Waypoints With Daniel Rushing

Pastors who minister in an increasingly divided world are learning in real-time how to navigate the complexities of social media, political polarization, and diversity in the church. In this episode, I sit down with Pentecostal Pastor Dr. Nathan Rouse, a ministry veteran who pastors a diverse church and actively engages on social media in a way that is challenging but not polarizing. In this episode we discuss our call stories, being Pentecostal, Christian engagement on social media, and being a parent while pastoring.

Dr. Rouse's Blog "The Pastors Confessional" is here.

The Intersections Blog is here.

I recommend Rene Girard's book "I See Satan Fall Like Lightning.”

Christians are outraged over the Olympics opening ceremony in Paris after there was a performance that might have been a parody of The Lord's Supper, a famous painting by Leonardo Da Vinci. In this episode, I share my thoughts about a seething anger found among many Christians that is emerging as an unquenchable outrage.

In this episode we're talking about Louisiana's newest law requiring a copy of the Ten Commandments be posted in every public school classroom in the state. The law stipulates that a Protestant version of the commandments appear on 11x14 inch posters in every public school classroom from grade schools through state universities

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Was Jesus rich or poor? In this episode, we will look at the second half of a sermon preached by Bishop Wayne Michael in which he argues that Jesus was rich and that it is a moral obligation that his followers pursue wealth. Among other things, Michael will argue that Jesus came from a royal family, wore designer clothes, and bought expensive wines. Could that be correct? My commentary will address these claims and others to see if there is any evidence that Jesus was rich and what that might mean for those trying to follow his teaching and example.

The intersection of faith and business is important to me. In the business world, there is a lot of talk about the law of attraction and other success philosophies. As a bivocational minister and entrepreneur, I sometimes struggled to reconcile success philosophies with my faith. I had come to believe that Jesus was poor, that Jesus preferred the poor, and because of that wealth was bad. In this podcast I engage with a sermon preached by Bishop Wayne Michael in which he tries to answer the question, “Was Jesus rich or poor?” You will hear my commentary on some of the good and not-so-good ideas he puts forward in his message and how success philosophies might be spiritual in nature.

The last year has been a season of disintegration and reintegration and a lot has changed since the last podcast episode. It has been a time of rethinking my calling and discerning what I feel called to now. In this episode, I discuss how my motivations for spirituality as a minister affected my personal identity, church hurt, the way I think my church failed to live up to its promises of offering true freedom from sin and shame, and what I intend to do about all that with and in my own life. I will also share how these changes in perspective affect the future of the content I produce for the Uncensored Wizard Podcast.

Finally, I am going there. Remember that time God told Moses that men without penises couldn't enter God's house, and then a few centuries later God told Isaiah that men without penises could enter God's house, and that they would be honored there? The Bible is a complex book, and how we read it affects how we interpret it, and interpretation matters.

Jack Kornfield's "After the Ecstasy, the Laundry" book asks the question, "What happens when the Christian mystic goes shopping?" In this episode I argue for a Christian spirituality that embraces the rhythms of our religious practices- beginning with the season of Lent. 

All about the Asbury Revival, Sam Smith's devilish Grammy performance, Christian outrage and cynicism, inclusion of LGBTQ Christians in the church, my first sermon, mystical experiences, and a trip to Church of God prayer conference. I offer my suggestions for a way forward post deconstruction and post post-modernism. This is a FULL episode.

I share how I am healthier when I follow Jesus and worship and confess regularly that God loves me and has my best interest at heart. I also share passages and reflections from Brad Jersak's book "Out of the Embers: Life After the Great Deconstruction." Finally, I talk about how we need to find ways to engage with others that is more like a table and less like a pulpit.