Who was Rachel Held Evans to you? For many of us, she was a prophet ahead of her time, an early voice that taught us how to investigate what we believed and why. For Sarah Bessey, Rachel was also a dear friend and partner in online ministry from the early blogging world to the creation of Evolving Faith. Sadly, Rachel passed away unexpectedly in 2019 when she was only 37 years old.

In “Braving the Truth,” Sarah Bessey has compiled Rachel’s early blog posts and some unfinished pieces along with essays from friends of Rachel’s like Jen Hatmaker, Matthew Paul Turner, Shane Claiborne, Brian McLaren, Peter Enns, Lisa Sharon Harper and others. Sarah is here to talk about the church of today and how Rachel’s words still ring true and relevant for an entire generation looking for sanctuary.

RELEVANT LINKS:

Grab “Braving the Truth: Essential Essays for Reckoning With and Reimagining Faith” from our Becoming Church resource list on Amazon!

Get Rachel’s picture books What is God Like? and What is the Bible?

Read Rachel’s original blog.

Follow: @sarahbessey | @kristinmockleryoung | @mosaicclt

Is Christianity the right mixer for alcohol? Where’s the line to know how much is too much? When she found herself searching for “how to quit drinking,” Ericka Andersen didn’t find much that resonated with her as a Christian woman. So she created Freely Sober, a Christ-centered space to rethink alcohol.

In her new book “Freely Sober,” Ericka doesn’t lay out rigid rules for all Jesus followers to apply. Instead, she’s here to talk about addictions and compulsions and how to get curious about the things that try to control us.

*Brief mention of SA and other risks that increase with the consumption of alcohol.

RELEVANT LINKS:

Grab “Freely Sober: Rethinking Alcohol Through the Lens of Faith” from our Becoming Church resource list on Amazon!

If you’re struggling to quit any compulsive behavior or substance, reach out to AmericanAddictionCenters.org or call (888) 332-2563.

If you need help supporting a family member, visit Family Intervention or call (866) 252-9722.

Follow: @ericka_andersen | @kristinmockleryoung | @mosaicclt

What if the key to parenting is connection, not correction? In the Christian world, parenting often revolves around punishment, obedience and compliance. But Mary Van Geffen is here to propose that when we choose to see our sons and daughters as other humans made in the image of God, we can let relationship influence the power dynamic of hierarchy.

Does the relationship we have with our children determine their relationship with God? Does gentle parenting mean punishment goes away and our children live without boundaries? How can we be firm, kind and calm in order to help our kids become the people God created them to be? If you’ve asked any of these questions - this episode is for you!

RELEVANT LINKS:

Grab “Parenting a Spicy One: A Compassionate Guide for Raising a Deep-Feeling and Wonderfully Strong-Willed Kid” from our Becoming Church resource list on Amazon!

Pre-order before February 10th to receive Mary’s Affirmations Masterclass and the Meltdown Meditations for Moms.

Are you a spicy one?! Take the quiz to find out.

Follow: @maryvangeffen | @kristinmockleryoung | @mosaicclt

Language wasn’t the only thing Kevin Wilson had to relearn when he moved from Sri Lanka to America at 18 years old. Everything about our lives - family ethos, political systems, ethnicity, tradition of belief - creates the culture that we live in. Religion, even when contained under the same umbrella of Christianity, is also highly influenced by the culture around it.

Kevin Wilson, also known as The Chai Guy or The CEO of Chai, will help us understand how our tenants of faith are tied to our culture. The world is not something to fear or distance ourselves from; exploring cultures can actually help us to better apply the teachings of Jesus right where we are.

RELEVANT LINKS:

Grab “The Way of Chai: Recipes for a Meaningful Life” from our Becoming Church resource list on Amazon!

For more on the Middle Eastern perspective, follow Naeem Fazal and read Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to better Understand the Bible” by E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O’Brien.

Kristin’s Favorite Study Bible

Follow: @crosskulturekev | @kristinmockleryoung | @mosaicclt

Womanist Theology isn’t new, heretical or just for females. It’s an exploration of faith from perspectives and voices that have not been publicly attended to, specifically in the feminist and civil rights movements.

Khristi Adams brings her seminary training, ministerial experience and community building expertise to Becoming Church to help see through lenses we may not have considered before.

*This conversation contains a quick mention of Khristi’s experience as a survivor of domestic violence.

RELEVANT LINKS:

Grab “Womanish Theology: Discovering God through the Lens of Black Girlhood” from our Becoming Church resource list on Amazon!

What LIES Between Us by Dr. Lucretia Berry

Lucretia Berry: Our Response to Racial Hate (Becoming Church episode 9)

Follow: @khristiadams | @kristinmockleryoung | @mosaicclt

“You can belong before you believe” is a phrase found on many church websites. But is believing the right things really enough? Or does belonging require a change of behavior as well? And what exactly is the difference between change and transformation, especially within the church?

Your friendly neighborhood episcopal priest, Joseph Yoo, is here to talk about what the true belonging of Jesus looks like, who it’s available to and how we can (and should) be extending that welcome to our neighbors.

RELEVANT LINKS:

Grab “When the Saints Go Flying In: Stories About Faith, Life and Everything in Between” from our Becoming Church resource list on Amazon!

More on Van Gogh’s Starry Night as an inditement of the church and what it means for us as followers of Jesus today.

Follow: @joseph.yoo | @kristinmockleryoung | @mosaicclt

There are a lot of difficulties in the Bible. Whether it’s women, the end times, or a centering of particular people, contextual study is not a way to sanitize scripture and make it an easier read. However, you can read between the (literal) lines on the page when you learn how to read in context.

Savannah Locke invites you to ask good questions so you can better understand what you read historically and critically. If you’re afraid of believing harmful, toxic interpretations, context is the Paul Hollywood handshake of your discipleship.

RELEVANT LINKS:

Get Kristin & Savannah’s favorite study bible.
The Baylor Annotated Study Bible
The Jewish Study Bible (Kristin uses this one, too!)
The New Interpreters Study Bible with the apocrypha

Follow: @savannah_locke | @kristinmockleryoung | @mosaicclt

Faith doesn’t live in sanctuaries and sermons. It’s in skincare, Taylor Swift lyrics, Knives Out and all the pop culture things we don’t expect to be holy.

If you like to laugh while you’re wresting with your beliefs, Jamie B. Golden is here to educate you on things that entertain and do matter. As the host of The Podcast, Faith Adjacent and Shelf Respect, she’s an expert at discovering where faith is hiding in books, movies and even celebrity PR relationships. You’ll love her perspective of humor, uncomfortlablehonesty, authentic weirdness and critical thinking.

RELEVANT LINKS:

Listen to Faith Adjacent with Jamie, Erin Moon, Evan Dodson and Knox McCoy

Follow: @jamiebgolden | @kristinmockleryoung | @mosaicclt

It’s that season where we all start thinking about next year and the habits that make us the people we are and the people we want to become. Pastor Tara Beth Leach will help us end the year well and get ready for 2026 resolutions with her book (and bible study) on revolutions.

There is no pressure here to come up with New Years Resolutions, to create a vision board or to chart new goals for a new you. But in your pursuit of becoming more like Jesus, we’re grateful to be a helpful resource in your pocket.

RELEVANT LINKS:

Grab “The Great Morning Revolution: Daily Spiritual Practices for Meaningful Moments with God” from our Becoming Church resource list on Amazon!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Sign up for an online Bible Study at Faith Gateway.

God Bless You: Mosaic’s series on the beatitudes.

Follow: @tarabeth82 | @kristinmockleryoung | @mosaicclt

What happens when an Evangelical Pastor’s daughter (who raised in purity culture) moves to NYC to deconstruct her beliefs on sex? She also ends up reconstructing who she is as a person.

Mattie Jo Cowsert shares the real ties that sexuality - and the way we’re often taught to think about it in Christianity - have to identity and the way we see ourselves. This episode will bring healing to people who can relate to this 80s and 90s upbringing. It will also educate parents who are trying to navigate raising their own kids with a healthy view of relationships.

RELEVANT LINKS:

Grab “God, Sex and Rich People: A Recovering Evangelical Testimony” from our Becoming Church resource list on Amazon!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Come as You Are by Emily Nagoski, Ph.d

Episode 83 with Sheila Gregoire (if not purity culture… what?)

She Deserves Better (Raising Girls) by Sheila Gregoire

Episode 59 with Marty Solomon (conversation on people being created good)

Follow: @mattiejocowsert | @kristinmockleryoung | @mosaicclt