free to get a curated list of interesting and edifying links each week, plus...

We continue our series on Mental Health and the Church with a few MORE myths you sent us in response to last week's episode, plus a conversation with some practical tips on how to be a "resonating witness" for others in conversations about mental health. Connect with Gravity Leadership Leave us a message or ask a question  about this or any other episode and we'll answer it on a f...

Today we start a new series on Mental Health and the Church. Christianity in the US has had an uneasy history with the topic of mental health and illness, and we'd like to learn to integrate our faith with the best of what we're learning about mental health. This first episode deals with 5 common Christian myths about mental illness that need to be exposed and rejected if we're going t...

Deconstruction: is it just a trendy brand name for falling away from belief in God? Or a process essential to authentic faith? Is it liberation or trauma? Prison break or exile? Well, Bradley Jersak joins us again to say... it's complicated (just like you!). We talk with Bradley about the themes of his latest book  Out of the Embers: Faith After the Great Deconstruction ,  which explores the n...

Throughout Holy Week, two competing approaches to peacemaking collide: the way of Jesus and the way of the religious and political elite. What if we're investing our lives in the wrong approach? What if—despite clinging to the cross of Christ for our salvation—we’ve actually embraced a different approach to peacemaking? One that justifies killing enemies. One whose methods include nailing crim...

Father Richard Rohr has said that "all great spirituality is somehow about letting go." But what does that mean, and how does it actually work? How is this "letting go" different from not caring? Kevin Sweeney joins us to talk about this dynamic, which is the theme of his new book  The Joy of Letting Go: How One Thing Has the Power to Change Everything . Kevin Sweeney   was co-foun...

Lots of Christians have a complicated relationship with the Old Testament. It can seem arcane and boring, and even offensive in its depictions of God. Eric Seibert joins us to talk about an approach to reading the Old Testament that helps us actually enjoy it. His most recent book is  Enjoying the Old Testament: A Creative Guide to Encountering Scripture . Dr. Eric Seibert is a professor of OT at...

Sociologist Lisa Weaver Swartz joins us to talk how gender and power work in American evangelicalism, beyond the level of policies, theological positions, and aspirations. Her book  Stained Glass Ceilings: How Evangelicals Do Gender and Practice Power   explores this dynamic by examining the formation of evangelical leaders in two seminary communities, one complementarian (Southern Baptist Theolog...

What can we do to combat the misinformation that's impacting the people we care about and dividing our communities? Life and politics in the US are suffering from a raging knowledge crisis, and the church is no exception. Experienced journalist and author Bonnie Kristian helps us unpack this crisis and explore ways to combat it in our own lives, families, and church communities. These are the...

Christy, Matt, and Ben look back on 2022 and reflect on breakthroughs, challenges, learning, growth, and their favorite podcast episodes, as well as look to what 2023 will bring for their lives and the podcast. Ben and Matt also open a Christmas gift from Christy. Podcast episodes mentioned: David Ford: A Fresh Encounter with Jesus Through John’s Gospel Marc Alan Schelske: Cultivating Spiritual Gr...

Many American Christians have good intentions, working hard to welcome immigrants with hospitality and solidarity. But how can we do that in a way that empowers our immigrant neighbors rather than pushing them to the fringes of white-dominant culture and keeping them as outsiders? We talk with Karen González about these questions, which are the themes of her new book  Beyond Welcome: Centering Imm...

We talk with Dr. David Cramer and Dr. Myles Werntz about Christian nonviolence, which is not a settled position but rather a vibrant and living tradition. In their book  A Field Guide to Christian Nonviolence: Key Thinkers, Activists, and Movements for the Gospel of Peace , they offer   a concise introduction to diverse approaches to, proponents of, and resources for Christian nonviolence. Dr. Dav...

Get ready for your understanding of Genesis 22 to be turned upside down by J. Richard Middleton. While we normally think of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son as proof of his love for God, the exact opposite might be true: Is it possible that a careful reading of Genesis 22 could reveal that God was not pleased with Abraham's silent obedience? That's the theme of Middleton'...

Willie Dwayne Francois III joins us to talk about the practicalities of anti-racism. Specifically, we discuss the prevalence in US society of what he calls "white noise": the racist speech, ideas, and policies that lull us into inaction on racial justice, which is the theme of his book  Silencing White Noise: Six Practices to Overcome Our Inaction on Race. Willie Dwayne Francois III is sen...

Marc Alan Schelske join us (again!) to talk about journaling: what it is, why it works, and how to do it. No matter what your history is with journaling, Marc's method (outlined in his new book  Journaling for Spiritual Growth: Six Weeks to Build a Habit that Fosters Spiritual and Emotional Maturity )  is eminently practical and powerfully effective for fostering spiritual formation.  Marc is...

How does the Christian faith relate to a world stuck in ideological captivity? What happens when vast numbers of people abandon faith for pre-packaged sets of ideas they received from podcasts, videos, and online personalities? Those are the themes of Chris Nye's new book  A Captive Mind: Christianity, Ideologies, and Staying Sane in a World Gone Mad,  and the topic of our conversation in this...

We talked with Craig Greenfield about the profound difference it makes to shift our "missional posture" from providers / hosts / insiders to receivers / guests / outsiders. This is what his new book Subversive Mission: Serving as Outsiders in a World of Need is all about.  Craig Greenfield is the founder and director of Alongsiders International , a grassroots movement of young Christians...

Drew Hart and Jarrod McKenna co-host the  Inverse Podcast , which for people who are dissatisfied with the Bible being used to justify hatred (yeah!). We talk about the work they're doing together and separately, what it means to "decolonize" our faith, and where they see their work heading in the future. Dr. Drew Hart  hails from Philly, and now lives in Harrisburg. He's the autho...

We talk with Sarah Bessey about themes from her bestselling collaborative book  A Rhythm of Prayer: A Collection of Meditations for Renewal ,  which celebrates and gives voice to traditions of prayer for people like us: overworked, overpressured, and edging burnout. Sarah Bessey is the author of the best-selling and critically acclaimed books  Jesus Feminist  (2013);  Out of Sorts: Making Peace wi...

What if our exhaustion, burnout, and pain are an invitation into a more vibrant faith? We talk with Andrew Arndt about how Christianity got co-opted by power and privilege, and how we can find our way back to the radical way of Jesus by learning from the desert fathers and mothers, who needed to learn the same things we do: to live radically, humanly, and beautifully in a spiritually desolate and...

We talk with Angie Ward about a new book in a series she is the general editor for.  Kingdom and Country: Following Jesus in the Land That You Love  is a collection of leading Christian thinkers and practitioners take a holistic approach to considering the questions of patriotism, nationalism, and where our ultimate loyalties must lie. Angie Ward is a leadership author and teacher with nearly thir...

How can we cultivate courage when fear overshadows our lives? How do we hear the Voice of Love when hate and harm shout loud? Through sharing her own wilderness experience of spiritual abuse and religious trauma, therapist and author K.J. Ramsey helps us explore the landscape of fear, trauma, and faith by walking through Psalm 23 phrase by phrase in her new book  The Lord is My Courage: Stepping T...

We talked with Joel Bowman about themes from a recent article of his , on what white Christians can do to address racism: lament, repent, and dissent. Rev. Joel A. Bowman, Sr. is a native of Detroit, Michigan, and has been in ministry for 28 years. For the past 21 years, he has served as the founder and senior pastor of the Temple of Faith Baptist Church, in Louisville, Kentucky. A Licensed Clinic...

In his book God Speaks Through Wombs: Poems on God’s Unexpected Coming, Drew Jackson explores the first eight chapters of Luke’s Gospel in a new poetic register. From the Magnificat (“That girl can sing! . . . She has a voice / That can shatter shackles”) to the baptism of Christ (“I stepped in / […] The post Drew Jackson: Recovering the Voices of the Marginalized Through Poetry appeared first on...

Wade Mullen shares how to identify and heal from abusive people and systems. Wade helps us get clarity on what abuse is, how to recognize it in our relationships and churches, and what we can do to heal and recover. Wade is a trustworthy voice and it was a joy to learn from him in […] The post Wade Mullen: Decoding the Hidden Tactics of Abusive People and Systems appeared first on Gravity Leadersh...