Gravity Commons Podcast

Drew Hart and Jarrod McKenna co-host the  Inverse Podcast , which for people who are dissatisfied with the Bible being used to justify hatred (yeah!). We talk about the work they're doing together and separately, what it means to "decolonize" our faith, and where they see their work heading in the future. Dr. Drew Hart  hails from Philly, and now lives in Harrisburg. He's the autho...

We talk with Sarah Bessey about themes from her bestselling collaborative book  A Rhythm of Prayer: A Collection of Meditations for Renewal ,  which celebrates and gives voice to traditions of prayer for people like us: overworked, overpressured, and edging burnout. Sarah Bessey is the author of the best-selling and critically acclaimed books  Jesus Feminist  (2013);  Out of Sorts: Making Peace wi...

What if our exhaustion, burnout, and pain are an invitation into a more vibrant faith? We talk with Andrew Arndt about how Christianity got co-opted by power and privilege, and how we can find our way back to the radical way of Jesus by learning from the desert fathers and mothers, who needed to learn the same things we do: to live radically, humanly, and beautifully in a spiritually desolate and...

We talk with Angie Ward about a new book in a series she is the general editor for.  Kingdom and Country: Following Jesus in the Land That You Love  is a collection of leading Christian thinkers and practitioners take a holistic approach to considering the questions of patriotism, nationalism, and where our ultimate loyalties must lie. Angie Ward is a leadership author and teacher with nearly thir...

How can we cultivate courage when fear overshadows our lives? How do we hear the Voice of Love when hate and harm shout loud? Through sharing her own wilderness experience of spiritual abuse and religious trauma, therapist and author K.J. Ramsey helps us explore the landscape of fear, trauma, and faith by walking through Psalm 23 phrase by phrase in her new book  The Lord is My Courage: Stepping T...

We talked with Joel Bowman about themes from a recent article of his , on what white Christians can do to address racism: lament, repent, and dissent. Rev. Joel A. Bowman, Sr. is a native of Detroit, Michigan, and has been in ministry for 28 years. For the past 21 years, he has served as the founder and senior pastor of the Temple of Faith Baptist Church, in Louisville, Kentucky. A Licensed Clinic...

In his book God Speaks Through Wombs: Poems on God’s Unexpected Coming, Drew Jackson explores the first eight chapters of Luke’s Gospel in a new poetic register. From the Magnificat (“That girl can sing! . . . She has a voice / That can shatter shackles”) to the baptism of Christ (“I stepped in / […] The post Drew Jackson: Recovering the Voices of the Marginalized Through Poetry appeared first on...

Wade Mullen shares how to identify and heal from abusive people and systems. Wade helps us get clarity on what abuse is, how to recognize it in our relationships and churches, and what we can do to heal and recover. Wade is a trustworthy voice and it was a joy to learn from him in […] The post Wade Mullen: Decoding the Hidden Tactics of Abusive People and Systems appeared first on Gravity Leadersh...

Eric Minton joined us for our Gravity Commons Live conversation this past June. He’s an author, therapist, and ordained Baptist minister who has a unique perspective on our societies infatuation with happiness: What if there’s nothing wrong with us? What if anxiety and depression and listless spiritual life are actually telling us the truth about […] The post Eric Minton: What our Pain Reveals Abo...

Today we finish our series on Ben and Matt’s book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about the […] The post Experimenting With Grace By Acting As If It’s True appeared first on...

We continue our series focused on Ben and Matt’s book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about Axiom […] The post Why Our Bodies Are Essential For Transformation in Grace appear...

We continue our series focused on Ben and Matt’s book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about Axiom […] The post How God’s Love Recognizes and Reckons With Power Dynamics appea...

We continue our series focused on Ben and Matt’s book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about Axiom […] The post Why it Matters That God Does the Same Work In Us and Through Us...

We continue our series focused on Ben and Matt’s forthcoming book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about […] The post Does God Care About All of (Gestures Wildly) More Than We...

We continue our series focused on Ben and Matt’s forthcoming book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about […] The post How God Meets Us Right in the Middle of the Mess appeared...

We continue our series focused on Ben and Matt’s forthcoming book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about […] The post Why We Need a God Like Jesus appeared first on Gravity Le...

We continue our series focused on Ben and Matt’s forthcoming book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about […] The post What if God was Always Present and At Work? appeared firs...

We continue our series focused on Ben and Matt’s forthcoming book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about […] The post All You Need is Love: Reclaiming Love as the Center of Ch...

We start a new series today focused on Ben and Matt’s forthcoming book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy will respond to each chapter over the next few weeks, discussing how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their […] The post Deconstructing Spiritual Practices, Embracing New Paradigms appea...

We reconnected with our friend Kevin Sweeney to chat about his new book, The Making of a Mystic: My Journey With Mushrooms, My Life as a Pastor, and Why It’s Okay for Everyone to Relax. We talked about psychedelics, closing his church, learning to love and lead in the way of contemplation and mysticism. Kevin […] The post Kevin Sweeney: The Making of a Mystic appeared first on Gravity Leadership....

What was clear to the original readers of Scripture is not always clear to us. Because of the cultural distance between the biblical world and our contemporary setting, we often bring modern Western biases to the text. Ten years ago Brandon O’Brien co-wrote a book on this topic that we have recommended more than any […] The post Brandon O’Brien: How We Misread Scripture With Western Eyes appeared...

Nationally recognized speaker and church leader Jay Augustine joins us to offer a prophetic call to pastors, church leaders, and students to recover reconciliation as the heart of the church’s message to a divided world. Jay’s book Called to Reconciliation: How the Church Can Model Justice, Diversity, and Inclusion examines the intersection of the salvific, […] The post Jay Augustine: Modeling Jus...

We talk with Gravity Leadership Community Liaison Gino Curcuruto about 5 important lessons he's learned in ministry so far. This is part of an ongoing series called "5 Things I've Learned." We want to hear from you! Let us know what you wish you knew when you started out in ministry. Email us at podcast@gravityleadership.com […] The post Gino Curcuruto: 5 Lessons I’ve Learned in 20...

Women and men are designed to work together in fulfilling God’s mission on earth. Yet God’s original intent for equal partnership has been so distorted that churches and organizations continually struggle to foster healthy mixed-gender ministry collaboration. Is it even possible to return to the Genesis ideal of co-laborers in today’s contexts? Longtime ministry leader […] The post Rob Dixon: Wome...

Shane Blackshear had the privilege of forming a friendship with his long-time hero: civil rights leader and minister, John Perkins. Over a series of years John became a mentor, and they had numerous conversations as Shane wanted to know from John what leading a life faithful to Jesus Christ actually looked like. What followed was […] The post Shane Blackshear on John Perkins: Peacemaking and Trans...