Ravel

Marriage. Marriage is what brings us together today. At least in the sense that Emily wants to talk about it, as she heads into wedding season as a pastor. We discuss premarital counseling, the expectations of child bearing, and a few of the bad stereotypes out there. Should anyone know of any reason that this podcast should not talk about holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace. Ment...

Record every Sunday afternoon. Open every episode by sharing our beverage of choice. Close every episode with a pastoral benediction. These are the habits that Ravel participates in. So now Stephen is wondering if we can talk about the habits and rituals that make up our lives as individuals and communities. GUEST SPOT HIGHLIGHT(S)!  Stephen visited Trans Regrets Snoopy Presents the Bible to study...

STARTER PACK: I Need Something Life-Giving We're thinking about creating space today. Working with a definition of "creating a space where folks would rather spend time than their own home", we talk about places we've loved growing up and our favorite hospitality practices today and how those all influence our theologies. GUEST SPOT HIGHLIGHT(S)!  The whole gang had a wonderful time with the Recla...

What is love? The outpouring of ones self to another person? A selfless act that betters someone else? If God is Love, then is Love God? This massive question brought to you by our friend Tyler in the Ravel Community! GUEST SPOT HIGHLIGHT(S)!  Stephen went on The Worship Review to review So Will I (100 Billion X) by Hillsong Josh and Stephen went on The Recovering Evangelical Podcast - Ravel to di...

It's been a long 9 years in the process. Emily is in the final steps on the path to ordination within the United Methodist Church and wanted to reflect on the journey. We talk about the preparation required of ordinans, the difference between high church and low church settings, and why this process could serve to better weed out abusers and opportunists from pursuing church leadership. GUEST SPOT...

STARTER PACK: Meet Me At The Hot Topic Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. And don't use other cuss words while you're at it. At least that's how some of us were raised. But we're wondering what we were so afraid of? Words have the ability to capture emotion, build someone up, and tear someone down. We discuss taboo words, child appropriate words, and the intent behind them. Mention...

In a world where the word "misinformation" shows up a lot, Josh is wondering if it can be applied to theology? Are we talking about error? Are we talking about heresy? At what point should we try to correct someone who we believe holds a misinformed belief? ANNOUNCEMENT: Less than 3 minutes of your time could get you a free Ravel stickers by taking the Highline Survey ! Mentioned in the episode: R...

[Teaser clip for Bonus Episode 3] They each have an episode featured on Know Normal People. They've made over 75 episodes of Ravel together. They've spent one afternoon together, in person, when they met in September. But otherwise, Josh and Emily don't know each other that well. So today, they start to change that! Join our community at patreon.com/ravelpod for as little as $3/mo! You can also co...

We welcome the voice of one of our friends and supporters to get us started on the concept of "the fear of God". Chad wonders how we should read this idea out of the biblical text and if it could mean something different than "fear". We discuss the linguistic options before us as senses of terror, awe, reverence, respect, and trembling. ANNOUNCEMENT: Less than 3 minutes of your time could get you...

Blessed are the meek. Blessed are the poor. And maybe blessed are the lucky? With St. Patrick's Day upon us, Emily wanted to interrogate the concept of luck and how it might overlap with the idea that God gives blessings. ANNOUNCEMENT: Less than 3 minutes of your time could get you a free Ravel stickers by taking the Highline Survey ! GUEST SPOT HIGHLIGHT! Stephen went on Whiskey Bench - News and...

STARTER PACK: I Need Something Life-Giving Is it possible to be *too* optimistic? That's what Stephen's wondering today as he grapples with the possible links between his sense of optimism and hope for the world and his experience of privilege. We discuss the helplessness of hope, being God's gift to the world, and the inherently optimistic mindset of continuous improvement. ANNOUNCEMENT: Less tha...

Josh, once again, had too many topics on his mind. But instead of rolling a dice, we let the Patreon community decide, so we're talking about pushy Christians! We attempt to nuance the role of advice, opinion, and calling others out like Jesus did. Mentioned in the episode: Take the Highline Survey ! Join our community at patreon.com/ravelpod for as little as $3/mo! You can also connect with Ravel...

[Teaser clip for Bonus Episode 2] We do a deep dive on The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill Podcast produced by Mike Cosper at Christianity Today. Talking points include: Cosper's audience, the othering of other religions and denominations, bad apple spoils the whole bunch, Biblical womanhood, coffee ties to religious groups, Trinity Church in Arizona, Josh Harris, journalistic practices, and much, much...

We welcome the voice of one of our friends and supporters to kick us off on the topic of suffering! Courtney wonders if there's a better way to conceptualize suffering beyond the one interpretation she was taught at a young age. We discuss the book of Job, our desire for suffering to mean something, tears in heaven, conditioning and positive reinforcement, and much more. Mentioned in the episode:...

STARTER PACK: Press F To Doubt Is there anything more meta than a faith podcast talking about faith directly? What do we mean exactly when we talk about faith and how does it differ from beliefs or trust? What does it mean to leave "the faith"? Can you ever lose faith or do you just place your faith in something else? What does it mean for God to have faith in us? Mentioned in the episode: Great I...

Did you know that all the hosts of Ravel are drummers? Neither did some of our hosts... so it was time we talked about music in church and in worship! Join us for a conversation on playing drums in church, the devil's music in secular genres, and when Kanye boosted his record sales when he went Christian that one time! Join our community at patreon.com/ravelpod for as little as $3/mo! You can also...

Inspired in part by a thought he had while watching a documentary about snake handling, Josh has questions about the way different denominations are able to appeal to certain demographics and people of varying economic classes. Should a church seek to appeal to one group or another? Mentioned in the episode: Dr. Timothy Gombis on the Voxology Podcast Ryan Burge Tweet Alabama Snake Documentary Join...

We're trying a few new things in 2022! And today we're kicking off our first monthly community submitted topic by our friend and supporter, Danelle! Listen in for a discussion about mental health and the way Christian's have struggled to make sense of it. Emily shares the nuances of pastoral care and therapy and when each might be appropriate and Stephen offers an alternative to the classical "pro...

STARTER PACK: I Need Something Life-Giving Where do you find comfort? Maybe it's your favorite chair with a good cup of tea or listening to your favorite podcast. Maybe it's in some common Bible verses like Psalm 23. Maybe you're like Stephen who likes to meditate at weird places in public. Emily guides us through a discussion of the place and role of comfort in our lives and why we should talk ab...

We made it, friends! Episode 69! The funny sex number! We launch into our first explicit tagged conversation [language is still censored] about sexuality and anatomy. [We have frank discussions about human anatomy that you may not want to share with the kids around you, wherever you listen.] We talk about purity culture, sexual ethics in the Bible, pre-marital sex, the celibacy of Jesus, sexual no...

Welcome to 2022! After the New Years holiday where we all famously make resolutions (and a Patreon bonus episode about next steps and the future), Josh wants to talk about our hopes and dreams! Both in the sense of our vision for the future and the dreams we get in our sleep. We tell stories of memorable dreams, our vivid imaginations, and deja vu! Mentioned in the episode: Tick Tick BOOM on Netfl...

[Teaser clip for Bonus Episode 1] In our first bonus episodes exclusive to Patreon supporters, Josh and Stephen discuss their work histories, good pranks, and what might be in store for 2022. Join our community at patreon.com/ravelpod for as little as $3/mo! You can also connect with Ravel on Twitter and Instagram at @ravelpod.  Follow the hosts on Twitter:  Josh: @joshlieuallen Emily: @RevRetting...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! The time of the year where every podcast should address the holidays in some way, so we discuss our favorite (and overrated) Christmas movies, the traditions we've held onto around the season, and what it looks like to leave traditions behind. Is obligation good for the sake of 'this is how we've always done it'? Mentioned in the episode:  Robbie the Reindeer: H...

After a couple anger-fueled rants in last week's episode, Stephen asks us to unpack the role of anger in our lives, Christian or otherwise. We do our best with the passages of the Bible where we see Jesus get angry and try to sort out what it means to be angry at God. And if God's wrath needs an object to direct it toward, could God be capable of targeting the sin and not the sinner? Mentioned in...

We circle back to a missed topic on our last roulette with Josh leading us through questions about oppression and persecution. We interrogate the difference between the two words, why some like to deny the felt experience of others, and Stephen goes on an uncharacteristically angry rant! And we pray together on the pod for the first time EVER! Mentioned in the episode:  Stephen's response to MT Co...