Saving Faith with Eric Sentell of the Backyard Church Blog

In this episode, Trinity's small groups coordinator, Jessica Sentell, discusses Compassion Sunday and Trinity's effort to sponsor three girls in the developing world.

Visit www.compassionforthem.com/K5HsX to learn about one of these girls and sponsor her.

We've posted this link on the church's social media. Connect with us at Facebook.com/UMCTrinity or @sharegrowserve on Twitter.

Religions "nones" are the fastest-growing "denomination" in America. Eric interviews a colleague and friend who identifies as a "none" about her faith journey, beliefs, and advice.

Eric explores how Christians might respond to doubts -- in themselves and in others -- with love and compassion. Christians can emphasize the diversity of church tradition and present different belief options. Smart, devout people have investigated questions of faith for millennia and arrived at different ideas and opinions that nurtured their relationships with God. Why should modern people be any different? (Go back and listen to "Creating Space for Doubt" if you haven't already listened to it.)

Eric shares some thoughts about how to create space for doubt -- both inside and outside the church -- by listening, empathizing, and loving well. He offers examples of loving and unloving listening and advocates emphasizing the "bigness" of God.

The hit NBC sitcom, "The Good Place," illustrates the tension in Christianity between grace and good works and points the way toward resolving it. Eric weaves lots of scriptures from Jesus and Paul into a discussion of the show's themes. No spoilers!

https://www.nbc.com/the-good-place

Callum Reavey, a local of Piedmont, MO, doesn't carry a gun to the pulpit, but he will preach wherever he's invited. A dynamic speaker, he is a hospice chaplain serving the southeast Missouri region. Callum and Eric chat about his faith journey, his passion for Christ, and his advice for spiritual formation.

Connect with Callum on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/callum.reavey

Watch Callum's sermons on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtiduMzyQjBRVMFqZ8e_arw

What makes Christianity unique, special, or worth considering? It's not what you likely think.

That God chose his people? Nope.

That God became human? Wrong.

That God, as Jesus, died? Strike three.

That we can have a personal relationship with God? Close, but no.

What makes Christianity unique, special, and worth considering is how it began with the most shameful death imaginable, spread with women eyewitnesses, and reversed the sacrificial system.

In this episode, Eric speaks with Ryan Burge, a Baptist pastor and a political scientist at Eastern Illinois University, about his recently released book, "The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going." Ryan helps us define and understand the "nones" and how people of faith can reach out to them in authentic relationships.

Get the book here:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08L9TMLTK/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Check out Ryan's work at RyanBurge.net and ReligionInPublic.blog

Follow Ryan on Twitter @ryanburge and Religion in Public on Twitter @Religion_Public

Eric records a review of The Great Sex Rescue: The Lies You've Been Taught and How to Recover What God Intended by Sheila Gregoire, Rebecca Lindenbach, and Joanna Sawatsky.

The narratives about sex you've heard and been taught are wrong. The Great Sex Rescue offers healthy, healing narratives.

When Sheila Wray Gregoire, her daughter Rebecca Gregoire Lindenbach, and epidemiologist Joanna Sawatsky surveyed more than 20,000 Christian women about their sex lives, marriages, and beliefs about sex and marriage, the To Love, Honor, and Vacuum bloggers never imagined what they’d uncover: that the most popular Christian resources and teachings on bettering sex and marriages were doing more harm than good.

In their new research-based book, The Great Sex Rescue: The Lies You’ve Been Taught and How to Recover What God Intended, Gregoire, Lindenbach and Sawatsky dig into the data—existing research on evangelicalism and sexuality, their extensive survey and focus groups, and the 15 most popular Christian resources on sex and marriage—to help women discover what beliefs are holding their sex lives hostage, and provide them with the roadmap to experiencing amazing, mind-blowing, great sex.

This interview features Joanna Sawatsky. The book, "The Great Sex Rescue," is available anywhere books are sold, including tolovehonorandvacuum.com/