The Laity Podcast

Welcome back! In this episode, Andrew and Stephen dialog on the current state of the world, the Church, and our opportunity to lean into some prophetic imagination. 

We recognize that this episode is being aired amidst incredible pain, injustice, and widespread protest of the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmad Abrey, and many others. To be clear, this conversation was recorded over 4 weeks ago, and does not contain any content relevant to these pertinent issues. That being said, we wanted to share this conversation with Bill Webb and Gordon Oeste regarding their latest book, Bloody, Brutal, Barbaric? Wrestling with Troubling War Texts. The problem of the 'God of the Old Testament' and the persistent violence throughout is a highly relevant one, and we appreciate Bill and Gord taking the time to unpack it! We'd recommend the book and hope you enjoy this conversation as a start point. Stephen and Andrew will be releasing additional episodes relevant to current national affairs in the coming days and weeks. Grace and peace.

We're thrilled to air this recent conversation with Justin Fry - Pastoral Care Pastor at Grace Midtown Church here in Atlanta. Justin is not only a spiritual leader in our immediate community but a close friend and mentor. In this episode, we dialog around a variety of relevant topics, from spiritual journey to the local church and it's role in forming us.  We hope you enjoy as much as we did! 

We are privileged to have author, theologian, teacher, and scholar Thomas Jay Oord back on the podcast. In this timely episode, we overlay Tom's open and relational framework of God with the current global pandemic that is COVID-19.  Can God stop this viral tragedy? What is God's essential nature? What part do we play as creation? What would you say to a suffering victim of this horrific  Check out our first interview with Tom here. Check out Tom's book God Can't: How to Believe in God After Tragedy, Abuse, and Other Evils here. Check out a recent essay from TJO, "God's Will and the Coronavirus" here. Grace and peace.

In November 2019, we had the privilege of interviewing orthodox theologian, David Bentley Hart, to discuss his latest book, That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation. We absolutely loved the book and would highly recommend! If you've never read or heard of Dr. Hart, we'd strongly recommend exploring his broader theological work. Two weeks ago Stephen and Andrew recorded a reflection on the interview, which makes up the first ~40min of this episode. If you'd rather skip straight to the interview, feel free! Thank you again, Dr. Hart, for coming on the show.

  We are thrilled to release this episode, featuring fellow Atlantan Terence Lester and his latest book from IVP, I See You: How Love Opens Our Eyes to Invisible People.  Terence Lester is a speaker, activist, author, and thought leader in the realm of systemic poverty. He’s known for nationwide campaigns that bring awareness to issues surrounding homelessness, poverty, and economic inequality. His awareness campaigns have been featured on MLK50, TVONE, Creative Mornings, USA Today, NBC, AJC, Black Enterprise, Rolling Out, Upworthy, and have been viewed by millions of people worldwide. In 2018, Terence led the March Against Poverty as he walked from Atlanta to Memphis (386 miles). He finished the march and spoke at the historic Lorraine Motel for the 50th Anniversary of MLK’s assassination. Terence is the founder and leader of Love Beyond Walls - check out their work in Atlanta here! Terence's website - http://terencelester.org/

Lee Hale is a reporter at KUER (NPR) based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is also the host of Preach, a new podcast about the messiness of faith. In this episode, we had the pleasure of interviewing Lee, discussing his personal faith journey and current experience as a podcast host. On Preach, Lee "sits down with people from all walks of life and all religions. You'll hear people talk honestly about their doubts and beliefs. How they wrestle with life's big questions. And the way spirituality intersects with their daily struggles and joys."  We thoroughly enjoyed hearing about Lee's upbringing in the Mormon church, working through deconstruction, and pressing ahead with curiosity and openness as we all strive to. We're sure you'll enjoy as well. Be sure to subscribe to Preach and follow Lee @leetroyhale!    

It's been a while! We're excited to release this latest episode with Ron Sider - author, theologian, professor, and significant non-violent Christian voice. In this episode we discuss his latest book, If Jesus Is Lord: Loving Our Enemies in an Age of Violence. Be sure to check out Ron's bestselling book, Rich Christians In An Age of Hunger, which we reference a few times in the show. Ron's blog can be read and followed here. Enjoy!

We're back with a new episode - a candid conversation between Stephen and Andrew, catching up on personal life, spirituality, what we're reading, where we're headed.  Life has had us a bit slow on new episodes this summer, but we're excited to ramp up in September and launch a number of new, exciting episodes over the next month. Enjoy!

Thank you, thank you to Marty Solomon for joining us in this latest episode! Marty is the co-host of the BEMA Discipleship Podcast, the President of Impact Campus Ministries, a father, husband, teacher, a disciple of Jesus. Marty is a fantastic guest, and in this episode we discuss everything from being "people of the text" to the Sabbath, campus ministry, raising a Christ-centered family, and practices for the people of God. We hope you enjoy as much as we did! Be sure to listen and subscribe to Marty's podcast as well.