Gravity Commons Podcast

We talked with Dr. Matt Jantzen about his excellent book, God, Race, and Providence: Liberating Providence. Matt is the the faculty director of the Emmaus Scholars Program, a living-learning community at Hope College that combines the practices of intentional Christian community with academic and practical explorations of the relationship between faith and justice in contemporary […] The post Matt...

This special episode is a conversation among Gravity Leadership’s three co-founders (Ben Hardman, Ben Sternke, and Matt Tebbe) to announce the bittersweet news that Ben Hardman is leaving Gravity to spin off some of our consulting work into a new venture called Kingdom Dreams Initiative (while also continuing to serve as lead pastor of Grace […] The post Special Announcement: A Transition at Gravi...

The final episode of a 4-part mini-series on Critical Race Theory (CRT) with scholar Dr. Nathan Cartagena. In Part 1, we defined CRT. In Parts 2 and 3, Dr. Cartagena gave a master class on the history of white supremacy in the United States (using lots of original sources). In this final part, we talk […] The post Critical Race Theory with Nathan Cartagena, Pt 4: Why it Matters For the Church appe...

Part 3 of a 4-part mini-series on Critical Race Theory (CRT) with scholar Dr. Nathan Cartagena. In this episode, Dr. Cartagena continues outlining (from the last episode) a brief history of white supremacy in the United States (using lots of original sources). It’s REALLY eye-opening. Part 4 will be an episode on why this all […] The post Critical Race Theory with Nathan Cartagena, Pt 3: White Sup...

Part 2 of a 4-part mini-series on Critical Race Theory (CRT) with scholar Dr. Nathan Cartagena. In this episode and the next, Dr. Cartagena outlines a brief history of white supremacy in the United States (using lots of original sources). It’s REALLY eye-opening. Part 4 will be an episode on why this all matters for […] The post Critical Race Theory with Nathan Cartagena, Pt 2: White Supremacy in...

Critical Race Theory (CRT): If you’re on social media, you’ve probably heard the phrase thrown around. Some people claim that critical race theory is a grave threat to the gospel. But what in the world IS critical race theory, anyway? This is the first part of a 4-part mini-series on Critical Race Theory with scholar […] The post Critical Race Theory with Nathan Cartagena, Pt 1: What IS it, Actual...

We talked with pastor, professor, and longtime friend David Fitch about how to contend for justice and truth faithfully in public, in the midst of all the divisions and antagonisms of our day. How can Christians leaders learn to navigate so many complex cultural and theological issues, many of which we received no training for? […] The post David Fitch: How to Tell Divisive Antagonsim From Holy Co...

Our friend Mako Nagasawa joins us again, this time to talk about abortion in Christian politics and theology. Mako gives us a history of how and why abortion become the “single-issue” it has become and maybe some ways forward of how to think about abortion theologically and socially. Mako is the Founder and Executive Director […] The post Mako Nagasawa: Thinking More Clearly About Abortion appeare...

We talked with Sheila Gregoire about the common lies we believe about sex, and how to move toward sex that is mutual, intimate, and pleasurable, for both women and men. Sheila is passionate about changing the evangelical conversation about sex. A popular speaker, marriage blogger, and award-winning author of seven books, including The Great Sex […] The post Sheila Gregoire: Exposing the Lies We Be...

Gino Curcuruto joins us to reflect on the outpouring of heartbreaking stories of spiritual abuse that came from our previous podcast episode where he shared his own story of spiritual abuse and trauma. Gino is is our Community Liaison at Gravity Leadership, a chiropractor, and a co-vocational church planter in Philadelphia (The Table Philly), where […] The post Gino Curcuruto: Reflecting on Preval...

Beth Allison Barr joins us to chat about the idea of “biblical womanhood” and how it was created in the modern era. Drawing upon her research and expertise in medieval women’s church history, she introduces us to her latest book, The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth. Beth is […] The post Beth Allison Barr: How and Why Biblical Womanhood Was Invented ap...

We talk with Dr. Kristin Kobes Du Mez about one of our top books of 2020, Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation. (Whew that subtitle!) Kristin reflects on how the book was conceived, why it was so hard to write, why it took her 15 years to […] The post Kristin Kobes Du Mez: How White Evangelicals Embraced Toxic Masculinity appeared first on Gravity L...

Andrew Whitehead and Samuel Perry co-wrote Taking Back America for God on the growing presence of Christian Nationalism in the United States. Orienting their research around the “unholy trinity” of Power, Boundaries, and Order, Andrew and Sam chat with us about how to identify Christian Nationalism, their observations about the Capitol insurrection on January 6th, […] The post Andrew Whitehead &am...

We talked with Dawson Vosburg about how his experience with the poor and those who suffer injustice, and his searching of the Scriptures, led him to question the prevailing assumption in the USA that capitalism is the most just and humane economic system. We had a wide-ranging, provocative discussion that helps us think more clearly […] The post Dawson Vosburg: Capitalism, Socialism, and What Scri...

We talked with Juanita Campbell Rasmus about her journey of understanding her depression and meeting God in that darkness. Her book, Learning to Be:Finding Your Center After the Bottom Falls Out is a travelogue of how to navigate those dark places in our lives to mine out God’s treasures. Juanita is a pastor, spiritual director, and […] The post Juanita Campbell Rasmus: Learning to BE in the Midst...

Church planter Gino Curcuruto tells his story of spiritual abuse and trauma in the church, which unfortunately mirrors so many other stories we’ve heard. If you’ve experienced spiritual abuse, you’re not alone. Gino is is our Community Liaison at Gravity Leadership, a chiropractor, and a co-vocational church planter in Philadelphia (The Table Philly), where he […] The post Walking Through Spiritua...

We continue our series on race, gender, and power in the church with Dr. Diane Langberg. Dr. Langberg joined us on the podcast to talk about her new book, Redeeming Power: Understanding Authority and Abuse in the Church. She framed the systemic sin of power abuse in biblical categories, reclaiming a helpful theological framework for […] The post Dr. Diane Langberg: Naming Abuse and Redeeming Power...

Our series on Race, Gender, and Power in the Church continues with a conversation with Aimee Byrd to discuss her book Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. Aimee shared the story that led up to her writing the book, and, upon the release of the book, the fallout she experienced from those whom she critiqued. […] The post Aimee Byrd: Recovering From Biblical Manhood and Womanhood appeared...

In this episode we talked to Dr. Scot McKnight about the book he co-authored with his daughter, Laura Barringer, entitled, A Church Called Tov: Forming a Goodness Culture That Resists Abuses of Power and Promotes Healing. Our conversation is a part of our series on race, gender, and power in the local church. Scot has […] The post Scot McKnight: Church Abuse and Where We Go From Here appeared firs...

We talked with Dennae about her involvement in multi-ethnic church planting in Phoenix, AZ, the turbulent season for her church before and right after the 2016 election, and how the last four years have led them to a much deeper solidarity together. She’s written a book, Healing Prayers and Meditations to Resist a Violent World, […] The post Dennae Pierre: Learning to Lead and Pray in the Midst of...

Today we introduce Christy Penley, who will be helping us as a new co-host on the Gravity Leadership Podcast! Christy is a Gravity veteran who has led many people through our discipleship process in her local context. We’ve known Christy for a long time, we trust her, and we’ve asked her to bring her voice […] The post A New Co-Host For the Gravity Leadership Podcast: Christy Penley appeared first...

Timothy and Madai McCain are evangelists who travel and proclaim the gospel all over the world. We spoke with them about their experiences being a Black man and Latina woman in mostly white church spaces as a part of our series on power and how race and gender contribute to dynamics many of us cannot […] The post Timothy and Madai McCain: People of Color Preaching in White Spaces appeared first on...

We start a new series today on Power, Race, and Gender in the Church. If you’ve kept track of the news for the past few weeks, you’ll know that we Christians have some big problems in these areas, and this series is a way for us to explore together how to repent and respond in […] The post Esau McCaulley: How the Black Church Helps Us Read the Bible Better appeared first on Gravity Leadership. Adv...

Pastor and author Andrew Arndt joins us to talk about the enthralling vision we receive from the ancient church fathers and mothers: a life fully immersed in the life of the Holy Trinity. Andrew shares how we can follow their wisdom today and learn to participate more fully in God's life. Andrew is a Lead […] The post Andrew Arndt: Learning to Live in the Trinity With the Ancient Church appear...

Most of us have inherited a vision of leadership that looks at emotion with suspicion. Writer and speaker Marc Alan Schelske joins us to talk about why that is a mistake, and to highlight the vital role of emotions in the life of the leader. Marc is a writer, speaker, hobbyist theologian, recovering fundamentalist, tea […] The post What Emotions Are For in the Life of the Leader with Marc Alan Sch...