Myers Park Baptist Church: Theology Upstream Podcasts

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.

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!

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.

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!

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!

Can you believe it is Lent already?  Some of you may be asking, what is Lent?  Short version is: it’s the time of year we set intentions (give something up, take on a spiritual practice, etc.) to make us aware of our humanity and our human finitude.  For this reason, we begin the season on Ash Wednesday hearing the words “From dust you cam and to dust you will return,” or “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” It is an interesting season because as we are called to face our sinfulness, we are also reminded of our beloved-ness.  Two sides of the same human coin.  We are deeply loved by God and we are made painfully aware that we are not God, we fall short. Sometimes we can get stuck in that second part and become withdrawn, complacent, and static.  We see huge problems in  our world: violence, war, hatred, prejudice, poverty, hunger, etc. and we refuse to engage because we don’t know how. That’s why we chose Brené Brown’s book, Braving the Wilderness, for this season.  It’s a field guide for engaging the wilderness (a.k.a. our world) and it all starts with her quest for true belonging (which is a quest I think we can all relate to).  So just as Christians around the world are wrestling with the tension of beloved-ness and sinfulness, Brené gives us this beautiful little book on belonging and wilderness.  Listen in and see how those two tensions are inextricably woven together.

Can you believe it is Lent already?  Some of you may be asking, what is Lent?  Short version is: it’s the time of year we set intentions (give something up, take on a spiritual practice, etc.) to make us aware of our humanity and our human finitude.  For this reason, we begin the season on Ash Wednesday hearing the words “From dust you cam and to dust you will return,” or “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” It is an interesting season because as we are called to face our sinfulness, we are also reminded of our beloved-ness.  Two sides of the same human coin.  We are deeply loved by God and we are made painfully aware that we are not God, we fall short. Sometimes we can get stuck in that second part and become withdrawn, complacent, and static.  We see huge problems in  our world: violence, war, hatred, prejudice, poverty, hunger, etc. and we refuse to engage because we don’t know how. That’s why we chose Brené Brown’s book, Braving the Wilderness, for this season.  It’s a field guide for engaging the wilderness (a.k.a. our world) and it all starts with her quest for true belonging (which is a quest I think we can all relate to).  So just as Christians around the world are wrestling with the tension of beloved-ness and sinfulness, Brené gives us this beautiful little book on belonging and wilderness.  Listen in and see how those two tensions are inextricably woven together.