Meaning in the Middle

Our first conversation with someone outside our little bubble is a real gem. Brian McLaren has been immersed in themes of spiritual migration for several decades now, as a pastor and author and activist. We had a chance to ask Brian to reflect on his journey thus far - what he has learned about what truly matters, what might come next for faith, and why we might or might not choose to stay Christian.

We highly recommend you check out Brian's new book Do I Stay Christian

To join the discussion, visit us on Instagram @meaninginthemiddlepod and in the Meaning in the Middle Facebook group.

Cheers! 

We're exploring a powerful understanding of sacredness and discussing one way we're going to engage with it together called Lectio Divina. This is a long episode but the topics are important and lay the groundwork for much of this season so we wanted to take our time with it. 

We hope you enjoy this chat and we look forward to you participating with us in this. 

To join the discussion, visit us on Instagram @meaninginthemiddlepod and in the Meaning in the Middle Facebook group.

Cheers! 

WE'RE BACKKKKK! 

Season 2 is here and we're bringing you amazing guests, video episodes, and an exploration of sacred texts! 
We're looking forward to everything we'll explore together and we're honored that you're here. CHEERS!

To join the discussion, visit us on Instagram @meaninginthemiddlepod and in the Meaning in the Middle Facebook group.

Cheers! 

We covered A LOT of ground in Season 1!

We've both learned a lot and we're looking back on what impacted us the most along the way. 
Thank you again to everyone who's joined us on this journey and your messages and feedback mean the world to us! 

To join the discussion, visit us on Instagram @meaninginthemiddlepod and in the Meaning in the Middle Facebook group.

Cheers! 

 Traditional wisdom would tell you there are two things you should never talk about at the dinner table - religion and politics. In our modern era, however, it seems it's all anyone can talk about, especially as we become increasingly divided by our ideologies.

Politics isn’t a dirty word, but it’s a complex one. It’s the space where our convictions and ethics meet in the public square to find a way we can co-exist in a pluralistic society. In this episode, we discuss an historical approach to politics, how we got to where we are today and some ways we can each examine our own lenses and assumptions to forge the necessary common ground to help society move forward.

To join the discussion, visit us on Instagram @meaninginthemiddlepod and in the Meaning in the Middle Facebook group.

Cheers! 

Perhaps the Bible is more about interacting with "the sacred" in pursuit of wisdom than a source of ethical or spiritual knowledge. 
We're continuing the chat from the last episode and exploring ways to approach the Bible that might avoid some of the pitfalls discussed in Part 1. 

To join the discussion, visit us on Instagram @meaninginthemiddlepod and in the Meaning in the Middle Facebook group.

Cheers! 

The Bible is a messy, beautiful, violent, depressing, and hopeful book. It covers the full spectrum of the human experience and the journey of the Jewish people as they wrestle with understanding God. We chat about how the Bible was assembled, the myriad of ways that it's misused, as well as why it's valuable, and why it cannot be easily dismissed. 

To join the discussion, visit us on Instagram @meaninginthemiddlepod and in the Meaning in the Middle Facebook group.

Cheers! 

THE GODS have been a fixture of human culture for as long as we can remember and the modern era is no exception. We may no longer believe that Zeus sits atop Mount Olympus or that the rain god looks after our crops, but there are systems and forces that still fulfill the role of the gods in our communities, our politics, and our culture at large. 

We hope you enjoy this exploration of how we can reframe the idea of "the gods" in such a way that we actually gain insights about how the world of human society really works. 

To join the discussion, visit us on Instagram @meaninginthemiddlepod and in the Meaning in the Middle Facebook group.

Cheers! 

Something unexpected happened after we recorded each of our episodes on ethics. 

Rather than highlight major differences and contradictions in our approaches, we actually began to see that we could potentially join them together into a broader and more complete understanding of ethical truth. 

Landon's framework takes us from the bottom, at conscious experience, and builds up the logical structure into a vision of reasoned universal boundaries and respect. Where ethical action is grounded in pragmatic reasoning about human nature and our shared needs and desires. 
Ryan's framework starts at the top and establishes Jesus as the north star that we model our ethical pursuit after. A vision of virtue ethics that fuels positive moral action from identity and meaning to empower us to reach our full ethical potential. 

These are two parts of the same whole, and it's when they come together that we begin to see a truly broad and robust expression of the ethical journey.  
 

To join the discussion, visit us on Instagram @meaninginthemiddlepod and in the Meaning in the Middle Facebook group.

Cheers! 

Ryan explains that in an era marked by moral fragmentation, we have lost the common narrative that informed us of who we are. Legalism and behavior modification have led to a moral crisis regardless of religious affiliation. What if there is a way to go back and reclaim a posture that seeks to place our ethics in a narrative that speaks of our origin and our destination in God?

This narrative ethic places a greater emphasis on developing virtue as a way to discern what to do in any given moment, rather than following a set of rules or obligations. In the Christian faith, it’s referred to as embodying the Kingdom of God, becoming like God in how we think, feel, and act.

To join the discussion, visit us on Instagram @meaninginthemiddlepod and in the Meaning in the Middle Facebook group.

Cheers!