Finding Free Podcast

It's no secret that COVID-19 has everything in life as we knew it either on hold or moving forward in a very different way than we have known before. Every decision seems to take so much effort and yield more problems. We find ourselves on a wheel of uncertainty...spinning and spinning. Anyone else feeling tired or anxious from this constant spinning? Our mental bandwidth is maxed out and Every Little Thing is a Really Big Deal. Everyone is feeling the strain these days and we wanted to let you know you are not alone in the mayhem. We had fun keeping it real and sharing some of our own COVID struggles!

From 1972 to 1980, my dad (aka Mo, short for Morris) was the varsity basketball coach at Apex High School. When Amy and I were starting our Finding Free Podcast I needed to do a sound test for our phone interview equipment. So I called dad and got him to tell me about the last game he coached at Apex. I was 3 years old, and I do not remember any of this, but I know it had to be exciting! It came down to a last second shot with the ball in the hands of Anthony Byrd who would go on to play at Georgia Tech. These years while he was coaching are great memories for my family and his players, most of whom he still keeps in contact with to this day. I've always enjoyed this story and I hope you do too!

Power dynamics in churches...not something we like to talk about often, especially in today's political and social climate. It's hard but necessary for religious leaders to think about the power they wield in relationships and how it impacts those they communicate with. Especially in a religious context, power is often abused, causing trauma and broken connections. This can lead people to be hurt by the religious leaders that they tend to trust the most.

Discussing power in relationship dynamics is very tricky, and is not something we look at lightly. Religion has not always been the safe place it needs to be for the oppressed and at times has been a cause of much hurt and shame from people in powerful positions.

From pastors and ministers to teachers and bosses, how can we be mindful of the power we hold as individuals? What are some of the ways people subtly abuse power through their words and actions? Can we recognize ways in which we can use our own power and influence to raise the voices of those around us? Can we learn to use power in healthy ways, working for the good of the community at large? Our hope is that this conversation will be one small lean towards a healthy awareness of our interconnectedness.

Living in a culture that thrives on "more" and "faster," it's no secret that most of us have a hard time waiting for anything. When we begin to associate what we can get quickly with what is successful, we set ourselves up for a spiritual life of discontent. God is incredibly patient with us, and our own patience with ourselves, with others, and with the world around us means not that we wait passively, but that we actively practice viewing others as God views us.

Ask the general public for a definition of love and you'll get a variety of answers. We use the word love a lot, especially if you grew up in church and were told to "Love your neighbor" from a very young age. Yet, what does it look like to love others in today's culture that is brimming with fear? Walter Bruggeman says, "The definitive act of love is justice." We simply cannot talk about loving others without talking about justice. How do we DO the work of love in a society where injustice prevails? What does it mean for each of us to "do love" as individuals and also together as a community?

What would it look like to really live into loving our neighbors as ourselves?

Second in our series on Women in Ministry, we dialogue today with a friend and former co-worker, Rev. Beth Thompson. Beth spent almost 40 years in ministry and was graduating from seminary at the height of the "women in ministry" conflict. She discusses the atmosphere during that time period and describes what helped her stay the course when things were difficult. And if you know Beth, she drops the mic on the regular and hits the truth hard, and this conversation definitely does not disappoint! Amy had the pleasure of working with Beth for almost 15 years, and she can say without a doubt that Beth's mentorship and modeling of what it is like to be a woman in church ministry was invaluable for her as she began full time ministry. Beth's example in ministry has impacted countless people and churches, and we are honored to interview her today.

When I was in college, I kept having this thought that would not let me go...a sense that, in order to be fully true to myself, I needed to accept that I was being called by God into Christian ministry. I wasn't exactly sure what that was going to look like, but I knew that it was true. Looking back, it is fulfilling to know that I am where I am supposed to be in life, but I'll also admit that being a woman in ministry (as in many other professions) carries more than its share of criticism from those who would say that to be an ordained female pastor is not in line with the teachings of the Bible.

Women serving in pastoral leadership has been a much debated topic in some denominations. In this episode, we discuss the history of the "women in ministry" issue, offer some insight on the bible passages often cited and debated by those opposing women in ministry, and share our personal stories. Craig discusses his experiences of being questioned about "how he allows his wife to be a minister" and I share some thoughts for other women who may be discerning God's urging to explore vocational ministry.

How do we understand and communicate with God? How we grow up and our own personal experiences within church life can greatly impact our view of spirituality and how we understand listening to God. If you grew up in a more traditional church setting there may be automatic rules and stipulations that come to mind on the topic of communicating with God...but does it have to be so difficult? Have we perhaps made "communicating with God" more complex than it needs to be? In this episode Craig and Amy dialogue about their journey to understand and live into what it means to hear and act on the voice of God in their lives.

In our final episode of the Backpacking Series, we share some of the more humorous experiences we've had on the trail. We simply couldn't end this series without sharing some of these stories. From walking up on people actually skinny dipping to the day we lost two college students, we do a lot of laughing as we relive these tales. We bring in one of our former students, the always delightful Zack Hamby, to share some of his funny experiences and reflections on what the trip has meant to him.

In this episode we interview a very faithful backpacking leader, Jeff Bell. If you had asked him during his first trip if he thought he would go again, he would have said "I'm glad you saw me out here because you will never see me again!" Since his miserable & rainy first year, he has faithfully gone back every year since. As always, Jeff brings his since of humor to the conversation and as an educator talks about how this experience can have a major impact on students' lives. From tent antics between Jeff and Craig to the year he tried to bring 2 pounds of bacon on the trip, get ready to laugh your way through a wonderful conversation.