Unfinished People

Brandon and Chad had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Amy Orr-Ewing. She is an incredible follower of Jesus whom we cannot wait for you to meet.

She is an international author, speaker and theologian who addresses the deep questions of our day with meaningful answers found in the Christian Faith. She is the author of multiple books including ‘Where is God in All the Suffering?’ (runner up Michael Ramsay Prize, 2023), bestselling ‘Why Trust the Bible?’ and ‘Mary’s Voice: Advent Reflections to Contemplate the Coming of Christ.’

Over the last twenty five years, Amy has given talks and answered questions on university campuses around the world. She has also addressed Parliamentarians in the Speakers Rooms and Chapel at the UK Parliament and staffers on Capitol Hill, and at the West Wing of The White House. She regularly responds to invitations to speak in banks, businesses, and consultancy firms as well as churches and conferences and enjoys broadcasting in the media and giving public lectures. 

Amy is interested in the intersection of questions of meaning and faith within the marketplace, education and policymaking. Amy holds a doctorate (DPhil) in Theology from the University of Oxford, and serves as Honorary Lecturer in Divinity at the University Aberdeen.

In recent years Amy Orr-Ewing has advocated significantly for transparency and justice working alongside and representing survivors of abuse and mistreatment. Her significant contribution was recognized by the Church of England in June 2023 at the Annual Lambeth Awards, where Orr-Ewing was awarded the Alphege Award for Evangelism and Witness, for exceptional dedication, skill and insight in her advocacy work.

We were so challenged and blessed to be able to interview her on today's episode. Enjoy!

• Amy Orr-Ewing.com
• Do not be afraid. Luke 12:22-32
• The Rage of Identity Politics VS The Beautiful Art of Forgiveness
• Why Trust the Bible?
• Where Is God in All the Suffering?
• Mary's Voice: Advent Reflections to Contemplate the Coming of Christ
• Lead like the Real You

Jesus invites us to find true rest in Him. In Matthew's Gospel, He says: "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." (MSG translation)

You probably know this already, but if you're like us, actually doing it can be challenging. Instead, we often find ourselves spiritually and physically exhausted.

Why is it so hard to embrace this rest? Are we resisting what Jesus is trying to do for us? Are we discontent and missing His guidance in our lives? Or are we perhaps avoiding the tough questions He's asking us?

In today's episode of Unfinished People, we dive into all of this and more. We explore our own struggles with rest and listen to the words of Jesus for help.

It's almost here. The last election. The end of the world. The end of all things. At least... that's what "they" say. But what does Jesus say? How do we hold our hearts out in true form to the Eternal King of the Universe? The One who holds all things together and has sovereign control over all things that happen on our little blue planet might just have something to say to us in this moment.

We also have some thoughts. Some of them are anxious. Some of them are trusting. Most of them are unfinished and in process. Come listen in to our conversation as we process what it means to be a follower of Jesus during this season and time of our country and world.

What grade are you in with Jesus? How far along have you come? Are you stuck and wondering how to get to the next grade, stage, or moment? After stewing on our conversation dealing with spiritual bypassing, we pick it up again in this episode.

Acknowledging that we have a propensity to spiritually bypass is crucial, but how do we move beyond it? How can we deepen our walk with Jesus? If spiritual bypassing is truly just a band-aid solution, then how do we rip it off and find true growth, healing, and wholeness in Jesus? Come and listen in to our conversation to find out.

The Bible tells us that our connection to God through Jesus is critical to our well-being. Deep in our souls, we know this to be true. A hunger and thirst prompt us to reach out to God for connection. But what do we do when it doesn't work? In today's episode, Daniel Olson joins Chad to discuss the difficulties of connection and the surprising ways to move from a flicker to a roaring flame in our connection with Jesus.

What is Spiritual Bypassing and are you doing it? Or maybe someone else has tried it on you and you thought it was a good thing. We are learning that it has the potential to delay your growth as a follower of Jesus. And it happens all the time. Come join us as we scratch the surface this week and jump back into the podcast. (Thanks for your patience!)

How should we respond as followers of Jesus when tragic things happen? We discuss this past Saturday's tragic events and give you an inside look at our process of sadness, grief, and our deep questions of how to be faithful witnesses of Jesus in such polarizing times.

When it comes to following Jesus the digital world presents an endless library of opportunities to listen, read, interact, watch, create, and connect. Brandon and Chad are joyful participants, but we are also assessing our hearts and have discovered mixed results. Are we going deep? Are our relationships made meaningful through our tweets, posts, scrolls, and likes? Are the sources we are tapping into making us more like Jesus? We have some thoughts and questions. How can we do better? How can we steward our time with digital resources so that we are embodied disciples? Join us on Episode 027 for part 2 of our discussion on Digital Discipleship.

We feel like something has happened to us. We are more easily distracted. Our pursuit of Jesus and the ability to hear his voice has been short-circuited by the wonderful digital world around us. Don't get us wrong... we love technology and the ability to grow and learn through hundreds of resources online. But another side of us senses that something is wrong. We can't get out of the shallow end of spiritual growth. This week, we are asking big questions and hope we can find our way back to the depth of an embodied and present form of following Jesus.

Hello again! Yes, we are back. After a much needed break over the last few months, we have lots to catch up on and talk about. Let's get right into it and talk about dealing with difficult things in life and how we are processing and trusting Jesus through them... or, in some cases, we are working on trusting him. We also talk a little about the warm and fuzzy book of Revelation and its relevance to our current headlines. Most of all, we are just hanging out as brothers and spurring each other on in Jesus. Come on back in and listen to today's episode number 025.

• ACLED | Bringing Clarity to Crisis - The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) is a disaggregated data collection, analysis, and crisis mapping project. ACLED collects information on the dates, actors, locations, fatalities, and types of all reported political violence and protest events around the world. The ACLED team conducts analysis to describe, explore, and test conflict scenarios, and makes both data and analysis open for free use by the public.