Where We Belong

Co-Founder and Director of Global Immersion Jer Swigart joins us this week to talk about conflict and peacemaking in the church. He reflects on what it means to be one body, how our understanding of God shapes the way we deal with conflict and discomfort in the church, and how we can practically become more conflict competent as followers of Jesus.

If you want to learn more about Jer's work through Global Immersion, check out their website here >>>

Check out Jer's book "Mending the Divides: Creative Love in a Conflicted World" here >>>

Learn more about our work in the Office of Church Engagement at whitworth.edu/oce

Eliza Griffith joins us to talk about what it has looked like to belong to the church even as she and her family have moved many times in the past 10+ years. She shares what she has learned belonging to churches of varying denominations, how the church has shaped her faith, and why she has prioritized belonging in a church for her kids. In all, we think she paints a beautiful and hopeful picture of what it means to belong to a community of faith!

Worship Director and Professor of Music Ben Brody joins us to talk about how music can contribute to the belonging we feel (or don't!) in a community of faith. He shares about his experience leading worship online during COVID, talks about the value of disorientation, and considers music as a vocabulary school for Christians.

Episode Resources:

Learn more about our work in the Office of Church Engagement at www.whitworth.edu/oce

Join Lauren as she offers some final thoughts on the conversations we've had throughout season 1. The episode ends with an invitation to a spiritual practice known as breath prayer.

Learn more about our work in the Office of Church Engagement at www.whitworth.edu/oce

Fr. Tim Wilkinson joins us to talk about his journey from the evangelical church to his ordination as an Orthodox priest, the significance of embodiment and gathering to a life with Christ, and what it means to belong in the Orthodox tradition.

Episode References: 

To learn more about our work in the Office of Church Engagement visit www.whitworth.edu/oce

Tanita Maddox is a regional director for Young Life and a Gen Z expert. In this conversation she talks to us about how fear impacts a sense of belonging for Gen Z, the power of listening, and how the early church can provide us with a template for meeting new generations where they're at.

Episode Resources:

You can learn more about Tanita and her work on her website - tanitamaddox.com

Learn more about our work in the Office of Church Engagement at www.whitworth.edu/oce

Phil Moore is a church planter and pastor. Here he joins us to talk about the church structures and practices he uses to cultivate a sense of belonging, the purpose of decentralizing the pastor, and why he is still so captivated by the church - even as a twenty-something-year-old pastor.

Episode References:

Learn more about our work in the Office of Church Engagement at www.whitworth.edu/oce

Alexis is a recent Whitworth graduate and a Summer Fellowship Program alum. Today she sits down with us to talk about why young people aren't attracted to many traditional church models, how she understands the love of Jesus, and what it means to be the church outside the walls of a building.

Learn more about our work in the Office of Church Engagement at www.whitworth.edu/oce

Pastor Lauren Goldbloom gives us a glimpse into the neighborhood church model, how her community cultivates a sense of belonging in the context of the neighborhood, and how to be the church for people who have felt abandoned by it in the past.

Episode References:

Lauren is also leading a new grant initiative in partnership with Parish Collective and the OCE focused on the faith formation of young adults and the faithful presence of churches. If this interests you, fill out an interest form to get connected to the project. Find it here >>>

Learn more about our work in the Office of Church Engagement at www.whitworth.edu/oce

Sociologist and church vitality expert Mark Killian joins us to talk about areas of growth and decline in the church, cultural trends that affect a declining sense of "belonging" to a church, and the unhealthy tactics that get people through the door but don't contribute to the health of a congregation.

Episode References:

Learn more about our work in the Office of Church Engagement at www.whitworth.edu/oce

Dig into your church's mission with the expertise of a sociologist using our Church Self-Study Guide. Access it here >>>