The Brown Line Church Podcast

On the third Sunday of Advent, we look at the way Matthew's Christmas story (the one with the wise men following the star, and Mary, Joseph, and Jesus fleeing from Herod to Egypt) sets up Matthew's larger message about Jesus. Matthew is a subversive drama (think "Hamilton"). New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.or...

On the second Sunday of Advent, we look at the way Luke's Christmas story (the one with the angel Gabriel visiting Mary and Elizabeth, and the manger, and the shepherds) sets up Luke's larger message about Jesus. Think: "Luke is a protest song." (Art by Amber Hawkins)

Vince introduces our theme for this year's Advent (Economic Justice and the Bible's two Christmas Stories) and how to participate. New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/donate

Every person ever has a worldview: the lens and frames of reference through which they view their world — including the authors of Biblical texts! An understanding of this can help us shape our modern culture’s application of the Bible away from terrorizing and toward life-giving. Vince and BLC’s Brad Fruhauff discuss. (Image from Scott Van Daalen on Unsplash) New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/...

Reveling in the creativity and power of storytelling can unlock some of the most life-giving applications of the Bible to our modern world. At the same time, divorcing BiblIcal narratives from their roots in storytelling can trap people in some of the most terrorizing applications of the Bible. (Image from Evan Turk's The Storyteller)

Special guest Natasha Huang, a hospital chaplain, joins us remotely to talk about spiritual practice, God, and community in the midst of grief. (Image from Shifaaz Shamoon on Unsplash) New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/donate

Our annual service, when we remember loved ones lost by people in our community in the past year. New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/donate

In challenge or pain, all people long to experience empathy. And yet, when we're faced with the opportunity to empathize with another, we can accidentally minimize all too easily. Hayley unpacks how, in 21st century America, the Bible can be used to empathize or minimize. (Image from @keeleyshawart)

No matter how much (or little) we personally pick up the Bible, we all can influence how it is evoked in our culture: away from terrorizing applications, toward beautiful applications. This week's focus is inspired by one of our favorite responses to our survey about "Texts of Terror". It was two words: "Paul. LOL."

The Bible is everywhere in Western culture, in all of its beauty, and in all of its problematic imagery. Vince suggests some options for feeding life-giving applications of the Bible, and starving terrorizing applications of the Bible. New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/donate

Hayley sets the table for our new series, "Texts of Terror", in which we hope to defang (and maybe even redeem) Biblical texts that have been used to terrorize people. New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/donate

Concluding our discussion of the modern experience of crushing, constant guilt, Hayley and Vince move us to the topic of grace: a close-relative of forgiveness, but also distinct in important ways. New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/donate

Hayley and Vince respond to feedback from our first two weeks discussing the constant, nagging “guilt before ourselves” that modern people experience. New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/donate

Hayley and Vince continue this month's discussion of the modern experience of constant, nagging guilt, and in particular how healthy spirituality and community might help us address guilt in our relationships. New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connect Resources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/donate

From Kendrick Lamar to Counting Crows, from social media to sociology, Vince suggests a theory on why, in our culture, everyone seems to feel guilty all the time. Is the traditional religious discussion of guilt helpful to this predicament? Or is there something else we need?

It was so fun (and helpful!) doing a grab bag of religious phrases or words that have lost their meaning (along with the prompt, "keep it, change it, or toss it?") we've decided to do a second round!

For some of us, religious language may have lost meaning over time, making well-intended words feel empty or harmful. What if we could reframe these words to bring about new meaning? This week Hayley and BLC’s Laura Mitchell swap some examples.

Hayley begins our new series with a look at our community’s survey results on “religious language that has lost its meaning”, and a discussion of “God has a plan” language. (Image from Paul Sableman on Flickr)

Everyone has biases. When confronted with our own, it's normal to feel embarrassed or defensive. But learning to embrace changing our minds is an essential life skill. Jesus' life and teachings have more to say on this than you might think...

American Christianity must use its influence to critique our country’s enabling of gun violence and injustice. Jesus received and critiqued the tradition he inherited, intentionally cutting ties with violence and tribalism, despite backlash, so he could pass on something more loving. How can we be encouraged to, despite backlash, continue to do the same?

For our online-only service the weekend of 4th of July, Vince reflects on three different imaginations of where God is when we pray (and recommends one of them)...

Recent scholarship suggests powerful parallels between today's Pride Movements and the resistance of violence and domination and exclusion in 1st and 2nd century Imperial Rome by some early Jesus communities, namely how they both push the boundaries of gender.

What does it mean to belong to ourselves and belong to one another? On the weekend of Juneteenth and Father's Day, we look to the words of writer Cole Arthur Riley as Hayley shares thoughts around being personally and communally well. (Image: cover art for “This Here Flesh” by Cole Arthur Riley)

For week 2 of our reflections on community, Vince feels like the default shape of community in modern American life leaves him missing a lot. He wonders what is different about a Jesus-shaped experience of community...

Vince reflects on feeling cared for by community over the last month, and on 10 years of seeing a variety of different ways people experience healthy community, to encourage us toward a spacious model of community that is never one-size-fits-all.