Gravity Commons Podcast

Eric Minton joined us for our Gravity Commons Live conversation this past June. He’s an author, therapist, and ordained Baptist minister who has a unique perspective on our societies infatuation with happiness: What if there’s nothing wrong with us? What if anxiety and depression and listless spiritual life are actually telling us the truth about […] The post Eric Minton: What our Pain Reveals Abo...

Today we finish our series on Ben and Matt’s book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about the […] The post Experimenting With Grace By Acting As If It’s True appeared first on...

We continue our series focused on Ben and Matt’s book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about Axiom […] The post Why Our Bodies Are Essential For Transformation in Grace appear...

We continue our series focused on Ben and Matt’s book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about Axiom […] The post How God’s Love Recognizes and Reckons With Power Dynamics appea...

We continue our series focused on Ben and Matt’s book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about Axiom […] The post Why it Matters That God Does the Same Work In Us and Through Us...

We continue our series focused on Ben and Matt’s forthcoming book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about […] The post Does God Care About All of (Gestures Wildly) More Than We...

We continue our series focused on Ben and Matt’s forthcoming book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about […] The post How God Meets Us Right in the Middle of the Mess appeared...

We continue our series focused on Ben and Matt’s forthcoming book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about […] The post Why We Need a God Like Jesus appeared first on Gravity Le...

We continue our series focused on Ben and Matt’s forthcoming book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about […] The post What if God was Always Present and At Work? appeared firs...

We continue our series focused on Ben and Matt’s forthcoming book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about […] The post All You Need is Love: Reclaiming Love as the Center of Ch...

We start a new series today focused on Ben and Matt’s forthcoming book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy will respond to each chapter over the next few weeks, discussing how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their […] The post Deconstructing Spiritual Practices, Embracing New Paradigms appea...

We reconnected with our friend Kevin Sweeney to chat about his new book, The Making of a Mystic: My Journey With Mushrooms, My Life as a Pastor, and Why It’s Okay for Everyone to Relax. We talked about psychedelics, closing his church, learning to love and lead in the way of contemplation and mysticism. Kevin […] The post Kevin Sweeney: The Making of a Mystic appeared first on Gravity Leadership....

What was clear to the original readers of Scripture is not always clear to us. Because of the cultural distance between the biblical world and our contemporary setting, we often bring modern Western biases to the text. Ten years ago Brandon O’Brien co-wrote a book on this topic that we have recommended more than any […] The post Brandon O’Brien: How We Misread Scripture With Western Eyes appeared...

Nationally recognized speaker and church leader Jay Augustine joins us to offer a prophetic call to pastors, church leaders, and students to recover reconciliation as the heart of the church’s message to a divided world. Jay’s book Called to Reconciliation: How the Church Can Model Justice, Diversity, and Inclusion examines the intersection of the salvific, […] The post Jay Augustine: Modeling Jus...

We talk with Gravity Leadership Community Liaison Gino Curcuruto about 5 important lessons he's learned in ministry so far. This is part of an ongoing series called "5 Things I've Learned." We want to hear from you! Let us know what you wish you knew when you started out in ministry. Email us at podcast@gravityleadership.com […] The post Gino Curcuruto: 5 Lessons I’ve Learned in 20...

Women and men are designed to work together in fulfilling God’s mission on earth. Yet God’s original intent for equal partnership has been so distorted that churches and organizations continually struggle to foster healthy mixed-gender ministry collaboration. Is it even possible to return to the Genesis ideal of co-laborers in today’s contexts? Longtime ministry leader […] The post Rob Dixon: Wome...

Shane Blackshear had the privilege of forming a friendship with his long-time hero: civil rights leader and minister, John Perkins. Over a series of years John became a mentor, and they had numerous conversations as Shane wanted to know from John what leading a life faithful to Jesus Christ actually looked like. What followed was […] The post Shane Blackshear on John Perkins: Peacemaking and Trans...

We talk with Idelette McVicker about her journey out of whiteness and reckoning with her Apartheid past as an Afrikaner woman. In her book Recovering Racists: Dismantling White Supremacy and Reclaiming Our Humanity she shares 20 practices or “Stations of Liberation” that can help white people recover from the racism we have inherited, from acknowledgment […] The post Idelette McVicker: Reclaiming...

Dominique DuBois Gilliard is back to talk about how power works in systems and structures, and how we can leverage privilege in subversive ways on behalf the the marginalized and oppressed in faithfulness to Scripture. These are the themes of Dominique's new book Subversive Witness: Scripture’s Call to Leverage Privilege. This was a Gravity Commons […] The post Dominique Dubois Gilliard: Lever...

Dr. Christina Edmondson joins us to talk about how to faithfully oppose and resist the pernicious power of racism as Christians and churches. Her book (co-authored with Chad Brennan) is Faithful Antiracism: Moving Past Talk to Systemic Change (use promo code GL22 for 30% off and free shipping through May 3!). We talk about what […] The post Christina Edmondson: Practicing Faithful Antiracism For S...

David Ford joins us for a Gravity Commons LIVE discussion about his new commentary The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary. We explore the themes in John’s Gospel that make it a distinct witness among the Gospels in the New Testament, and through David’s exuberant engagement with this text, are invited into a fresh, profound […] The post David Ford: A Fresh Encounter with Jesus Through John’s...

Instead of loving neighbors, strangers, and enemies, many Christians are taught to fear them. Author and speaker Catherine McNiel talks about her book Fearing Bravely: Risking Love for our Neighbors, Strangers, and Enemies, helping us see how love can drive out our fear, and reclaim the transformative power of love for the sake of our […] The post Catherine McNiel: Confessing our Fear and Loving o...

Leadership coach and author Karen Hardwick shares seven practices for leaders to cultivate a deeper connection with themselves, their spiritual purpose, and others. Her book is The Connected Leader: 7 Strategies to Empower Your True Self and Others. You can connect with Karen on her website, on Instagram, and Linkedin. From our sponsor Check out our […] The post Karen J Hardwick: Becoming a Connec...

Many church leaders are facing a liminal moment, wrestling with how to navigate complex theological and cultural terrain and lead the church into a faithful witness of the Gospel in turbulent times. We talk with Seth Richardson, Director of our new initiative (Gravity Congregational Transformation), about how careful and hopeful noticing can shift our perspective […] The post How to Turn Church Ch...

In divided times, how do we work for justice and make real peace? Melissa Florer-Bixler joins us to discuss her prophetic book, How to Have an Enemy: Righteous Anger and the Work of Peace to get at these very questions. Melissa draws from the Scriptures and her work among those contending for justice to give […] The post Melissa Florer-Bixler: How to Have An Enemy appeared first on Gravity Leaders...