space for faith with mike goldsworthy

We’re getting close to the end of our time in the Divine Conspiracy and joining us today in one of the final chapters is Justin Morgan. Justin is the pastor of Church on Morgan (which is not named after him…which we talk about in the episode). One of the reasons we wanted to have Justin on for this specific chapter is because Willard lays out some of the vision that Justin grabbed ahold of when he first started Church on Morgan, but that he would eventually find not fully adequate for the work that they were doing. He thoughtfully engages with both an appreciation for Willard and The Divine Conspiracy, but also offers critique based on what he experienced in his church. This conversation was a gift. 

Church on Morgan’s Website

Church on Morgan on the Instagram

The Divine Conspiracy - Book

Audiobook for the Divine Conspiracy on Spotify

The Divine Conspiracy Project Info and Reading Plan

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To help support Mike and his work, which includes this podcast, as well as his ability to offer discounted coaching, consulting and preaching to churches, you can make tax-deductible donations to:

John Ortberg joins us on the podcast today as we continue on in the Divine Conspiracy Project, looking at Chapter 8 of the book. John is a pastor, author, and speaker. He’s been in ministry for over 40 years and teaches around a central theme of spiritual formation. John is a deep believer that the main thing God gets out of your life is the person you become. He desires for people to know God in an interactive, life- transforming way. Presently, John leads the ministry, Become New, focused on leveraging online technology for life change and spiritual community. Dallas Willard was a mentor to John and John would lovingly refer to some of the books that he authored as “Dallas for Dummies”. 

We talk about Jesus’ narrow way as a way of life, God’s desire for you to become the kind of person that God can set loose in the universe to do what you want to do, the interaction between behavior and belief, our mental maps, faith in Jesus and the faith of Jesus, and all kinds of tangents along the way.

Find John at Become New

John’s books on Amazon

The Divine Conspiracy - Book

Audiobook for the Divine Conspiracy on Spotify

The Divine Conspiracy Project Info and Reading Plan

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To help support Mike and his work, which includes this podcast, as well as his ability to offer discounted coaching, consulting and preaching to churches, you can make tax-deductible donations to:

Jeremy Jernigan joins us on the podcast this week to discuss Chapter 7 of The Divine Conspiracy as we continue in The Divine Conspiracy Project. Jeremy is the founder of Communion Wine Co, he leads the Cabernet and Pray podcast, and is known as “The Wine Pastor”. 

Jeremy and I talk about a wide array of topics that this chapter brought up for us - dealing with contempt, prayer, Open Theism and how all of that relates as our faith grows and shifts and changes. 

You can find Jeremy at:

His website

Cabernet and Pray Podcast

Instagram

The Divine Conspiracy - Book

Audiobook for the Divine Conspiracy on Spotify

The Divine Conspiracy Project Info and Reading Plan

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To help support Mike and his work, which includes this podcast, as well as his ability to offer discounted coaching, consulting and preaching to churches, you can make tax-deductible donations to:

Steve Carter- The Divine Conspiracy Ch 6 (071)

Steve Carter joins us on the podcast again today. Steve is the best selling author of the book, The Thing Beneath the Thing, he hosts a podcast about the intersection of the craft of preaching and who we are becoming called Craft and Character, he’s a coach to communicators, and is a Teaching Pastor at Forest City Church. 

Steve and I first talk briefly about his newest book, Grieve, Breathe, Receive. We then talk about the sixth chapter of The Divine Conspiracy where we tackle how he stalked Dallas during college, our shadow sides and false selves, being honest about our motivations, intentional spiritual disciplines that we engage in, making decisions from trust rather than fear, and not bypassing the wilderness. Steve gives us a gift in our conversation today. 

Steve’s Website

Grieve, Breathe, Receive - Steve’s Newest Book

Steve on Instagram

Craft and Character Podcast

The Divine Conspiracy - Book

Audiobook for the Divine Conspiracy on Spotify

The Divine Conspiracy Project Info and Reading Plan

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To help support Mike and his work, which includes this podcast, as well as his ability to offer discounted coaching, consulting and preaching to churches, you can make tax-deductible donations to:

Michael Hidalgo- The Divine Conspiracy Ch 5 (070)

Michael Hidalgo joins us today to continue in our discussion on The Divine Conspiracy. Michael is  the Lead Pastor of Denver Community Church, the author of Unlost: Being Found by the One We Are Looking For and Changing Faith: Questions, Doubts and Choices About the Unchanging God, the host of “The Changing Faith Podcast”, a speaker, retreat leader and an associate with GiANT London. He lives with his wife and children in Denver, Colorado.

Michael and I tackle the longest chapter in The Divine Conspiracy with a conversation ranging from inner transformation that begins with an embrace of being loved, spiral dynamics, and the concreteness of community.

Michael’s Website

Michael’s Instagram

Denver Community Church

The Divine Conspiracy - Book

Audiobook for the Divine Conspiracy on Spotify

The Divine Conspiracy Project Info and Reading Plan

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To help support Mike and his work, which includes this podcast, as well as his ability to offer discounted coaching, consulting and preaching to churches, you can make tax-deductible donations to:

Jason Miller joins us on the podcast again, this time to talk about Chapter 5 of the Divine Conspiracy, where Willard (and Jason) unpack the Beatitudes for us. Jason is a pastor who never quite felt at home in church, an artist who figured out the sermon is his song, and a teacher who still has some questions. he studied theology in the graduate school at the University of Notre Dame, and follows Jesus with the people of South Bend City Church, an eclectic Christian community known for its thoughtful teaching, inclusive vision, and commitment to its city context.

Jason and I talk about the way that Willard opened the door for us to see a better way of engaging with the Beatitudes, where Jason’s own study and work has led him to make sense of these same opening words of Jesus in his sermon and he gives us a soap box about the way we’re misreading Luke 4. Jason always gives us so much to think about and today’s episode is no different. 

jasonadammiller.com

When the World Breaks…Jason’s newest book

Jason on Instagram

South Bend City Church Sermons

The Divine Conspiracy - Book

Audiobook for the Divine Conspiracy on Spotify

The Divine Conspiracy Project Info and Reading Plan

------------------

To help support Mike and his work, which includes this podcast, as well as his ability to offer discounted coaching, consulting and preaching to churches, you can make tax-deductible donations to:

Jason Miller joins us on the podcast again, this time to talk about Chapter 5 of the Divine Conspiracy, where Willard (and Jason) unpack the Beatitudes for us. Jason is a pastor who never quite felt at home in church, an artist who figured out the sermon is his song, and a teacher who still has some questions. he studied theology in the graduate school at the University of Notre Dame, and follows Jesus with the people of South Bend City Church, an eclectic Christian community known for its thoughtful teaching, inclusive vision, and commitment to its city context.

Jason and I talk about the way that Willard opened the door for us to see a better way of engaging with the Beatitudes, where Jason’s own study and work has led him to make sense of these same opening words of Jesus in his sermon and he gives us a soap box about the way we’re misreading Luke 4. Jason always gives us so much to think about and today’s episode is no different. 

jasonadammiller.com

When the World Breaks…Jason’s newest book

Jason on Instagram

South Bend City Church Sermons

The Divine Conspiracy - Book

Audiobook for the Divine Conspiracy on Spotify

The Divine Conspiracy Project Info and Reading Plan

------------------

To help support Mike and his work, which includes this podcast, as well as his ability to offer discounted coaching, consulting and preaching to churches, you can make tax-deductible donations to:

Aaron Niequist is a liturgist, writer, and pastor currently living in New York City. He is the creator of A New Liturgy, founder of Pastors, Priests and Guides and the author of The Eternal Current. 

Aaron and I shared together in his first earthquake, which hit New York while recording this podcast. But we also talk about understanding God’s presence and space and how we open ourselves up with new eyes to recognize its implications around us, and experiencing the reality of the way the world actually works. 

Pastors, Priests and Guides Retreats

Aaron’s Book - The Eternal Current

Aaron on IG

The Divine Conspiracy - Book

Audiobook for the Divine Conspiracy on Spotify

The Divine Conspiracy Project Info and Reading Plan

------------------

To help support Mike and his work, which includes this podcast, as well as his ability to offer discounted coaching, consulting, and preaching to churches, you can make tax-deductible donations to:

Brian Zahnd joins us again on the podcast to engage in the third chapter of the Divine Conspiracy. Brian is the founder and lead pastor of Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, Missouri. He’s also a pastor-theologian who has authored eleven books, including most recently The Wood Between the Worlds.

BZ and I briefly talk about his new book, the unique story of how he first came across The Divine Conspiracy and the significant shifts it brought about in his own life, salvation as something other than a transaction that what happens to you after you die, moving beyond altar calls, how “Christianity without transcendence denigrates into politics”, and some of what they have created in recent years at Word of Life Church. 

Brian’s website

Word of Life Church 

The Wood Between the Worlds

BZ’s Instagram

The Divine Conspiracy - Book

Audiobook for the Divine Conspiracy on Spotify

The Divine Conspiracy Project Info and Reading Plan

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To help support Mike and his work, which includes this podcast, as well as his ability to offer discounted coaching, consulting and preaching to churches, you can make tax-deductible donations to:

Sean Palmer joins us today to delve into the first chapter of The Divine Conspiracy. Sean is an enneagram theorist, a preacher and a pastor, a speaking coach and author. He’s currently the Teaching Pastor at Ecclesia Houston, and most recently is the author of Speaking by the Numbers. 

Sean and I talk about how the Divine Conspiracy helped to give Jesus as fresh hearing for those like us who had presumed familiarity that led to unfamiliarity. We talk about what it means to do life with God, what a kingdom is, and how this changed and shaped our view of the work Jesus was about, and we even threw in a bit of quick baseball talk. 

Sean’s Website

Sean’s Substack

The Divine Conspiracy - Book

Audiobook for the Divine Conspiracy on Spotify

The Divine Conspiracy Project Info and Reading Plan

Becoming Dallas Willard by Gary Moon

The Theology of Dallas Willard by Gary Black

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To help support Mike and his work, which includes this podcast, as well as his ability to offer discounted coaching, consulting and preaching to churches, you can make tax-deductible donations to: