The Weight

God’s creation is a direct reflection of God’s glory, and Christians are called to be faithful stewards of the earth. While global issues of climate and environment can seem out of reach, our local communities give us space to learn and take action in small and large ways. How can we partner with our creator to build a better, more sustainable living environment? What simple, practical changes can...

God’s creation is a direct reflection of God’s glory, and Christians are called to be faithful stewards of the earth. While global issues of climate and environment can seem out of reach, our local communities give us space to learn and take action in small and large ways. How can we partner with our creator to build a better, more sustainable living environment? What simple, practical changes can...

When it comes to sexuality, the Church has often stuck to a black-and-white structure that leaves little to no room for honest dialogue. So many Christians believe they need to compartmentalize their spiritual and sexual lives, thinking that God must be embarrassed of their sexuality. While a black and white structure is easy to preach, it is much harder to live. How do we faithfully navigate the...

According to author Leigh Stein, the internet is run by “a thousand Oprahs,” influencers with beautiful lifestyles who post relatable content that makes them feel like friends to their thousands of followers. While internet friends might “like” the same things as us, they can never truly listen to our honest confessions and pain. Social media influencers cannot meet the expectations that we put on...

Among 19-20 year olds, only 1% do not have social media accounts. This statistic emphasizes the ever-growing presence that social media and technology have in our day-to-day lives. While this comes with its advantages, it’s also important to consider the dangers of such constant connection and how to create wise boundaries that help us live a “tech-wise” life. How can controlled usage of social me...

A reality that the Church has to continue to grapple with is the way that it has inflicted damage upon individual lives in manners that are unfaithful to its calling. Such essential practices of Christianity, such as prayer and the Eucharist, are subject to being tainted by toxic intentions of participants. Responding to this reality can produce two extremes; ignorance and rejection of the Church’...

God is not afraid of our exhaustion, grief, and pain. Honest prayers of lament draw us into deeper connection with God and help us cultivate a greater awareness of our needs. As a culture, however, we have withdrawn into numbing habits of distraction. Even the Church often serves as a place of escape rather than a comfortable place to bring our burdens. Where does God meet us in the empty space of...

The language surrounding mental health often limits the fullness of each complex human experience. Stigma, stereotypes, and media representations perpetuate one-dimensional portraits of what it means to live with a mental illness. Additionally, Christians tend to view sadness and joy in a narrow manner, when the Bible speaks to a vast array of human emotions we all experience. With all of this in...

At some point, we will all face some sort of challenge with our mental health. Just as changes in our bodies require deep examination, changes in our thought patterns, mood, and behaviors deserve adequate attention and care. However, many within religious communities and communities of color suffer in silence, believing that their mental health struggles indicate weakness or defective faith. How c...

According to a Gallup poll released in March of 2021, less than half of Americans belong to a church, mosque, or synagogue. The politicization of evangelical Christianity has resulted in utter disillusionment, specifically among young Christians who were once eagerly committed to the ideals of the faith. Christians and non-Christians alike are longing for truth and openness in conversation within...

There comes a time in each child’s life when their role begins to shift in relation to their parents. Many daughters expand their definition of mothering when caring for their own mothers, as they learn to navigate the tension of reincorporating a loved one into a new familial environment. When forced to confront the realities of motherhood in a different light, these daughters and mothers need ti...

Most of our culture’s conversations about birth revolve around safety and legality. The cultural expectations surrounding birth negate a wide range of experiences that lead up to the birthing process and the virtues that birth requires of women. Though the nuances of pregnancy and birth are more commonly discussed in the medical field than in Church circles, all of a woman’s experiences over the c...

The Church needs to be a place where it is safe to share vulnerable stories, and this includes engaging the struggle of infertility. Unfortunately, many people who face this struggle have found shallow remedies or offensive expectations within communities of faith. How can we cultivate a more caring, helpful engagement with topics of motherhood that is inclusive of everyone’s experience, including...

In this Holy Week episode, Chris and Eddie are joined by Kavin Rowe, author of Christianity’s Surprise: A Sure and Certain Hope. After 20 years of scriptural immersion as the George Washington Ivey Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Duke Divinity School, Rowe began to discern the growing significance of Christianity’s groundbreaking impact when it first entered the world. His book evokes...

Chris is joined by contemporary artist Makoto Fujimura, author of Art + Faith: A Theology of Making. His book explores the role of creativity in the spiritual life, and it draws upon quiet disciplines such as awareness and waiting. The meditative space that Fujimura creates for prayer and praise breaks open new avenues to seek the never-ending depths of God’s beauty and grace. Sophisticated and in...

Chris and Eddie are joined by Aimee Nezhukumatahil, author of Barnes and Noble’s 2020 Book of the Year, World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments. Whimsical and introspective, this book inspires the reader to look to the natural world for guidance, curiosity, and delight. Aimee’s work has been integrated into high school, college, and university curriculum as...

Chris and Eddie are joined by Kiese Laymon, a black southern writer, born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. He is the author of the best-selling memoir “Heavy,” a deeply honest reflection on his complex relationship with his mother, grandmother, anorexia, obesity, sex, writing, and ultimately gambling. The winner of multiple awards, including the Carnegie Medal for Nonfiction, Laymon’s writing i...

Christians spend a lot of time talking about what is true or exploring goodness, but we do not spend as much time exploring beauty, aesthetics, and the arts. In a world full of content curated to our specific taste, we need more time and space to fill our souls with the kind of art that breaks open our curiosity and makes us come alive. Where does God meet us in the beauty of our imagination? How...

The year 2020 was a strong reminder that racism is not a simple problem of the past, and it cannot be met with simple solutions. At its core, racism diminishes the image of God in people of color, keeping them from living in the fullness that was God’s vision for humanity. How can we bring about true equity in our communities, churches, and in our nation? What are the practical steps that we can t...

The year 2020 was a strong reminder that racism is not a simple problem of the past, and it cannot be met with simple solutions. At its core, racism diminishes the image of God in people of color, keeping them from living in the fullness that was God’s vision for humanity. How can we bring about true equity in our communities, churches, and in our nation? What are the practical steps that we can t...

The year 2020 was a strong reminder that racism is not a simple problem of the past, and it cannot be met with simple solutions. At its core, racism diminishes the image of God in people of color, keeping them from living in the fullness that was God’s vision for humanity. How can we bring about true equity in our communities, churches, and in our nation? What are the practical steps that we can t...

We, as individuals and as a people, need to consider how we have let politics replace truth with power. In an age where the truth is increasingly being contorted to suit our agendas and desires, the challenge of a “Post Truth World” is more complex and difficult than we might imagine. It requires a response that isn’t driven by grasping for some earthly power, but rooted in deep discernment. How c...

As we kick off a new season of The Weight, we want to take a deeper dive into important topics that the Church should be discussing. We begin with a series on Faith & Politics that will engage multiple perspectives on the role that politics plays in the Christian life. In this cultural moment, many are prone to rejecting truth and data in favor of partisan opinion. With so much of our news tai...

As we kick off a new season of The Weight, we want to take a deeper dive into important topics that the Church should be discussing. We begin with a series on Faith & Politics that will engage multiple perspectives on the role that politics plays in the Christian life. It goes without saying that political discourse is taboo in many pockets of the Christian Church. Even as this taboo remains p...

In this episode, Chris, Eddie, and Cody discuss the trajectory of the conversations on The Weight over the past year. Beginning with their discussion with two church leaders on the United Methodist conversation about human sexuality, Eddie and Chris dove into a breadth of nuanced topics from grief to body image to social justice. In the midst of a difficult year, they found a common thread of hope...