The #AskSteveAustin Podcast

In Episode 78 of the #AskSteveAustin Podcast, Steve Austin talks with Brad Polley, co-host of the Inglorious Pasterds Podcast. In this episode, we talk about the Beatitudes, the meaning of “righteousness”, and spanking the monkey.

Alternate Titles:

The Beatitudes and Masturbation

Spanking the Monkey with Brad Polley

The REAL Reason Paul went Blind

The Beatitudes: Who Cares?

Show Notes:

I don’t think Joel Osteen preaches on this very often.

What’s about to come after this is completely upside down and backward. Nothing about this is how society works.

Blessed are the poor in spirit? Blessed are those who mourn? The modern church doesn’t believe any of this.

“There’s more opportunity for God when you’re at the end of your rope.” What are you even talking about?

The Kingdom of God is a completely upside down reality. The path of Jesus is the path of downward mobility.

Grace is a level playing field, whether you like it or not.

“Grace isn’t opposed to hard work, but it is opposed to earning.” Dallas Willard

You can’t buy or earn your way into God’s Kingdom.

When you’re poor, you don’t have much to defend.

When you’re mourning or meek or a peacemaker, you aren’t trying to defend things.

We mentally ascent to these words, but we keep them at arm’s length.

What does “righteousness” mean? I think Jesus is talking about an inner posture.

If you deal with the internal life, the external life will take care of itself.

Prohibition just increases the temptation.

When righteousness is your posture, everything else takes care of itself.

“To the extent that you live in fear, that is the extent to which you don’t know that you are loved.” -Paul Young

Sometimes hungering and thirsting for righteousness might be calling the therapist.

IngloriousPasterds.com

Music by: Act of Congress

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Welcome to episode 77 of the #AskSteveAustin podcast with Steve Austin, featuring Rev. Liz Edman. In this episode, we'll be talking about The Beatitudes, Scandal, and the Queerness of God. The Reverend Liz Edman is a New Yorker, by way of Arkansas. She's a political strategist, Episcopal Priest, and author of Queer Virtue: What LGBTQ People Know About Life and Love and How It Can Revitalize Christianity.

Show notes:

Sojourners Article on Queer Eye

Matthew 5

Steve Austin's article, "When You Feel Ashamed, Remember this 1 Thing"

Connect with Steve:

Leave an iTunes review

Buy Steve’s books

Subscribe to the blog

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Episode 76 of the #AskSteveAustin Podcast with Steve Austin continues the Sermon on the Mount Summer series, with an interview with Steve's friend and pastor, Arthur Harrison. In this episode, the guys discuss the problem with arrogant (showy) religion. The Biblical text featured in this episode is from Matthew 6:1-18.

Show notes:

Pre-order Catching Your Breath on Amazon (only .99 cents til 8/13 at 10 pm CST)

Music by: BenSound

Visit Restore Alabaster during August and September 2018 for a series on self-care and suicide prevention.

Connect with Steve:

Leave an iTunes review

Buy Steve's books

Subscribe to the blog

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

About Arthur:

Rev. Arthur Harrison is a father and a husband before he is anything else. It is his highest and favorite calling in life. In his other time, he is the executive pastor at Alabaster First United Methodist. Before serving in Alabaster, he served congregations in Pell City, AL; Front Royal, VA; and Huntsville, AL. in youth ministry, children’s ministry, and pastoral ministry. He has a Masters of Divinity Degree from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. and a Bachelors of Arts in History from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. In addition to local church ministry, Arthur previously served as a chaplain intern for UAB University Hospital, currently serves as a chaplain with the United States Army Reserve, and is in the process of completing his certification to serve as a law enforcement chaplain with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department.

In Episode 75 of the #AskSteveAustin Podcast, Steve Austin talks with Paul Young about having the grace we need for today. Paul is the author of The Shack, Crossroads, Eve, and Lies we Believe about God. This continues our Summer series on The Sermon on the Mount.

If you'd like to support this podcast and my writing, speaking, and suicide prevention work, click here to join the Catching Your Breath Community!

*Listen to all episodes of the Sermon on the Mount series. Click here.

Tweetable Moments:

Being invited into someone else's story is the kiss of grace.

Marriage would be so much easier if there weren't another person involved.

Worry is not a fruit of the spirit.

When you deal with fear, you can either trust or control.

In a world where you can't trust God, it seems that money is a really good option.

Money doesn't give a damn about you.

This is the day. You get grace for one day. You don't get grace for something that doesn't exist yet.

The opposite of more is enough.

To the degree that fear controls you, that is the degree to which you don't know that you are love.

We have to grow up and become a child.

Freedom will always feel irresponsible, especially if you've carried the weight of the world on your shoulders.

Show Notes:

Matthew 6:24-34

Listen to Chapter 1 of Catching Your Breath

Read Chapter 1 of Catching Your Breath

Pre-order Catching Your Breath

Other Episodes Featuring Paul Young:

The Journey to Wholeness in a Time of Polarization (also feat. Ed Bacon)

The Heart of Man

Looking for God in the Darkness

The Shack & Lies We Believe about God (Part 1 - CXMH Podcast)

The Shack & Lies We Believe about God (Part 2 - CXMH Podcast)

My first interview with Paul (2011).

Episode 74 of the #AskSteveAustin Podcast is a bonus episode! This episode features Steve Austin, reading Chapter 1 of his brand-new book, Catching Your Breath: The Sacred Journey from Chaos to Calm. The book is available for pre-order now on Amazon, in both e-book and paperback format. Click here to order yours today!

 

Endorsements:

"In Catching Your Breath, Steve offers himself as a companion to those who feel like they are drowning, not as a lifeguard but as a coach saying ‘Hey. You can swim!’” — Andre Henry, Managing Editor, RELEVANT Magazine

"...uncomfortably honest, remarkably compassionate, and beautifully rough around the edges. Thank you for your friendship, Steve. And thank you for this book. Page after page you reminded me that ‘It is finished.’”— Tullian Tchividjian, author of One-Way Love: Inexhaustible Grace for an Exhausted World and Jesus + Nothing = Everything

"As I was reading Catching Your Breath, I was convinced that Steve had been reading my mind. Thankfully, he had just the words I needed to hear. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.”— Michael Baysinger, host of The Inglorious Pasterds Podcast

Tweetable moments:

I’m not here to argue sacred vs. secular or Sunday vs. Monday. I’m less concerned with a need for theological rightness and far more passionate about kindness.

In the midst of a sometimes-chaotic life, it’s normal to feel breathless.

The harsh reality is this: sometimes, even good eggs crack. In those moments, friends and loved ones get the chance to pad the carton with an extra layer of love.

Beneath all the different things we think we need permission for, I believe what we need is permission to be ourselves. Permission to belong, just as we are.

Show notes:

Pre-order Catching Your Breath Today (click here)

Read Chapter 1 at iamsteveaustin.com (click here)

Music in today's episode by BenSound

Welcome to Episode 73 of the #AskSteveAustin Podcast with Steve Austin, featuring Jon Scott. This Summer, we’re talking through The Sermon on the Mount, and in today's conversation, we talk about peacemaking. Jon Scott is the host of the Holy Heretics Podcast and lead minister at Unity of Chattanooga.

*Listen to all episodes of the Sermon on the Mount series. Click here.

Tweetable Moments:

Humans want love before we even want food and drink.

I want to be the guy who is drawing the bigger circle.

I'd rather have the Peace of God than to have my piece of God.

Peace is only possible if I believe it is.

I believe peace comes from us, not to us.

Instead of praying for peace, we should be living from it.

Don't dispel the other, merge them.

Social media is a perfect experiment for radical peace.

Call out the bullshit without shitting on other people.

If you're going to preach peace, you can't do it with a sword in one hand and a gun in the other.

Peace calls me to a place where I learn that I don't have enemies. I live in a world where I have friends.

You create the world from the inside out.

Show Notes:

Listen to the Holy Heretics Podcast

Join the Catching Your Breath Community! 3 days free – only $4.99/month after that!

Get a free copy of “From Pastor to a Psych Ward” (sign up here)

Interested in life coaching with Steve Austin? Details here.

Buy Steve Austin’s books.

Submit a guest blog post for iAmSteveAustin.com (details here).

Join the launch team for Steve Austin’s upcoming book, Catching Your Breath.

Welcome to Episode 72 of the #AskSteveAustin Podcast with Steve Austin, featuring Ryan Brown. This Summer, we're talking through The Sermon on the Mount, and today's conversation dives deep on the topic of divorce. Ryan is an Enneagram 2 and a child of divorced parents, with lots of wisdom to share.

*Listen to all episodes of the Sermon on the Mount series. Click here.

Show notes:

These two verses are all about reconciliation.

Divorce brought shame on the family and was viewed as the woman's fault. But Jesus turns this perspective on its head.

Jesus was telling men to take better care of their families.

Jesus was telling women they were never created to be a possession.

Be careful to compromise the commandments of God, and be aware of when your hardened hearts are twisting the scriptures to something they are not.

Marriage is a mature decision that shouldn't be entered into lightly.

Divorce is a mature decision that shouldn't be entered into lightly.

We can't be so quick to abandon our tribe.

Sarah Robinson's Blog on "Love that Chooses"

Allison Armstrong, founder of PAX

Listen to the Mission Podcast

Follow Ryan Brown's blog

Follow Steve Austin's blog

Buy Steve Austin's books

Join the Catching Your Breath Community! 3 days free – only $4.99/month after that!

Get a free copy of “From Pastor to a Psych Ward” (sign up here)

Interested in life coaching with Steve Austin? Details here.

Buy Steve Austin’s books.

Submit a guest blog post for iAmSteveAustin.com (details here).

Join the launch team for Steve Austin’s upcoming book, Catching Your Breath.

About Ryan:

Ryan C. Brown is a passionate community organizer specializing in community relations, curriculum development, and event programming within the greater Los Angeles area. Ryan has a strong passion for Social Justice and culture initiatives and serves as a Community Advocate through panel discussions, community events, public awareness campaigns, and resource coordination on topics such as: racial inequality, environmental challenges, and community collaboration. Ryan is also motivated to mentor and develop youth by encouraging creative problem-solving techniques and strategies and frequently volunteers his time speaking in classrooms and in small groups throughout Los Angeles. He currently serves as the host for The Mission Podcast, a monthly, faith-based, social justice conversation and also writes for his personal blog, rcspeaksla.com.

Connect with Ryan online:

Blog: www.rcspeaksla.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/rcspeaksla

Twitter: www.twitter.com/rc_speaksla

Instagram: www.instagram.com/rc_speaksla/

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ryancharlesbrown/

Welcome to Episode 71 of the #AskSteveAustin Podcast with Steve Austin, featuring Teer Hardy. This is the 2nd episode of our Summer series on the Sermon on the Mount. Teer is a family man, pastor, co-host of the Crackers and Grape Juice Podcast, and just recently published a book, I Like Big Buts with a couple of his podcasting friends.

Don’t forget! I’m giving away a copy of I Like Big Buts this week on the interwebs. All you have to do for a chance to win a free copy of I Like Big Buts is follow me at twitter.com/iamsteveaustin and retweet the pinned post at the top of the page.

Tweetable Moments by Teer:

Judgment is a trap. We think it's about sin and judgment, but we're really just setting ourselves up.

Just like in the days of feasts and sacrifices, we're not letting God's forgiveness, wash over us like the waters of our baptism did, and cleanse us.

Forgiveness is not a right we have, but a gift to us that transforms the way we view our whole lives.

Forgiveness is the crux of the whole Gospel. Without that, Jesus is just a nice guy doing some cool stuff.

Christ invites you to shed the labels and the things that we've done wrong and step into this new life in Christ.

"Love the sinner, hate the sin..." is not in the Bible.

 

Scripture References:

"The religion scholars and Pharisees led in a woman who had been caught in an act of adultery. They stood her in plain sight of everyone and said, “Teacher, this woman was caught red-handed in the act of adultery. Moses, in the Law, gives orders to stone such persons. What do you say?” They were trying to trap him into saying something incriminating so they could bring charges against him.Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger in the dirt. They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, “The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone.” Bending down again, he wrote some more in the dirt.

9-10 Hearing that, they walked away, one after another, beginning with the oldest. The woman was left alone. Jesus stood up and spoke to her. “Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?”

11 “No one, Master.”

“Neither do I,” said Jesus. “Go on your way. From now on, don’t sin.” (The Message, John 8:37)

“Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.“Don’t be flip with the sacred. Banter and silliness give no honor to God. Don’t reduce holy mysteries to slogans. In trying to be relevant, you’re only being cute and inviting sacrilege. (The Message, Matthew 7:1-6)

Show notes:

Purchase I Like Big Buts

Subscribe to Crackers and Grape Juice

Follow Teer's blog

Join the Catching Your Breath Community! 3 days free – only $4.99/month after that!

Get a free copy of “From Pastor to a Psych Ward” (sign up here)

Interested in life coaching with Steve Austin? Details here.

Buy Steve Austin’s books.

Submit a guest blog post for iAmSteveAustin.com (details here).

Join the launch team for Steve Austin’s upcoming book, Catching Your Breath.

Welcome to Episode 70 of the #AskSteveAustin Podcast with Steve Austin, featuring frequent guest of the show, Rev. Ed Bacon. This episode launches our Summer Series on The Sermon on the Mount. For the next several weeks, Steve will be interviewing pastors, teachers, and friends on selected verses from the Matthew, chapters 5-7. Today, Steve asks Ed three big questions:

What does it mean to love our enemies?

What is the difference between "Jesus" and "Christ"?

What does it mean to come into Christ consciousness?

*Listen to all episodes of the Sermon on the Mount series. Click here.

Show notes:

Follow Ed's sign (and sign up for his newsletter)!

Purchase Ed's book, 8 Habits of Love.

Join the Catching Your Breath Community! 3 days free – only $4.99/month after that!

Get a free copy of “From Pastor to a Psych Ward” (sign up here)

Interested in life coaching with Steve Austin? Details here.

Buy Steve Austin’s books.

Submit a guest blog post for iAmSteveAustin.com (details here).

Join the launch team for Steve Austin’s upcoming book, Catching Your Breath.

Other episodes featuring Rev. Ed Bacon:

The Night Rev. Ed Bacon Nearly Died by Suicide

The Journey to Wholeness in a Time of Polarization (also feat. Paul Young)

The Miracle and the Mystery of Christmas

Forgiveness is the Death of Ego

Faith that Heals Bigotry and Bodies

The Wonderful Truth about Heaven and Hell

Prayer and Meditation (CXMH Podcast)

Welcome to Episode 69 of the #AskSteveAustin Podcast, with Steve Austin and Laura Beth Buchleiter. If you're wondering what the journey of a trans person might be like, don't miss this episode! Steve talks with Laura Beth about faith, sexuality, and her recent gender affirmation surgery.

Show notes:

 Join the Catching Your Breath Community! 3 days free - only $4.99/month after that!

The Night Rev. Ed Bacon Nearly Died by Suicide (podcast)

3 Reasons You Should Take a Break When Life Feels Crazy (blog)

Get a free copy of "From Pastor to a Psych Ward" (sign up here)

Interested in life coaching with Steve Austin? Details here.

Buy Steve Austin's books.

#NotMyJesus (blog)

Submit a guest blog post for iAmSteveAustin.com (details here).

Purchase Laura Beth's book, Shattering the Masks: Affirming Identity. Transitioning Faith. 

Join the launch team for Steve Austin's upcoming book, Catching Your Breath.