The Zeitcast with Jonathan Martin

One of my favorite conversations on or off mic with anybody any time--it is pure joy to welcome adrienne maree brown--an absolute force of a writer/public intellectual/creative genius, one of the thinkers who energizes me most, and makes me feel most hopeful about the future. This conversation has everything: from Kendrick (and the constructive implications of Drake being "called in!"), to the Neverending Story, to what it means for her to be "steeped in God/steeped in the holy," her journey from a conservative evangelical upbringing to the wide open spaces she is in now, to the essential soul to soul recognition we can have that transcends the boundaries of mere words, and how she finds a way to remain tender in a time that feels anything, but. In a moment that feels bleak for many of our friends, her clear-eyed assessment of this apocalyptic time--and yet absolute fearlessness about it, is oxygen, an invitation to the kind of "long time" she finds in nature and her own connection to a larger story. I was especially excited to talk to her too, about how her work in her brilliant new book Loving Corrections has helped me find language for naming our need for acknowledging harm and making amends, without the moralistic baggage that religious versions of those ideas sometimes carry. You may know her from books like Emergent Strategy, Pleasure Activism, We Will Not Cancel Us, or from her hilarious and poignant IG posts, or have heard her in conversation with folks we love like Glennon Doyle and Krista Tippett. She is "growing a garden of healing ideas. Informed by decades of movement facilitation, somatics, science fiction scholarship and doula work." However you know her, I hope you know her or get to know her better, and contend with her critical witness . What a gift this stunning conversation is! It has been a minute from my brief holiday/winter term hibernation, but we are back with a bang, with a lot more goodness to come in the days ahead...I know you will find this as life-giving as I did!

What was supposed to be a conversation about Advent, turned into the kind of surprise that Advent portends—where the strange wonderful thing that you didn’t know that you needed, just kind of happens to you out of nowhere. A vulnerable conversation between friends still not entirely sure what they want to be when they grow up about aging, creativity, what we want to do with what we still have left in the tank, the second half of life….and yes, ultimately, Advent too. We hope you enjoy this minor Christmas miracle of a conversation with our friend Scott Erickson, an artist, author, and performance speaker who is creating a visual vocabulary for the spiritual journey.

Today is our first full on TYPECAST! Answering questions submitted via our website, and this first round of questions is FANTASTIC. Really all questions about life on the "other side"/reconstruction today--after loss of faith/trauma/shift in faith, how do you approach Scripture now? How might the text become re-enchanted again? How do you find a new community, exactly? Oh, and in the evolving landscape of Pentecostalism, are there actually inclusive communities out there? We get into all of this and more!

Yes we did simply mash up the respective titles of BZ and Jonathan's Advent books, lol! Some things just go together, like Batman and Robin, peanut butter and jelly, Laurel and Hardy--as much as they both love Advent, how could it be too soon for another collab?! In a conversation that will absolutely get you in the Advent spirit, Brian and Jonathan explore Advent themes of hope, waiting, and the significance of the church calendar. They talk about how the harsh realities of the little town of Bethlehem shape the contours of the story, then and now, and why we need more Mary in our lives. They emphasize the non-prescriptive nature of Advent as a time to wait for God to act, not for us to "act right"/do more. They also talk about the tension between longing as Advent is a time to fully acknowledge the ways the world is not yet made right, and yet also how it is a time to make space for joy. Oh and course, they also talk about Nick Cave and Bob Dylan. Both Brian's book The Anticipated Christ and Jonathan's The Book of Waiting, are available now!

Whatever it is, you’re waiting on, however long you’ve been waiting…Advent is for you. Here is a jarring, startling word that summons us to wake up, pay attention…to be alert. We talk about the apocalyptic nature of Advent, and the danger of religious certainty. Also, some practical things you can do to incorporate Advent into your own spiritual practice! Oh come let us wait for him…together.

Rolling Stone said that "Brandan Robertson is spreading the good news of an inclusive, modern gospel.” Jonathan has known Brandan all the way since he was still a student at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago over ten years ago, so what a gift to have this full circle conversation! Brandan and Jonathan talk about why the language of sin still matters despite the misuse, what it means to build bridges in such a polarizing time, and the stubborn persistence of Advent hope against the backdrop of so much chaos in the world. Brandan shares vulnerably about his theological journey from fundamentalism, to being broken open by figures like Richard Rohr, to the recent experience of having a parishioner tell him that he didn't think it was okay for him to be a gay pastor. Brandan also talks about how he deals pastorally and theologically with some of the "clobber texts" that are used against LGBTQ+ inclusion. Brandan is the author of True Inclusion: Creating Communities of Radical Embrace, and known as the "TikTok Pastor" for his inclusive theological content, reaching over 280,000 followers online. He currently serves as the Pastor of Sunnyside Reformed Church in New York City.

There's a new U2 album (kind of, the shadow album that is How to Re-assemble an atomic bomb), so as you might imagine...Jonathan is in a state! It's a whole situation. Also, Cobra Kai, pop culture round up (What We Do in the Shadows, The Bulwark podcast), and The Book of Waiting

"Prophetic" and "pastoral" rarely go together...but they do in Rev. CeCe Jones Davis, which is why THIS is the two weeks later, spiritual postmortem of the election you need in your life! CeCe and Jonathan discuss the challenges of navigating relationships in a divided world and the role of racism and LGBTQIA issues in political discourse. CeCe emphasizes the importance of understanding fear as a driving force in politics, and vulnerably shares why she both decided NOT to vote in this year's presidential election---and then, why she changed her mind. They discuss the challenges of staying engaged with current events while maintaining personal well-being, the significance of accountability in one's vocation, and the necessity of humor in the face of adversity. Cece shares her experiences and insights on how to balance the heaviness of social justice work with the need for personal joy and connection with family. The dialogue culminates in a reflection on maintaining a steadiness of soul amidst turbulence, advocating for a proactive yet patient approach to spiritual engagement.

The systems and structures and institutions that have held us up are crumbling. There’s no need to bury our heads in the sand. Things do come to an end. But other folks have lived through such perilous times. In fact, some of the texts that folks have told us are all about the future, are actually now in the rear view window of history. We can look at how folks have lived in such times before, to know where and how to stand now. We can learn what is to not be paralyzed by the chaos, but bear witness—to not overthink it, but trust the creativity of the Spirit to give us what to say when we are called on the carpet.You can’t bear the weight of the world on your shoulders, friend…the only thing you can bear, is to bear witness.

What on earth does it mean to worship in a time like this!? What does it mean to worship when it feels like the world (and maybe even the church) is ambiguous to you, or even against you? Why is it that some of our neighbors feel a unique kind of grief this election season? How are current political realities connected to larger spiritual realities--and how do we differentiate between these principalities and powers, and our neighbors? Oh and hey, for those of you are involved in any kind of ministry--how would you begin to LEAD a church or community in worship, when there are deep idealogical and political division? After a truly stunning time of worship with Lan Davis Wilson, I was scarcely able to speak coherently yet--but very grateful for this beautiful conversation coming right out of the fire of that experience!