This week we speak with Brian McLaren! Brian is an author, speaker, activist, and public theologian. A former college English teacher and pastor, he is a passionate advocate for “a new kind of Christianity” - just, generous, and working with people of all faiths for the common good. He is an Auburn Senior Fellow and a leader in the Convergence Network, through which he is developing an innovative training/mentoring program for pastors, church planters, and lay leaders called Convergence Leadership Project. Born in 1956, he graduated from University of Maryland with degrees in English (BA, summa cum laude, 1978, and MA in 1981). His academic interests included Medieval drama, Romantic poets, modern philosophical literature, and the novels of Dr. Walker Percy. In 2004, he was awarded a Doctor of Divinity Degree (honoris causa) from Carey Theological Seminary in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and in 2010, he received a second honorary doctorate, this one from Virginia Theological Seminary (Episcopal). Brian’s books have been translated into many languages, including Korean, Chinese, French, Swedish, Norwegian, German, Portuguese, and Spanish. He has written for or contributed interviews to many periodicals, including Leadership, Sojourners, Tikkun, Worship Leader, and Conversations. He is an active and popular blogger, a musician, and a songwriter, offering a variety of resources through his website, www.brianmclaren.net. A frequent guest on television, radio, and news media programs, he has appeared on All Things Considered, Larry King Live, Nightline, On Being, and Religion and Ethics Newsweekly. His work has also been covered in Time, New York Times, Christianity Today, Christian Century, The Washington Post, Huffington Post, CNN.com, and many other print and online media. He has taught or lectured at many seminaries and has served on a number of boards, currently including the Convergence Network and The Wild Goose Festival. (Selected) Published Works: “The Great Spiritual Migration: How the World’s Largest Religion is Seeking a Better Way to be Christian; Seeking Aliveness; Way of Life; Naked Spirituality; Why did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road?; A New Kind of Christianity; A Generous Orthodoxy; The Last Word and the Word After That.” Guest Website/Social Media: www.brianmclaren.net Twitter: @brianmclaren Facebook: @brianmclaren Special guest music provided by: Lovedrug https://lovedrugmusic.com Facebook: @lovedrug Twitter: @lovedrug Instagram: @lovedrugmusic Enjoy the songs? Songs featured on this episode were: “Wildblood & Pink Champaign” from the album Wildblood; “Royalty” from the album Notions; “If God was on the radio” from the album (II); and the brand new single, “All In.” Lovedrug’s music is available on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and anywhere good music is sold. Donation: If you enjoy what we’re doing consider supporting us by joining our Patreon family. You can link to our Patreon site via our website www.thedeconstructionists.com. We recently revamped the entire site! You can now connect with us on social media, email us, stream every episode directly from the website, donate, and buy merchandise! Website design by @ryanbattles. The Deconstructionists Podcast is mixed and edited by Nicholas Rowe at National Audio Preservation Society: A full service recording studio and creative habitat, located in Heath, Ohio. Find them on Facebook and Twitter or visit their website for more information. www.nationalaudiopreservationsociety.weebly.com www.facebook.com/nationalaudiopreservationsociety Twitter: @napsrecording