That Makes Total Sense!

The wise and hilarious Erin Hicks Moon joined me for this episode and I am thrilled to share it with you! She has written a book on deconstruction called, I’ve Got Questions, and reading it felt like collecting little pieces of home over a cup of coffee with a friend who understood right where I … Continue reading Episode 285 – Erin Hicks Moon

That Makes Total Sense! regular, the Rev. Dr. Malcolm Foley, is back on the podcast and I could not be more psyched! His new book, The Anti-Greed Gospel releases next month and I cannot wait for it to hit the shelves. If you’re as intrigued as I was, even by the title and sub-title alone, … Continue reading Episode 284 – Malcolm Foley

What a joy to host Liz Charlotte Grant (and read her book)! One of the things I have enjoyed so much in studying the bible is taking in different interpretive perspectives. Liz is a creative writer and someone who became curious about biblical interpretations from theologians she had not read or studied early in her … Continue reading Episode 283 – Liz Charlotte Grant

Phew! Hold on to your hats! We’ve got an incredible discussion for you today with Dr. Andrew Rillera, New Testament scholar. His newest book, Lamb of the Free, tackles not only the sacrifice of Jesus, but does so as part of the whole sacrificial system we see in the Bible. We start by naming a … Continue reading Episode 282 – Andrew Rillera

When Jennifer McNutt’s newest book arrived in the mail, I instantly started flipping through it (and immediately texted a friend)! What I held in my hands, was a beautiful, thoughtful, and thorough look at the person and character of Mary Magdelene and as a female theologian, it felt like a real gift. The Mary We … Continue reading Episode 281 – Jennifer McNutt

This was a wonderful conversation on church, health, justice, and community with Pricelis! Her unique perspective as someone with a background in social work and someone who has worked on staff in church settings brings something insightful and beautiful to this larger discussion around church life. For more on this topic, be sure to check … Continue reading Episode 279 – Pricelis Perr...

This conversation with Lore was recorded barely a week after the presidential election. Truthfully, I was still pretty raw coming into our talk and that morning was a particularly rough one in my grieving process. What Lore’s beautiful book and our interview reminded me of in the midst of my feelings of sadness, disbelief, and … Continue reading Episode 278 – Lore Ferguson Wilber...

Dr. Chris Blumhofer is a professor of New Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary. From personal experience, I can tell you his classes are wonderful! They are insightful, thought-provoking, and challenging. One of the mindsets, and now habits, I have taken away from my instructional time with Chris is permission to wrestle with our sacred texts … Continue reading Episode 277 – Chris...

Producer’s choice! Here’s a note from my producer (and husband) Seth Busetti about this week’s re-release. Enjoy! I thought this episode with Kaitlyn Schiess might be helpful to our listeners. When this was first recorded the political landscape was still very uncertain and Kaitlyn’s wisdom regarding how Christians can faithfully engage in civil discourse and … Contin...

This new devotional by Tiffany Bluhm (along with some other fantastic contributors!) is one I see myself coming back to again and again. In The Women We’ve Been Waiting For, Tiffany and several women authors, bring us the stories of biblical, historical, and contemporary female figures who have resisted the status quo for the sake … Continue reading Episode 275 – Tiffany Bluhm

I know I should give some sort of explanation here. I should say all the things this episode is about, but, I’m tired. This has been a week, and instead of explaining all of the things, I am just going to say – go and listen to this conversation with Robert! He is sharing his … Continue reading Episode 274 – Robert G. Callahan, II

Dr. Amy-Jill Levine is a professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt University. AJ is a Jewish scholar and has written extensively on the New Testament and on Jesus. Her most recent book is Jesus for Everyone and it is fantastic! Part of what she seeks to do in this text (and how … Continue reading Episode 273 – Amy-Jill Levine

My friend, Dr. Collin Cornell is back on the podcast! The topic we discuss is one I have always wrestled with, so it was good to pick an Old Testament scholar’s brain on it – God’s aggression. You’ll see below that Collin has recently published on the topic, but we didn’t stick to the text … Continue reading Episode 272 – Collin Cornell

One of my favorite podcast guests is back to talk about his new book! David Swanson’s Plundered is absolutely beautiful. In it, he explores the history of environmental and racial injustice in the U.S. and how they are intertwined. He also shares some of his own personal and communal journey, inviting us to imagine what … Continue reading Episode 271 – David Swanson

In honor of Indigenous People’s Day, we’re re-playing my conversation with Terry Wildman! Terry Wildman is the lead translator and project manager of the First Nations Version of the New Testament. In this conversation, Terry talks about the intersection of being Christian and Native and what that has meant for him as he has explored the two, … Continue reading Episode...

Confession time – I’m not a big history buff. As critical as I know it is, it’s never really been my thing, but…when I came across this title by Elesha Coffman, I knew I had to get it in my hands and read it! And I’m so glad I did! Turning Points in American Church … Continue reading Episode 269 – Elesha Coffman

A few years ago, offline, a guest mentioned a term that represented a concept that put a metaphorical pebble in my shoe – “philanthropic redlining.” I knew a bit of the history of redlining from real estate practices in the U.S., and of course I also knew, generally, what philanthropy was, but to hear them … Continue reading Episode 268 – Erin Weber-Johnson

This conversation is (checks notes) the first where I talked with a husband and wife together, in this case, co-authors! Amy Dixon and Rob Dixon joined me to celebrate the release of their illustrated children’s book, Penny Preaches, which chronicles a fictional little girl (representative of so many women who feel called to preaching ministry, … Continue reading Episode 267 – Am...

This week I was joined by theologian Grace Ji-Sun Kim. Her newest book (she’s published so many!) is When God Became White. If you’re intrigued by the title already, you’re not alone. Grace writes, not only as a scholar and theologian, but also from her perspective as a Korean immigrant who grew up in Canada … Continue reading Episode 261 – Grace Ji-Sun Kim

I am so thrilled to host Jim Wallis again on the podcast! (It’s a special bonus for me because the date of this release marks 5 YEARS THE PODCAST!) Jim and I first met in Washington D.C. at the inaugural Summer Academy at the Center on Faith & Justice at Georgetown University, though his work … Continue reading Episode 265 – Jim Wallis

Andrew Krinks has been on the podcast before and both times, he has managed to take a topic I have thought about often and deeply and add depth and breadth that I hadn’t yet considered. (His wife, Lindsey did the same thing for me with this conversation on homelessness.) The first time, Andrew and I … Continue reading Episode 264 – Andrew Krinks

This conversation is over a year in the making. When I first heard about this project last spring, I was intrigued and completely unprepared to read this book, much less do an interview. What Sarah Stankorb has done in Disobedient Women is extraordinary. For fans of Kristen Kobes Du Mez’s Jesus and John Wayne, you’ll … Continue reading Episode 263 – Sarah Stankorb

Reading through Sarah Westfall’s book, The Way of Belonging, felt like making an instant friend! It felt like making a friend who also struggles with new friendships, what it means to belong, and who is also a huge fan of Henri Nouwan (more on that in the episode!). Sarah is asking questions I think many … Continue reading Episode 262 – Sarah Westfall

Welcome back to the podcast, to my friend, Jasmine Bellamy! Jasmine has been up to a lot since the last time we chatted, including beginning a doctoral program at Fuller Theological Seminary. She is a business leader and joyful disrupter, as we’ll chat about, and she is concerned with how we can be more loving … Continue reading Episode 261 – Jasmine Bellamy

This is a vacay replay! Our fam was out on one last getaway of the summer, so we picked one of our favorites (also happens to be a fan favorite!) to replay this week. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do! It’s hard to describe how I felt reading Norman Wirzba‘s book, This Sacred … Continue reading Episode 260 – Norman Wirzba (replay!)