Welcome to Season 6 of The Weight Podcast! We’re kicking things off with someone who has a lot of fun while doing a lot of important work: Annie F. Downs. Annie is an author, speaker, podcaster, and preacher who uses humor and scripture to help people find their purpose and fulfillment in God’s love.

Annie’s podcast, That Sounds Fun, has been on air for 10 years, and this year, she’s shaking things up a little. She’s helping her listeners navigate the seasons of their life by using the seasons of nature--winter, spring, summer, and fall--to bring some clarity and compassion to those moments when we feel our lowest and to bring joyful ownership to those times when we are at our best.

She also talks to Eddie and Chris about her singles ministry, Single Person League, and how married pastors can build a bridge to a more understanding relationship with their single congregants.

Resources:

Annie’s website

Follow Annie on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube

Pastoring Singles Resource

Buy Annie’s books here, including Where Did TJ Go?

We are so excited to be back for Season 6 of The Weight! We are kicking off this season with an amazing guest, who you won't want to miss. So make sure you tune in next Thursday!

theweightpodcast.com

We’re wrapping up our fifth season on The Weight, and Eddie, Chris, and producer Cody Hickman talk about some highlights from this season. We have had some wonderful conversations about the power of story telling, working through trauma, food, and leadership. We even got to talk to a local Olympic silver medalist. We hope you’ll go back and give your favorite episodes a re-listen.

This year, as a special treat, we’re also highlighting some bloopers, mistakes, and misspoken words. We needed a laugh, and we thought you might, too! 

As always, thank you for listening to The Weight. Thank you for liking, subscribing, and sharing. Thank you for being in our corner and journeying with us. 

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P.S.  None of what we do here on The Weight would be possible without the behind-the-scenes team. Emilie, Jake, and Rachel, you are the real heroes. Thank you for all of the things you do each week to make sure these episodes get out!

This episode of The Weight will probably make you laugh, might lighten your spirit, and will definitely give you a new perspective on encouraging leadership in others.

Sophie Hudson is a blogger, author, and podcast host. She has written seven books. She draws inspiration for her most recent book, A Fine Sight to See: Leading Because You Were Made for It, from the story of Moses and Exodus, and explores how we are all called to lead, whether we feel qualified or not.

Resources:

Read more from Sophie on Boo Mama

Listen to The Big Boo Cast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Buy Sophie’s books on Amazon, including A Fine Sight to See

In case you were wondering, “hymnody” is an actual word and we didn’t make it up. It simply means the singing or composition of hymns, religious songs or poems of praise to God. And today’s guest has a lot to say about hymns.  

Ted Campbell is the Albert C. Outlet Professor of Wesley Studies at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. He has served as a United Methodist pastor and has taught at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio, Duke Divinity School, and Wesley Theological Seminary. He is the author of many books, including Wesleyan Beliefs, The Gospel of Christian Tradition, and most recently A Core Methodist Hymnal, which is more like a devotional and less like a traditional hymnal.

Resources:

Learn more about Ted at his website, tedcampbell.com

Buy A Core Methodist Hymnal

What is the humanitarian response for a country in crisis? What is the church’s response? Today’s guest has experienced the love and hope the people provide each other during times of war, strife, and disaster, and he shares one truth: finding community, even in the midst of war, can help sustain your hope and keep you going.

Chris Herlinger is an international correspondent for National Catholic Reporters Global Sisters Report. He has worked in many areas of conflict, including South Sudan, Darfur, Haiti, and Afghanistan, and his most recent work has taken him to Ukraine. His most recent book is Solidarity and Mercy, which highlights the humanitarian efforts of Catholic Sisters in Ukraine. 

Resources:

Buy Solidarity and Mercy

Find more of Chris’s correspondence through Global Sisters Network

Show Notes:

Are you an apostle of Jesus?

It may seem like an easy “yes,” but the answer is a lot more nuanced than you might think. For Rebekah Simon-Peter, it goes beyond a passive faith in Jesus to a robust, active life with the faith of Jesus.. Rebekah is an author, pastor, coach (and friend of Eddie’s). She spent 12 years as a United Methodist pastor before stepping out to create a ministry that equips churches to build and renew. Her passion for and delight in the work of the Holy Spirit come through in this conversation.

Resources:

Rebekah’s website - https://rebekahsimonpeter.com/

Creating a Culture of Renewal® - https://cultureofrenewal.com/

Purchase Believe Like Jesus - https://rebekahsimonpeter.com/believe-like-jesus

Grief lies to you. Grief will tell you that you are alone in your suffering. This conversation will remind you, over and over, that you aren’t. If you’re grieving right now, you might be tempted to skip this episode, but we encourage you to listen anyway. Send it to someone you know who is hurting, and maybe save it to come back to at a later date.

Kimberly Wagner has been on The Weight before to discuss collective trauma, but this conversation is a little more personal. As Christian churches approach All Saints, a day in which we remember and name those loved ones who have passed before us, we need the reminder that grief is holy and sacred, and that Jesus weeps with us even as he walks with us. We need the reminder that our communities of faith hold in trust the reality of hope and comfort, even when we don’t feel them.

Kimberly is assistant professor of preaching at Princeton Theological Seminary and the author of Fractured Ground: Preaching in the Wake of Mass Trauma. Her doctoral dissertation centered around preaching and trauma, and she has seen first hand how disorienting mass trauma to a community and to individuals. 

Resources: 

Learn more about Kimberly at her website, preachingandtrauma.com.

Buy Fractured Ground.

Read William Sloane Coffin’s sermon, Eulogy for Alex

Bishop Ken Carter is a leader. As the current bishop of the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, he is guiding over 173,000 members through Hurricane Helene recovery. In addition to that, he serves as bishop-in-residence and a consulting faculty member at Duke Divinity School. He is also the former bishop of the Florida Conference, and served as the president of the Council of Bishops of the UMC from 2018-2020. 

So, yes, Bishop Carter is a leader. But he leads with a spirit of openness, love, and concern for others. He values having supportive ecosystems of people to help each other, to be a point of connection during moments of pain and weakness and to offer that support back during times of strength. He leads with an eye toward adapting to the moment--not throwing out all traditions, but discerning what needs to be preserved, discarded, or simply rearranged to meet the current need.

Resources:

Listen to Bishop Carter’s previous episode on The Weight

Or listen to our conversations on leadership with Tod Bolsinger: Adaptive Leadership and Mistakes Good Leaders Make

Buy Bishop Carter’s books on Amazon, including Gardens in the Desert: How Adaptive Church Can Lead to a Whole New Life, co-authored with Michael Beck

Donate to Hurricane Helene relief through the United Methodist Committee on Relief

Eddie and Chris are joined by three-time guest Aimee Nezhukumatathil for a conversation about the intersection of food, faith, family, and parenthood, based around her latest collection of essays, Bite by Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees. 

Aimee is the author of multiple volumes of poetry, including Miracle Fruit, Oceanic, and Lucky Fish, as well as several books of essays, World of Wonders (and her most recent, Bite by Bite). Her work has appeared in multiple magazines including Poetry magazine, Ploughshares, FIELD, and American Poetry Review, and she is the first poetry editor for Sierra, the story-telling arm of the Sierra Club.

Aimee is also professor of English and Creative Writing in the University of Mississippi’s MFA program where she received the faculty’s Distinguished Research and Creative Achievement Award.

We’re delighted to have her back on The Weight!

Resources:

Learn more about Aimee on her website 

Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube

Buy her books, including Bite by Bite

Listen to her previous episodes on The Weight: World of Wonders and Finding Beauty in the Chaos