Reports from the Spiritual Frontier
164 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsTelling the Stories of Those Who Live and Work on the Spiritual Margins
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Episodes
Nicole Reilley – Spiritually Flourishing on the Titanic
June 19, 2019 15:17 - 45 minutes - 30.9 MBJoin us for a conversation with Nicole Reilley of Valencia United Methodist Church. Episode Highlights Include: How to spiritually flourish on the Titanic Mindfulness Meditation and Christian Formation Releasing Institutional Expectations (and Institutional Anxiety) Spiritual Dynamics for Religious Pioneers and Those Who Supervise Them Support us by: Subscribing to us on Apple Podcasts (or [...]
Kenda Creasy-Dean [Bonus] Surviving Shipwreck
June 13, 2019 13:41 - 4 minutes - 3.04 MBJoin us for a little more of our conversation with Kenda Creasy Dean of Princeton Theological Seminary and Ministry Incubators, where she talks about how communities survive shipwreck. If you haven’t heard it yet, check out our full conversation with Kenda, Youth Spirituality and the Advent of A New Church. Support us by: Subscribing to [...]
Kenda Creasy-Dean – Youth Spirituality and the Advent of A New Church
June 06, 2019 17:21 - 53 minutes - 34.5 MBJoin us for a conversation with Kenda Creasy Dean of Princeton Theological Seminary and Ministry Incubators. Episode Highlights Include: Why mainline Christians suck at spiritual formation The difference between good action and holy action How formation shifts when mainline Christians acknowledge they are a religious minority The Advent season of the American church Why teens [...]
[Bonus] Allen Buck: Smudging and Other Ways of Worship
May 29, 2019 18:31 - 7 minutes - 4.31 MBHear Allen Buck of Great Spirit United Methodist Church in Portland, OR share a little bit with us about his community’s particular worship practices, including what smudging is and how it’s used. To hear the rest of our conversation with Allen, click here or subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts!
Allen Buck – Healing and Wisdom at Great Spirit UMC
May 22, 2019 16:28 - 45 minutes - 30.7 MBJoin us for a conversation with Allen Buck of Great Spirit United Methodist Church in Portland, OR. Episode Highlights Include: Allen’s journey from Oklahoma to Portland, Oregon. Native American ministry nested in American Christianity What it means to carry inter=generational trauma Worship that is authentically Native American and authentically Christian What Allen doesn’t know yet Support us [...]
Bonus: Randy Evans on Worship and Advocacy With Walking Tall
April 24, 2019 12:26 - 12 minutes - 12 MBJoin us for a conversation with Randy Evans of Walking Tall in Wilmington, NC Episode Highlights Include: Why you should quit using the word “Homeless” How Randy learned that the Christian way of life “is not a means to an end” Why church volunteers struggle to cultivate friendships with those who are unhoused The story of the time that Randy [...]
Randy Evans: Walking Tall With Our Unhoused Friends
April 17, 2019 16:35 - 51 minutes - 49.7 MBJoin us for a conversation with Randy Evans of Walking Tall in Wilmington, NC Episode Highlights Include: Why you should quit using the word “Homeless” How Randy learned that the Christian way of life “is not a means to an end” Why church volunteers struggle to cultivate friendships with those who are unhoused The story [...]
Chris Jenkins – Restoring Hope (and Houses)
April 03, 2019 18:06 - 44 minutes - 25 MBJoin us for a conversation with Chris Jenkins of Hope Restorations in Kinston, North Carolina, as he shares his journey from personal grief to community transformation. Hear him tell the story of how they’re restoring hope and houses in his rural community; why they focus on hiring those who typically find it difficult to find work, why true communion [...]
Greg Moore B-Side: Friendship and New Spiritual Communities
March 27, 2019 12:49 - 11 minutes - 6.81 MBJoin us for a little more of our conversation with Greg Moore, Executive Director of New Faith Communities for the North Carolina Annual Conference, as he shares more about what it means to center friendship in spiritual community (and measure whether you’re doing it well.) If you haven’t heard it yet, make sure to check out [...]
Greg Moore – Spiritual Community At the Rate of Friendship
March 21, 2019 12:44 - 47 minutes - 44.4 MBJoin us for a conversation with Greg Moore, Executive Director of New Faith Communities for the North Carolina Annual Conference, as he shares about cultivating spiritual community at the rate of friendship. Hear him share about his experience as a church planter, about the challenges of planting “oak tree churches”, the oft-confused difference between consumption [...]
Shawn Moore B-Side: What He Doesn’t Know Yet
March 13, 2019 12:53 - 2 minutes - 1.36 MBJoin us for a little more of our conversation with Shawn Moore of The Beloved United Methodist Church as he shares about what he doesn’t know yet. If you haven’t heard it yet, make sure to check out our full conversation with Shawn as well. You can become on our patron and unlock exclusive content [...]
Shawn Moore – Following Jesus In A Multicultural Community
March 07, 2019 13:55 - 48 minutes - 23.6 MBJoin us for a conversation with Shawn Moore of The Beloved United Methodist Church in Saint Paul, MN; as he shares about the journey of transforming his young, non-denominational church into an age-diverse, United Methodist community; about the centrality of daily obedience for spiritual growth; and how true multicultural community is more than a diversity [...]
Shawn Moore -Following Jesus In A Multicultural Community
March 07, 2019 07:54 - 23.6 MBJoin us for a conversation with Shawn Moore of The Beloved United Methodist Church in Saint Paul, MN; as he shares about the journey of transforming his young, non-denominational church into an age-diverse, United Methodist community; about the centrality of daily obedience for spiritual growth; and how true multicultural community is more than a diversity [...]
Jerry Herships – [Updated] Extra Doses of Dignity
February 27, 2019 18:25 - 59 minutes - 44.5 MBJoin us for an updated re-release of our first-ever episode, a conversation with Jerry Herships from Afterhours Denver. Hear him talk about what’s new with AfterHours since 2016, his upcoming book, and a few words of lament, comfort, and hope for those feeling discouraged after the United Methodist General Conference in February, 2019. Highlights include:– [...]
Gavin Rogers B-Side: God On the Caravan, With the Poor, With the Rich
February 14, 2019 19:54 - 5.65 MBJoin us for a little more of our conversation with Gavin Rogers of Travis Park United Methodist Church, as he shares about the story of one of the friends he made on the migrant caravan, and also how he has encountered God among the poor at Church Under the Bridge and among the rich at [...]
Gavin Rogers – Meeting God on A Migrant Caravan
February 06, 2019 18:36 - 27.4 MBJoin us for a conversation with Reports’ host Ben Yosua-Davis, as he is joined by Gavin Rogers of Travis Park United Methodist Church, as he talks about encountering God on a migrant caravan. Hear him share about how he learned about the importance of authenticity, how migrants and those who are homeless showed him radical [...]
Ben Yosua-Davis – Calling Comes From Within
December 30, 2018 14:20 - 49 minutes - 33.4 MBJoin us for our year-end conversation, where Beth Estock interviews Ben Yosua-Davis about his experience hosting Reports. Hear about what he learned from the 2018 season of Reports, the importance of discernment when starting new faith communities, why “just because I love them” may be the only real reason for engaging in ministry, and the [...]
Ryan Klinck – Encountering God In Unlikely Neighbors
December 05, 2018 19:12 - 58 minutes - 39.5 MBJoin us for a conversation with Neighborhood Animator and Iconographer Ryan Klinck, of the Missional Wisdom Foundation and SOCE Life, as he shares what it means to encounter unlikely saints in the people around us. Hear him share about how a dream sent him to Mexico when he was a young adult, the hard practice of [...]
Patreon Update and Michael Whitaker B-Side: Turkey Leg Serendipity
November 26, 2018 14:06 - 12 minutes - 17.7 MBJoin us for a little more of our conversation with Michael Whitaker, where he shares a remarkable story of God-induced serendipity during his pilgrimage, which prominently involves a turkey leg. Also, there are only *48* hours left in our Patreon campaign, so if you’d like to hear more conversations from us in 2019, click on [...]
Michael Whitaker – The Pilgrimage of a Church Planter
November 20, 2018 17:00 - 46 minutes - 63.6 MBJoin us for a conversation with United Methodist church planter Michael Whitaker, as he shares about his experience going on pilgrimage to twenty new churches in two months. Hear him share about the generosity of the people he met, the fear and excitement of the church planting journey, the importance of the Wesleyan Covenant prayer, [...]
Wendy Hudson-Jacoby – The Freedom of A Truth-Telling Church
November 14, 2018 18:15 - 47 minutes - 64.7 MBJoin us for a conversation with Wendy Hudson-Jacoby, pastor of Two Rivers Church in Charleston, South Carolina, as she shares with us about the freedom of being a truth-telling church. Hear her talk about what drew her to this ministry, the ghosts of Charlestown, what it means to be a visibly anti-racist and inclusive church, [...]
Andrea Lingle – Staying At The Table For One More Minute
November 08, 2018 16:11 - 50 minutes - 68.8 MBJoin us for a conversation with Andrea Lingle of the Missional Wisdom Foundation, as she shares about how conflict can be a means of grace. Hear her share about how true community can be exhausting, what it means to thirst for righteousness rather than thirst for rightness, and first steps that communities can take to [...]
David Masland B-Side: Into Silence Revisited and Celebrating a New Partnership!
October 24, 2018 14:28 - 3 minutes - 4.37 MBJoin us for a little more of our conversation with David Masland, when he talks about Into Silence from his perspective. We’re also celebrating that David and the folks in the Upper New York Annual Conference are joining us as sponsors for our 2019 season of Reports! You can find the rest of our conversation [...]
Sam Yun – Embracing What God Offers You
October 17, 2018 16:40 - 41 minutes - 57 MBJoin us for a conversation with Sam Yun of Embrace Church of San Fransico. Hear him tell about his surprising journey from reluctantly leading a small group of people who had left the church to planting a church that reaches out to those with no Christian background in the East Bay area of California, including [...]
Chrisie Reeves-Pendergrass – Sexual Assault, #whyididn’treport, and Good Allies
October 04, 2018 13:57 - 57 minutes - 79.5 MBJoin us for a conversation with United Methodist pastor Chrisie Reeves-Pendergrass, co-host of Instructions For Living a Life, as she shares her story of being sexually abused, the most common techniques used by abusers and the powers-that-be to minimize and silence abuse victims, what it means to be a good ally to someone who has [...]
Tyler Sitt: New Churches That Grow New Cities
September 27, 2018 19:27 - 48 minutes - 30.5 MBJoin us for a conversation with Tyler Sitt, pastor of New City Church, as he talks about cultivating a new church formed by and re-forming a neighborhood. Hear him share about the painful experience of hearing “Yes, but…” to his original vision and the necessity of being obedient to your community, about creating genuinely multicultural [...]
David Masland – Creating Space for Spiritual Pioneers
August 30, 2018 17:25 - 43 minutes - 60.4 MBJoin us for a conversation with David Masland, Director of New Faith Communities for the Upper New York Conference, as he shares about creating space for spiritual pioneers within stressed institutions. Hear him share about the discipline of dying and waiting for institutions wanting to do new things, the adventurous hope of the church planters [...]
Nancy Raca B-Side: Church Buildings Make Life Complicated
August 22, 2018 14:55 - 11 minutes - 15.5 MBJoin us for a little more of our conversation with Nancy Raca of Sophia Community as she shares with us how church buildings are not the magic pill that many church planters think they are. To hear the rest of our conversation with Nancy and other spiritual pioneers like her, make sure to subscribe to [...]
Nancy Raca – Finding Sophia in Suburbia
August 15, 2018 19:28 - 41 minutes - 56.6 MBJoin us for a conversation with Nancy Raca, pastor of Sophia Community in Brighton, NY . Hear her describe her journey of cultivating community with women in suburban settings, the spiritual pressures that uniquely impact suburban women, why having a single-gender community is important, and how Nancy’s understandings of success have changed since she began [...]
Carlos R-L B-Side: We Don’t Need Help, We Need Brothers and Sisters
August 09, 2018 15:33 - 6 minutes - 9.22 MBHear a little bit more of our conversation with Carlos Rosa-Liguer, as he shares about what it means to build cross-cultural relationships. You can hear the rest of our conversation with Carlos and with other spiritual pioneers like him by subscribing to us wherever you get your podcasts or by visiting us at www.facebook.com/reportsfromthespiritualfrontier.
Carlos Rosa-Laguer – Building a Church, One Hot Dog at a Time
August 01, 2018 18:27 - 51 minutes - 70.3 MBJoin us for a conversation with Carlos Rosa-Laguer, most recently pastor of Immanuel United Methodist Church in Rochester, NY, as he shares about their fanatically relationship-focused approach to spiritual community. Hear him tell the story about running a hot dog stand in the most dangerous streets in Rochester, the importance of patience when engaging in [...]
Erin Patrick B-Side: Spiritual Formation and Worship At the Road
July 27, 2018 15:01 - 13 minutes - 19.2 MBJoin us for a little bit more of our conversation with Erin Patrick of the Road, as she talks to us about spiritual formation and worship at the Road. To hear the rest of our conversation with Erin, or with other spiritual pioneers like her, make sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Google [...]
Erin Patrick – Love the People In Front Of You
July 25, 2018 18:51 - 38 minutes - 52.7 MBJoin us for a conversation with Erin Patrick of the Road in Syracuse, NY as she shares her journey from staffing a fast-food drive thru to gathering three unlikely groups of people together into one powerful spiritual community. Hear her describe how she befriended those who are homeless, those who are elderly, and those who [...]
Rebecca Priest and Chris Jewell – Mobile Meditation
July 18, 2018 14:30 - 47 minutes - 65.6 MBJoin us for a conversation with Rebecca Priest and Chris Jewell of Into Silence, a mobile meditation space that partners with businesses, non-profits, and churches to provide an on-site way for their members to learn how to enter into silence as part of their everyday practice. Hear them share about Rebecca’s first experience of centering prayer, [...]
Darlene Hutto – Vocation Unbound
July 11, 2018 09:38 - 50 minutes - 69.6 MBJoin us for a conversation with Darlene Hutto, Director of Strategic Initiatives for Leadership Networks for the Forum for Theological Exploration, as she talks about discovering vocation on the margins. Hear her talk about her work sparking young people’s spiritual imagination as they consider vocation and the factors that influence how young people receive and [...]
Ramsey Patton B-Side: Music Making in the FEAST
June 27, 2018 14:21 - 2 minutes - 3.54 MBHere’s a little bit more of our conversation with Ramsey Patton, where she describes how the FEAST does communal worship and music making with people of different abilities. To hear the rest of our conversation with Ramsey and other spiritual pioneers like her, check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/reportsfromthespiritualfrontier or subscribe to us wherever [...]
Dan Wolpert – The Spiritual Life of the Every-Pastor
June 21, 2018 15:43 - 55 minutes - 76.5 MBJoin us for a conversation with Dan Wolpert, co-founder of the Minnesota Institution for Contemplation and Healing (MICAH), and writer of “Creating a Life with God” about the spiritual life of the Every-Pastor. Hear Dan describe his own journey from contemplative practice into Christianity, the common spiritual contours of a typical pastor’s life, the stories [...]
Ramsey Patton – Cultivating Spiritual Community With the Differently Abled
June 13, 2018 14:37 - 1 hour - 83 MBJoin us for a guest-hosted conversation with Rev. Ramsey Patton of Highland Park UMC, as she shares with us her experience of cultivating spiritual community with the differently abled through FEAST, a worship experience specifically designed for those disabilities and special needs. Hosted by Justin and Lisa Hancock, she explores the nuts and bolts of [...]
Lisa and Justin Hancock [Updated] – The Spiritual Lives of a Differently Abled Couple
May 09, 2018 15:33 - 57 minutes - 78.5 MBIn our full re-release of our most-talked about episode of 2017, hear Justin and Lisa give us an update on their lives, a new book coming out in a few months, and their plans for guest hosting on Reports in a couple of weeks. After that, join us for a beautiful conversation with Lisa and [...]
Erin Martin B-Side: The Spiritual Lives of District Superintendents
May 02, 2018 14:23 - 5 minutes - 6.89 MBHear a little bit more of our conversation with Erin Martin, as she talks about the spiritual lives of district superintendents and Ben gets a sudden case of neo-monastic envy. You can hear the rest of our conversation with Erin and spiritual pioneers like her by checking out our Facebook page or by subscribing to [...]
Erin Martin – The Life of a Methodist Monastic Superintendent
April 25, 2018 14:28 - 46 minutes - 63.3 MBJoin us for a conversation with Rev. Erin Martin, District Superintendent of the Columbia District of the Oregon-Idaho Conference of the United Methodist Church, as she shares about her life as a monastic Methodist leader. Hear her share her diagnosis of the spiritual dynamics of mainline institutional Christianity, the spiritual pressures of being a judicatory [...]
Eilidh Lowery- Church in Table, In Neighborhood, In Place
April 11, 2018 17:04 - 50 minutes - 69 MBJoin us for a conversation with Eilidh Lowery, co-pastor of Sellwood Faith Community and Southeast Portland Parish, as she shares her experience of growing spiritual community in the Sellwood Neighborhood. Hear her describe how her dinner worship gathering has changed, what it’s like to share ministry with her husband, how their community tells stories to [...]
Rabbi David Markus B-Side: Rabbi and Lawyer
April 04, 2018 17:16 - 12 minutes - 16.5 MBJoin us for a little more of our conversation with Rabbi David Markus, as he describes his call both to be a rabbi and a lawyer. You can hear the rest of our conversation with David and other spiritual pioneers by visiting our facebook page or subscribing to us wherever you get your podcasts.
Rabbi David Markus: The Common Theographic Frontiers of Christianity and Judaism
March 28, 2018 19:34 - 46 minutes - 63.3 MBJoin us for a conversation with Rabbi David Markus of Temple Beth-El of City Island, NY, co-founder of Bayit, and judicial referee in New York Supreme Court, Ninth Judicial District, as we talk about the shared theographic frontiers in Christianity and Judaism. Hear David share about his call into to be both a rabbi and a [...]
Sean Peters B-Side – Theater of the Oppressed
March 20, 2018 15:07 - 6 minutes - 9.06 MBJoin us for a little more of our conversation with Sean Peters of Mosaic Palm Bay, where he talks about his dream to use Augusto Boal’s Theater of the Oppressed as way to cultivate spiritual community. Hear the rest of our conversation with Sean and other spiritual pioneers by visiting us at www.facebook.com/reportsfromthespiritualfrontier or by [...]
Sean Peters – Embracing God’s Surprises
March 13, 2018 14:12 - 45 minutes - 62.8 MBJoin us for a conversation with Sean Peters of Mosaic Palm Bay, a diverse community that lives at the intersection of community, art, and justice. Sean shares about his surprising journey from the world of theater to the world of church planting, what it means to embrace the people that God sends to you, and [...]
Abigail Vizcarra-Perez B-Side: Spiritual Pioneering and Race
March 02, 2018 17:43 - 15 minutes - 21.2 MBJoin us for a little more of our conversation with Abigail Vizcarra-Perez of Connexion Tacoma, as she talks about her experience of being a pastor in a white-majority denomination and what it looks like to be a spiritual pioneer and also Mexican-American. You can find the rest of our conversation with Abigail by checking out [...]
Abigail Vizcarra-Perez- The Spiritual Ecology of Tacoma, Washington
February 27, 2018 20:02 - 40 minutes - 56 MBJoin us for a conversation with Rev. Abigail Vizcarra-Perez, poet and pastor of Connexion Tacoma, as she shares with us about Tacoma, Washington. Hear about the moment she fell in love with her city, bad-ass baristas at Starbucks, the spiritual ecology of Tacoma, Wolves and Laundry Lounges, and what place has taught her about church [...]
Wayne Jacobsen B-Side – Stuck Pastors Getting Unstuck
February 24, 2018 20:12 - 16 minutes - 22.5 MBIn a little more of our conversation with Wayne Jacobsen, he talks about stuck pastors and stuck Christians, and asks our pastors, “How much time do you spend doing what you got in ministry to do?” You can hear the rest of our conversation by subscribing to us on Apple Podcasts or by visiting our [...]
Wayne Jacobsen – Following Jesus Out of Institutional Christianity
February 21, 2018 16:08 - 51 minutes - 71.2 MBJoin us for a conversation with Wayne Jacobsen, blogger at Lifestream.org, co-author of the Shack, and recent author of Beyond Sundays as he describes his journey into post-institutional Christianity. Hear him how God told him “I’ve got much more to teach you if you leave then if you stay”, what he’s learned about trust, how he [...]