Perspectives: First Church San Diego Pastors Podcast

In this week’s podcast, Rev. Trudy and Rev. Hannah of First United Methodist Church of San Diego confront the hypocrisy of the church through the ages as they wrap up the conversation series: “What We Really Mean When We Talk About…”

They look to the Old Testament Book of Isaiah to see if today’s shifts in the church are new to modern culture, or if definition of worship and church have changed since the biblical times. (Spoiler alert: Our current moment in culture isn’t as unique as we may think from a church perspective!)

The conversation has a lot of twists and turns – looking back at the past – to inform and bring comfort to those who are seeking new ways to experience worship and church in our forever changing environment.

It’s a lot to consider, so we encourage you to engage in conversations with others as you dig deep to uncover your thoughts about church. You can do so through our in-person Convergence group or joining our online community at patreon.com/fumcsd.

Here are the discussion questions for this episode:

Our Patreon community is open to all – no matter where you align in your spiritual beliefs. It’s free to join and connect over the weekly episode questions. There is also an optional paid membership that unlocks additional content. Check it out at https://www.patreon.com/fumcsd!

Rev. Trudy and Rev. Brittany are back in the video studio for our digital Bible study to once again answer “What We Really Mean When We Talk About…” And this time they’re discussing their view on Scripture – stating that it’s not perfect but inspiring.

It’s part of our ongoing conversation series where the female pastors of First United Methodist Church of San Diego give their progressive theological viewpoint on different matters of faith.

While some Christians view the Bible as the literal, inerrant word of God, these women argue the scripture wasn’t written by holy revelations but humans, making it imperative to know what was going on during Biblical times to understand the intent as we define what we believe and know of God. During the podcast episode, they tackle:

The conversation is inspired by the Book of Job and offers a lot to consider, so we encourage you to engage with conversations with others as you dig deep to uncover your thoughts surrounding scripture. You can do so through our in-person Convergence group or joining our online community at patreon.com/fumcsd.

Here are the discussion questions for this episode:

Our Patreon community is open to all – no matter where you align in your spiritual beliefs. It’s free to join and connect over the weekly episode questions. There is also an optional paid membership that unlocks additional content. Check it out at https://www.patreon.com/fumcsd!

Rev. Trudy and Rev. Brittany are back in the video studio for our digital Bible study to once again answer “What We Really Mean When We Talk About…” And this time they’re discussing their view on Scripture – stating that it’s not perfect but inspiring.

It’s part of our ongoing conversation series where the female pastors of First United Methodist Church of San Diego give their progressive theological viewpoint on different matters of faith.

While some Christians view the Bible as the literal, inerrant word of God, these women argue the scripture wasn’t written by holy revelations but humans, making it imperative to know what was going on during Biblical times to understand the intent as we define what we believe and know of God. During the podcast episode, they tackle:

The conversation is inspired by the Book of Job and offers a lot to consider, so we encourage you to engage with conversations with others as you dig deep to uncover your thoughts surrounding scripture. You can do so through our in-person Convergence group or joining our online community at patreon.com/fumcsd.

Here are the discussion questions for this episode:

Our Patreon community is open to all – no matter where you align in your spiritual beliefs. It’s free to join and connect over the weekly episode questions. There is also an optional paid membership that unlocks additional content. Check it out at https://www.patreon.com/fumcsd!

What should faithful living look like for today’s Christian? That’s what First UMC of San Diego pastors Revs. Hannah Ka and Brittany Juliette Hanlin discuss in this episode of Perspectives FUMCSD Pastors Podcast.

The digital Bible study is part of an ongoing conversation of the pastors as they answer the question “What We Really Mean When We Talk About…” from their progressive theological lens.

Drawing from John 13:34-35 and the theological practices of the father of Methodism – John Wesley – the two females argue that it’s not enough to simply show up at church each week. As Christians, we need to apply Sunday learnings to our everyday living in how we show up in our relationship with God and those around us.

But is it really as simple as that sounds? Be sure to watch or listen to find out. Then continue the conversation with others through our in-person Convergence group or by joining our online community at patreon.com/fumcsd.

Here are the discussion questions for this episode:

Our Patreon community is open to all – no matter where you align in your spiritual beliefs. It’s free to join and connect over the weekly episode questions. There is also an optional paid membership that unlocks additional content. Check it out at https://www.patreon.com/fumcsd!

What should faithful living look like for today’s Christian? That’s what First UMC of San Diego pastors Revs. Hannah Ka and Brittany Juliette Hanlin discuss in this episode of Perspectives FUMCSD Pastors Podcast.

The digital Bible study is part of an ongoing conversation of the pastors as they answer the question “What We Really Mean When We Talk About…” from their progressive theological lens.

Drawing from John 13:34-35 and the theological practices of the father of Methodism – John Wesley – the two females argue that it’s not enough to simply show up at church each week. As Christians, we need to apply Sunday learnings to our everyday living in how we show up in our relationship with God and those around us.

But is it really as simple as that sounds? Be sure to watch or listen to find out. Then continue the conversation with others through our in-person Convergence group or by joining our online community at patreon.com/fumcsd.

Here are the discussion questions for this episode:

Our Patreon community is open to all – no matter where you align in your spiritual beliefs. It’s free to join and connect over the weekly episode questions. There is also an optional paid membership that unlocks additional content. Check it out at https://www.patreon.com/fumcsd!

In this episode, Revs. Trudy Robinson and Hannah Ka continue the series “What We Really Mean When We Talk About …”—this time wrestling with the question: Who is Jesus, really?

Drawing from Mark 9:38–40, where Jesus rebukes his disciples for excluding an outsider doing good in his name, they explore how Jesus’ life and ministry may have been far more inclusive than the exclusive claims often made by the institutional church.

Together, they wrestle with the tension between Jesus as a universal embodiment of God’s love and the narrow gate Christianity has sometimes turned him into.

It’s a thoughtful, sometimes challenging conversation about faith, identity, and what it means to follow Jesus in an interfaith and pluralistic world with a progressive understanding of theology.

Continue the dialogue with others through our in-person Convergence group or by joining our online community at patreon.com/fumcsd. Discussion questions for this episode:

Our Patreon community is open to all – no matter where you align in your spiritual beliefs. It’s free to join and connect over the weekly episode questions. There is also an optional paid membership that unlocks additional content. Check it out at https://www.patreon.com/fumcsd!

In this episode, Revs. Trudy Robinson and Hannah Ka continue the series “What We Really Mean When We Talk About …”—this time wrestling with the question: Who is Jesus, really?

Drawing from Mark 9:38–40, where Jesus rebukes his disciples for excluding an outsider doing good in his name, they explore how Jesus’ life and ministry may have been far more inclusive than the exclusive claims often made by the institutional church.

Together, they wrestle with the tension between Jesus as a universal embodiment of God’s love and the narrow gate Christianity has sometimes turned him into.

It’s a thoughtful, sometimes challenging conversation about faith, identity, and what it means to follow Jesus in an interfaith and pluralistic world with a progressive understanding of theology.

Continue the dialogue with others through our in-person Convergence group or by joining our online community at patreon.com/fumcsd. Discussion questions for this episode:

Our Patreon community is open to all – no matter where you align in your spiritual beliefs. It’s free to join and connect over the weekly episode questions. There is also an optional paid membership that unlocks additional content. Check it out at https://www.patreon.com/fumcsd!

Join Rev. Hannah and Rev. Brittany’s fresh conversation in our series: “What We Really Mean When We Talk About …” This time, the female pastors look back to Genesis 1:2 to discuss the Holy Spirit, which may surprise some Christians, as we often think about the Holy Spirit coming on the scene at Pentecost in the Book of Acts. But the two reverends of First UMC of San Diego argue God’s Spirit is shown throughout the Bible and has been around since the beginning of time.

Through this digital Bible study, the pastors talk about the Holy Spirit through a progressive theological lens in these ways:

It’s such a rich and interesting conversation but just starts to scratch the surface on everything that could be explored in relation to the Holy Spirit. So, we invite you to continue the conversation by our weekly in-person Convergence discussion group or heading over to our Patreon channel to discuss the following questions with others:

Our Patreon community is open to all – no matter where you align in your spiritual beliefs. It’s free to join and connect over the weekly episode questions. There is also an optional paid membership that unlocks additional content. Check it out at https://www.patreon.com/fumcsd!

Join Rev. Hannah and Rev. Brittany’s fresh conversation in our series: “What We Really Mean When We Talk About …” This time, the female pastors look back to Genesis 1:2 to discuss the Holy Spirit, which may surprise some Christians, as we often think about the Holy Spirit coming on the scene at Pentecost in the Book of Acts. But the two reverends of First UMC of San Diego argue God’s Spirit is shown throughout the Bible and has been around since the beginning of time.

Through this digital Bible study, the pastors talk about the Holy Spirit through a progressive theological lens in these ways:

It’s such a rich and interesting conversation but just starts to scratch the surface on everything that could be explored in relation to the Holy Spirit. So, we invite you to continue the conversation by our weekly in-person Convergence discussion group or heading over to our Patreon channel to discuss the following questions with others:

Our Patreon community is open to all – no matter where you align in your spiritual beliefs. It’s free to join and connect over the weekly episode questions. There is also an optional paid membership that unlocks additional content. Check it out at https://www.patreon.com/fumcsd!

Join Rev. Trudy and Rev. Brittany as they kick off Season 3 with a fresh conversation series: “What We Really Mean When We Talk About …” Each week, the female pastors of First UMC of San Diego will be looking at different aspects of the Christian faith and breaking it down using a progressive theological lens.

For this first conversation, they’re talking about the image of God, suggesting that instead of using the label “omnipotent” it would be more accurate to use the label “empowering”. It’s an interesting topic that uncovers the real challenge of describing God due to our personal biases, cultures, and language. They muse that humans tend to label and mislabel God in a way that boxes God in and diminishes its full complexity.

As they move through the conversation, they discuss the various labels and images of God that irk them, talk about how they experience and see God, and end with the question of: What understanding of God is needed for the future?

It’s a rich, complex topic that has so much to explore. We invite you to continue the conversation by our weekly in-person Convergence discussion group or heading over to our Patreon channel to discuss the following questions with others:

Our Patreon community is open to all – no matter where you align in your spiritual beliefs. It’s free to join and connect over the weekly episode questions. There is also an optional paid membership that unlocks additional content. Check it out at https://www.patreon.com/fumcsd!