Gravity Commons Podcast

Too often when we come to the Bible, questions make us uncomfortable. But Marty Solomon wants to suggest that when we learn to ask better questions of the Bible, we form a new and deeper way of thinking about Scripture, understanding the Bible, and moving further into the depths of the mystery of God.

Marty Solomon is a theologian, the president and director of discipleship for Impact Christian Ministries, and the creator and executive producer of The BEMA Podcast and author of Asking Better Questions of the Bible: A Guide For the Wounded, Wary, and Longing for More. He and his wife, Rebekah, live in Cincinnati with their two children. You can connect with Marty and his work on his website martysolomon.com.

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It's common to hear Christians say things like "Christianity is neither right nor left, but a completely different kind of thing," and "Both the far-right and far-left are two sides of the same coin: fundamentalist extremes with different beliefs," and "“The problem is polarization."

These phrases are often employed toward a Christian "third way" politics that seeks to affirm the truth that the church is not bound by the left/right binary of US politics, but this way of talking about how the church relates to politics doesn't actually work on the ground, and usually ends up being a kind of "centrism" that serves to keep the status quo in place.

Pastors Melissa Florer-Bixler and Shawn McCain Tirres join us to talk about why Christian centrism is attractive, and unpack the problems of pursuing Christian centrist/third way politics, and we discuss more helpful ways of framing the church's relationship to politics and living our faithful lives of discipleship to Jesus in the world.

Melissa Florer-Bixler is the pastor of Raleigh Mennonite Church, and a graduate of Duke University and Princeton Theological Seminary. She spent times studying in Israel/Palestine, Kenya, and England. Much of her formation took place in the L'Arche community of Portland, OR and she now the chair of L'Arche North Carolina and a steering committee member in broad-based organizing in her county. Melissa's writing has appeared in Christian Century, Sojourners, Geez, Anabaptist Witness, The Bias, Faith&Leadership, and Anabaptist Vision. She's the author of Fire by Night: Finding God in the Pages of the Old Testament, and How to Have an Enemy: Righteous Anger and the Work of Peace, which we've talked about with her on this podcast.

Shawn McCain Tirres is the founding rector of Resurrection Anglican Church in South Austin, Texas. Before that he helped plant Redeemer Anglican Church in Santa Cruz, California. His doctoral work focused on a practical sacramental missiology, and he currently serves on the Revelation 7:9 Task Force for Justice and Inclusion for the Diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others.

Show notes

• The Adam Joyce article we reference: If there is a “third way”, this isn’t it: How Christian centrists acquiesce to America’s broken political system

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We finish (for now) our series on Mental Health and the Church with some reflections and questions we have about how faith and therapy relate: how they overlap and intersect, how they differ, and how to hold onto both.

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We continue our series on Mental Health and the Church with our own stories and experiences with therapy and mental health: good, bad and ugly.

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We continue our series on Mental Health and the Church with a few MORE myths you sent us in response to last week's episode, plus a conversation with some practical tips on how to be a "resonating witness" for others in conversations about mental health.

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Today we start a new series on Mental Health and the Church. Christianity in the US has had an uneasy history with the topic of mental health and illness, and we'd like to learn to integrate our faith with the best of what we're learning about mental health.

This first episode deals with 5 common Christian myths about mental illness that need to be exposed and rejected if we're going to make any progress. Here are the myths we talk about:

1. Christians Can’t Be Mentally Ill
2. The Cure for Mental Illness Is Prayer
3. Depressed or Anxious Christians Are Sinful
4. Spiritually Healthy Christians Are Mentally Healthy
5. Mentally Ill Christians Just Need Biblical Counseling*

Show Notes:

• Our article that lists the 5 myths we discussed on today's episode: Mental Health & the Church

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Deconstruction: is it just a trendy brand name for falling away from belief in God? Or a process essential to authentic faith? Is it liberation or trauma? Prison break or exile? Well, Bradley Jersak joins us again to say... it's complicated (just like you!). We talk with Bradley about the themes of his latest book Out of the Embers: Faith After the Great Deconstruction, which explores the necessity, perils, and possibilities of "The Great Deconstruction."

Bradley Jersak is the Dean of Theology & Culture, a graduate studies program at St. Stephen's University in New Brunswick, Canada. He also serves as an editor at CWRmagazine and Clarion-Journal.com. Bradley and his wife, Eden, have lived in the Abbotsford area of British Columbia since 1988, where they served as pastors and church planters for twenty years. Bradley is the author of a number of nonfiction and fiction books, including A More Christlike Word,  A More Christlike God, A More Christlike Way, Her Gates Will Never Be Shut, Can You Hear Me?: Tuning in to the God Who Speaks, and The Pastor: A Crisis.

You can connect with Bradley and see what he's up to on his website: bradjersak.com.

Show Notes:

• We mentioned Bradley's article "The Meeting Place: Facilitating Encounters with God".

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Throughout Holy Week, two competing approaches to peacemaking collide: the way of Jesus and the way of the religious and political elite. What if we're investing our lives in the wrong approach? What if—despite clinging to the cross of Christ for our salvation—we’ve actually embraced a different approach to peacemaking? One that justifies killing enemies. One whose methods include nailing criminals to crosses.

Jason Porterfield joins us to talk about these questions, which are central to his book Fight Like Jesus: How Jesus Waged Peace throughout Holy Week, a day-by-day walk through Jesus’ final week that helps readers discover anew why he is called the Prince of Peace.

Jason Porterfield holds a masters in theology from Fuller Theological Seminary and has worked in Indonesia and Vancouver, CA with Servants, an international network of Christian communities living and ministering among the urban poor. His previous work includes the ebook 100 Early Christian Quotes on Not Killing which you can get a free copy of directly from his website JasonPorterfield.com.

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Father Richard Rohr has said that "all great spirituality is somehow about letting go." But what does that mean, and how does it actually work? How is this "letting go" different from not caring? Kevin Sweeney joins us to talk about this dynamic, which is the theme of his new book The Joy of Letting Go: How One Thing Has the Power to Change Everything.

Kevin Sweeney was co-founder and lead pastor of Imagine Church—an urban church in Honolulu—for the past decade. He recently closed down this community. He is the host of podcast The Church Needs Therapy and is the author of the books, The Making of a Mystic: My Journey with Mushrooms, My Life as a Pastor, and Why It’s Okay For Everyone to Relax, and The Joy of Letting Go. He lives In Honolulu with his wife and co-founder of Imagine, Christine, and their two kids, True and Mikayla.

Show notes:

• Having the Mind of Christ Discipleship Workshop - Chesterton, IN - Jan 27-28

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Lots of Christians have a complicated relationship with the Old Testament. It can seem arcane and boring, and even offensive in its depictions of God. Eric Seibert joins us to talk about an approach to reading the Old Testament that helps us actually enjoy it.

His most recent book is Enjoying the Old Testament: A Creative Guide to Encountering Scripture.

Dr. Eric Seibert is a professor of OT at Messiah Univ and has served as the president of the Eastern Great Lakes Biblical Society. His most recent books are The Violence of Scripture: Overcoming the OT's Troubling Legacy and Disarming the Church: Why Christians Must Forsake Violence to Follow Jesus and Change the World.

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