Faith and Letters

Tim Mackie is the theological brain behind BibleProject, an animation studio focused on creating videos to explain the context, themes, and overarching story of the Bible. Tim is an enigma; he holds a PhD in Hebrew Bible and Jewish Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but prior to entering that track was an academic failure in high school; he reads dead languages and dry commentaries as part of his work for a slick digital creative firm. I loved talking with him.   

Tim's got an incredible reading list on his bio page, and spent some time convincing me of the greatness of Abraham Joshua Heschel. He's also got multiple podcasts, including Exploring My Strange Bible and the BibleProject podcast. We ended our long discussion on the Bible, reading, and his own journey by talking about what a young person interested in following in his skater-punk-Bible-nerd footsteps should be focusing on early in their career. 

Exploring My Strange Bible - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/exploring-my-strange-bible/id1271147429

BibleProject Pod - https://bibleproject.com/podcasts/the-bible-project-podcast/

Tim's bio and reading list - https://bibleproject.com/tim-mackie/

Danielle Mayfield is the author of The Myth of the American Dream: Notes on Affluence, Autonomy, Safety, and Power. Her essays and features have appeared in a wide range of publications, including Christianity Today, The Washington Post, and Image. 

Much of Danielle's work centers on what she refers to as "downward mobility," the idea that the Christian Gospel's strong call toward solidarity with the poor will inevitably demand much of late-capitalist American Christians. 

dlmayfield.com

Macy Halford is the author of My Utmost: A Devotional Memoir, which details her lifelong relationship with the classic Christian devotional text, My Utmost For His Highest, by the Scottish preacher Oswald Chambers.

She is the former editor of the online book review at The New Yorker, and now lives in Strasbourg where she teaches and continues to write. 

Daniel Taylor was a professor of English at Bethel University for over thirty years, and is the author of numerous works, including The Myth of Certainty, a book that framed our discussion on faith, doubt, certainty, modernism, and the lived experience of those he describes as "reflective Christians." 

www.wordtaylor.com/

Chris Hoke is a gang pastor, jail chaplain, and founder of Underground Ministries. His memoir, Wanted: A Spiritual Pursuit Through Jails, Among Outlaws, and Across Borders, renders the stories of his work with current and former gang members in Washington's Skagit Valley in vivid detail.

Underground Ministries - https://undergroundministries.org/