The Evolving Faith Podcast

In our first episode of season 2, Barbara Brown Taylor discusses the realities of spiritual wilderness and asks us to consider what it looks like to have a faith lean enough to survive. She explains that a true wilderness means coming to the end of our perceived safety and learning that we've never really had any guarantees all along. Barbara says that grief is necessary for the vitality of the soul and asks us to imagine what subsistence spirituality would mean in our own wilderness. Then Jeff and Sarah discuss the unforeseen ways grief has impacted our lives since this talk was given at the 2019 conference and the beauty of a lean spirituality that can carry us through loss.

Show Notes

The finale of Season One! In this episode, Jeff and Sarah offer their reflections on the season, their gratitude to you, dear listeners, and finally fill out the Evolving Faith Podcast bingo card for good. Then, weaving together the entire season's talks and moments throughout the season, they offer a Benediction for the Wanderers as we all move forward or onward from here.

Show Notes

2023 Evolving Faith Conference

In this life-giving episode we are thrilled to welcome Austen Hartke, Michiko Bown-Kai, and Rev. Dr. Christina Beardsley as they each present a talk about evolving faith through the lens of their trans and/or non-binary identities. Then our guests join Sarah and Jeff in a wise and beautiful conversation on wilderness, hope, paradox, and how the fullness of identity can be a form of resistance and prophetic witness. (Rated Explicit for profanity.)

Show Notes

2023 Evolving Faith Conference

In a beautiful, wise experience, we are thrilled to welcome Stephanie Tait, Derrick Dawson, and Raedorah Stewart as they each present a talk about identity, belonging, and an evolving faith through the lens of disability. Then our guests join Sarah and Jeff in a life-giving conversation on identity, hope, beauty, belonging, covenant, and perceiving the new thing God is doing.

Show Notes

2023 Evolving Faith Conference

This week, we hear from two incredible artists: Audrey Assad and A'Driane Nieves as they engage with art, embodiment, healing, and an evolving faith. These talks remind us that artists bring to their work sorrows and joys, griefs and delights, which a canvas or a song can hint at. But there's always more. Then Sarah and Jeff have a conversation about dancing, embodiment, creativity, and much more. P.S. Please note that some aspects of this episode do discuss themes of sexual abuse and violence so please listen only at your discretion. Look after yourselves, friends.

Show Notes

2023 Evolving Faith Conference

This week, we hear from poet, political activist, and rapper Propaganda. Prop takes us on a journey into how music and art can help form an evolving faith. You'll be immersed in what turned out to be one part beautiful poetic experience and one part off-the-wall, incredibly profound philosophy lecture. And maybe that's the magic of Prop: he defies categorization. He leads us through the wilderness to find God, find possibility, find truth in every corner of creation - including Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (you'll see, we promise). Then Sarah and Jeff have a conversation about finding God in unexpected places, cheerleader movies, and learning to terraform - world build - with God.

Show Notes

2023 Evolving Faith Conference

This week, we hear from the Poet and the Preacher. Join us as Kaitlin Curtice leads us through a winsome and beautiful invitation to the light still glimmering around us and then gather with us at the Communion tradition for Evolving Faith as Jonathan Martin preaches about the welcome of Jesus to the Table. Then Sarah and Jeff talk about where they're experiencing those glimmers of light right now, their own experiences with communion at Evolving Faith, and together recall some of Rachel Held Evans' passion for the sacraments together. One note: we apologize for the audio quality of Jeff's microphone during portions of today's podcast. Thanks for your patience!

Show Notes

2023 Evolving Faith Conference

For the first - but not last time - we're featuring a double-header of talks from Evolving Faith. First Cindy Wang Brandt explores parenting while your faith is evolving, placing the priority on giving our children spiritual autonomy and the freedom to explore and thrive. Then Kathy Escobar addresses what we gain in the wilderness when we are honest within our relationships from learning to live with disapproval to the opportunity to be a healthier, more integrated person. Finally, Sarah and Jeff have a conversation about how Sarah's raising her kids with an awareness of an evolving faith, Jeff's experiences within a more communal culture rather than an individualistic culture, and what it means to untangle our view of our parents or faith tradition from God and live honestly in relationship.

Show Notes

2023 Evolving Faith Conference

Telling better stories is one way we are being invited into God's magnificent story of redemption. This week, author and pastor Osheta Moore calls us into the most complicated and yet simple truth of Christianity: loving our enemies. She asks us to consider who lives on the other side of our empathy and offers spiritual guidance for daring to write a better story for our enemies. Then Sarah and Jeff get honest about why this particular way of living- loving your enemies, praying for those who curse you-is incredibly difficult especially right now and explore the invitation we all have to become peacemakers in the world.

Show Notes

2023 Evolving Faith Conference

This week, we go all in on politics, spiritual formation, and the call of this moment in time before the American election. In this fiery talk, Nish Weiseth calls her fellow white evangelical Americans to account and argues that politics are the single largest systemic tool that we have at our disposal with which we can love our neighbor. Simply put, politics for the Christian should be institutional neighborliness. Then Jeff and Sarah have a wide-ranging conversation about the international dominance of the American evangelical experiment, spiritual formation, politics, and the intention, action, and movement we desperately need right now to move toward just a little more love every day. P.S. This episode has an Explicit rating for language.

Show Notes

2023 Evolving Faith Conference