The Brown Line Church Podcast

Once a year we set aside a Sunday to remember and grieve loved ones lost by people in our community. Grief is complicated and frustrating, and yet, if honored and treated with respect, it can often be a place people discover God to be a God of Comfort.

Special guest and old friend of BLC Kristen Daly-Mosier unpacks three movements the Jesus tradition encourages us to make as a capitalistic, materialistic, colonizing culture: (1) From "stewardship" to "solidarity", (2) From "uses" to "gifts", (3) From "classification" to "revelation".

Vince tells the story of the first 8 years of BLC in a way he never has before

Vince passes on a reflection on prayer as partnership from writer and pastor Libby Tedder Hugus, jumping off of Jesus' teaching that the Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread.

Vince interviews special guest and friend of BLC Natasha Huang about being a chaplain, and the ways we all can learn from chaplains for the benefit of our relationships and interactions and community.

Whether it’s from the self-help industry or Christian messaging, toxically simple takes on “how to rest & recharge” or on “the three steps to a (fill in the blank) life” abound. Hayley helps us scour the Jesus tradition for more realistic and helpful outlooks on life.

On the weekend of Indigenous Peoples Day, we unpack a couple of resources that help us encounter the Bible from a First Nations' perspective.

Vince reflects on a provocative reading of the Gospel of Luke's story of two men meeting the Risen Jesus on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus.

In honor of Latinx & Hispanic heritage month, we investigate the origins of some of our church's core beliefs and values in the thoughts of Latin American Liberation theologians. (Art: "Cristo de la Liberacion" by Maximino Cerezo Barredo)

BLC's Lara Johnson leads a monthly film club, and we want to give you a taste of what it's like. The group watches movies or TV series that have depictions of faith lived out against the backdrop of modern life or modern crises or modern technology, and then discusses together the beauty and challenges they reveal in our own lives and faith.

Join us as we attempt to capture and give expression to the many feelings and thoughts and complicated prayers we all might have bouncing around inside us 20 years after 9/11.

A teacher in our community offers a prayer for parents, a parent in our community offers a prayer for students, and a student in our community offers a prayer for teachers.

Listen in on our family conversations for August 2021! (1) What are the latest plans and thoughts on in-person community and pandemic life? (2) What’s the status of BLC's Five Year Plan? And (3) our pastors have been bouncing around some very big thoughts about why our church exists.

Vince, Kyle, and Hayley share experiences, reflections, and suggestions on the intersection of spiritual health and therapy. They discuss how therapy can be amazing for anyone, and how to overcome common obstacles to a good therapy experience.

One tension it feels we must hold to live life well is (on one side) pursuing ideals, and (on the other side) choosing to embrace what is true right now and maybe can't be ideal. Hayley and Kyle discuss how to do that well without losing our minds or succumbing to cynicism.

A healthy, full life of course has a strong element of inward reflection and being in touch with oneself. And, at the same time, a healthy, full life is also richly relational and never closed off. Life (and connection with God) are found in holding the tension of looking inward and outward.

Life is often found in tension -- holding together two things that seem opposed but actually need each other. This week, Kyle and Vince discuss the tension of pushing yourself AND giving yourself grace.

In so many ways, life is found in tensions. In holding together two things that seem to be opposed to one another, but actually need one another. One that strikes us lately is the tension between humility and self-worth: Being quick to admit we’re wrong or that we need help, but also boldly believing we are NOT our worst mistakes or victimizations; we are fundamentally worthy of love from God and...

Join us as we celebrate 4 wonderful new children in our community, and support the families that are raising them. To watch the recording of full ceremony, visit: https://youtu.be/8p_hngd-VT8

Looking for some deeper content recommendations of what to read or watch or pray next? Our pastors -- Hayley, Kyle, and Vince -- each share something they're watching, something they're reading, and something from scripture that is helping them find meaning lately.

Setting intentions toward the model of Jesus in 2021 America is complicated…

When faced with a social anxiety, our first assessment is usually: will I feel comfortable? But when we stay attentive, a second assessment emerges in us: what would be most life-giving? That can feel overwhelming to have to answer on our own, but if we are perceiving a loving God with us in the process it can feel freeing.

Hayley Larson and Vince Brackett are suspicious of the way "power" is usually understood in religious settings. It can seem to evoke hierarchy, colonization, white supremacy, and a cold, removed God. But what is power if we start with the person and teaching of Jesus?

Vince Brackett, Abby Dye, and Elizabeth Bertrand discuss the various ways we are prone to assume "God might be pleased with other people, but not me," and suggest some ways to leave this spiritual imposter syndrome behind.

What’s the most spiritual thing you did in the last year? Chances are you have images of prayer or meditation or reading the Bible coming to mind. Those are great, but what about the last powerful new realization you came to? When you learned something, or discovered a new perspective, or changed your mind. Hayley wonders if God is in those experiences as much as anything in life…