Homebrewed Christianity Podcast

Hey y'all, so this was our first live stream kicking off this online democracy summit we're doing - basically a bunch of us nerds getting together to wrestle with why everything seems to be falling apart politically and what the hell we're supposed to do about it. Kevin Carnahan and Aaron Simmons joined me to dig into Kevin's lecture about Christian citizenship, which traces this fascinating line from Jesus through Augustine to Luther to Bonhoeffer, showing how Christianity actually offers an alternative to totalitarianism rather than supporting it. We got into some pretty heated but friendly disagreement about whether you can have real democracy without religious reasons motivating people (Kevin's take) versus whether we need to secularize our arguments to avoid the fundamentalist trap (Aaron's pushback). The whole thing was this beautiful mess of trying to figure out how to love your MAGA neighbor while also maybe needing to put them in timeout, whether God prevents totalitarianism or enables it, and why Ch

In this episode, I am joined by Josh Scott, a minister at GracePointe Church in Nashville and author of the new book Parables: Putting Jesus Stories in Their Place. We discuss the book's exploration of Jesus' parables, focusing on their historical context and contemporary relevance. Josh shares insights into how these parables challenge both ancient and modern assumptions about power, empire, and community. We also talk about the unique nature of GracePointe Church, its mission to be a safe space for those questioning their faith, and the importance of community in navigating theological and existential questions. Additionally, they highlight the role of the Post-Evangelical Collective in connecting faith leaders and congregations who seek to foster more inclusive and justice-oriented communities. You can WATCH the conversation on YouTube ONLINE SUMMIT:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Democracy in Tension - NAVIGATING THE INTERLOCKING CRISES OF DEMOCRACY AND RELIGION ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Democracy today faces profound challenges – pola

So Andy and I just got back from this wild week in Berlin where we taught 25 folks about Bonhoeffer right there in his actual house - like, we're sitting in his bedroom, walking the same streets, the whole deal. And wow, this trip was different from the others because everyone kept asking the question that used to make me roll my eyes: "Is this our Bonhoeffer moment?" But after spending time with clergy who are dealing with ICE raids in their neighborhoods and congregations split over whether you can even mention certain realities from the pulpit, I'm not giggling at the Protestant saint thing anymore. We delved into the concrete messiness of what it meant for Niemöller and his congregation actually to resist, not just talk about it, and how Bonhoeffer's vision of a religionless Christianity might help us think through what happens when the entire Christian infrastructure starts to crumble. Plus, we got into some heavy stuff about whether the ethical gifts Christianity gave to Western civilization - you know,

In this conversation, I got to catch up with my friend Jacob Erickson, who's doing some inspiring work at Trinity College Dublin, where they've just launched a new Master's in Theology and Social Justice. What struck me most was how Jake and his colleagues are embodying this broader transformation happening in theological education - moving beyond those traditional disciplinary boundaries to create genuinely interdisciplinary spaces where theology isn't just talking aboutother fields, but actually thinking with scientists, activists, and practitioners. We dug into how this shift has happened over the last couple decades - from philosophers bracketing God to study religion as a phenomenon, to theologians like Tillich doing theology of culture, to the changing student body that's bringing questions that don't fit neatly into traditional confessional boxes. Jake's insights about wisdom versus knowledge really hit home - how religious traditions offer this "porous knowledge" that comes with demands and can't be s

What's up, Theology Nerds! So I had my buddy Matt Novenson on to talk about what's happening on the cutting edge of New Testament research these days, and let me tell you, it's way broader than you might think. We covered five major areas where scholars are doing really fascinating work: first, bringing Jewish studies into conversation with the New Testament (like Matthew Thiessen's work on how Jesus actually dissolves ritual impurity rather than abolishing purity systems); second, looking at the broader ancient Mediterranean world beyond just "Jewish vs. Greco-Roman" contexts (Heidi Wendt's brilliant stuff on Paul as a "freelance religious expert" competing for influence); third, studying how the Bible has been interpreted not just in academic commentaries but in art, music, and everyday life (Lisa Marie Bowens' archival work on African American readings of Paul is mind-blowing); fourth, examining how biblical themes have unconsciously shaped modern cultural discourses like immigration policy (Yii-Jan Lin's

Just got back from three and a half weeks in Europe (still not sure what time zone I'm in), and Aaron Simmons and I dove straight into the deep end of why democracy feels like it's falling apart. We're wrestling with this massive question: what do you do when reason-giving just seems to fail completely - when people either dismiss everyone who disagrees as morally bankrupt, or assume their own views are so obviously correct that any pushback must be irrational? We wandered through everything from whether I should keep eating at this barbecue place covered in MAGA signs (still haven't decided), to how 81% of white evangelicals support the least Christian president we've ever had, to whether Western civilization can survive without its Christian roots, with a delightful detour into heavy metal pit ethics because apparently that's how we process political theory now. The whole conversation convinced us we need more voices thinking about these tensions together, which is why we're launching this Democracy in Tens

Nicholas Spencer joins us for a fascinating conversation about the complex relationship between science and religion, moving far beyond the tired warfare narrative that dominates popular discourse. As a senior fellow at Theos and author of several important books including the recently released The Landscapes of Science and Religion: What Are We Disagreeing About?, Nick brings both historical depth and contemporary insight to these conversations. We dive into how the real tensions between science and religion often center on competing claims about what it means to be human and who gets to make authoritative statements about human nature. From Darwin's legacy to AI ethics, from mental health to consciousness studies, we explore how these disciplines can engage more constructively when we recognize them as complex, shifting landscapes rather than fixed territories in conflict. Nick's research with both academics and the general public reveals surprising nuances in how people actually think about these relations

Ethicist and organizer Dr. Aaron Staufer returns to the podcast to tackle one of the most pressing questions facing progressive Christianity today: how do we move from feeling overwhelmed and powerless to actually building meaningful change in our communities? Aaron brings his experience as both a theologian and organizer to help us understand why mainline Protestantism has struggled to find its public voice, and more importantly, what we can do about it. We delve into the historical trajectory from the social gospel movement to today's challenges, exploring why building strong community relationships is essential for any genuine social change, and discussing how initiatives like Solidarity Circles are helping faith leaders develop the skills they need for movement work. This conversation gets into the weeds of democratic practice, theological imagination, and the practical work of organizing—all while trying to figure out how the church can be a force for justice in an increasingly complex world. In the con

In this episode, I am joined by the eminent historian of science and religion, Peter Harrison. We examine how we've inherited a distorted narrative about the relationship between science and religion. Rather than the conflict narrative we're accustomed to, Harrison reveals that science and religion are not historical foes, and that modern Western sciences are actually built on theological assumptions. The real game-changer comes from tracing how Protestant reforms—notably the attack on allegorical readings of scripture and the demand for each individual to justify their belief— fundamentally transformed how we read both Scripture and nature, eventually leading to our impoverished, utilitarian view of the natural world. Harrison shows how concepts we think are timeless - like "belief," "supernatural," and even "religion" itself - are modern inventions with specific histories, and how understanding these genealogies can help us see that many of our contemporary problems in science-religion dialogue are artifact

In this episode, Aaron Simmons stepped up to host this conversation with Robert Talisse while I'm leading the Bonhoeffer travel-learning trip. They unpack one of the most pressing issues of our time - this wild paradox where the very thing democracy needs (us banding together with like-minded folks to get stuff done) is also the thing that's slowly destroying our ability to see people who disagree with us as actual human beings worth listening to. Rob brilliantly unpacked how we've gotten to this place where our political identities have become so central to who we are that we'd rather our kids marry someone of a different faith than someone who votes differently, and how belief polarization turns us into these echo-chamber dwellers who can't imagine that reasonable people could possibly disagree with us. But here's the beautiful thing - they didn't just diagnose the problem; they talked about hope, about finding spaces where we can be human together without politics being the main event, like Aaron's MAGA-fl

This was our final Q&A session wrapping up Grace's lecture series on the Holy Spirit (you can get here), and what a fantastic conversation it turned out to be! Grace shared how spending time with pneumatology has shifted her focus toward the practical, embodied aspects of faith - moving beyond the academic exercises of graduate school toward understanding how the Spirit calls us to live sustainably and care for all of creation. We dove deep into how dualistic thinking has harmed both our relationship with the earth and our understanding of ourselves as whole beings - body and spirit together. Grace beautifully connected this to everything from climate justice to prayer practices, showing how recognizing the Spirit's presence in all aspects of life breaks down those false sacred-secular divisions. We also tackled some great practical questions about helping congregations develop Spirit-awareness and discerning authentic spiritual movements from cultural trends. Grace Ji-Sun Kim ⁠is a professor of theology at

On this episode, we're back live at Lot 63 in Winston-Salem. I was joined once more by Corey Walker & Bill Leonard for a wide-ranging conversation from the Council of Nicaea to smartphone addiction. We explore the roots of our civilizational crisis, tracing lines from the Anabaptist radicals 500 years ago who said "God alone is judge of conscience" all the way to today's algorithmic plantation where our phones know us better than we know ourselves. Bill reminded us that the mentality behind drowning Felix Manz in 1527 is the same one calling for politicians to be "tarred and feathered" today and drew out the connections between Christian Nationalism and the SBC. Corey talked about fear as the driving force across the religious spectrum, the collapse of institutions that never included everyone anyway, and why the "rise of the nones" might actually be the Spirit revealing itself in new places - like right here at Lot 63 on a Thursday night. Sometimes the best church happens when you're arguing across differenc

In this episode, I am joined by the podcast Producer, Josh Gilbert, for our second tutorial edition. This time, we tackle some heavy stuff - Josh opens up about his modern existential crisis of living untethered from traditional institutions, which gets us into William James' "Will to Believe" and the whole mess of making momentous decisions in a culture that's allergic to commitment. Then I get nerdy about Andreas Reckwitz's fascinating analysis of late modernity - how we've split into two warring tribes: the hyper-culture individualists seeking singular authenticity and the cultural essentialists clinging to collective identity. It's a compelling framework for understanding why we're all at each other's throats politically while the middle class gets squeezed into an hourglass shape. We also geek out over Byung-Chul Han's concept of positive violence, reminisce about U2 concerts with my son Elgin, and somehow end up discussing Rob Bell's uncanny resemblance to the lead singer of Matchbox Twenty. Oh, and we

Grace Ji-Sun Kim joined me at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Durham for a fantastic live Pentecost Podcast, and let me tell you, the Spirit was moving! Grace had just preached at Duke's chapel that morning (complete with a birth story analogy that had people talking), and we dove deep into the connections between creation's hovering spirit and the fire that made us human as a species. We explored how every culture has words for spirit that sound like breath and why starting theology with the Spirit instead of Christology might just revolutionize how we do church. Grace's latest book "When God Became White" sparked some serious conversation about how our imagery of God shapes everything from patriarchy to racism, and why the church desperately needs to reckon with these colonial legacies. Plus, I may have gotten a little too fired up connecting Pentecost to evolutionary biology and the role of fire in human development - but hey, that's what happens when you put theologians in a room together. If you want mor

So we're back with my buddy Dr. Andrew Root and his brand new book Evangelism in the Age of Despair - and no, before you ask, this is definitely not your typical door-to-door evangelism handbook. Andy's doing what he does best here, which is taking some heavy theological machinery (theology of the cross, Charles Taylor, French philosophers you've never heard of) and making it speak to the very despair of our concrete cultural moment. The basic argument? Our whole pursuit-of-happiness project has been a spectacular failure, leaving us isolated and constantly chasing distractions. Perhaps the church's calling isn't to add happiness to people's lives but to accompany them into their sorrow. It's evangelism as consolation rather than conversion, which sounds both obvious and revolutionary at the same time. We dive into why the optimistic 90s crashed into our current age of anxiety, how social media turned authenticity into competitive rage, and what it might mean for pastors to be professionally human rather than

What's up theology nerds! When we lost the legendary Walter Brueggemann, I knew we had to do a proper tribute to one of the most influential biblical scholars of our time. I'm joined by Bo and Rolf Jacobson from Luther Seminary for a deep dive into Walter's life and work - this is the guy who somehow managed to have both mega-nerd street cred in the academy AND pastors across the country whose preaching was transformed by his books. We explore how Walter revolutionized biblical theology by showing us a God who's relational, passionate, and takes sides (goodbye, distant philosophical absolutes), his famous disagreements with Terence Fretheim about divine freedom versus fidelity, and how "The Prophetic Imagination" is really about hope and alternative consciousness, not scolding people. Rolf shares incredible stories about Walter's pastoral heart, we discuss his brilliant interdisciplinary work that connected everything from Paul Ricoeur to economic theory, and we talk about his scathing critique of American ca

We've lost a giant in biblical scholarship with the passing of Walter Brueggemann, whose profound insights into the Hebrew Bible transformed how countless people understand scripture and faith. In this special tribute episode, we revisit three memorable conversations with Walter from across the years of Homebrewed Christianity, showcasing his remarkable ability to make ancient texts come alive with contemporary relevance. From his groundbreaking work on the prophetic imagination to his incisive analysis of money and possessions in scripture, Walter consistently challenged us to see God not as a distant, unchanging deity, but as a passionate, covenant-making partner deeply invested in justice and human flourishing. His gift was revealing how the Bible's narratives of liberation, resistance, and hope speak directly to our modern struggles with empire, inequality, and the search for authentic community. Walter's legacy lives on in every preacher who dares to let scripture speak its radical truth, every scholar w

This is an audio essay from my SubStack, Process This. You can head over here to read or watch the entire essay. I've been tracking the peculiar contradictions of American religious life for years now, and there's one puzzle that keeps me up at night: Why does liberal theology keep producing brilliant scholarship while liberal churches empty out? It's not just a marketing problem or bad leadership—it's what my friend Bo Sanders calls a "perfect storm." In this episode, I dig into the fundamental incompatibility between liberalism's love affair with individual choice, Christianity's call to communal formation, and consumer capitalism's corrosive effects on both. We've got a faith tradition that's too secular for believers, too religious for secularists, and too academic for everyone else. Meanwhile, 55% of mainline Protestants voted for Trump, so we can't even claim the "liberal" label fits the folks in our pews. I walk through five predicaments killing liberal Christianity—from what Henry Nelson Wieman cal

This week's Q&A dives deep into expanding our pneumatological horizons with Grace Ji-Sun Kim as we gear up for Pentecost Sunday. We tackle some fantastic questions about the Hebrew "ruach" versus Greek "pneuma," unpack how Greco-Roman philosophy (thanks, Plato!) shaped early Trinitarian debates, and explore the fascinating gender fluidity of Spirit language throughout church history - spoiler alert: the Spirit was feminine in early Syriac and Hebrew texts before patriarchal translations masculinized everything. Grace brilliantly connects the Asian concept of chi to global understandings of life-giving spirit found everywhere from Africa to indigenous Hawaiian traditions, making the case that syncretism isn't scary when you realize Easter and Christmas are already pagan mashups. We discuss how starting with pneumatology instead of Christology opens up interfaith dialogue, since everyone from Muslims to Buddhists has some concept of divine breath or energy. Plus, we get into the nitty-gritty of how embodied Spi

Here's another fantastic conversation with Justin Barrett, cognitive scientist extraordinaire, who spends his time at the intersection of science and religion. We dove deep into why developmental psychology is such a powerful lens for understanding human nature - turns out you can't figure out if a zebra is white with black stripes or black with white stripes just by looking at adult zebras, you've got to watch how they develop. Justin walked us through the fascinating story of human evolution and our hyper-sociality, from our massive brains (five to seven times bigger than expected for mammals our size!) to our unique ability to think about each other's thoughts about our thoughts. We explored how kids naturally develop agency detection, theory of mind, and teleological reasoning - basically why three-year-olds spontaneously ask "what's that mountain for?" and start wondering about invisible agents. Then we got into the weeds about how our Stone Age minds are navigating modern technologies like social media