Imitating Jesus

In this episode, we continue to delve into the often overlooked topic of singleness within the church. We discuss cultural perceptions, theological perspectives, and the importance of empowering singles in leadership roles. The conversation emphasizes that singles are not less loved or blessed by God compared to married individuals, highlights the need for churches to value and celebrate the contributions of singles, and encourages singles to embrace their gift of singleness and recognize its potential for spiritual growth and community building.

Chapters

• Introduction to the Podcast and Theme of Singleness
• 00:55 Cultural Perceptions of Singleness
• 06:11 Theological Perspectives on Singleness
• 12:00 Empowerment and Leadership for Singles
• 18:00 Valuing Singles in Church and Community
• 23:02 Embracing Singleness as a Gift

In this episode of the Imitating Jesus podcast, host Ryan Seibert and guests Lewie Clark and Anna Robinson discuss the essential role of singles in kingdom leadership, as highlighted in Lewie's new book, 'Single-Minded Service.' They explore the unique opportunities and challenges faced by singles in the church, address biases and misconceptions, and emphasize the importance of community and belonging for singles within the body of Christ. The conversation encourages singles to take initiative in creating their own communities and highlights the significant impact they can have on families and the church as a whole.

Ryan and Lewie reflect on a disciple-making conference they recently attended - what they found encouraging and clarifying, and what they thought was missing in the conversations happening there.

Ryan and Lewie reflect on our 20th anniversary, including Icon's origin story, a powerful moment at the anniversary celebration, and how our anniversary and reflection experience informs and inspires us moving forward.

In Part 1 we talked about deconstruction being an intellectual, emotional, and relational process. In this episode we offer thoughts, practices, and encouragement especially for parents, pastors, and friends to those who are deconstructing.

We also consider the doubts and failures in Jesus' disciples, and how Jesus orchestrated circumstances perfectly to expose his disciples' limits and offer opportunities for transformation. Therefore, in the disciple-making process we can expect major doubts and failures.

As disciple-makers and spiritual leaders, what systems and environments do we create that either incentivize our disciples to hide their fears and doubts or welcome them as a natural part of the journey?

Big idea: build muscles that help us hold space for doubt, questions, and dissonance; be curious; create safe places; let go of control; be a loving presence

Join Ryan and Lewie and our guests, Jeff Hayden and Anna Robinson, around the table as they share their thoughts and personal experiences with this important and relevant topic.

Recommended reading: After Doubt by AJ Swaboda

What is deconstruction? What is it not? Why does it happen? Is it good or bad? What is it about our cultural moment that contributes to deconstruction? What do I do if I (or a loved one) feel an internal dissonance about God, the Bible, church, my faith, etc? What is the role of questions, doubt, and resistance in discipleship?

Join Ryan and Lewie and our guests, Jeff Hayden and Anna Robinson around the table as they discuss this important and relevant topic.

This season we're exploring elements of the disciple-making process in our series - This is the Way We Role. Here we talk with our friend and co-worker, Anna Robinson*, about The Role of Culture in Disciple-Making. 

In this episode, we explore the questions: 

*Anna lives in Wheaton, IL and is in the process of completing her Masters of Divinity. Her heart for ministry is especially with those struggling to feel welcome in the church.

This season we're exploring elements of the disciple-making process in our series - This is the Way We Role. In this episode we talk with our friend, Rabbi Zak Michaels, about The Role of Community in Disciple-Making, specifically the household.

In Part 2 we learn about the rhythms of Jewish households. These rhythms began as commands given to the people of God and that can be read about in the Bible. Rabbi Zak shows us how rich the Jewish tradition is with intentionality and symbolism. The Jewish approach begins with the children in mind, passing on rhythms that create regular opportunities to teach our children - and remind ourselves - of the story of God to which we belong, the unchanging love He has for His people, and His beautiful and enduring work of redemption in us, around us, and through us. 

Rabbi Zak explains and illustrates Jewish practices and rhythms that occur within the home and how they create an environment for Christ-like spiritual formation. We, specifically, explore the weekly practice of celebrating Sabbath. Rabbi Zak defines Sabbath and shares the fullness of how we can practice it as a family and in community with others.

Listen to Part 1 here.

*Rabbi Zak's hope is to be able to be a bridge between Judaism and Christianity, offering knowledge and understanding that could bring about healing and reconciliation so we can be in the world, together, with God's light and peace shining upon us all.

This season we're exploring elements of the disciple-making process in our series - This is the Way We Role. In this episode we talk with our friend, Rabbi Zak Michaels*, about The Role of Community in Disciple-Making, specifically the household.

In this episode you'll hear how we met Rabbi Zak and his journey of coming to faith in Yeshua (Jesus). We ponder why/how the home is a sacred and holy place in Judaism. Rabbi Zak shares the life cycles in Judaism and how the home is a place for prayer, ritual, celebration, teaching, learning, participation, and gathering.

Big Idea: The home is a sacred and holy place. The home is where we learn to practice and live out our faith and is a process led by mom and dad.

Part 2 with Rabbi Zak will be released next month where we discuss more practical expressions of the family rhythms discussed in this episode.

*Rabbi Zak's hope is to be able to be a bridge between Judaism and Christianity, offering knowledge and understanding that could bring about healing and reconciliation so we can be in the world, together, with God's light and peace shining upon us all.

This season we're exploring elements of the disciple-making process in our series -- This is the Way We Role. In this episode we talk with our friend and co-worker, Anna Robinson*, about The Role of Community in Disciple-Making.

Some highlights:

Recommended resource: With by Skye Jethani

*Anna lives in Wheaton, IL and is in the process of completing her Masters of Divinity. Her heart for ministry is especially with those struggling to feel welcome in the church.