The Loft LA - Progressive Christianity in Podcast Form

This Lenten season at The Loft will be a time of reflection and self-examination to prepare for the ministries that God has gifted and called us to live out, both as individuals and as a community. At its best, the spiritual path of Jesus is an Inward Journey that leads to profound transformation; his spiritual practices, boundary-crossing relationships, and social teachings reveal that his quest...

In today's Loft Conversations episode, we discuss Rev. Dr. Carter's Black History and Theology sermon that he gave in The Sanctuary, Between The World & Me. We explore what it looks like for progressive Christians to take on the challenge that white supremacy poses to the religion of Jesus. We then discuss the conversations on art and theology that took place in The Loft. How does art help us...

Today is Ash Wednesday, and it marks the beginning of Lent, a season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which ends on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter. The forty days represent the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation to sin - the temptation to love oneself more than your neighbor or God. This wilderness experience prepared him for his ministry. This podcast episode is...

Given the history of racism and white supremacy within the Christian tradition and the rise of white Christian nationalism in our country, how and why do people of color even claim Christianity as their faith tradition? To be sure, many of us live with the awareness of a veil that exists between "us" and the world, and living with the awareness of this division is one of life's great challenges. T...

For thousands of years, oral traditions and sacred texts were viewed as spiritual tools that helped individuals connect with the Divine and transcend themselves and their egos. And yet we know that "sacred" texts exist beyond our traditional religious texts and include literature, film, music and art. This Sunday we will explore the ways in which art can be a Divine expression. Kyle Abraham will b...

In today's Loft Conversations episode, we begin our conversation by discussing why we haven't been able to record for a few weeks - Rev. Dr. Carter has been traveling and traveling quite comfortably. After poking fun at Dr. Carter, we talk about the books, plays, musicals, films, and television shows that have deepened our notion of the Sacred.

For thousands of years, oral traditions and sacred texts were viewed as spiritual tools that helped individuals connect with the Divine and transcend themselves and their egos. Throughout this series, we have suggested that there is an art to reading sacred texts. Moreover, we have suggested that "sacred" texts extend beyond traditional religious texts. Religious scholars define sacred texts as me...

In today's Loft Conversations episode, we begin our discussion by reflecting on the tragedy in Memphis and the murder of Tyre Nichols. We discuss the role Christian theology has played in morally justifying a system of carceral punishment and how our reading of the bible calls us to dismantle these institutions. We then discuss how our identities inform how we read everything - especially the Bibl...

In our society, sacred texts are seen, at best, as irrelevant and, at worst, as an excuse to incite violence, hatred, and division. It seems that the loudest voices within American Christian culture are fundamentalists who have co-opted the sacred texts and insist that they must be taken literally or conservative evangelicals who interpret scripture to bolster their own biases. As theologically pr...

In today's episode, we discuss the conversation between Rev. Dr. Carter and Dr. Lailatul Fitriyah, Assistant Professor of Interreligious Education at Claremont School of Theology. We begin our conversation by discussing our reactions to the tragic shooting in Monterrey Park, California. We then discuss our reflections on Dr. Fitriyah's remarks about the worship of "freedom" in American culture, th...

How people of faith are supposed to read and engage sacred texts is one of the most controversial topics of our time. To be sure, this controversy extends beyond Christianity and into other religious traditions that use ancient texts to help form and inform modern religious practices. This Sunday, we will be joined by Dr. Lailatul Fitriyah, Assistant Professor of Interreligious Education at Clarem...

This week's conversation is the first of a series of conversations on Sacred Texts. So many of us progressive Christians struggle with the Bible. We question its usefulness given that so many people have used it to justify evil. To be sure, we are not alone. Several religious traditions are going through this same struggle. We see the common thread through these traditions is a failure of practiti...

In our society, sacred texts are seen, at best, as irrelevant and, at worst, as an excuse to incite violence, hatred, and division. So what value, if any, can sacred texts hold for us today? And given the context in which they were written, what role, if any, should these texts play in forming our spiritual practices? For thousands of years, oral traditions and sacred texts were viewed as spiritua...

We start 2023 with an initiation of sorts: a declaration of belovedness and a dip in the Jordan River with Jesus and John. In Jesus' baptism, we hear voices of God's affirmation; tucked into the gospel account are conversations about righteousness, and reminders of divine belovedness. As a Church that practices the sacrament of baptism, we hear ourselves in these words of blessing, as we claim bel...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! As we enter into a new year, we want to thank you all for your support and encouragement during these early stages of the podcast. We also want to invite you to share your thoughts, feedback, and ideas that you would like us to discuss in the coming months. While Dr. Carter raised the questions pasted below during the podcast, feel free to expand upon them as yo...

This week's conversation centers on the stories of Mary and Elizabeth and what their story can teach us about love, faith, and solidarity. In a moment of Divine joy, Mary utters one of the most famous and radical prayers in the Christian tradition, the Magnificat. In this prayer, Mary proclaims that God's liberation love is at work in her, her cousin, and her community. She proclaims that God will...

This week we return to Mary's experience. After receiving the news from the angel, she retreats to her cousin Elizabeth's house. When Mary arrives (perhaps unannounced), Elizabeth doesn't just welcome her—she is filled with the Holy Spirit and speaks a blessing upon Mary as her own child leaps and kicks within her womb. Elizabeth sees how God is at work and names it out loud. In this moment of pro...

What is the purpose of calling someone out? Do you think calling out is effective at achieving its goals? If you have ever been called out, how did it make you feel? On today's episode we discuss the theological merits of call-in rather than call-out culture. The primary question that guided our conversation today is: how might we practice calling folx in rather than calling them out? Loretta Ross...

As far as Joseph knows, his new wife has been unfaithful to him and broken their marriage contract. And yet, instead of punishment, he chooses not to publicly disgrace or humiliate her. This interruption in his life becomes a holy invitation when the angel comes to him in a dream and says, "Do not be afraid." When he awakes, Joseph once again has the courage to choose a better way. He chooses to s...

"Do not be afraid" is one of the most common statements in the bible. "Do not be afraid" appears 365 times - one for each day of the year. And yet, fear is a natural and normal human response. There are lots of reasons to be afraid, and when we consider the story of Gabriel's visit to Mary to inform her that she had been chosen to give birth to Jesus, fear seems like a reasonable response. However...

"When the angel Gabriel comes to Mary, she is perplexed and confused—and no doubt, afraid. And yet, the angel's news is: "Do not be afraid." Do not be afraid. We hear this refrain all throughout the Christmas story and remember it is the most common phrase in all the bible. From generation to generation, God shows up in the midst of our fear and uncertainty and confusion. From generation to genera...

Storytelling is embedded in the Christian tradition. We use stories to help us make meaning out of our lives and the world around us. So what stories has the Church told itself that might help us understand the evil actions and loss of life that we witnessed in the Club Q shooting in Colorado? We spend the last half of our conversation thinking through this very difficult question as we process th...

This week is the first Sunday of Advent, the period in the Christian calendar when we prepare for and celebrate the birth of Jesus the Christ. We are beginning a new series titled From Generation to Generation, which I am really excited about because my friend and fellow Claremont School of Theology alumnus Rev. Dr. Christine Hong helped create it. The stories, scriptures, and traditions of the Ch...

How should our Christian faith and spirituality influence our economic practices? This question has guided our conversations the past few weeks, and in today's final episode of our series Live Generously, we explore the role of consumerism in American culture. American culture is, in many ways, a consumer culture. But what does it mean to be a consumer, and is being a consumer necessarily a bad th...

American culture is, in many ways, a consumer culture. But what does it mean to be a consumer, and is being a consumer necessarily a bad thing? To be sure, consumerism is often equated with greed and the hoarding of resources. However, the biblical text paints a more complex picture about consumerism and materialism. Jesus suggests that our detachment from the stories of all those involved in crea...