Myers Park Baptist Church: Theology Upstream Podcasts

Theology Upstream Podcasts are a series of conversations hosted by two young(-ish) clergy, Rev. Ben and Rev. Chrissy, who are convinced that good theology still has something to say to people living their lives in the real world. With that conviction, Chrissy and Ben seek to read theological books and put their learnings into conversation with lived-experience.  Preparing for our 2018-19 study, Awakening the Body, Chrissy and Ben are publishing a series of conversations on Kate Bowler’s best seller, Everything Happens for a Reason: and Other Lies I’ve Loved.In this fourth episode, Chrissy & Ben discuss the tension between surrender and acceptance. Following Kate Bowler’s examination of surrender and giving up in the prosperity tradition, Chrissy & Ben are thinking (out loud) about the fine line between having faith and accepting reality.

Theology Upstream Podcasts are a series of conversations hosted by two young(-ish) clergy, Rev. Ben and Rev. Chrissy, who are convinced that good theology still has something to say to people living their lives in the real world. With that conviction, Chrissy and Ben seek to read theological books and put their learnings into conversation with lived-experience.  Preparing for our 2018-19 study, Awakening the Body, Chrissy and Ben are publishing a series of conversations on Kate Bowler’s best seller, Everything Happens for a Reason: and Other Lies I’ve Loved.In this third episode, Chrissy & Ben are talking about seasons of life and the irony (or seeming arbitrary nature) of suffering.  Using Bowler’s vulnerable conversation about her fertility journey, this episode focuses on body problems, human limitations, and the reality that “blessings” may never come (or they may not look the way we imagined).

Theology Upstream Podcasts are a series of conversations hosted by two young(-ish) clergy, Rev. Ben and Rev. Chrissy, who are convinced that good theology still has something to say to people living their lives in the real world. With that conviction, Chrissy and Ben seek to read theological books and put their learnings into conversation with lived-experience.  Preparing for our 2018-19 study, Awakening the Body, Chrissy and Ben are publishing a series of conversations on Kate Bowler’s best seller, Everything Happens for a Reason: and Other Lies I’ve Loved.In this second episode Chrissy and Ben confess to loving the lie that they can do anything and everything.  In that confession, they wrestle with what it means to be Americans living in a pressure cooker of perfectionism and to be honest about their humanity (therefore their limitations and imperfections).  What are yours?

Theology Upstream Podcasts are a series of conversations hosted by two young(-ish) clergy, Rev. Ben and Rev. Chrissy, who are convinced that good theology still has something to say to people living their lives in the real world. With that conviction, Chrissy and Ben seek to read theological books and put their learnings into conversation with lived-experience.  Preparing for our 2018-19 study, Awakening the Body, Chrissy and Ben are publishing a series of conversations on Kate Bowler’s best seller, Everything Happens for a Reason: and Other Lies I’ve Loved.In this first episode on Kate Bowler’s book, Everything Happens for a Reason: and Other Lies I’ve Loved, Chrissy & Ben talk about the prosperity gospel, theodicy, and hope that God will make a way.  Along the way they discover some lies that they have loved . . . What are yours?

Christ is risen!  Happy Easter everyone!  Can you believe we’ve made it through the wilderness journey of Lent?  While it may be difficult to believe that the 40-day journey is complete, the wilderness – I’m afraid to say – still surrounds us.  Politics, economics, relationships, and everything else in our lives  will continue to present us with trauma, hatred, and pain.  We will still find ourselves in situations and conversations in which there seems to be no way out without finding a bunker and digging in our heels behind it.  But now (hopefully) we won’t let ourselves do that.  After this intense 40-day journey out from bunkers and into wilderness, we have honed our BRAVING skills and we are learning to live with a strong back, soft front, and wild heart.  Of course none of us has it figured out quite yet… but at least now we know what we need to do. We would love to hear from you about what this Lenten season has meant for you.  What are you learning?  How is your learning changing your life?  What will you do next?  How will you continue to brave?

In this episode we are talking about holding hands. with strangers.  (I typed it that way on purpose.)  Brené opens us to the power of collective effervescence, mediated to us through experiences of joy, pain, music, and practices of faith. Her main point, and we agree, is that in sharing joy and pain together, we are certainly braving the wilderness.    To get yourself prepped for this episode, go ahead and think about your first and favorite concert experiences.  Try to remember the ways that you felt connected to others around you.  How long-lasting was the connection?  Also remember moments of collective pain:  9/11, the explosion of the Challenger, the Oklahoma City bombing, Newtown Connecticut… remember how it felt to be in moments of intense pain with others around you.  Once you have those memories in your mind and those feelings in your gut… you’re ready to hit play.  Don’t forget to post your memories in the comments section!

This week we’re reading and discussing Chapter 5, “Speak Truth To Bullshit.  Be Civil.”  Reflecting on Brené’s experiences talking about gun ownership, difficulties managing her workload, “fitting in culture,” and more, we found ourselves (#1) appreciating the difference between lies and BS and (#2) really struggling with the tension between speaking up for truth and practicing curiosity in relationships.  We’d love to know what you think about this chapter and how it’s working on you during this season of learning how to BRAVE the wilderness.  Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Welcome back, wilderness bravers!  This week we’re really in the thick of the season.  Lenten practices are getting more difficult, and it seems like the end will not come.  Be strong!  We’ve still got a lot of work to do!  In this fourth episode we talk about trauma and pain, and how often, these two lie behind our anger and hate.  Brené gives us some really powerful examples from her experience.  A man whose wife was killed in a terrorist attack in Paris, preparing her daughter for college, and history of dehumanization in genocides.  In reading and processing this chapter, we were left asking the question: What is the re-humanizing work happening in the world?  AND How might God be calling us to join in?We’d love to know what you think!

Do you know the difference in loneliness and being alone?  Do you ever feel “that lonely feeling?”  In this episode of the Wilderness podcast, we talk about all things lonely.  How did we get so lonely and what can we do to remedy the overwhelming loneliness that exists in our world and in our lives?  As we discuss the third chapter of Braving the Wilderness, we think about the many factions we have sorted ourselves into.  We explore why it is that we are more likely to double-down on group identity and party lines than we are to acknowledge complexity and converse with nuance.  And, we reckon with the reality that if we want to be wilderness bravers, we have to get outside of our sorted factions and move into the chaos.

In this second episode we explore the concepts of belonging, spirituality, identity, and true belonging.  As the conversation evolves, it becomes clear that there is a very real tension between standing alone and standing together in community.  We embellished Brené’s definition of spirituality to include aspects of spiritual practice and accountability, which help us to become more spiritual, more grounded, and more rooted in our identities as beloved children of God.  From that grounded, spiritual place, we explore what it looks like to engage the wilderness, which is the world around us.   Listen in and let us know what you think!