Have you ever felt like a ministry refugee? Like your spiritual home became uninhabitable and you were forced to flee? Today we interview Dr. Cameron Lee, a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, who uses the image of “ministry refugee” to name the experience of so many who have lost their spiritual homes and are left feeling war-torn, traumatized, and lost. Dr. Lee uses his background as a marriage and family therapist to look at the church through the lens of a family system. Through this lens he helps us examine the systems that created the toxicity and abuse that creates so many refugees. He teaches us how to offer grace and hospitality to those who have lost their homes, how to create safe spaces, and hope for healing the system.

In today’s interview, Chris gives voice to the deep feelings and burning questions of evolving faith. He describes the deep feelings of loneliness, the loss of identity and the wondering, “How did I get here?” Yet by embracing the mess and letting go of certainty, he unearthed a more beautiful vision of God’s love. By sharing his story, Chris reminds us that this journey of evolving faith is simply what honest faith looks like - and invites you to join him on that journey.Read Chris’s full Facebook post on our blog here!Learn more about Spirituality Groups or sign up today here!Learn more about one-on-one Spiritual Direction here!

How can you be a person of peace in a world that demands you take sides? In today’s episode, pastor Joel Fredrikson offers practical steps for navigating conflict and escaping the black-and-white, tribalistic mindset that dominates our (church) culture. In the face of a culture that views compassion and curiosity as weakness, he offers a different way of thinking about peacemaking that is rooted in the life and teachings of Jesus. He rejects the formulaic mindset of “3 Simple Steps to Peacemaking” and instead offers a practice of staying close to God in the process.Want to become a person of peace? Sign up for the Spiritual Listening Cohort today!

Do you wonder why Christians talk so much about love, but can fail to be loving when you need it most?Due to fear of vulnerability, Christians often struggle with being a supportive presence in one another’s lives during times of suffering.In this conversation with Molly LaCroix, a licensed marriage & family therapist, author, & speaker, we explore how to love God and others by loving all parts of yourself. By looking at the roots of our vulnerability, Molly offers practical ways to transform fear into love through connection.Connect with Molly on Instagram @mollylacroixlmft or at her website, mollylacroix.com

On her 31st birthday, Whitney Simpson had a stroke, and she experienced God in an MRI machine. In this conversation, Whitney shares how that moment led her into a deeply embodied spirituality. Her story invites you to use your body to listen for God - to know how your body and your spirit intertwine. She teaches you how to be present to yourself so that you can be present with God. Her gentle reminder is that it is impossible to be connected to your spirit and disconnected from your body. Today, as a spiritual director and yoga teacher Whitney invites you to use your whole self to listen for God.Connect with Whitney on Instagram @whitneyrsimpson or at exploringpeace.com or whitneyrsimpson.com.

As humans we are driven by the fundamental need to connect. In this interview, Krispin Mayfield, author and licensed professional counselor, uses attachment science as a framework to understand how that need to connect impacts the ways you interact with God. He describes the three attachment styles - Anxious, Shutdown, and Shame-based - and offers practical tools to heal your attachment with God. If you are longing to not only know that God loves you, but feel and experience that love, attachment science can offer a way forward. Buy his book here!

Today Esther sits down with Danielle Shroyer - spiritual director, author, speaker, and former pastor. We chat about her most recent book Original Blessing: Putting Sin in its Rightful Place and dig into questions like… What would it look like if you decided you wanted to let go of the idea of original sin?Can you believe in original goodness and still be an orthodox Christian?What does Genesis 3 mean if it doesn’t mean you are fundamentally broken?Why did Jesus come into the world if it wasn’t to pay the price for your total depravity?How might you live differently if you were rooted in Belovedness?You can find her at danielleshroyer.com, and @DanielleShroyer on Twitter and Instagram. Buy the book here!

Today we bring you our conversation with Kristin Barnett, Operations Director of the non-profit Neighborly. Neighborly is a relationship-based poverty relief organization advocating for biblical justice. Their mission is to deinstitutionalize charity by helping you become friends with those at a disadvantage.Kristen shares the story of Neighborly and how it has grown and evolved by humbly listening to the needs of its people. She teaches you about Neighborly’s fundamental belief that helping work is not simply about meeting a need, but rather an invitation to enter into the messiness of relationships. She offers suggestions on how to shift your mindset away from one-time help and toward relationship-based models of helping that blur the lines between “us,” and “them.” Connect with Neighborly here!BIO: Kristin Barnett is a follower of Jesus originally hailing from Washington D.C., now living in Tallahassee, Florida. She and her husband James are raising two young sons, 14 chickens, and are respite foster parents. She is currently the Operations Director of the nonprofit Neighborly, overseeing the day-to-day tasks as well as all refugee initiatives. Kristin is passionate about inviting believers into a deeper understanding of who God is and how he cares for His people, particularly the foreigner and those in the margins.

What does it look like for indigenous people to worship God with the fullness of who they are? In this interview, Dr. Kenny Wallace shares his story as an African-American Choctaw Pawnee who is living out his Christian faith in the way that was gifted to him as an indigenous person. Dr. Kenny helps us explore what it means for indigenous people to worship God in ways that honor their culture and identity. Dr. Kenny graciously answers our questions as we dive into the messiness of exploring racism, cultural appropriation, and the ways in which we have become too comfortable worshiping God only in white, Western ways. Join us as we begin to unravel our biases and learn that the way we’ve always experienced Christianity might not be the only way.Learn more about NAIITS here!Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/sonda/your-own-worldLicense code: 1WX6GFMRRZEGMYVC

Today we sit down with Dr. Vince Bantu, Assistant Professor of Church History and Black Church Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary. Dr. Vince shares his story of growing up in racially segregated St. Louis with the idea that he needed to leave his culture and context behind in order to truly follow Jesus. He helps us unpack the ways whiteness has overtaken our understanding of what it means to be Christian. Dr. Vince powerfully reminds us that there is no way of following Jesus that is uncultural because God sees and intends each person to follow Jesus according to their own culture. He shows us the necessity of unraveling white culture from our theology and honoring and embracing other ways of knowing and following God. We explore the ways that we as white Christians can surrender our power and submit to people of color to teach us about what it means to be Christian. Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/sonda/your-own-worldLicense code: 1WX6GFMRRZEGMYVC

Today Beth and Esther sit down with one of their favorite seminary professors Dr. Larry Caldwell to talk about how we can interpret the Bible in culturally relevant ways. Whether you’re a person in ministry wondering how to make the gospel relevant in your context or a person who’s always been intimidated by biblical interpretation because you’re never sure if you’re “doing it right,” this conversation is for you! Dr. Larry helps us unpack questions like how do we honor and value the way other people view and experience the world even if it’s not the way we view or experience the world? And how can our biblical interpretation honor those views and experiences? What does the gospel look like to someone who views the world differently than we do, and how can we help them to follow Jesus in a way that’s meaningful to them? Dr. Larry reminds us to slow down, embrace the discomfort of the unfamiliar, and do the hard work of understanding what our people actually need from biblical interpretation.Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/sonda/your-own-worldLicense code: 1WX6GFMRRZEGMYVC

Does God’s call to love our enemies apply even to our theological enemies? In this conversation, Dr. David Williams, president of Taylor Seminary, helps us to expand our notion of hospitality to include welcoming the theological stranger. How do we, as Christians, display the reality of God’s kingdom in the way we treat each other? How do we earn the right to speak the truth by listening well? Does our listening show our love, or our desire to win the theological argument? And what is at stake if we don’t learn to listen and love well? Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/sonda/your-own-worldLicense code: 1WX6GFMRRZEGMYVC

In this episode, co hosts Esther and Melissa sit down to talk about People Who See’s Beloved Cohort. Esther shares the story of how she designed the cohort and what it has meant to her to begin to see herself as the Beloved of God. She shares who she designed the cohort for, and how she believes beginning to see oneself through Eyes of Love changes everything. Melissa shares her experience of being a part of the Beloved cohort, and how finding an identity rooted in Belovedness has helped her experience healing from toxic theologies of self.To learn more about the Beloved cohort, or sign up to be a part of a Beloved cohort, visit our website here.Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/sonda/your-own-worldLicense code: 1WX6GFMRRZEGMYVC

If you are wondering how to remain Christian after Evangelicalism, this interview is for you. Today we sit down with renowned author and Christian ethicist Dr. David P. Gushee as he shares his story of being forcibly propelled from Evangelicalism after calling for LGBTQ+ inclusion. Through his book After Evangelicalism, Dr. Gushee helps us to expand our vision of what Christianity can be, and charts a theological course for those of us wondering what’s left after evangelicalism. You can connect with Dr. Gushee and subscribe to his newsletter at davidpgushee.com or @dpgushee on social media. Buy the book here!

Today we interview Amanda Waldron - a Faith Deconstruction & Reconstruction Mentor + Clinical Social Worker. You can find her at the intersection of mental health, social work, and theology. She supports thoughtful Christians and communities who are wrestling through big doubts and questions and hope to stay within the Christian faith while finding more ease and wonder in the process.  Her goal is to help people ask different questions and widen the lens of what can be possible in their Christian faith. If you've found yourself in the midst of a big deconstruction, if someone in your life is deconstructing, or if you're just wondering what all the fuss is about - this interview is for you!Learn more on her website here or follow Amanda on Instagram @heyamandawaldronMusic from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/sonda/your-own-worldLicense code: 1WX6GFMRRZEGMYVC

In this interview, self-described pastor + spiritual misfit Joy Vetterlein shares her story of moving from poster child for Christianity to spiritual misfit - from growing up in the church and working in ministry to embracing a faith free of religious rules. If you have ever felt like you just don’t fit in the versions of Christianity you’ve been handed, Joy is here to help you name your experience, feel a little less alone, and embrace your identity as a spiritual misfit. Find Joy on her website or on Instagram.Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/sonda/your-own-worldLicense code: 1WX6GFMRRZEGMYVC

How does trauma affect your soul? How does it affect the way you care for your soul? And how do you even begin to care for your soul? How can you show up for someone else in the midst of their trauma? What’s the difference between trauma and just a difficult situation? And why isn’t the church acknowledging we need trauma-informed care? Are there ways in which the trauma of women and the stories they tell about it are ignored, especially by the church? Can spiritual direction be a critical part of our healing from the spiritual element of trauma? Our guest today, spiritual director Daniele Evans helps us answer these questions and more, so if you've been longing for a safe space to explore, we hope you find this conversation healing. To connect with Daniele, visit her website here!Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/sonda/your-own-worldLicense code: 1WX6GFMRRZEGMYVC

TW: suicide, self-harm In this Interview, Lesli Hudson-Reynolds gives us the gift of their story and helps us more fully understand the complex nature of our relationships with the church. They help us understand that for many, especially those in the LGBTQIA+ community, the church is not only a place of hurt but of trauma, and choosing to return to church is a long, slow, and complicated process of wrestling with trauma and choosing to risk vulnerability. They offer us practical suggestions to overcome the fear and be better companions to those who have experienced trauma in the church. Lesi shares with courage and grace and we’re grateful to Lesli for their story. To learn more about Lesli’s work with Posture Shift, visit their website here!Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/sonda/your-own-worldLicense code: 1WX6GFMRRZEGMYVC

In our final installment of our church series, Pastor Joel Fredrikson challenges us to reject the formulaic, one-size-fits all understanding of the life of faith and instead learn to embrace the long, slow work of ministry that embodies the fierce love of Jesus. He encourages us to use Love as our litmus test for authentic faith and community, and to unravel our cultural values from the way of Jesus.

In part 3 of our “Why Church?” series, Sara Nelson talks about her journey in ministry as a whole person - as a woman, a mom, and a social worker, and how all of those identities allow her to truly love people as they are. She teaches us about a practical kind of love that drives her ministry and rejects formulas for faith. Sara reminds us that the church should unify rather than divide, and that we are so much stronger together than we are apart. Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/sonda/your-own-worldLicense code: 1WX6GFMRRZEGMYVC