The Brown Line Church Podcast

Continuing our series inspired by the Psalms, Hayley & Vince share experiences of music and song connecting them with God. (Photo by Aaron Burden via Unsplash) Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/donate

Graduations and "comings of age" can mean so much more when we mark them in communal spiritual practice. Join us as we begin a new annual tradition for our church: Graduation Sunday. Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/donate

Psalm 42 offers comfort in the form of validating our present struggles. How do we navigate the ebb and flow of hope and despair? What do we do when our experiences of God change? Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/donate

For Mother's Day, Vince takes us to Psalm 91, inspired by reflections from feminist process theologian Marjorie Suchocki (Art: The Child's Bath, by Mary Cassatt, 1893) Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/donate

This week is a special service! Like an author’s dedication at the beginning of a book, baby dedications are parents' dedications at the beginning of a life, shared with community. Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/donate

There's a tension between a pursuit of joy and a pursuit of meaning behind the New Testament writings that formed the early Jesus movement after Jesus' death and resurrection. How might honoring that tension help us in our struggles today to hold to hope instead of cynicism? Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch...

Is "experiencing God" only for certain people? The intuitive or contemplative? Or, alternatively, the super expressive? Or maybe only the most pious? Or those who know the most about the Bible? The Gospels' stories of encounters with the Risen Jesus (like Luke 24's "Road to Emmaus") encourage us beyond these limitations we may place on ourselves. (Art: "Grace" by Rhoda Nyberg, Eric Enstrom) Join o...

Hayley demystifies regular, active experience of God with a look at some of the Bible’s stories of people experiencing the Risen Jesus. (Art by @scottthepainter) NOTE: DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, WE LOST THE FIRST FEW MINUTES OF AUDIO FROM HAYLEY’S MESSAGE — SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE! — YOU CAN FIND HER NOTES HERE: http://brownlinechurch.org/listen-to-teachings/230416 Join our live chat! http...

Is there any hope? Or should we just "eat and drink, for tomorrow we die"? The 1st century Jewish version of the age-old struggle of hope vs. cynicism was the debate over whether to believe in "the resurrection of the dead." Can something from that debate then inspire us in our versions of the struggle today? (Art by Morgan Harper Nichols) Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? h...

Our hope is that this reflection can stand alone as a meaningful way to pray and slow yourself down today, BUT if you have been following along in our Lent Mealtime Readings & Prayers, this reflection will build upon the story we have been following there (and in particular the reading and prayer for Good Friday). Find our Lent Mealtime Reading & Prayer for Good Friday here: https://mailch...

Is God always angry? For Palm Sunday -- which begins Holy Week's march toward Good Friday -- we continue our differentiation from the American Christian legacy that we are "sinners in the hands of an angry God", with a focus on alternative ways to believe in the power of Jesus' crucifixion. Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http:/...

Unfortunately, one of the most enduring legacies of American Christianity is a sermon from 1741: "Sinners in the hands of an Angry God". Few today know the sermon, but most know the belief behind it, as its influence over modern images of God and faith is immense. This week, we deconstruct the term “sinner” and unpack an alternative Christian belief: that the most true thing about you is that you...

Health, wealth, and prosperity messaging is not just that of celebrity televangelists like Joel Osteen. More subtle examples are in nearly any church that teaches or models praying for others, and in secular settings like the self-help industry. What does it look like to give up those subtle messages and find the reassurance they promise in more reliable beliefs? Join our live chat! https://discor...

The cultural pictures we have inherited for imagining a powerful God are mostly “white, bearded, muscular, dispassionate God up in the sky, who can do anything” images. But, for the long-suffering, the image of a God who "can do anything but refuses to" is no comfort at all. Is there a better way to imagine a powerful God? Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinech...

Sorting or categorizing the world into good-bad or in-out is a deeply ingrained human behavior, evolutionarily, meant for protection from danger. But this instinct can easily turn into scapegoating or exclusion. Is the religion of Jesus just another example of that? Or can living it out push us beyond the in-out mentality? (Art: book cover of Scapegoats, by Jennifer Garcia Bashaw) Join our live ch...

Curiosity > Certainty. Connection > Answers. It’s okay to be both a believer and a skeptic at the same time. Hayley gets us talking about how much we humans crave certainty, how we might ween ourselves off of it, and what can nourish us better. Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate htt...

Hayley prepares us for our Lenten experiment of “giving up unhelpful beliefs” with a look at how healthy belief is an act of creative re-purposing. (Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash) Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/donate

Healthy unlearning or deconstruction isn't burning down what was before. It is looking back on our younger selves with love and fondness, not disdain or embarrassment. It is differentiating and integrating what was before into a broader, more beautiful story. (Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash) Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources htt...

Conflict, family, prayer, the pros & cons of labels & categories, the unique offers of belonging in the context of mature spiritual convictions: some of the topics Hayley and Vince hit for our final discussion on belonging in modern life. Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8 New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://...

Hayley speaks to another angle on belonging in modern life, and casts a vision for small groups for our community. Art: "Three Friends" (2018) by Salman Toor

Inspired by Discord comments and personally shared reflections from our first two messages on belonging, Hayley and Vince expand on various themes. New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/donate

Vince continues our discussion of belonging, observing some of the things about modern life that leave us feeling less human, and casting a vision for a way churches (like BLC) can help us feel more human again through multi-generational community. New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/donate

Hayley and Vince kick off our new series swapping stories of their worst and best experiences of trying to belong, and discussing the unique promises of belonging within Jesus-shaped community. New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/donate

Vince shares a song and a reflection on what's working right now to help him "pay attention" (pray) and perceive God. Song: Come Thou Long Expected Jesus - Charles Wesley, as arr. by Vince Brackett New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/donate

Hayley shares this year’s Christmas reflection after one of our favorite celebrations of the year: our original take on the traditional Anglican Lessons & Carols Christmas service. (Image from @scottthepainter) New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/donate