Gravity Leadership Podcast

What can we do to combat the misinformation that's impacting the people we care about and dividing our communities? Life and politics in the US are suffering from a raging knowledge crisis, and the church is no exception. Experienced journalist and author Bonnie Kristian helps us unpack this crisis and explore ways to combat it in our own lives, families, and church communities.These are the themes of Bonnie's new book Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community. Drawing from her extensive experience in journalism and her training as a theologian, Kristian explores social media, political and digital culture, online paranoia, and the press itself. She explains factors that contribute to our confusion and helps Christians pay attention to how we consume content and think about truth. Finally, she provides specific ways to take action, empowering readers to avoid succumbing to or fueling the knowledge crisis.Bonnie Kristian is an ex

Christy, Matt, and Ben look back on 2022 and reflect on breakthroughs, challenges, learning, growth, and their favorite podcast episodes, as well as look to what 2023 will bring for their lives and the podcast. Ben and Matt also open a Christmas gift from Christy.Podcast episodes mentioned:David Ford: A Fresh Encounter with Jesus Through John’s GospelMarc Alan Schelske: Cultivating Spiritual Growth Through JournalingDeconstructing Spiritual Practices, Embracing New Paradigms (Book series beginning)KJ Ramsey: Stepping Through Fear Toward the Voice of LoveMelissa Florer-Bixler: How to Have An EnemyBrandon O’Brien: How We Misread Scripture With Western EyesConnect with Gravity LeadershipLeave us a message or ask a question about this or any other episode and we'll answer it on a future episode.Join our online community for free to get a curated list of interesting and edifying links each week, plus all kinds of other goodies.Check out the Gravity Commons, a place to connect and learn with others in the Gravi

Many American Christians have good intentions, working hard to welcome immigrants with hospitality and solidarity. But how can we do that in a way that empowers our immigrant neighbors rather than pushing them to the fringes of white-dominant culture and keeping them as outsiders? We talk with Karen González about these questions, which are the themes of her new book Beyond Welcome: Centering Immigrants in Our Christian Response to Immigration.A Guatemalan immigrant, González draws from the Bible and her own experiences to examine why the traditional approach to immigration ministries and activism is at best incomplete and at worst harmful. By advocating for putting immigrants in the center of the conversation, González helps readers grow in discipleship and recognize themselves in their immigrant neighbors. Accessible to any Christian who is called to serve immigrants, this book equips readers to take action to dismantle white supremacy and xenophobia in the church. They will emerge with new insight into our

We talk with Dr. David Cramer and Dr. Myles Werntz about Christian nonviolence, which is not a settled position but rather a vibrant and living tradition. In their book A Field Guide to Christian Nonviolence: Key Thinkers, Activists, and Movements for the Gospel of Peace, they offer a concise introduction to diverse approaches to, proponents of, and resources for Christian nonviolence.Dr. David Cramer is managing editor at the Institute of Mennonite Studies, sessional lecturer at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, and a teaching pastor at Keller Park Church in South Bend, IN.Dr. Myles Werntz is associate professor of theology and director of Baptist studies at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, TX. He is the author or editor of several books, including Bodies of Peace.Connect with Gravity LeadershipLeave us a message or ask a question about this or any other episode and we'll answer it on a future episode.Join our online community for free to get a curated list of interesting and edifying links

Get ready for your understanding of Genesis 22 to be turned upside down by J. Richard Middleton. While we normally think of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son as proof of his love for God, the exact opposite might be true: Is it possible that a careful reading of Genesis 22 could reveal that God was not pleased with Abraham's silent obedience?That's the theme of Middleton's book Abraham's Silence: The Binding of Isaac, The Suffering of Job, and How to Talk Back to God, which we discuss with him on today's episode.J. Richard Middleton is professor of biblical worldview and exegesis at Northeastern Seminary at Roberts Wesleyan University and author of The Liberating Image and A New Heaven and a New Earth as well as co-author of Truth is Stranger than It Used to Be and The Transforming Vision.Connect with Gravity LeadershipLeave us a message or ask a question about this or any other episode and we'll answer it on a future episode.Join our online community for free to get a cur

Willie Dwayne Francois III joins us to talk about the practicalities of anti-racism. Specifically, we discuss the prevalence in US society of what he calls "white noise": the racist speech, ideas, and policies that lull us into inaction on racial justice, which is the theme of his book Silencing White Noise: Six Practices to Overcome Our Inaction on Race.Willie Dwayne Francois III is senior pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Pleasantville, NJ, and president of the Black Church Center for Justice and Equality. He serves as assistant professor of liberation theology at NY Theological Seminary and directs a master's degree program at Sing Correctional Facility. He created the Public Love Organizing and Training (PLOT) Project and has served in various orgs engaging racial justice issues, including the Atlantic City chapter of Black Lives Matter, the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, and the NJ Dept of State's MLK Jr. Commission. He's an active speaker and has written for HuffPost, Sojourner

Marc Alan Schelske join us (again!) to talk about journaling: what it is, why it works, and how to do it. No matter what your history is with journaling, Marc's method (outlined in his new book Journaling for Spiritual Growth: Six Weeks to Build a Habit that Fosters Spiritual and Emotional Maturity) is eminently practical and powerfully effective for fostering spiritual formation. Marc is a reader, a thinker, a writer, and speaker. He's the teaching elder at Bridge City Community Church in Milwaukie, Oregon, where he gets to inviting people into a life of following Jesus more and more. You can connect with Marc and learn more about his work on his website marcalanschelske.com.Connect with Gravity LeadershipLeave us a message or ask a question about this or any other episode and we'll answer it on a future episode.Join our online community for free to get a curated list of interesting and edifying links each week, plus all kinds of other goodies.Check out the Gravity Commons, a place to connect and

How does the Christian faith relate to a world stuck in ideological captivity? What happens when vast numbers of people abandon faith for pre-packaged sets of ideas they received from podcasts, videos, and online personalities? Those are the themes of Chris Nye's new book A Captive Mind: Christianity, Ideologies, and Staying Sane in a World Gone Mad, and the topic of our conversation in this episode.We talk about how Christianity is not an idea in the first place, and therefore confuses, disrupts, and corrects any cultural ideology. The gospel doesn't just give us a new philosophy, but a new mind and a new life.Chris Nye is a doctoral student at Duke University’s Divinity School and the author of Distant God (2016) and Less of More (2019). For fifteen years, he has served as a local church pastor and is currently on a sabbatical. His writing has appeared in the Washington Post, Christianity Today, and various other publications. He lives with his wife and son in Portland, Oregon.You can connect with C

We talked with Craig Greenfield about the profound difference it makes to shift our "missional posture" from providers / hosts / insiders to receivers / guests / outsiders. This is what his new book Subversive Mission: Serving as Outsiders in a World of Need is all about. Craig Greenfield is the founder and director of Alongsiders International, a grassroots movement of young Christians reaching the world's poorest children. Originally from New Zealand, he has lived and worked for more than two decades in marginalized communities in Asia and North America. He is the author of The Urban Halo, Subversive Jesus, and Subversive Mission: Serving as Outsiders in a World of Need.You can connect with Craig and learn more about his work on his website craiggreenfield.com.Connect with Gravity LeadershipLeave us a message or ask a question about this or any other episode and we'll answer it on a future episode.Join our online community for free to get a curated list of interesting and edifying links each

Drew Hart and Jarrod McKenna co-host the Inverse Podcast, which for people who are dissatisfied with the Bible being used to justify hatred (yeah!). We talk about the work they're doing together and separately, what it means to "decolonize" our faith, and where they see their work heading in the future.Dr. Drew Hart hails from Philly, and now lives in Harrisburg. He's the author of Trouble I've Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism and Who Will Be a Witness: Igniting Activism for God's Justice, Love, and Deliverance. He's a Professor of Theology at Messiah University where he's the program director for Thriving Together: Congregations for Racial Justice.Jarrod McKenna is an expert in nonviolent social change. He's the Founding CEO of Common Grace, a movement of people seeking Jesus and justice, and the former Director for Nonviolent Social Change for World Vision in the Middle East/Eastern Europe.Connect with Gravity LeadershipLeave us a message or ask a question a

We talk with Sarah Bessey about themes from her bestselling collaborative book A Rhythm of Prayer: A Collection of Meditations for Renewal, which celebrates and gives voice to traditions of prayer for people like us: overworked, overpressured, and edging burnout.Sarah Bessey is the author of the best-selling and critically acclaimed books Jesus Feminist (2013); Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith (2015); and Miracles and Other Reasonable Things (2019). Along with her friends, the late Rachel Held Evans and Jim Chaffee, Sarah co-founded Evolving Faith. She now co-leads the community and conference alongside Jeff Chu. Sarah is also the co-host of The Evolving Faith Podcast and also serves as chair of the board for Heartline Ministries in Haiti. Based in Port au Prince, Heartline is committed to empowering Haitian families through complete maternal and infant health care, education, vocational training, and economic development.Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, T

What if our exhaustion, burnout, and pain are an invitation into a more vibrant faith? We talk with Andrew Arndt about how Christianity got co-opted by power and privilege, and how we can find our way back to the radical way of Jesus by learning from the desert fathers and mothers, who needed to learn the same things we do: to live radically, humanly, and beautifully in a spiritually desolate and confusing time.Andrew's most recent book is Streams in the Wasteland: Finding Spiritual Renewal with the Desert Fathers & Mothers.Andrew Arndt is the lead pastor of New Life East, one of seven congregations of New Life Church in Colorado Springs. Prior to joining New Life’s team, he served as the lead pastor of Bloom Church, a network of house churches in Denver. He is the host of the Essential Church podcast, a weekly conversation designed to strengthen the thinking of church and ministry leaders. Andrew received his MDiv from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and is currently working on his DMin with West

We talk with Angie Ward about a new book in a series she is the general editor for. Kingdom and Country: Following Jesus in the Land That You Love is a collection of leading Christian thinkers and practitioners take a holistic approach to considering the questions of patriotism, nationalism, and where our ultimate loyalties must lie.Angie Ward is a leadership author and teacher with nearly thirty years of experience in church, parachurch, and Christian higher education ministry. Angie is known for her genuine love for those in ministry, her down-to-earth style, and her unique ability to see and explain complex concepts and systems. Angie is an award-winning regular contributor to Christianity Today leadership publications and holds a PhD in Ministry Leadership from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. She currently serves as assistant director of the Doctor of Ministry program at Denver Seminary.Connect with Gravity LeadershipLeave us a message or ask a question about this or any other episode and we

How can we cultivate courage when fear overshadows our lives? How do we hear the Voice of Love when hate and harm shout loud?Through sharing her own wilderness experience of spiritual abuse and religious trauma, therapist and author K.J. Ramsey helps us explore the landscape of fear, trauma, and faith by walking through Psalm 23 phrase by phrase in her new book The Lord is My Courage: Stepping Through the Shadows of Fear Toward the Voice of Love. K.J. helps us see that courage is not the absence of anxiety but the practice of trusting we will be held and loved no matter what.K.J. Ramsey is a trauma-informed licensed professional counselor and author whose work offers space to see every part of our souls and stories as sacred. She holds degrees from Covenant College and Denver Seminary, and writes at the intersection of theology, psychology, and spiritual formation to guide us in recovering the rhythm of resilience through nervous system regulation and the wonder of communion with God. She and her husband Ryan

We talked with Joel Bowman about themes from a recent article of his, on what white Christians can do to address racism: lament, repent, and dissent.Rev. Joel A. Bowman, Sr. is a native of Detroit, Michigan, and has been in ministry for 28 years. For the past 21 years, he has served as the founder and senior pastor of the Temple of Faith Baptist Church, in Louisville, Kentucky.A Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Joel has 30 years of experience in the mental health field. Joel maintains a full-time practice, providing therapy to America’s military Veterans. Joel is a seminar facilitator, freelance writer, poet, and thought leader in the areas of racism and racial trauma. His work has been published in numerous places, including the Louisville Courier-Journal, The Front Porch, The Witness, Three-Fifths Magazine, and Baptist News Global.Joel is married to Nannette Mitchell Bowman, and they have 3 children: Kayla, Katie, and Joel, Jr.Show notes/linksLeave us a message or ask a question about this or any other epis

In his book God Speaks Through Wombs: Poems on God’s Unexpected Coming, Drew Jackson explores the first eight chapters of Luke’s Gospel in a new poetic register. From the Magnificat (“That girl can sing! . . . She has a voice / That can shatter shackles”) to the baptism of Christ (“I stepped in / […] The post Drew Jackson: Recovering the Voices of the Marginalized Through Poetry appeared first on Gravity Leadership.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/gravity-leadership-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Wade Mullen shares how to identify and heal from abusive people and systems. Wade helps us get clarity on what abuse is, how to recognize it in our relationships and churches, and what we can do to heal and recover. Wade is a trustworthy voice and it was a joy to learn from him in […] The post Wade Mullen: Decoding the Hidden Tactics of Abusive People and Systems appeared first on Gravity Leadership.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/gravity-leadership-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Eric Minton joined us for our Gravity Commons Live conversation this past June. He’s an author, therapist, and ordained Baptist minister who has a unique perspective on our societies infatuation with happiness: What if there’s nothing wrong with us? What if anxiety and depression and listless spiritual life are actually telling us the truth about […] The post Eric Minton: What our Pain Reveals About the Anxious Pursuit of the Good Life appeared first on Gravity Leadership.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/gravity-leadership-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Today we finish our series on Ben and Matt’s book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about the […] The post Experimenting With Grace By Acting As If It’s True appeared first on Gravity Leadership.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/gravity-leadership-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We continue our series focused on Ben and Matt’s book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about Axiom […] The post Why Our Bodies Are Essential For Transformation in Grace appeared first on Gravity Leadership.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/gravity-leadership-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy