The Pocket Contemplative

Dave very much is. Tom has reservations. It boils down to whether such a revival would connect people or further drive them apart. Blue Ocean Faith talks about hopes for a "new Jesus Movement." Here's a dynamic conversation about what such a thing might look like.

Christianity Today recently encouraged Christians to show mercy towards Donald Trump, whatever his failings. Roger Dewey, a 50-year veteran of working as a Christian in the inner city, wrote a sympathetic and challenging response for HelloHoratio.com. Tom, Dave and Dave's wife Grace talk with Roger about the complexities of wholeheartedly praying for Mr. Trump as people who think he's doing damage.

Many religious people experience a golden time, a peak spiritual experience when God seems so real and the possibilities for one's life seem limitless. But that time inevitably ends. What happens next will make all the difference for how the rest of one's life will go. Dave and Tom discuss the unexpected counsel from a French philosopher about what to do next.

Angie Thurston, a friend of the podcast, is a Ministry Innovation Specialist at Harvard Divinity School and a fellow with On Being. She gathers innovative millennial community leaders and spiritual leaders to connect and swap ideas. For many of these people, talking about Jesus would seem fundamentalist or arrogant. And yet Angie dreams of actual connection with Jesus offering real hope and power to the world. How can these two things intersect?

Maggie Rowe has written for shows like Arrested Development and has run a 15-year live show for Comedy Central (a show that was founded by Jill Soloway, of Transparent). She's recently published an affecting memoir (being developed into a pilot for Showtime) of her terror of hell as a young woman that led to a stay in an evangelical psychiatric unit and an ultimate epiphany. Tom, Dave and guest host Ali Borger Germann chat with her about her journey both then and since.

Blue Ocean Churches emerged from evangelicalism. But the dominant American church used to be something called the mainline. In the post-World-War-2 years, it was so dominant, it was largely called "Protestantism." All American presidents, most congresspeople, most thought leaders were--outwardly at least--mainline Christians. But mainline churches have experienced hard times since the mid-1960s. Peter Wallace, radio host of Day1, broadcasts to mainline listeners over 200+ stations. He joins Tom and Dave to catch them up on the state of the mainline church.

Ken Briggs, the former religion editor for the New York Times, offers a fascinating perspective on the state of American Christianity. Maybe we're not more polarized now than ever. Maybe lots of where American Christianity is today boils down to economic trends. Maybe the issue isn't which churches are succeeding and which are failing--maybe the bigger issue is God or Not God. Dave and Tom found the conversation entirely fascinating.

Obligation or opportunity. It all boils down to that. One focuses on certainty; the other on humility. But this is not at all obvious. Dave and Tom tease this out.

Kicking around ways of thinking about heaven and hell has always been hugely controversial in conservative Christian circles. It cost, say, Rob Bell his church after he published a book doing just that. But there's evidence to suggest that a traditional, conservative approach has largely led to anxiety and secularization rather than the security and revival it's claimed. Why is that? Tom and Dave, throwing caution to the winds, wade in.

A few years back, Sheryl Sandberg--COO of Facebook--started a wide cultural conversation with her book Lean In. She talked about how few women led large companies--or countries--how most women were judged differently than men in their companies, and how the prospect of having children was a constant talking point and question for women. Tom and Dave are joined by Trudy Choi, a lawyer and creator of a Hot List newsletter for millennials, and Emily Reynolds, a product manager in the travel industry, to talk about what this looks like for them and many of their friends.