Bruce meddles in a sensitive area.

Phyllis Tickle was an author and keen observer of the overarching trends in Christianity and churches. She observed that Christianity makes a fundamental, radical shift about every 500 years - like clockwork. Guess what time it is?

In a world that prefers microwaved, give-it-to-me-in-a-sound-bite answers, speaking tentatively and searchingly seems unsatisfying to many. Yet, it’s a way of being that’s open - wide open - to having our answers questioned. It’s a longer, more circuitous road. It requires more humility and more patience. And it’s a road less traveled. But that road less traveled is ultimately a richer path, and it leads to a richer, more redemptive, bigger story.

Tradition is the living faith of the dead, traditionalism is the dead faith of the living. Distinguishing one from the other can help us locate ourselves within a bigger story.

Bruce talks about the idea of an "examined life," using this quote from Parker Palmer as a jumping off point:

~ Parker Palmer, On the Brink of Everything

Somehow we have to find ways to speak what our deepest souls believe and at the same time to model the power of universality…the power of coming together…building trust…living with generosity of spirit. 

Bruce talks about the overarching stories - the metanarratives - that have been provided by religion, how they've functioned positively and negatively, and what it looks like to navigate a world marked by the breakdown of metanarratives.

Is it possible that there's a bigger story to the crucifixion of Jesus than we've learned in the past?

Bruce shares a few ideas about prayer, including this quote from Pope Francis, “You pray for the hungry. Then you feed them. That’s how prayer works.”

In this episode, Bruce talks about the "why" behind "A Better Story."