Vision For Life

In this episode, Autumn and Hunter sit down with Joe to explore his winding vocational journey—a “river fed by many streams,” shaped by influential mentors, deep roots in Colorado, and surprising turns from seminary to pastoring to banking. Joe shares how God redirected and clarified his calling through seasons of desire, struggle, and faithful presence. Together, they discuss how seemingly ordinary work becomes sacred when done with and for God, and what it means to steward influence for the good of the city.

In this episode, Hunter and Autumn sit down with pastor and author Brad Edwards to talk about his recently released book, The Reason for Church: Why the Body of Christ Still Matters in an Age of Anxiety, Division, and Radical Individualism. In the first half of the book, Brad explains how modern “defeater beliefs” like the sacred self, spiritual pragmatism, and counterfeit institutions have eroded our perception of the church’s purpose and beauty. A biblical, historical understanding of the Church as the Body and Bride of Christ can be a powerful force of counter-formation by averting our gaze from ourselves to Christ and reorienting our actions from self-expression to self-sacrifice. This conversation invites listeners to recover a richer vision of what it means to be God’s people in the world.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

The Reason for Church: Why the Body of Christ Still Matters in an Age of Anxiety, Division, and Radical Individualism by Brad Edwards

Habits of the Heart, Multiple Authors

Autumn and Andy Barlow, Pastor of Community and Mission at Fellowship Denver, discuss the theological vision for family discipleship and offer practical principles to help that vision take shape. Scripture admonishes parents to speak continually to their children about God and his ways. Parents are also charged with loving and disciplining their children. Family discipleship requires parents to take those responsibilities seriously and to align their parenting accordingly.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Father Hunger by Margo Maine and Craig Johnson

Grace Marriage

In today’s episode, Hunter and Autumn respond to a listener’s question about the sometimes overwhelming world of youth sports—especially in suburban life in which youth sports are the social norm, yet they also compete with worship and family time. What are some of the common cultural narratives about youth sports? And what might it look like to be culture-makers who approach youth sports with wisdom and gospel-centered priorities?

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Youth Sports, Healthy Families, and the Future of the Church

In this episode, Autumn and Dave talk with Ross Chapman and Ryan Tafilowski, authors of Faithful Work: In the Daily Grind with God and for Others, about what it means to see our daily work as sacred—both as participation in God’s creative work in the world and as an active expression of love for our neighbors. They explore how a larger view of the gospel transforms the way we approach vocation, the purpose of work, and even the frustrations of ordinary jobs. From redefining success to rediscovering the intrinsic value of work, this conversation invites listeners to see their labor as partnership with God and service to others.

Resources mentioned in today’s episode:

Faithful Work: In the Daily Grind with God and for Others by Ross Chapman and Ryan Tafilowski

Worth Doing: Fallenness, Finitude, and Work in the Real World by Ryan Tafilowski and Dave Buschart

Denver Institute for Faith and Work

In this Q&R episode, Hunter and Autumn revisit the opening chapters of Silas Marner to discuss a question about Silas’s cataleptic fits—first seen as divine signs in Lantern Yard and later feared as witchcraft in Raveloe—and how they mirror his spiritual paralysis after betrayal.

Another listener asks what Silas Marner reveals about the relationship between faith and community. When Silas loses his faith in Lantern Yard, he also loses his sense of belonging. In Scripture’s conception, faith and belonging to the body of Christ are inseparable realities. Along the way, Hunter and Autumn respond to a question about casting lots, discuss the theme of divine sovereignty in the novel, and reflect on the impact of a life that seeks to trust God in and out of season.

In this third discussion on Silas Marner, Hunter and Autumn discuss Marner’s transformation and the effect of sin and secrecy in Godfrey Cass’ life. Eppie’s arrival transforms Silas’s lonely life and increasingly connects him to the life of Raveloe. George Eliot shows that the effects of sin and redemption are often slow but sure. Godfrey Cass’s hidden guilt ripens into regret, while Silas’s increasing openness to love and spiritual community blossoms into restoration.

Through Dolly Winthrop’s steadfast faith, the quiet working of Providence, and the contrast between false and true treasure, Eliot paints a vision of faith, family, and community. The return of Silas’s gold and the reappearance of Godfrey remind us that what is hoarded in secrecy turns to emptiness, but what is shared in love endures. The novel closes with a scene in the context of the life of the village — Eppie’s marriage, Silas’s contentment, and the joy of belonging.

Our last episode ended with an image of Silas Marner reeling from another betrayal and loss—his gold stolen, his world emptied once again. How would he respond this time? In this section, we see how Silas’s cry for help at the Rainbow marks the first crack in his isolation, opening him to community and the possibility of grace. Around him, the intrigues and inner lives of Raveloe unfold—revealing how the state of one person’s heart can ripple outward to shape the world around them.

In today’s episode, Autumn and Hunter follow the stories of Godfrey Cass, Dolly Winthrop, and Silas, examining three very different responses to guilt, faith, and human connection: Godfrey’s attempt to manipulate reality to preserve his image, Dolly’s quiet embodiment of lived faith, and Silas’s unguarded vulnerability that leads him toward restoration. And when the mysterious child appears on Silas’s hearth, a golden-haired “replacement treasure,” the story unexpectedly turns toward redemption.

In the first of our four fall book club discussions, we meet Silas Marner, the lonely weaver of Raveloe, whose faith and trust have been shattered by betrayal. Hunter and Autumn trace Marner’s fall from a man of faith in Lantern Yard to an isolated miser whose only comfort is the gold he hoards. When that gold is stolen, Silas’s world collapses once again, driving him to seek help from the very villagers he has avoided for 15 years. Join us as we explore themes of vocation and faith in the face of suffering.

Clark Nunnelly, Pastor at Fellowship Denver North Metro, joins Autumn to discuss the “meaning crisis” affecting the modern Western world. “The meaning crisis” refers to a cultural and philosophical condition in which many people experience a deep sense of disconnection, purposelessness, and confusion about what makes life meaningful. Christianity offers a purposeful life, given to us by God, ordered after Jesus, anchored in ancient wisdom and in loving community. Is this good news to a world filled with competing self-constructed frameworks of meaning?

Resources mentioned in this episode:

“The Absurdity of Life Without God” by William Lane Craig

Reasonable Faith, Third Edition: Christian Truth and Apologetics by William Lane Craig

The Brothers Karamozov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky