The Cartographers

What is the beauty and dignity of dependence? This week, Leah Libresco Sargeant joins Bryce and Ashley to discuss how individualism has created an illusion of autonomy that contradicts our identity as children of God, our need to see our strengths and crosses as fruitful because of God’s power, and the stories and images in the Bible that depict our dependence on God and on others. 

What does it mean to not belong to ourselves? This week, Alan Noble joins Bryce and Ashley to discuss the consequences of striving for self-fulfillment and self-sufficiency in our society, the need for community for individuals’ stories to flourish, and the assurance that our identity rests in the loving gaze of our Father.

How can a robust understanding of our finitude help counter the dangers of individualism? This week, Kelly Kapic joins Bryce and Ashley to discuss how trinitarian theology can deepen our understanding of personhood, how suffering can teach us dependence on God and others, and the effects of technology on our relationship with the world around us.

What are the consequences of forgetting what it means to be human? This week, Carl Trueman joins Bryce and Ashley to discuss what it means for humans to be made in the image of God, how community and hospitality can restore our sense of the imago dei, and the acts of consecration that hold the tension of our agency as individuals and our responsibility to the Body.

What does the self mean for a Christian identity? This week, Angela Franks joins Bryce and Ashley to discuss identity in individuality throughout Christian history and in the Church today, solid versus liquid identity formation, and how body-related issues are deeply connected to identity struggles.  

Welcome back! This new season of The Cartographers is exploring individualism, its history, and how the Church can build a community and legacy in which individuals partake in the joys of self and others. In the first episode, Bryce and Ashley outline the shape of this conversation, discussing the background of the gifts and challenges that individuality has brought through the lens of freedom, me...

What does it mean for manhood and womanhood to be redeemed? This week, Abigail Favale joins Bryce and Ashley to discuss the differences between men and women, their integral complementarity, and why our bodies matter more than we might expect. Abigail Favale: The Genesis of Gender: A Christian Theory Abigail Favale: "Rethinking Complementarity: From Stereotypes to Icons" Abigail Favale:...

What does healthy masculinity look like? This week, Aaron Renn joins Bryce and Ashley to discuss the formation of men today, how men lived in the past, and how men can live well in the future. Aaron Renn: " The Three World's of Evangelicalism " Mary Harrington: Feminism Against Progress Aaron Renn is a writer and consultant in Indianapolis. He is the author of Life in the Negative Wo...

How have our modern technologies transformed the lives of young men? This week, Jake Meador joins Bryce and Ashley to discuss the cultural forces shaping men and masculinity today, the ways technology has reformed masculine formation, and the relationship of men to the new right. Jake Meador: ⁠"Four Types of Christian Cultural Engagement"⁠ Katherine Dee: "How the Internet Made the Far-Right" Jake...

Take a peak behind the curtain with Bryce and Ashley as they discuss some of the articles they've been mulling over recently. Bryce and Ashley discuss the existence of double standards against men today, the cross-gender pornification of our culture, the desire men and women feel for discipleship, and how we can meet those desires in ways that are both affirmative and redemptive. The Agenda: - Jen...

How safe should we be? This week, Jeremy Lundgren joins Bryce and Ashley to discuss the cultural pressures of 'safetyism' today, the shifting ways humans have related to safety across history, and the spiritual good of healthy risk in childhood. Jeremy Lundgren is director of the Nicolet Bible Institute and a professor of theology at Wheaton College. He is also the author of The Pursuit of Safety:...

What is it to be a man or woman, according to the Bible? Sam Allberry joins Bryce and Ashley to discuss the relationship of culture to the biblical vision of masculinity and femininity, the need for both grace and truth in discussions of gender today, and the constance of God's grace and presence in uncertain times. Sam Allberry is an apologist, speaker, and pastor at Immanuel Nashville. He is the...

How do we actually form men? Bryce and Ashley sit down with Chris Bruno of the Restoration Project to talk about rites of passage, how men are formed, and what healthy masculinity looks like. Be sure to register for Restoration Project's free Restorative Manhood Digital Summit , taking place on Sept. 25-28, 2025. (If you're listening after the event, see the Grove Collective to get access). Sign u...

Welcome back! On this season of The Cartographers , we are looking at Redeeming Manhood. In this episode, Bryce and Ashley map out what experts are saying about men, note the unique challenges young men and boys face in our society, and begin to present a vision for a redeemed masculinity that is neither a social construction nor a 1950s stereotype. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest info...

In this episode of the Cartographers, we sit down with Kyle Strobel, professor at Talbot Seminary, to get at what spiritual formation is and isn't. It isn't a life hack or even growth. Find out more about Kyle , his substack and his courses here. The Cartographers is a production of Willowbrae Institute. Find out more at willowbrae.org . Be sure to signup for Willowbrae's newsletter and rate and r...

Brad East joins us to talk about Gen Z, the rise of magic, and what it might take to make Christianity weird again in a secular age. Tune in for a fascinating, down-to-earth conversation about what faith in Christ offers the world. Brad East is a professor at Abilene Christian University and we talk about his CT article, " Make Christianity Spooky Again ." His most recent book is Letters to Future...

Gordon T. Smith joins us to talk about the position of the church in a secular age. Do we stay put? Do we form a moral enclave? How does worship form us into disciples? Join us for this conversation on the words and practices that form our imaginations: liturgical and sacramental. Gordon T. Smith is currently president of Ambrose University and the author of several books. We focus the conversatio...

"Maybe religion, for all of its faults, works a bit like a retaining wall to hold back the destabilizing pressure of American hyper-individualism, which threatens to swell and spill over in its absence.” So writes Derek Thompson in The Atlantic . In this episode, as part of the series on worship and formation, Ashley and Bryce discuss Thompson's article, trends in churchgoing, the role of technolo...

How do things like gratitude and thanksgiving form us? In this conversation with Cornelius Plantinga on his latest book, Gratitude , we talk about the importance of gratitude, sin, confession, and growth in the worshipping life of a church. We also talk about practical next steps and what the global church has to teach North American churches. Links : Neal's book, Gratitude : Why Giving Thanks is...

Andrew Wilson, pastor and historian, writes about the context of the WEIRDER world in Remaking the World . We wanted to dig deep on the way this context affects Christian worship and practice. Listen in for helpful terms, thoughtful analysis, and how we might actually believe what we say we believe. Links: Andrew Wilson, Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West Podcast, Post-Ch...

We all know technology forms us -- but how? How does technology intersect with our spiritual lives? It's tempting to just toss tech out the window, but how do we think more Christianly about the tech we use? Whether as parents or leaders, we have to reckon with the affect of technology on our affections. We end the episode with a few small, practical ways to get started thinking about formation, w...

How do our brains grow? What does lasting change look like? Where do things like character and pain fit? Curt Thompson brings neurobiology and the hope of the gospel together to live out a formationally-minded Christian life in this episode. We talk about how durable transformation happens often through suffering, the reasons for Christian hope, confessional communities, and how we live the life o...

Everything we do forms us. How does this apply to the tasks of the church, like worship? We've considered some of the trends: de-churching, loneliness, and culture wars. What's really happening in worship, why do we do it? Join us as we pull back the curtain as we consider how worship is more than preferences, it's about formation. A formative view of worship differs from a functional view of wors...

Need a book for someone on your list about leadership, culture, or a good piece of literature? Find out what are some of our most memorable reads from this year! Please take a minute to rate and review The Cartographers. It'll be a terrific present for us. We'll back in 2024! Resources mentioned: Watkin, Biblical Critical Theory Key, How to Stay Married McChrystal, Team of Teams Crouch, The Life W...

If you've been hurt or are unsure about how to engage in community, this interview with Justin Whitmel Earley on his book, Made for People, is a great starting place. Listen in to Bryce Hales and Ashley Hales as they speak with Justin about creating community in the church and in your neighborhoods. It's a practical starting place that follows up from the dechurching episode (so listen to that one...