Created For

Created For returns weekly for new episodes starting Tuesday, March 14th! Our season 4 hosts, Michele and Chealsia, give you an inside look into some of the conversations we've had about being rooted in our heritage, restoring our presence with God and reimagining our flourishing. Season 4 gets deep and practical and we can't wait to share it with you! 

Sign up for Created For Wholeness, our live, free virtual event on  Friday March 10th at 9 p.m. EST/ 6 p.m. PST.  You can also sign up for our weekly newsletter to stay in the know, at cru.org/createdfor.

Racially motivated hate crimes, mass shootings, and other tragedies have made so many of us feel unsafe in the world. In this latest episode of the Created For Podcast, Wendy Chen shares how she tries to make sense of her feelings about current events, and how she finds healing and is learning to bring her entire self to her faith walk.  

Wendy is one of the Cru staff behind Created For. She’s been a part of developing it from the beginning. You might remember seeing her at our two live events where she served as our excellent and hospitable emcee. She serves as the Executive Director of Cru Embark, a ministry that helps 20-somethings in the city live richer, fuller lives. She currently resides in Portland, Oregon, with her husband Josh and their four children. 

Wendy comes from an ethnically Chinese family, but was born in South Korea. She and her family immigrated to the United States when she was a child. In addition to talking about how her faith intersects with current events, she shares with us about how her immigrant experience has impacted her faith and her family, and how it’s given her heart for the ones often overlooked and misunderstood in our society. 

You can find an episode reflection with invitations for deeper self-examination and more resources in our show notes. 

Hosted by Cru. 

“Faith is always asking to put flesh on.” In this episode Drew Jackson invites us to explore how our profession of faith is connected to our story, context, neighborhood, historical context, and embodied life.  As we pay attention, engage in truth telling, lament, and explore our questions we can understand more of who God created us to be. 

Drew is a New York City based pastor and poet. His debut book, God Speaks Through Wombs: Poems on God’s Unexpected Coming is a deep and resounding reflection on the first 8 chapters of the Gospel of Luke. In our time with Drew, he treated us to a special reading of one of the poems entitled, “I Struggle with the Word Deserves.” His poem is included in our show notes so that you can follow along. 

You can also find an episode reflection with invitations for deeper self-examination and more resources in our show notes. 

Hosted by Cru. 

As a minority woman growing up in a rural community, Tiffany Bluhm often wondered, “Where do I fit?” But her feelings were satiated when she found Jesus. In this episode, Tiffany discusses her faith journey and how her ethnic identity intersects her identity in Christ. She discusses parenting her multi-ethnic family; her experiences leading her to write her newest book, Prey Tell; and how women and men can be partners for human flourishing. 

Tiffany Bluhm, author of Never Alone and She Dreams, is a writer; speaker; podcast co-host of Why Tho, a show answering the existential and nonsensical questions we ask ourselves; and Gatherer-in-chief of Sip and Savor, a women’s movement in the Seattle area centered around fine food, fine wine and community. She is passionate about inviting all to the table of faith, equality, justice and dignity. Her work has been featured by World Vision Magazine, Pentecostal Evangel, YouVersion Bible App, Scary Mommy, TODAY Parents, Thrive Global, the Hallmark Channel, and the Jenny McCarthy Show. Tiffany and her husband, Derek, live in the Seattle area with their two sons, Jericho and Kingston.

You can find an episode reflection with invitations for deeper self-examination and more resources in  our show notes. 

Hosted by Cru.

Milton and his wife Cynthia have been ministering on the Southside of Chicago since 1980. Milton is the Executive Steward and Director of Cru Inner City and also is a shepherding, governing and teaching elder of a church he helped to plant in 1999. Milton is a bridge and prophetic voice to help the church live out God’s heart for the poor, to build up believers into mature faith through discipleship in the church, and to challenge the body of Christ to intentionally address the realities of systemic injustice using the Bible and the life of Jesus as the source of authority.

And you can find an episode reflection with invitations for deeper self-examination and more resources in our show notes. 

Hosted by Cru. 

BONUS EPISODE: The episode we are releasing today is a little different for us. What we are giving you today is a conversation between three friends that share some key things in common. They are all women of color and they are all single. And they are navigating following God when life doesn’t turn out as planned. Whether you are single or not, this episode is a must-listen because it addresses the unfulfilled longings we all have as a part of the human experience and the pursuit of God wherever life takes us. 

Julie Chang was the host of Season 2 of the Created For podcast. She currently works as the Community Growth Manager at Circles, an IT company seeking to foster authentic human connection in the digital world. Emma Tautolo was one of our speakers at our March 2022 Live event and she is a regional director for Athletes in Action’s campus ministry in the Pacific Southwest. Melody Copenny is the editor in chief of Cru Storylines, an online publication of Cru that covers national and international stories with the themes of hope and eternity in mind. 

Together, this conversation has so much wisdom to share, and we are honored to present it to you today.

And you can find an episode reflection with invitations for deeper self-examination and more resources in our show notes. 

Hosted by Cru.

Drew Hyun shares his journey of sacrificing the idols of money and prestige at the altar in exchange for God’s presence. He also shares his Asian-American experience and how the incredibly equalizing message of the Gospel compelled him to Jesus. 

Drew Hyun is the Founder and Pastor of Hope Church Midtown as well as the co-founder of the New City Network, a network of urban churches that value multi-ethnicity, Spirit-filled ministry, emotional health and mission. Drew is also a part of the Emotionally Healthy Discipleship team, a movement that is dedicated to transforming church culture through the multiplication of deeply changed leaders and disciples. 

You can find an episode reflection with invitations and more resources in our show notes.

Drew Hyun’s talk from our live event: To Be Seen and Noticed: The Longing We All Have to Truly Be Loved Just As We Are

We are joined this week by author, illustrator and advocate Danielle Coke. Better known as Oh Happy Dani, she tells us about her experience of coming face to face with Jesus’ mercy and grace and her journey to discovering present purpose. 

We also dive deep into Oh Happy Dani’s work on how to love our neighbors well in a moment of tragic injustice. We discuss moving from apathy and performative allyship to finding our starting role and beginning the real good work. 

You can find an episode reflection with invitations and more resources in our show notes.

@ohhappydani Illustrations referenced in this episode:   

16:00: The Cycle of Inaction

30:00: Finding Our Starting Roles

See the show notes for an episode reflection and more resources.

Rich is the pastor of New Life Fellowship in Elmhurst, Queens and the author of The Deeply Formed Life.

You can find an episode reflection with invitations for deeper self-examination and more resources in our show notes.

Our first conversation with Rich on the Created For podcast:

April 5th, 2021, Loving One Another and a Life of Discernment with Rich Villodas

Rich Villodas’ 9-Minute Video Message: To Belong to One Another: How We Can Remain Calm and Curious with Others in Times of High Anxiety