A Better Story

We love binaries, but they never come close to reflecting the nuances of life, especially when it comes to gender. Dr. Robyn Henderson-Espinoza (scholar, activist, theologian) sat down to talk about the spectrum of gender, theological and biblical perspectives that make room for our trans* neighbors, and how meaningful it was to find the language of non-binary trans. 

To hear more from Robyn, check out https://irobyn.com/.

Check out Theology Corner for like-minded podcasts and blogs and Light Theory, who provides the intro and outro tunes.

Bust out the birthday cake. The podcast turns a year old today! We're celebrating in all kinds of ways, none of which involve clowns. 

First, I'm talking to Sarah Bessey (mystically-minded author and speaker). We're looking at how we begin to reconstruct faith and what it looks like to reclaim some good old fashioned Christian terms...and which ones to leave behind. To hear more from Sarah, check out www.sarahbessey.com and her book Out of Sorts (or just win a copy below). Plus, she and Rachel Held Evans just launched a conference called Evolving Faith. Go to it!

Second, we're celebrating by raising money to prevent refugees from experiencing homelessness in Seattle. 100% goes to refugees, and, if every listener gave $10, 500 refugees would have an extra safety net to keep them housed. We've got this, people. Donate HERE, and pass it on.

Last, it wouldn't be birthday party without presents. We're giving away a set of books from our favorite guests, including:

Womanist Midrash by Wil Gafney

Out of Sorts by Sarah Bessey

Healing Spiritual Wounds by Carol Howard Merritt

The Very Good Gospel by Lisa Sharon Harper

Disarming Scripture by Derek Flood

To enter to win, head to A Better Story's Twitter or Facebook pages and share the post from this week's episode, or, if you're avoiding social media, just email me at [email protected].

THANK YOU for a great year.

Dr. Amanda Mbuvi (High Point University) thinks we've been misreading Genesis, especially when it comes to race. We assume the ancient stories share our modern conception of racial identity. When we look closer, we find something much more nuanced, fluid and perhaps helpful for us as we navigate racial inequity today. 

You can find even more on the topic from Dr. Mbuvi in her book, Belonging in Genesis. Use the discount code BDFW before April 30 for a 30% discount OR get 75% off if you order before March 31 and follow the instructions listed HERE. Keep up with Dr. Mbuvi at www.amandambuvi.com. 

A gigantic thank you to Theology Corner for promoting the podcast and Light Theory for providing the intro and outro tunes.

When it seems like fear is the fuel most of us run on, Adam Hamilton (pastor, author) offers some pretty excellent alternatives. He looks at fear from practical, spiritual and psychological angles, not to make our fears magically disappear, but to keep them from driving us. 

Adam is the pastor of The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, the largest mainline church in the country. He has also authored over a dozen books, including his latest, Unafraid, and Making Sense of the Bible, one of the best overviews of the Bible around. 

As always, don't forget to check out Theology Corner and Light Theory.

Tsh Oxenreider (author, podcaster, entrepreneur) is on this week talking about vocation: what it is, how we find it and how God may not be as worried about it as we are. 

Check out Tsh's latest book, At Home in the World, and her brand new podcast, Women's Work. Keep up with her at The Art of Simple. 

Don't forget to check out Light Theory, who provided the intro and outro jams, Theology Corner and CXMH Podcast.

Carol Howard Merritt (writer, pastor, speaker) has experienced toxic faith, but she has also found healing. She sat down to talk about some of her story, how we can all tend to our spiritual wounds and some helpful replacements for the faith we leave behind. Our conversation is based on her book Healing Spiritual Wounds. Go read it. Seriously. If you want to hear more from Carol, check out https://www.carolhowardmerritt.org/. 

And, of course, if you're into the intro and outro music, check out Light Theory.

Richard Beck (psychologist, writer) knows that we're not wired to befriend those who are radically different than us. Yet, he still thinks it's worth doing, especially if you're trying to follow Jesus. 

He sat down to talk about why it's so easy to dehumanize others and how we can start to move against that tendency. He even helps prepare you for those contentious political discussions you're going to walk into over the holidays. 

To dig deeper, check out Richard's latest book, Stranger God, as well as his past books Unclean and Reviving Old Scratch. You can also hear from him weekly at http://experimentaltheology.blogspot.com.

Lisa Sharon Harper (author, activist, speaker) thinks much of Christianity has underestimated the good news. In our conversation, she digs into scripture and finds a message that speaks to every area of life, from the spiritual to the political. Our conversation is based off of Lisa's book, The Very Good Gospel, which is most definitely worth your time. To hear more from Lisa, visit freedomroad.us and lisasharonharper.com.

As always, a big thanks to Light Theory for the intro and outro jams.

It's that time of year: everyone talks about peace and you're seeing a lot of sweet little baby Jesus. As it turns out, the Christmas story may not be as sweet and quiet as we think. Jesus was one subversive baby.

Byron Bland (Stanford University) has spent his life negotiating peace. Working with leaders from Northern Ireland, Israel and Palestine has led to four questions that can foster peaceful relationships. Byron sat down to talk about peace, relationships and the four questions, which are:

1. Are the parties willing and able to envision a shared future?

2. Are the parties willing and able to embrace the risks involved in creating trust about motives and goals?

3. Are the parties willing and able to accept painful losses and acknowledge that the other side will also be accepting similar losses?

4. Are the parties willing and able to accept what they believe is less than ideal justice and work together to rectify the most egregious injustice that living together in peace will impose?

As always, a big thanks to Light Theory for the intro and outro music.