Christian Curious

Secular and spiritual communities alike are fascinated with the concept of calling--the idea of pursuing your life's purpose. But what is the shadow side to pursuing your calling? What do you do when what you thought was your calling doesn't work out? When the bottom falls out of your your dreams or your life? Were you wrong about your calling?

Listen in to mentorship leader and coach Dan Steiner discuss the shadow side of calling and how we ought to think about our work and life's purpose.

Resources mentioned in this episode include What Is My Calling? by Dan Steiner and can be found wherever books are sold.

In 2012, the Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life released a report detailing the rise of the 'Nones.' The Nones are a growing number of Americans who identify with no particular religion. The data says that as America grows younger, America grows less religious. Yet in 2015, Brianne Shaw and her husband, Josh, were undaunted by those statistics. She launched Lighthouse Church in one of the most secular cities in the country: Denver.

Since that time, Lighthouse Church outgrew a home, a warehouse, and a high school. Now they are a fast growing church in south Denver, a place where church attendance has declined or stagnated in recent years. Brianne studied Christian Ministry and Psychology at Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas, which catapulted her into a journey of nearly 10 years serving in various ministry settings. In addition to co-planting Lighthouse Church, she currently serves as the pastor of assimilation for young adults and serves on the church's board of elders. She has a passion to see young adults fall in love with Jesus and is dedicated to empowering them and the local church to engage with one another in a way that can transform the world. 

Women are God's invisible army. Every day, every moment, countless women are making a difference by leading ministries. It's far past time for a new conversation about Christian women leaders. The question is not whether women should lead. The question is how women are leading today amidst the unique challenges they face because of their gender. 

On this episode of Christian Curious, we speak with Taylor Miskel about what it's like to be a female Christian leader. Taylor is currently serving as the interim youth minister at a cooperative Baptist Church in North Carolina. She is a graduate of Texas A&M University and Denver Seminary, and she most recently completed a residency at UNC hospitals and Chapel Hill for a total of five units in Clinical Pastoral Education. Taylor has served as a leader and minister in care and connections, worship, youth, and hospital chaplaincy in the states of Colorado, Texas, and North Carolina.

For all the autonomy and civil liberties allowed us in the West, few places seem as powerless and irrelevant as a suburban home during times of global civil unrest. At least that's what it often feels like as a stay-at-home mom or work-at-home mom. 

As a young mother, I was often frustrated by what I saw to be my own inability to enact meaningful change while taking care of my two daughters. Yet I know as a researcher and a writer that this sense of purposelessness is not limited to mothers, but can follow women-- especially Christian women--throughout various seasons of their lives.

In this episode of Christian Curious, we chat with The Denver Institute's for Faith and Work's Joanna Meyer about how Christian women can find meaning and purpose through their life's calling. Joanna serves as Denver Institute's Director of Public Engagement, hosts the Faith and Work Podcast, and oversees the Women & Vocation initiative. 

To learn more about Joanna's work with the Women & Vocation Initiative, head over to www.womenworkandcalling.com

To learn more about Christian Curious, check out our website: www.christiancurious.com

Work is not primarily a thing one does to live but the thing one lives to do," wrote Dorothy Sayers. "It is, or it should be, the full expression of the worker's faculties, the thing in which he finds spiritual, mental and bodily satisfaction, and the medium in which he offers himself to God."

Swift on the heels of the pandemic came the Great Resignation. Millions of people around the world voluntarily resigned from their jobs. Economists and sociologists believed that the pandemic gave people the opportunity to reevaluate their work life balance and why they are working.

On this episode of Christian Curious, we speak with The Denver Institute for Faith and Work's Director of Public Engagement, Joanna Meyer, about God's calling and why we work. Joanna hosts the Faith & Work Podcast and oversees the Women and Vocation Initiative. Prior to coming to DIFW, Joanna worked with Global Telecom, nonprofit consulting, and campus ministry with Cru. She has an MA in Social Entrepreneurship and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Colorado Boulder. She also completed her a certification of Women and Leadership through Cornell University. She is a contributor to the multi-author book, Women in Work, Bearing God's Image and Joining in His Mission Through Our Work. 

Powerlessness.

It's the feeling of hands being tied or getting carried out to sea by a riptide. It buries us under an ocean of anxiety, stress, and depression. It's a feeling that I often hear expressed by young adults who, thanks to technology, are assaulted daily by images of worldwide crises. Against such things, we wonder: what good can I do?

According to Catherine Pearson, constraints can be catalysts for creativity. Catherine is the founder of the Goodmakers Society and holds a degree in business & finance from Sheffield Hallam University. She is currently studying for her Masters Degree in Theology, Imagination, and Culture at Salem College in Salisbury.

Some questions we asked Catherine in this episode:

- Why do you think creativity is so important to envisioning the good that that you can do in the world?
- How does technology hinder our ability to be present to the areas in our neighborhood that could use a helping hand?
- What practical advice would you give to a person who has given up hope about making a change for good?

To learn more about Catherine Pearson's Work, visit The Goodmakers Society Website: https://www.goodmakerssociety.org/about

Stay curious--visit our website at www.christiancurious.com

Every year, more churches are closing their doors than opening them. A 2021 study conducted by LifeWay Research revealed that 4,500 churches closed  in America, and only 3,000 opened.

A few questions I often present to pastors are "If your church were to close, would your neighborhood notice? What good is your church doing in the community?"

In this episode of Christian Curious, we speak with Catherine Pearson, the founder of the Goodmakers Society. We chat about how individuals and organizations can seek societal good. Catherine holds a degree in business and finance from Sheffield Hallam University and is currently studying for her Masters Degree in Theology, Imagination, and Culture at Salem College in Salisbury. At the center of her work, Catherine is asking, "How could the world be better and what part can we play to make it so?”

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To learn more about Catherine Pearson's Work, visit The Goodmakers Society Website: https://www.goodmakerssociety.org/about

Stay curious--visit our website at www.christiancurious.com

Teaching between generations is often one-way. In the home, parents teach their kids. In school, teachers teach the children. But what if we changed direction to see what we can learn from children? 

The Scriptures place a high value on children. When the disciples asked who was greatest in the kingdom of heaven, Jesus answered, “‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, ‘Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.’” 

On this episode of Christian Curious, Dr. Halee asks her daughters, Ellie (13) and Vivi (11), "What do kids and teens thinks adults should know about their generation? "

Want to learn more about Christian Curious? We'd love for you to check out our website! https://www.christiancurious.com/

Mil­len­ni­als are per­haps the most stud­ied gen­er­a­tion in his­to­ry. For years, new stud­ies on Mil­len­ni­als seemed to be pub­lished every day. But there is a new gen­er­a­tion on the rise; a gen­er­ation marked­ly dif­fer­ent from pre­ced­ing gen­er­a­tions: Gen­er­a­tion Z.

Born any­where from 1996 to 2012, we still have much to learn about this gen­er­a­tion. In this episode of Christian Curious, Dr. Halee chats with two members of Gen Z to learn more--her daughters, Eliana and Vivienne Scott.

Want to learn more about Christian Curious? We'd love for you to check out our website! https://www.christiancurious.com/

There is power in the written word. Words can cut like swords, heal like salve, and preserve like stone.  We don't question the power of writing... but we do wonder if there's a secret to the writing process. After all, most writers know that as satisfying as finishing a piece of writing can be, the process is often fraught with frustration. 

In this episode of Christian Curious, we chat with Dr. Doug Groothuis. He's written 15 books and published in several papers. So, we thought he'd know a few things about writing (such as how to stay in your chair to write when the mountains are calling your name.)

Want to learn more about Christian Curious? We'd love for you to check out our website! https://www.christiancurious.com/