This week, pastor and author Brian Zahnd returns to The Puddcast to discuss his new book, When Everything’s On Fire. This helpful and timely book is a sort of field guide to maintaining faith in a secular age, and so we unpacked deconstruction, modernism as a framework for secular society, Nietzsche’s predictions about the death of God, postmodernism and more. I asked Brian some very pointed questions about faith leaders espousing a faith we can’t support and why that’s led so many to deconstruction.
Read MoreBy popular demand, Aundi Kolber returns to The Puddcast this week. Aundi and I discuss the success and impact of Try Softer, the brand new Try Softer Guided Journey companion book, and we riff at length on Jesus’ relationship to traumatic events. Expect to learn more about how your process pain and shift into the shame-free life that God has designed you for.
Read MoreThis week, theologian, lecturer and mother Julie Canlis comes to The Puddcast, to talk about ordinary, embodied holiness. Julie is the author of A Theology of the Ordinary, and we discussed how the Holy Spirit connects us to our bodies in normal, everyday ways and how the full life of Jesus transforms all of the mundane moments of our lives into sacred pathways of holiness. We even discussed John Calvin, as Julie’s framework for understanding Calvin’s beliefs goes contrary to much of what I thought I knew about Calvinism. I highly recommend this conversation to you, it is full of earthy hope and simple love for creation and life.
Read MoreThis week we are joined by pastor, podcaster and author Kurt Willems, to discuss how Jesus’ humanity redeems and transforms our human suffering. Kurt is a delightful blend of the academic, the pastoral, and deep spiritual formation. We talked about how Jesus meets us in our brokenness and leads us through the traumas of our life, renewing our humanity in the process. And a whole lot more, as usual!
Read MoreThis week we welcome the most specialist guest ever, Maija Puddle, my better half! Maija’s undergrad was in Political Science specializing in Public Policy and her masters’ thesis (in development and cooperation) was on power and language. So in the aftermath of the US election, Maija and I had an in-depth discussion on abortion, democracy, representation, the dangers of spiritualizing politics, and how God does and doesn’t work within society to bring about change. Expect hope, fire and lots of love.
Read MoreThis week I’m thrilled to welcome Pete Greig, one of the founders of the 24-7 Prayer movement and author of a number of books that have deeply impacted me. My friend and pastor Amy Ryan co-hosted the discussion and we asked Pete to help us understand how to pray and how to handle the silence that often happens in response to our prayers. His answers to us were deep and powerful and his comments on the church were insightful! Make sure to grab a copy of his latest book (republished for the COVID context), God on Mute: Engaging the Silence of Unanswered Prayer. It’s honestly wrecking me right now.
Read MoreThis week on The Puddcast we welcome Duncan & Kate Smith, the leaders of the Catch The Fire movement of churches. I’ve known Duncan & Kate for many years and I asked them to share what it means to encounter the Holy Spirit and have the Spirit revolutionize your life. We took our time to get there, building up a beautiful framework for knowing God has a loving Father and taking on the life of Jesus into our own lives. If you’ve ever wondered what the deal was with those crazy Charismatics, then have a listen to this and see if you too don’t catch an excitement for the experienceable presence and tangible love of God.
Read MoreThis week we are joined once more by Max Lucado, one of the most prolific Christian authors of our time. Max and I briefly discussed some themes from his new book, You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence and Power before we moved on to examining the intensity and pain of the moment we find ourselves in, how so many of our systems are failing us and how we desperately need help from the Holy Spirit. There’s a little something in here for everyone.
Read MoreOn The Puddcast this week is Derwin L. Gray, pastor of Transformation Church in South Carolina, and author of The Good Life: What Jesus Teaches about Finding True Happiness. We discussed the Beatitudes as an invitation to a life of meaning and purpose, how that intersects with racial justice, how the prosperity message has crippled our witness, and our great need for leadership from those who have pastored on the margins.
Read MoreMy guest this week is Kevin Makins, pastor of Eucharist Church in Hamilton, Ontario. Kevin and I chatted about walking away from God, building communities that are safe for people questioning their faith, and how Jesus shatters the idols we make out of our churches and communities. This conversation presents a hope-filled, loved-centred path forward for the church in secular society. It’s full of joy. You’ll love it.
Read MoreK.J. Ramsey is a therapist, writer and the author of This Too Shall Last: Finding Grace When Suffering Lingers. K.J. and I have become good friends over the course of the pandemic, and in this interview we discussed the hope embedded in suffering, the tension between Jesus’ words “All these things and more you will do” and “In this life, you will have troubles”. She shared how stories that include very hard things can also include great hope and love, and how brain science reveals that being still with God in the midst of our suffering is of transformative importance. I cannot recommend her to you highly enough.
Read MoreLore Ferguson Wilbert is a long-time blogger and author of the new book, Handle With Care: How Jesus Redeems the Power of Touch in Life and Ministry. Lore (pronounced Lor-ee) joined me on the show to discuss the wonder of the Incarnation, the playfulness and delight of Jesus, platonic vs sexual touch, healthy touch in community, and my wife’s philosophy on hugging. For a healthier church, for a healthier, more embodied world, I highly commend this interview and Lore herself to you.
Read MoreMany of us were raised to believe all kinds of myths about emotions, such as they’re sinful, they lead us astray, that emotions aren’t spiritual and so on. Right now, terrorized by the fear of a global pandemic, we’re surrounded by emotions! The truth is that emotions are a God-given source of wisdom when we know how to interpret them. In this episode, I share some science on what emotions are in our brains and bodies, a few practical tips on how to process the fear, anger and sadness coming up during this COVID-19 crisis, and then we practice accessing our emotions and bringing them to God.
Read MoreMy guest this week is Dr. Jerome D. Lubbe, the creator of the Brain-Based Enneagram. We talked about science, hope, trauma, shame, the Brain-Based Enneagram… pretty much anything relating to the psychological framework of Jesus and the application for that in our lives. Dive in!
Read MoreDavid Kinnaman is President of the Barna Group, specialists in church-related research. He joined me on the show this week to discuss what is working in churches around the world looking to build resilient, faithful disciples. We also discussed using research as a lens on what’s happening in culture, and using that as a means of helping the church understand its times and the way forward.
Read MoreJaye Thomas is a world-renowned worship leader and songwriter from Kansas City and a good friend of mine. Jaye and his wife Nayomi recently left the staff of IHOP to focus on their ministry, Song of Hope. With three primary pillars: Bible study, community discipleship and worship for people in prison, Jaye and Nayomi are actively ministering the love of God to people in church and out of church. Jaye and I discussed freedom, hope, self-righteousness and seeing Jesus in people we don’t expect to find him in.
Read MoreBrian Zahnd joined me to discuss his new book Postcards from Babylon, as well as the multi-faceted nature of the church, the richness of spiritual diversity, and how to be faithful witnesses to Christ while living inside a dominant empire. What empire claims for itself (to have the divine right to rule others and the manifest destiny to shape history), is the very thing God has promised us through his son.
Read MoreCarlos A. Rodríguez is the founder of TheHappyGivers, a non-profit dedicated to alleviating poverty, supporting prisoners and feeding children. Carlos and I discussed how to earn the right to be heard and how being on mission unifies us and helps us move past divisive political or theological debates.
Read MoreBest-selling author Frank Viola and I discussed what happens when you truly begin to see the beauty of Jesus Christ, and how the church can be transformed by radical devotion to the King and his kingdom.
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