AD Thomason joined the Compass Podcast to share his experience encountering freedom through the Spirit.

AD is an adjunct professor at Kilns College where he teaches on the History of Human rights and justice, De-colonizing your faith, filmmaking and more. He has spoken in over 15 countries. Native of Detroit, Michigan, AD made it through adverse circumstances, be it violence, broken homes, racial discrimination and more. With over seventeen years of experience as it pertains to lecturing and human rights advocacy in ethnically divided countries, cultures, sub-cultures and relationships, he gives you a glimpse of God’s heart with the hope of healing and peace. AD wrote Permission to be Black: My Journey with Jay-Z and Jesus. Find out more at IAmRedRev.com.

Find out more about the Compass Podcast at umc.org/compass

Tony Caldwell joined Pierce and Ryan to talk about resilience. What are ways we can move forward in hope when so many of our circumstances feel stuck in sameness?

Tony Caldwell is a psychoanalytic psychotherapist. He also hosts the Voices of Wisdom podcast and is a featured speaker and writer for Red Letter Christians.org. He has written for many publications and newspapers and his work has been featured on CNN.

Does being faithful mean being doubtless? Brian McLaren is back on the Compass Podcast to talk about living with faith and doubt.

Brian’s new book, Faith After Doubt, is out now. He provides a glimpse into both the stories behind the book and how he lives with doubt–even while being a faith leader.

See more about Faith After Doubt: https://bookshop.org/books/faith-after-doubt-why-your-beliefs-stopped-working-and-what-to-do-about-it/9781250262776

And Brian McLaren: https://brianmclaren.net/

Lindsey Krinks is a street chaplain and difference-maker. On the Compass Podcast, she shares how you will be a difference-maker, too.

Lindsey Krinks is also an activist and a cofounder of Open Table Nashville. Check out Lindsey’s book, Praying with Our Feet, at http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/praying-with-our-feet/402180

Consume less, relate more. Ryan and Pierce felt a strong sense of mourning entering this holiday season. Where is the light shining this holiday time? Rev. Billy of the Church of Stop Shopping gave Pierce and Ryan some ideas for a unique holiday season.

For more Compass episodes visit umc.org/compass.

Check out more from Rev. Billy Talen at RevBilly.com

Gratitude is good for our bodies, minds and spirits. But we don’t always feel a sense of gratitude, do we? Knowing that gratitude is good, are there ways to cultivate a sense of gratitude?

Pierce and Ryan dig into some practices that inspire internal thankfulness. The trick is not simply being thankful for all things. But to be thankful in all things.

The Compass Podcast connects the spiritual and Divine with our everyday lives. Never miss an episode and find out more by visiting www.umc.org/compass

We all have our own well-reasoned opinions and points-of-view. Why can’t other people see things as clearly as we do?

Brian McLaren joined the Compass Podcast noting that all of us carry certain biases, and when we recognize them we are far better capable of communicating our points of view.

Brian McLaren is a well-known and prolific author. His book A New Kind of Christian influenced a number of today’s Christian leaders. He also wrote The Secret Message of Jesus, relating the words of Jesus to 21st-century circumstances. Naked Spirituality offers “simple, doable, and durable” practices to help people deepen their life with God.

One of his perhaps lesser-known books is a little one called Why Don’t They Get It? It’s a little less about faith than many of his other books… and is more about communication. Specifically, it’s about how we communicate important and sometimes conflictual ideas. In this short book, Brian addresses 13 biases that are present in everybody–even me and you. And he gives practical insight into how these biases keep us and others from hearing new information.

Self-proclaimed “Nerd Pastor” Nathan Webb, founder of Checkpoint Church, joined the Compass Podcast to discuss gaming, anime, comics, and connecting on a spiritual level. We’re all geeks for something, and Nathan details how our geek-y interests can foster something deeper.

Maybe you’re a bit tense right now. We’re in a tense season–the pandemic, the coming of Fall, the election in the U.S. likely have us a little more on edge than normal.

But there’s a lot to hope for in this season, too.

Shane Claiborne is a prominent speaker, activist, and best-selling author.  Prior to writing books, Shane worked with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, and founded The Simple Way in Philadelphia.  He now heads up Red Letter Christians, a movement of folks who are committed to living “as if Jesus meant the things he said.” Shane is a champion for grace which has led him to jail advocating for the homeless, and to places like Iraq and Afghanistan to stand against war. Now grace fuels his passion to end the death penalty and help stop gun violence.

Shane talked about hope during this tense season, about how faith informs our politics, about how we get involved in justice work, and how we can maintain some spiritual momentum when things feel like they’re going backwards. Such good stuff… 

Tyler Smith–sportswriter, coach and pastor–joined Pierce and Ryan to share about his mission to foster holy moments in everyday living .