The Alabaster Jar

On this episode of The Alabaster Jar, Dr. Lynn Cohick and Kelly Dippolito talk with Melissa Pillman, a Pastor and Elder at Missio Dei Wrigleyville in Chicago. They discuss Melissa’s experiences as a female pastor, her journey toward embracing her role, and the importance of being recognized as a pastor within her church.

The conversation also delves into the church’s involvement in supporting asylum seekers in Chicago, their collaboration with other churches, and the challenges they face in finding adequate funding and support for their efforts.

Episode Breakdown:

0:03 – Pastoral roles and identity
5:17 – Naming and recognizing spiritual gifts and serving the immigrant community
9:46 – Housing asylum seekers in a Chicago church
15:13 – Using churches as sanctuaries for immigrants
20:10 – Church support for immigrant families
24:55 – Church identity and response to crisis
30:12 – Recognizing and cultivating spiritual gifts in pastors and their communities

Episode Resources:

Missio Dei Wrigleyville

The Letter to the Ephesians (New International Commentary on the New Testament (NICNT)) by Dr. Lynn H. Cohick

World Relief

Faith Community Initiative

Episode Sponsor:

The Alabaster Jar is brought to you by The Center for Women in Leadership, a newly formed 501©3 nonprofit organization whose purpose is to equip women in a context that is biblically rooted, theologically robust, and ethnically diverse to thrive as leaders in the academy and the Church. Follow them on Instagram @leadershipwithoutapology.

On this episode of The Alabaster Jar, Dr. Scot McKnight joins Dr. Lynn Cohick, Kelly Dippolito, and Sareen Musselman to discuss women and ministry, toxic church culture, and strategies for transforming toxic patterns into healthy cultures in churches. The conversation focuses on defining tov (Hebrew word for “goodness”) as rooted in ordinary life and how it can manifest in church culture.

The episode delves into the traits of a narcissistic leader, introduces strategies for transforming toxic church patterns, and emphasizes the importance of centering empathy, truth-telling, and theology.

Episode Breakdown:

0:00 - Goodness in church culture and ordinary life
4:25 - Narcissistic leadership in churches
9:36 - Leadership and organizational culture in a church setting
14:25 - Assessing toxicities in churches and institutions
19:23 - Church culture and ownership
25:25 - Toxic culture in churches and seminaries
30:13 - Gender roles in Christianity and Jesus' treatment of women

Episode Resources:

A Church Called Tov: Forming a Goodness Culture That Resists Abuses of Power and Promotes Healing by Dr. Scot McKnight

Pivot: The Priorities, Practices, and Powers That Can Transform Your Church into a Tov Culture by Dr. Scot McKnight

Organizational Culture and Leadership by Edgar H. Schein & Peter Schein

Episode Sponsor:

The Alabaster Jar is brought to you by The Center for Women in Leadership, a newly formed 501©3 nonprofit organization whose purpose is to equip women in a context that is biblically rooted, theologically robust, and ethnically diverse to thrive as leaders in the academy and the Church. Follow them on Instagram @leadershipwithoutapology.

In this special podcast episode, we brought together three professors from Northern Seminary to talk about the recent Gospel Coalition article by Josh Butler. Dr. Beth Felker Jones has written a book called Faithful: A Theology of Sex and as a systematic theologian, she is able to help us understand human sexuality from a theological perspective. Beth recently wrote a piece on her Substack that gave us eight reasons why Butler's piece was bad theology. Dr. Lynn Cohick is a New Testament scholar and has written a commentary on Ephesians. She is well-suited to address the Ephesians 5 text Butler's article was based upon. Dr. Scot McKnight has written extensively about the culture of the church in his book, A Church Called Tov, which looks closely at themes of abuse. Scot recently responded in his own Substack to Butler's article by giving three considerations about the culture that produced it. Content Warning: Please be aware that Butler's article included graphic descriptions of sex and some of the conversation in this podcast will include some frank conversation about sex, reference intimate partner violence, and refer to some theology which is very bad for women.

Sue Diaz, a research librarian and Northern Seminary student, joins us to discuss her research into the life, death and legacy of Saint Cecilia. She shares her recent experience visiting Italy and contributing to the development of a visual museum of ancient artistic depictions of women in partnership with the Center for Women in Leadership. A research librarian by profession, she spent thirty years chasing information and pursuing data in academic and corporate settings. She followed God’s call to attend Northern Seminary in 2019 to prepare for ministry in the afternoon of life. Sue resides in Edwardsville, Illinois, with her husband Jon; their daughter Alicia studies engineering at a university in Arizona. Purchase "The Incorruptibles: A Study of the Incorruption of the Bodies of Various Catholic Saints and Beati" by Joan Carol Cruz: https://www.amazon.com/Incorruptibles-Incorruption-Bodies-Various-Catholic/dp/0895550660

Dr. Beth Felker Jones returns to the Alabaster Jar to discuss the legacy of Saint Julian of Norwich and her impact on developing our theology for today. We discuss practices for engaging scripture in our individual contexts in anticipation of the second edition release of her book Practicing Christian Doctrine. Find Beth online at her newsletter, church blogmatics https://bethfelkerjones.substack.com/

Old Testament scholar and professor, Dr. Libby Backfish, joins Lynn and Sareen for a conversation about the Psalms and engaging the ancient languages. We explore how the Psalms invite us to worship God and experience the beauty of God's creation. Join us for a robust discussion on textual criticism, the significance of the Septuagint, the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies through Jesus and women of the Old Testament. Learn more about Libby: https://jessup.edu/about/faculty/elizabeth-h-p-backfish-ph-d/ Link to purchase Libby's book: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/hebrew-wordplay-and-septuagint-translation-technique-in-the-fourth-book-of-the-psalter-9780567687111/

Dr. Miriam O'Regan returns to the podcast to discuss her research into the influence of St Brigid in the history of the church in Ireland. She describes examples of St. Brigid's compassion, hospitality and commitment to sharing her faith that serve to inspire our own faith today. We discuss St. Brigid as pioneering monastery founder and an example of the generations of strong women of faith and action in Ireland. Dr. Miriam O'Regan, worshipper and lover of God, holds a doctorate in the field of early years education. She has also been part of church planting teams in Ireland and Europe, serving in Paris, France; Delft, the Netherlands; and Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland. She currently serves on the Core Team of Redcross Church of Ireland, Co. Wicklow. She is keenly interested in the early church in Ireland and Celtic Christianity. Keep up with Miriam on Twitter at @DrMiriamORegan1

The Bible is full of the stories of the often messy and complex people who encounter God and experience grace. Dr. Carol Kaminski joins Dr. Lynn Cohick for a discussion on reading the Old Testament scriptures as part of the larger narrative of God and his people. A seminary professor and author of numerous Bible studies, Carol shares her passion to help people understand the redemptive story of the Bible and to equip church leaders to teach the Bible. Explore the Old Testament resources available at https://www.casketempty.com/

Even though ministry is riddled with challenges and filled with difficulty, Mark and Tara Beth share their stories of finding hope in ministry. The Pastor's Table helps you embrace your ministry as a gift!In the 1st episode, Mark and Tara Beth talk about their journeys in ministry and why pastors need to gather and discuss the importance of theological integrity! Check out Dr. Mark Quanstrom’s new course on Seminary Now: Pastoral Ministry: Calling and Resilience. SeminaryNow.com is a streaming video platform with short courses from leading authors and professors. The Pastor’s Table listeners can get 25% off full access to the courses by using the code TPT. Theme song for The Pastor’s Table is Radiant by eleven eleven worship. LISTEN NOW on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your music.

The Old Testament teachings come alive in our conversation with Sandy Richter through her understanding of the ancient social and theological worlds. Decades of teaching experience bring her knowledge and scholarship to bear in the life of the church. Sandy invites us to connect the themes of the Old and New Testaments and rediscover the story of God dwelling amongst his people. She shares how scripture helps us develop a Biblical understanding of what it means to love God and be stewards of creation. Learn more about Sandy's work and purchase her books and studies here. Stream Sandy's course on Seminary Now here. Alabaster Jar listeners receive 30% off an individual subscription (monthly or annual) with code AJ30.