This is my first-ever podcast interview! Here I interview Rev. Thomas Ott or the United Church of Christ in Webster, NY in the Papago Brewing Company on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Tom is just completing a 3-month sabbatical which has taken him all over the world to find ways he can equip his congregation to practice their faith in the midst of their everyday lives. His quest is to make faith more real, tangible, and concrete not only on Sunday mornings but throughout the week. This is an unedited interview in which Tom speaks frankly about reasons for both hope and despair in the faith landscape of America, and points ot nuggets of deep wisdom he has gleaned from visiting faith communities in the USA and following the footsteps of the apostle Paul in Greece and Turkey.

CrossWalk America interview with Barry Lynn, director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. This 24 min. interview was taken for possible inclusion in an upcoming film by Creatista Productions commissioned by CrossWalk America (www.CrossWalkAmerica.org). This is raw audio in which Barry speaks frankly about contemporary issues impacting the separation of church and state including so-called Faith Based Initiatives, the historical context of the First Amendment, and biblical/theological rationale for keeping a solid wall between church and state.

This piece is a timely one in light of David Kuo's new book, Tempting Faith, in which the former second-in-command of the Faith Based Initiatives Office claims that through the Faith Based Initiatives Office, Christians in America were used by a political system that could care less about Christian values than Christian votes.

Voices on the podcast besides Barry Lynn are Scott Griessel, the interviewer and film director, and Rebecca Glenn and Eric Elnes, co-presidents of CrossWalk America who ask questions of Barry in the final few minutes.