The Unorthodox Gatherings

Gratitude may seem like a value we try to instill in our kids and don't realize the radical effect it can have in our lives. Our conversation today is centered in the idea that people genuinely have enough, but we live in such a consumerist time that we are tricked into believing we don't have all we need. Gratitude is that value that helps us remember each day that we have enough so then...

God has created life and instilled a theology of Abundance. Think of the manna in the desert, the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, the feeding of the 5,000, the pooling of resources and distribution as there was need. Yet, we have a created a society, not just of scarcity, but one that benefits off of scarcity, and thus, will inherently oppose abundance. But if God calls us to somethi...

I have to apologize, we've had technical difficulties with our last two episodes and they weren't recorded. It's been an amazing series and we have our newest episode on Sabbath. One of the most radical notions in the Bible, and yet, because of our values as Americans, we've completely sanitized it. We discuss the radical nature of Sabbath in this episode and try to consider how Sa...

We continue our series on Slow Church, which is a response to the consumerist model of church that has developed in America over the last century. Today's conversation focuses on the ethical value of stability. To think of it better, stability is experienced when a person or a church establish roots and are able to experience the rhythms of the neighborhood in which they're in. To do this...

We're starting a new series on a concept called Slow Church. It is a response to the consumerist, individualistic life of America in general, and the replicable, consumerist, American Church in particular. Slow Church calls us to understand the unique characteristics of the neighborhood in which our church is a part of and try to respond in that neighborhood primarily through love, service, an...

Most of us grew up in the church being told to do what we're supposed to as Christians, without a second thought, almost as though the Church was banking on us not questioning who was telling us what the Bible said. Today we're going to ask the question, Why?, and ask it authentically.

Communal Intimacy is a phrase that is among the most oxymoronic with regard to the White American identity. As Americans we praise our individualism and encourage people to learn how to take care of themselves. However, research is pointing to the devastating affects this has on the human brain and psyche. Today's readings point at communal intimacy not only as a response to our rugged individ...

Christianity is not, and has never been, a religion centered in worship or a personal self-help guide. Today we hear a parable from Jesus directed at the Temple leaders for neglecting their responsibilities and the harsh consequences of that neglect. Ultimately, this points the finger at us and all Christianity today. Our conversation is centered in the implications of this parable both theologica...

As Americans, many of us have been raised with the frame of mind that Christianity has an inward focus. It's about becoming personally okay with God so that I can go to heaven after I die. This mirrors the values we were raised with as Americans. Our readings today will not only challenge this notion, but point us to a simple, yet difficult frame of mind that ultimately would be the best thing...

Forgiveness is one of the most associated concepts with Christianity. Yet, by looking at today's text, we can see how forgiveness not only has the potential to be used abusively, but we'll talk about how the Church has done that very thing, time and time again. We'll deconstruct some of this, and try to think about forgiveness in a more radical and liberating way.

We don't realize that Jesus was the primary deconstructionist of his time. He was consistently looking at the emphasis of his religious system and critiquing it, trying to point people to something more essential. Today we hear a conversation that does this very thing between Jesus, the Pharisees, his disciples, and the gathered crowd. It helps us wonder about the question: what's more imp...

We treat the "Feeding of the Multitude" miracles as just that. It's an amazing miracle that displays Jesus' power. However, in each Gospel's telling of the story there's a lot more going on. In Matthew's version, he's connecting Jesus to Moses and the multitude to the Exodus. Matthew is intentionally helping people see a story of liberation, while at the same time...

Matthew's Kingdom of Heaven of parables are explicitly not talking about an afterlife experience, but also give the aura of something bigger and more mysterious that can be experienced in this lifetime. Today we talk about these meanings and consider what they say about our life today.

Another parable in Matthew's Kingdom of Heaven discourse, the Parable of the weeds among the wheat has often been used to describe individuals and the status of their "souls". However, when looked in it's historical context, we see that this parable is one of tremendous hope for people wrestling with how to respond to Roman persecution, which for today's audience, could still...

A parable that has often been utilized to compartmentalize the quality of people or even the quality of ourselves, the Parable of the Sower can be a parable that beats us over the head (or allows us to beat others over the head). But what if this parable is meant to describe each of us at different moments in our lives, not in a linear progression, but in an ongoing cycle? Perhaps with this perspe...

We talk about two points in this episode, one explicit and one implicit. The explicit, which is still often missed by the Church today, is the missional identity of Jesus followers. Jesus explicitly commands his followers to do what he does, which is not centered in worship, or evangelism, but the work of compassion. But the implicit point for us in the progressive church is that we don't ofte...

In today's Gospel text we see Jesus reach out to people on all sides of the spectrum of his day; from the most despised to the most powerful, from the most profane to the most righteous, and he seems to be inclusive and compassionate to all. We discuss the meanings of these identities and what it looks like for us to be both inclusive, while also making sure we continue to stand up and speak f...

The vast majorities of Christians do not grow up with a contextual understanding of the Bible and how to interpret it and make decisions about it for our time today. One of the biggest obstacles that has prevented this has been Church Dogma. The vast majority of Christians have grown up having their church's dogma not only memorized, but ever ready to employ it both defense of life-decisions,...

The story of Pentecost, or the beginning of the Church, has had a dual affect in our society today. First, it has allowed the Church to say that it's decision making is ordained by God and others cannot question that decision making. And second, it has moved much of that decision making into activities that end up excluding people from being in. When we look at the story of Pentecost in contex...

TW: This can be a challenging episode for some listeners because it's going to challenge a lot of the concepts of the origin of God from the narratives a lot of us grew up with. I want to say that even though I know the information I'm presenting in this episode, I still consider myself a believer in the divine and a devout follower of Jesus. I share this information, not to harm anyone&#3...

Modern Christian thinking would have us believe that idolatry is constrained to not worshipping other gods or participating in rituals/practices that come from different spiritual backgrounds. However, when we look at idolatry through the context of the Hebrew Bible, the Gospels, and Paul's authentic letters, we get a different definition of idolatry; one that would even shine a light on how C...

You simply can't read the Bible in your native language and know what it means. There are so many layers to interpreting the Bible, yet so many pastors and churches treat it this way. Even more frightening, Christian groups try to create policy based on their interpretation. Today we talk about this one-way interpretation, how we can look at texts from multiple angles, and a rough methodology...

When we remove from ourselves the need to think about or experience Christianity as a system of beliefs to get to an afterlife destination, then Jesus' words and actions shine in a new light. We find that Jesus invites us to participate in a value system that is markedly different than the world's. One of the primary value systems of the Jesus movement is radical inclusivity. Today we look...

To be a parable, a story does not have to be untrue. The character of a parable is that the meaning of a story is more important than its factuality. When we treat stories in antiquity this way it helps us to understand their meaning in ways that their original audience naturally would have understood. In this conversation we look at the story of Jesus' resurrection as a parable, not to claim...

Our stories of The Last Supper and Good Friday are almost entirely theological. The gospel writer is departing from trying to simply convey the chain of events and rather are focusing on conveying either theological or geopolitical statements to readers. Unfortunately, later communities renegotiated the theology in favor of a more individualistic and salvific understanding. Today we look at the th...