space for faith with mike goldsworthy

035 - Matthew Vines Talks about the Church, Discipleship, Scripture and Becoming LGBTQ Inclusive

Mathew Vines, author of God and the Gay Christian and founder of The Reformation Project joins us today. We talk about the church and why it still matters, not losing discipleship in the midst of reevaluating your beliefs, how you can hold onto a high view of Scripture while becoming affirming of Same-Sex Marriages and he tells us a little of the story of his recent engagement. 

At the end of the episode Matthew shares about a new video project, The Reformation Project has put together, exploring in more depth the biblical case for LGBTQ inclusion. Find that video project HERE

034 - Gail Song Bantum and Brian Bantum - Choosing Us

Gail Song Bantum and Brian Bantum join us on the podcast today. Gail is the Lead Pastor of Quest Church in Seattle and Brian is a Professor of Theology at Garrett Seminary. We spend some time talking about what it's like for Gail to be a woman leading a church, about Brian's work on the Mulatto Jesus, and then we get into creating space for mutual flourishing in marriage. They share with us a bit of what that journey has looked like for them and share insights that they've learned about how we might create space for each partner to be able to flourish in our marriages. 

Check out their new book Choosing Us

And find them at The Bantum Space

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To help support me and my work, particularly with post-evangelical churches and pastors, you can make tax-deductible donations to:

“WE Ministries”

And mail it to:

Mike Goldsworthy
6285 E. Spring St #474
Long Beach, CA 90808

033 - Todd Deatherage - Peacemaking as Discipleship and the Telos Group

Todd Deatherage spent sixteen years in senior positions in the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. government before co-founding the Telos Group. From 2005 to 2009, he was Chief of Staff in the Secretary of State’s Office of Policy Planning at the U.S. State Department. He also spent two years as Senior Advisor in the Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom, where he specialized in religious freedom in the Middle East.

 

Todd and I talk about Israel and Palestine, experiential learning, peacemaking as discipleship, how our own missed discipleship has caused harm in vulnerable communities, and so much more.

 

At the end of the interview, we introduce you to Telos' podcast, Undaunted by playing a clip with René August, an Anglican Priest and peacemaker in South Africa. She shares in this clip about the way her theology challenges her to care about issues of justice, and about the re/deconstruction she went through and her theology's relationship to apartheid. 

 

We also share about an upcoming trip that we'd love to invite you on where we will explore American narratives as we spend time together in the American South. Link to the trip information is below:

 

Trip for Post-Evangelical Pastors and Leaders

• Nov 30-December 7 2022
• info@telosgroup.org

Telos Links:

• telosgroup.org
• Principles and Practices of Peacemaking
• Telos' Podcasts

To help support me and my work, particularly with post-evangelical churches, you can make tax-deductible donations to:

“WE Ministries”

And mail it to:

Mike Goldsworthy
6285 E. Spring St #474
Long Beach, CA 90808

032 - Miley Waterman: Brave Global

Miley Waterman is the CEO of Brave Global, an organization working to empower vulnerable girls in partnership with churches and local communities and organizations.  

Miley is also an event producer and helped to run the Post Evangelical Pastor and Church Leader Gathering that we held last October. 

We talk about that gathering, about doing preventative work in order to help vulnerable girls not become victims of human trafficking, and how churches and organizations can partner in this important work. 

For more information about Brave Global, check out their website or email them at info@braveglobal.org

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To help support me and my work, particularly with post-evangelical churches, you can make tax-deductible donations to:

“WE Ministries”

And mail it to:

Mike Goldsworthy
6285 E. Spring St #474
Long Beach, CA 90808

[BONUS - PRAYER WITH ZAHND]

Recently when Brian Zahnd was on the podcast he ended his time by leading us through a prayer that he uses as he moves into a contemplative prayer that he calls sitting with Jesus. ⁣
⁣
We've taken that prayer and posted it here so that you can use it on your own - to be led in a formative prayer that can help set up your own times of contemplative prayer.⁣

I hope this can be helpful for you

⁣
𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘐 𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶. ⁣
𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦. ⁣
𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥. ⁣
𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘦, 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩. ⁣
𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯. ⁣
𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯. ⁣
𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩. ⁣
𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵-𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. ⁣
𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦, 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧. ⁣
𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩⁣
~𝘉𝘡 

031 - Brenna Rubio & Bill White Talk About Learning to Lead With

Brenna Rubio and Bill White Co-Pastor City Church Long Beach and also founded Small Church Big Table to help deconstructing faith leaders dismantle toxic leadership patterns and learn power-sharing practices to build potent, inclusive communities.

They share with us about what it's like to co-pastor a church, how to share power without just swinging the pendulum from one way of thinking about leadership structures and power to completely dismantling all structure and creating chaos, and even some practical tools to help with the way we lead meetings.

030 - Brian Zahnd: When Everything’s on Fire

Brian Zahnd is the Lead Pastor of Word of Life Church in St Joseph, Missouri. He's a prolific author, with his most recent book When Everything's on Fire now available. For many of us, particularly pastors, who were looking for other pastors who were wrestling deeply with what he calls a theological remodeling, Brian has been someone that many of us have looked to and learned from.

Towards the end of the episode, he talks about the prayer school that he leads before leading us through a prayer. I'd highly recommend that Prayer School...especially if you are someone who is going through a remodeling of your theological house. Engaging in contemplative practices alongside that journey is a helpful practice.

 

Find Brian on Twitter

Prayer School Information

Brian's new book - When Everything's on Fire

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As always, I appreciate those of you who support my work.

You can make a tax-deductible donations to

“WE Ministries”

And mail it to:

Mike Goldsworthy
6285 E. Spring St #474
Long Beach, CA 90808

 

029 - April Diaz Helps Women and Men Partner Together

April Diaz from Ezer and Co joins me on today's podcast. April talks with us about how men and women can work well together in partnership. She shares some safeguards that she has in her own marriage without needing to operate in the Billy Graham Rule. She helps us to see how churches that have been empowering women might actually not be as empowering as they have thought and some steps to deal with that, and why investing in female leaders is worth it.

At the end of the podcast, April shares briefly about some coaching packages that if you, your organization, or church are interested in, you can find out more at these links:

https://www.ezerandco.com/coaching-groups

 

https://www.ezerandco.com/group-packages

 

028 - Scott Erickson - Say Yes

Scott Erickson joins us to talk about journeys of shifting faith, vulnerability and its relationship to our weaknesses, spiritual practices to pay attention to the path of desire in each of us, visual liturgies as excavation tools to help excavate the true story in each of us and his newest book, Say Yes that releases on Jan 25

 

Pre-order Scott's new book Say Yes here

Find Scott on Instagram

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027 - Justin McRoberts - It is What You Make of It

Justin McRoberts provides language for the process of life and faith. He is a teacher, storyteller, pastor, and songwriter. 

 

We talk about writing prayers that create a trajectory for people rather than control, listening versus effort, Derrida and the difference between deconstruction and the normal process of growing and changing in your faith, the work of creating from whatever context you are coming out of, and how you are the work.

 

Check out Justin's newest book It Is What You Make of It