Photo by Courtney Perry

In the American church, “we have a whole set of things that are doing the teaching rather than the gospel.” So says Brian McLaren, guest on this episode. Brian has written over a dozen books, including his most recent: The Great Spiritual Migration: How the World’s Largest Religion Is Seeking a Better Way to Be Christian (Convergent Books, 2016).

In this book, Brian discusses the desire for churches to become “studios of love” in the future, and he discusses some of the positives and negatives of teaching Christianity as a belief system vs. a life of love.

Visit Brian’s website at brianmclaren.net

Here are two other resources we discuss in our conversation:

Christian Smith, particularly his book Soul Searching

Richard Beck, particularly his book Unclean

I was so thankful to get to visit with Sandra McCracken – singer, worship leader, record producer and modern-day hymn writer, whose soulful, folk-gospel sound carries influences of artists like Emmylou Harris and Nora Jones. She recently released her eleventh independent studio album, God’s Highway, on Towhee Records with Tone Tree Music distribution.

I have been listening to Sandra’s Music for almost two decades now. She is an incredible artist and an enormously gracious person. I visited with Sandra about the importance of lament, hope, and how she has woven those themes into her songwriting.

Visit her website to hear more and purchase her music: sandramccracken.com

Here are some of the recommendations Sandra mentions during our conversation:

BiFrost Arts

The hymns of Anne Steele

Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction

Dan Allender and Tremper Longman, The Cry of the Soul: How Our Emotions Reveal Our Deepest Questions About God

A blog entry about Nicholas Wolterstorff’s “Trumpets, Ashes, and Tears”

Image: Lipscomb University

Dr. Holly Allen is Professor of Family Studies and Christian Ministries at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee where she holds a joint appointment in the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Bible and Ministry.

She teaches undergraduate courses such as Early Childhood Development and Family Ministry. Dr. Allen’s areas of interest are children’s spirituality and intergenerational issues.

Her most recent book (with Christine Ross) is Intergenerational Christian Formation: Bringing the Whole Church Together in Ministry, Community, and Worship (InterVarsity Press, 2012). Her first book, Nurturing Children’s Spirituality: Christian Perspectives and Best Practices (Cascade), an edited volume, was released in 2008.

In this episode, we visit with Dr. Allen about her journey with intergenerational ministry and how it can complement age-segmented events and ministries to provide a holistic formative experience.

John Roberto is president of LifelongFaith Associates, editor of the journal Lifelong Faith, and works as a consultant to churches and national organizations, teaches courses and conducts workshops in faith formation, and has authored books and program manuals in faith formation.

John created the theory and practice of Generations of Faith—an intergenerational, lifelong approach to faith formation; and administered the five-year Lilly Endowment funded project to develop lifelong faith formation in Catholic parishes across the U.S.

He is the founder and was director of the Center for Ministry Development, where he worked for 28 years. In addition to his work at Lifelong Faith, John works on the Vibrant Faith team as Special Projects Coordinator involved in research, training, and consulting.

His publications include Seasons of Adult Faith Formation (editor and co-author, 2015) Reimagining Faith Formation for the 21st Century (2015), Generations Together: Caring, Celebrating, Learning Praying, and Serving Faithfully (co-authored, 2014), Faith Formation 2020: Designing the Future of Faith (2010), The Spirit and Culture of Youth Ministry (co-authored, 2010), and Becoming a Church of Lifelong Learners (2006).

In this episode, we visit with John about appropriate places for intergenerational faith formation and some ways churches can test the waters in this important, emerging area.

To see the chart of the four scenarios mentioned in the podcast, click here.

Peter Enns is professor of biblical studies at Eastern University and a well-known blogger. (See full bio here.) While much of his writing and teaching has been geared to college students and older, he is also the author of a Bible curriculum for children called Telling God’s Story (parents’ guide, year one teachers’ guide, year one student activity book).

In this episode, we visit with Peter about what a Bible curriculum written by a Biblical scholar might look like (and how it intersects with his recent book for adults called The Bible Tells Me So), and why his approach might be different than others you’re used to seeing.

We’re excited to feature Rachel Held Evans as our next guest. Rachel is a hugely popular author, speaker, and blogger. (See full bio here.)

She has recently released Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church.

We visit with Rachel about her church background, early Christian education experiences, and her recommendations for Christian education today.

Our next guest is Dr. Thomas H. Groome, chair of the department of religious education and pastoral ministry and professor of theology and religious education at Boston College. (See full bio here.)

Groome is the author of the widely-acclaimed Christian Religious Education: Sharing Our Story and Vision, now in its 35th year.

In the podcast, we visit with Dr. Groome about the book and his insights in the decades following its publication.

Welcome to the brand-spanking-new FaithForm Podcast! In this series of interviews and conversations, we’ll visit with today’s leading scholars and thinkers about Christian education and formation.

Our inaugural podcast features Dr. Walter Brueggemann. Brueggemann is the author of over 100 books, including the recently updated The Creative Word: Canon as a Model for Biblical Education (released July 2015).

In this podcast, we talk with Dr. Brueggemann about his early formative teachers and experiences, how he himself has taught, and what he hopes churches will do as they continue to educate and form their people.