We are discussing the book "A Tumblin' Down" by Sarah Hinlicky Wilson. (Our September book club book.) This is a fiction book about a pastor's family. This book starts with a pastor wrestling with a passage of scripture that doesn't fit well into his theological framework, and trying to figure out how to pull a sermon from it. Each person in this family goes through seasons of struggling with their faith both from their past, and in the present. But when this family is forced to grieve publically, and their faith gets put to the test, gossip overtakes the church as to how they are grieving, and how they should have handled their grief.

This gossip leads to a tension that will either drive the pastor's family out, or cause a church split. As this family starts to crumble under the pressure, an unlikely friendship with a pastor from communist East Germany enters the picture.

This book had us laughing and crying. The description of church people, while a fiction book, has so much truth. 

Freely Given:

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Kelsi Klembara's "Ourside Ourselves" interview with Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

We invited our friend, Mike Cosper back on to talk about his article he recently wrote for Christianity Today about Tim Keller. He quotes Tim for saying that the point of contextualization isn't to make the gospel more palatable, but but make the offense of the gospel clear.

We discuss what it means that the gospel is offensive, and what it means to contextualize it. For many years, it has been assumed that the culture in America was a Christian culture, but there's a contextualization we must learn to do when we see the world around us as unaware and confused by any context for the gospel.

Show Notes:

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• Gretchen Ronnevik

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Mike Cosper's article on Tim Keller:

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2023/tim-keller-issue/tim-keller-church-pastor-media-suffering.html

also, his article he mentions working on in the podcast about a Marxist view of history: https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2023/september-web-only/conspiracy-theories-conspiracism-history-marx-hegel-cultura.html

We finally finish up our conversation on birth by talking about postpartum and breastfeeding vs formula. Putting it in the context of the doctrine vocation, they speak freedom into all of the guilt that women feel during this vulnerable time. We talk about pride we have in soldiering through, shame we feel in failure, shame with give to others, and the illusion of keeping up the supermom routine.

We talk about respecting the humanness of individuals, and living in the grace and freedom that God freely gives.

Show Notes:

• Support 1517

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What’s New from 1517:

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• Faith in the Face of Tyranny

More from the hosts:

• Gretchen Ronnevik

• Katie Koplin

Gretchen Ronnevik and Katie Koplin discuss today the issue of pain in childbirth, and whether or not taking pain medication during childbirth effects your sanctification, or your moral standing. After overwhelming response from our last episode, there's some more things they'd like to say to encourage. They sort out the truth from the lies about sanctification itself, and what happens when we put that pressure on ourselves. We talk about God using ALL things for our good, not just painful things.

They talk about expectations, birth plans, and knowing that God will be with you no matter what, not just in certain outcomes.

Show Notes:

• Support 1517

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What’s New from 1517:

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• Faith in the Face of Tyranny

More from the hosts:

• Gretchen Ronnevik

• Katie Koplin

Our next book club book for the month of September: A-Tumblin' Down by Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

In this much requested episode, Gretchen Ronnevik and Katie Koplin talk about birth, and some of the pressure we put on ourselves--or on our faith--that everything goes as we think it will. They talk about shame in childbirth, and how women try to put some kind of moral superiority over how you give birth.

Between the two of them, they have medicated, unmedicated, preemie birth, and even homebirth experiences that they share. In some Christian circles of women there is pressure to give birth naturally out of submission to what God said in Genesis, or even in some that claim that you won't feel pain if you have enough faith because of the redemption. Then there is shame and disappointment that some give to those who've had c-sections, and feel like the body God designed failed them in some way. They cut through all of these false claims, and talk about the freedom we have in Christ--even in birth.

Show Notes:

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What’s New from 1517:

• Faith and Reason Exchange @ 1517.org

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• Faith in the Face of Tyranny

More from the hosts:

• Gretchen Ronnevik

• Katie Koplin

In our monthly book club episode, these 2 Lutheran women (Gretchen Ronnevik and Katie Koplin) discuss Beth Moore's memoir, "All My Knotted Up Life."

This books covers heavy topics from sexual abuse, Bipolar disorder, racism, and her personal story of being a women who works in churches, and her journey out of the Southern Baptist Convention that she loved. It moves from her childhood in Arkansas to her unexpected climb to fame in Texas.

In this book, you see the wrecking ball that kept going through her life, and her husband's life, and they ended up in a little Anglican church. This incredibly well written book takes you on a journey of God's faithfulness to her as her world was falling apart around her.

Show Notes:

• 1517 Podcast Network Survey

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What’s New from 1517:

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More from the hosts:

• Gretchen Ronnevik

• Katie Koplin

Next month's book club: A-Tumblin Down by Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

Link to Kelsi Klembara's interview with Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

Gretchen and Katie both saw the Barbie movie, and want to talk about it the cultural statements made in this movie. They talk about the idea of utopias, and the danger in creating utopia. This movie also talks about when our ideals hit reality.

It presents reaching for perfection as a heavy burden to put on people, and how humans often process emotions and thoughts through play.

They talk about patriarchy and matriarchy, tied up with this reaching for perfection and utopias, and the humanity of us all. In all this, it points to the fact that ideals without Christ end up being ideals that take into account our humanity and needs.

Show Notes:

• 1517 Podcast Network Survey

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What’s New from 1517:

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More from the hosts:

• Gretchen Ronnevik

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We are discussing 1 Corinthians 10:31, and what it means to do everything to the glory of God. This is where are series of Hobby Lobby verses collides with our vocation series, and we look at the context of where this verse comes from. What does it mean to do everything to the glory of God? Does it mean do our best, and make sure our works are worthy of how great God is?

We talk about the debate about meat sacrificed to idols, with a modern explanation, and what "glory" actually means. "Glory of God" is cross referenced in other New Testament verses to see that Jesus is the glory of God, and the weight of what he did for us is what frees us to serve and love our neighbors.

Show Notes:

• 1517 Podcast Network Survey

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What’s New from 1517:

• Faith and Reason Exchange @ Apple Podcasts

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More from the hosts:

• Gretchen Ronnevik

• Katie Koplin

We are interviewing Courtney Burns, who is a school counselor for Faith Lutheran School in Las Vegas, NV. She talks about the intersection between theology and counseling, as well as separating mental wellness to gauging the strength of someone's faith.

She talks about kids understanding authenticity, how both parents and students missed emotional milestones during the pandemic, and being present with people right where they are at.

She talks about social anxieties, working through identity issues, and the purpose of stressers. 

Show Notes:

• 1517 Podcast Network Survey

• Support 1517

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What’s New from 1517:

• Join the 1517 Academy

• Freedom Lessons Street Team

• Finding God in the Darkness: Hopeful Reflections from the Pits of Depression, Despair, and Disappointment by Bradley Gray

More from the hosts:

• Gretchen Ronnevik

• Katie Koplin

This episode Gretchen Ronnevik and Katie Koplin discuss Acts 2, where we read about the early church, and how it grew. We look a the multiple ways that the Holy Spirit works through church, and even multiple ways that people are healed and saved through Christ.

We talk about tradition, and prescriptions that we give ourselves to replicate what happens at this church or that church, we sometimes forget that the common denominator is the Holy Spirit. We talk about expectations for church, church hurt, and idolizations of method or people.

We talk about chasing the fruit, rather than chasing the Spirit. 

Freely Given:

Show Notes:

• 1517 Podcast Network Survey

• Support 1517

• 1517 Podcasts

• The 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts

• 1517 on Youtube

What’s New from 1517:

• Join the 1517 Academy

• Freedom Lessons Street Team

• Finding God in the Darkness: Hopeful Reflections from the Pits of Depression, Despair, and Disappointment by Bradley Gray

More from the hosts:

• Gretchen Ronnevik

• Katie Koplin