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  • Follow Philip Yancey's blog.

    Read Philip's new book, Undone.

    No man is an island,

    Entire of itself.

    Each is a piece of the continent,

    A part of the main.

    If a clod be washed away by the sea,

    Europe is the less.

    As well as if a promontory were.

    As well as if a manor of thine own

    Or of thine friend's were.

    Each man's death diminishes me,

    For I am involved in mankind.

    Therefore, send not to know

    For whom the bell tolls,

    It tolls for thee.

    Welcome back podcast listeners. Quite a Lenten poem, eh? For Western listeners, we are in the last week of Lent before Holy Week, first week for our Eastern brethren.

    Meeting here in Lententide, we thought it would be a good time for a conversation about someone who has reflected deeply on sin, suffering, pain, and the faithful presence of God. Well, two people actually. The 17th-century priest and poet, John Donne, whose famous poem we opened with, and author Philip Yancey.

    The poem above is actually an excerpt from a longer work called Devotions that Donne wrote from his sickbed, in a time of plague, disorientation, and deep discouragement. Where and how did he find God with him? 

    TLC had the joy of talking with Philip Yancey about his new book, a modern paraphrase of Devotions called Undone, and about Phillip's own story, particularly as it relates to a recent diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.

    Philip Yancey has explored questions and mysteries of the Christian faith for decades in best-selling works such as Disappointment with God, Where is God When it Hurts?, and What’s So Amazing About Grace? Philip has written more than 25 books, and his latest release is Undone: A Modern Rendering of John Donne's Devotions. Philip and his wife live in the foothills of Colorado.

  • Check out John Behr's new translation of Gregory of Nyssa's On the Human Image of God.

    What does it mean to be human? We pay attention to our broken humanity more during Lent. And there's that phrase, when we make a mistake, "I'm only human!" 

    True. But what about the glory and promise of being human? What kind of humanity we see in the pattern of Christ? How do we live now, if our destiny is to be, as the saints tell us, "raised with Christ" who is "seated at the right hand of God"?

    Today we'll talk with theologian John Behr about St. Gregory of Nyssa's work, On the Human Image of God, and John's new translation of it. We'll listen in as Gregory, like the theological rock star he is, takes a melody from Plato and riffs hard, but with a Christian anthropology, and creates nothing less than an anthem to God's saving work in Jesus.

    What is a human? How do humans have a special relationship with death? And how does the gospel, and especially John's gospel, peel back the curtain on what Jesus' humanity is doing for all creatures?

    The Rev. Dr. John Behr is Regius Professor of Humanity at the University of Aberdeen. He previously taught at St. Vladmir's Seminary, where he served as dean from 2007-17. John is also the Metropolitan Kallistos Chair of Orthodox Theology at the Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam and the Amsterdam Center for Orthodox Theology. 

    (Finally a quick shout-out: if you're interested in this question, What does it mean to be human?, then save the date, friends! The Living Church is hosting a conference this September 26-28 in Oklahoma City entitled The Human Pilgrimage: A Conference on How to Live. We've got a beautiful slate of speakers, including Katherine Sonderegger, Amy Peeler, Victor Austin, and Graham Tomlin. Watch any Living Church space for registration coming soon.)

    Now brush up on your Greek, because there will be a test on the Timaeus at the end of this. (Just kidding.) We hope you enjoy the conversation.

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  • Get in touch with Fr. Nate for further conversation.

    Check out Fr. Nate's book, Festive School.

    Read Fr. Nate's article on neurodivergence in the classical classroom. 

    Learn more about Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI).

    When trying to consider budget as well as mission and ministry, churches of many sizes offer educational service, from a small daycare to a prestigious Episcopal prep school. And these are often built on a classical school models.

    Classical education refers specifically to a model of education centered on the Western classical trivium of grammar, logic, and rhetoric. If you can do a classical school well, you can provide a great education and do very well for your budget. 

    But does it produce snobby kids? Put another way, does it shelter privileged kids even further, and prevent kids with disadvantages from experiencing a remarkable community of learning?

    One way to negotiate this is through scholarships, or through careful intentionality in enrollment or curriculum development. But our guest today has also explored ways to make sure that kids with disabilities -- including neurodivergence -- are welcomed and integrated into a classical community. What they've discovering is an unusual model for classical education, and an unexpected ministry of healing.

    My guest today is the Rev. Nathan Carr. Nate is a bi-vocational priest serving as vicar of St. John’s Oklahoma City and headmaster of The Academy of Classical Christian Studies, a multi-campus school serving 1,000 PreK-12 students across the Oklahoma City metro. He's the author of Festive School (Classical Academic Press), on the importance of festivity in Christian education. He and his wife Sarah have six children who bless their home, including kiddos with neurodivergence.

    He's also written a related article on the Living Church's award-winning blog, Covenant. 

    Now sharpen your pencils and warm up your singing voice. We're headed to school. We hope you enjoy the conversation.

  • Buy the Roads of Hurt and Hope Holy Land Lenten study. (All proceeds go to the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem.)

    All eyes are on the Holy Land right now, as the conflict between Hamas and Israel continues, over a hundred kidnapped Israelis still missing, over a thousand Israeli civilians dead, and tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians killed in the crossfire.

    As many of you will know, the Living Church postponed a pilgrimage to the Holy Land until further notice. The name of this pilgrimage is In the Footsteps of Jesus. Today we'll be talking with someone who has walked in the footsteps of Jesus many times, as a pilgrimage leader, as well as a resident of Jerusalem. And not only in the footsteps of Jesus, but in the footsteps of Abraham and Sarah, Jacob, David, the apostles, the woman at the well, and many more ancestors in the faith, as well as citizens of the land today.

    What is it about this place that people have fallen in love with for thousands of years? Why has God met so many people on its roads? What do these roads teach us, not only in human footsteps, but in the rocks and water, plants and animals along the way, about God’s presence and faithfulness? And what can we see there now, especially in time for Lent?

    We enjoyed speaking about all this with the Rev. Canon Dr. Andrew D. Mayes. Andrew has served as spirituality adviser to the Diocese of Chichester and to the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf. He has lived several years in Jerusalem, as a theological researcher and later as director of courses of St. George’s College, of which he is an associate professor. He is the author of 16 spirituality books including the award-winning Learning the Language of the Soul, Beyond the Edge, and, most recently, Roads of Hurt and Hope: Transformative Journeys in the Holy Land. (This last book is a Lent study, and all the proceeds will go to the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem for the rebuilding of the Anglican hospital in Gaza.) 

    Tighten your hiking shoes and pack a lunch, and don’t forget, if you get a moment, to buy a souvenir. We’re going on a journey today, across time and an ancient, beloved landscape. Sometimes strenuous, sometimes quiet. Often surprising. We hope you enjoy the conversation.

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    Happy Epiphany!

    I love seasons, the changes of seasons. The distinct character of each one.

    Different seasons and times bring out different flavors, different inner lives of the land and landscapes. I think humans are similar. Even whole cultures. Different eras show up or play down certain shapes that human life can take, certain imaginative landscapes and possibilities.

    But across space and seasons we do have one Lord. That's the crazy revelation of Epiphany. But how does this same Lord show up differently in different times and places? 

    Today we'll be talking with Dr. Grace Hamman, author of the new book, Jesus Through Medieval Eyes. Grace is a writer and independent scholar of Middle English contemplative writing and poetry and hosts the literature podcast, Old Books with Grace. Jesus through Medieval Eyes is a remarkably enjoyable book. 

    Jesus jousting. Jesus giving birth. Jesus as judge, lover, mother, or knight were common images for Christ in the middle ages. How might they help us in our time, heal our contemporary views of justice and judgment, love and lovers, gender and sex?

    Now brush up on your middle English. We hope you enjoy the conversation.

    Read Jesus Through Medieval Eyes.

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    Welcome back, podcast listeners. A happy Epiphany to you. 

    Let's start off the year with a bang. This episode is from a conversation between Dr. Stanley Hauerwas and the Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner at the Radical Vocation (RADVO) conference at Church of the Incarnation, Dallas, in September 2023.

    Amber asked Stanley and Ephraim to share their responses to the conference, and it all went wonderfully off-book, deep into the territory of attention and martyrdom.

    The conversation will reference other keynotes and conversations, including the Rev. Dr. Christopher Beeley on Christology, Dr. Jeremy Begbie on the Holy Spirit, Dr. John Behr on the Church, the Rev. Tish Harrison Warren on Christianity and Politics, and other panels on church unity and evangelism. 

    Stanley Hauerwas is Gilbert T. Rowe Professor Emeritus of Divinity and Law at Duke Divinity School and was named "America’s Best Theologian" by Time magazine in 2001. His book, A Community of Character: Toward a Constructive Christian Social Ethic, was selected as one of the 100 most important books on religion of the 20th century.

    Ephraim Radner is Professor Emeritus of Historical Theology at Wycliffe College, Toronto, and has ministered in various places, including Burundi, Haiti, inner-city Cleveland, Connecticut, and Colorado. His many books include Hope among the Fragments: The Broken Church and its Engagement of Scripture (2004) andA Time to Keep: Theology, Mortality, and the Shape of a Human Life (2016).

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    Welcome podcast listeners. Today we've got an episode that will lightly leap from Advent to Christmastide. We'll revisit four conversations we've had over the years: 

    James K. A. Smith on time and ImmanuelNovelist H.C. Cross on boarding schools and world-buildingLauren Winner on books and readingAmy Peeler and Wes Hill on Mother Mary

    Dr. James K.A. Smith is a public philosopher and editor in chief of IMAGE journal, and author of many well-known books including You Are What You Love and How to Inhabit Time.

    Heather Cross is the author of two novels, Wilberforce and Grievous.

    The Rev. Dr. Lauren Winner is associate professor of Christian spirituality at Duke Divinity School and the author of many books, including Girl Meets God, A Cheerful and Comfortable Faith, andCharacteristic Damage.

    The Rev. Dr. Wesley Hill and Dr. Amy Peeler are both associate professors of New Testament, Amy at Wheaton College and Wes at Western Theological Seminary.

    In two weeks, we're taking a break from the podcast (Merry Christmas). In 2024 we're rolling out conversations with Stanley Hauerwas and Ephraim Radner, a book chat with John Behr, an exploration of Jesus Through Medieval Eyes, a look at neurodivergence in the classical classroom, and much more. 

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    In the beginning, creation. Millennia pass. Creatures alternately live peacefully then get it horribly wrong. Long genealogies. The rise of evil kings, good kings, battles and prophecies. A savior riding in on a white horse. And in between the exciting parts, lots and lots of waiting.

    Is this the Bible? The spiritual life? Or The Lord of the Rings and Middle Earth legendarium? Yes. And it's chock-full of good stuff for Advent.

    So is JRR Tolkien's own life. Today we'll talk with one of Tolkien's biographers, Dr. Holly Ordway. Holly is the Cardinal Francis George Professor of Faith and Culture at the Word on Fire Institute, visiting professor of apologetics at Houston Christian University, and a subject editor for the Journal of Inklings Studies. She has two books you should know about: the award-winning Tolkien’s Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages (Word on Fire Academic, 2021) and her newest book, Tolkien’s Faith: A Spiritual Biography (Word on Fire Academic, 2023).  

    Advent is a thick time. Within that tapestry we find suffering and grief, waiting and faithfulness, the mysterious timing of providence -- and much to learn from Middle Earth.

    But we also get glimpses of what it means to live good life. Good food, a sense of humor, and divine grace are hidden inside Advent, too, if we have humble enough eyes to find them.

    Whether Advent is for you like a cozy Hobbit hole full of goodies, or Denethor's grim tower looking out on an uncertain future, or some trippy place in between that I cannot imagine, we hope you enjoy the conversation.

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    Check out No Small Endeavor, hosted by Lee C. Camp.

    Who knew that a Southern mother would help today's guest hone the gift of gab for the sake of others?

    Today you'll hear my conversation with Dr. Lee C. Camp, about the art of conversation. I'm excited to share this, especially with those who talk, listen, teach, preach, or give counsel for a living. How do we connect more meaningfully in our conversations, both on and off the clock?

    Lee Camp is the host of the podcast No Small Endeavor, exploring what it means to live a good life, which features best-selling authors, philosophers, scientists, artists, psychologists, theologians and politicians. I highly recommend you check out his podcast. Lee is also an award-winning teacher and professor of theology and ethics at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee. 

    He and I dig into:

    What we can learn from late night talk show hosts. How being funny can both help and hinder deeper connection. Why practicing prudent vulnerability is a way to help everyone, including yourself, open up to the possibilities of hearing an unexpected truth.

    Thanksgiving is coming up. Family gatherings can be a difficult place to keep conversation fresh and listening lively. Hopefully this will help you discover some new possibilities there as well. 

    Finally, consider bringing a bottle of wine to the Living Church Podcast Thanksgiving table: give today to support a studio space for us. $10 a month, or any amount you choose, even a one-time gift. We are surely grateful.

    You can also leave a review for us on Spotify or Apple podcasts.

    Now, whether you like to gab or stay quiet, whether you tend toward control freak or deer in the headlights, we're all invited to learn the art of conversation, and to join every conversation the Lord brings our way. We hope you enjoy this one.

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    Last chance to join us in NYC for Preaching in a Post-Christian Age.

    The visions of Julian of Norwich came to her 650 years ago this May. Claire Gilbert's new novel, I, Julian, is a fictional autobiography about the life and visions of Julian. We'll be discussing the book today with its author and discovering why and how she would write such a boldly imaginative book from the perspective of one of Anglicanism's most beloved figures.

    We'll learn a bit about the actual woman we know as Julian, and talk about what life might have looked like in her time, in an age of tight-knit community, mystery plays, and mystical texts, as well as church division, plague, and tectonic societal shifts. We'll also hear about what it's like to inhabit such a powerful voice for so many years of research and writing, and what changed in Claire's life as she wrote the book.

    Before I tell you a little more about Claire, I want to thank those of you who have jumped in to support a podcast studio so we can keep bringing you conversations like this at a high quality with fantastic guests. I want to personally thank three new supporters: Sharon, Roger, and John. Join the ranks of these good folks by clicking the link in the show notes and help us bring onto the podcast people like Dr. Claire Gilbert, our guest today.

    Claire is founding director of the Westminster Abbey Institute for ethics and public life. She has worked for the Archbishops' Council of the Church of England as policy advisor in medical ethics and environmental issues and is a lay Canon at St Paul's Cathedral. She co-founded the St Paul's Institute in 2003. She has authored many books. Her latest, the novel I, Julian (Hodder & Stoughton), is available now.

    If you'd like to win a free copy of the book, you can enter our TLC Book Club contest. Just go to livingchurch.org and click the popup to download a free study guide and be entered to win a free copy of I, Julian.

    Now hold on to your wimple. We're headed out on a beautiful and sometimes intense literary journey -- which is also a journey of the heart. We hope you enjoy the conversation.

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    If you like a good underdog story, you’ll like today’s episode. And if you pastor a small church or you’re new to a parish that’s on the struggle bus, you might like it even more. Today we’re in search of growth. In Search of Growth is a series we’ve been doing in the magazine, highlighting stories of where God’s been at work in ways that increase health and numbers in local Episcopal and Anglican churches. 

    This summer, as many of you know, we hosted a pilgrimage to England. What I’m sure you don’t know is that Amber then took some vacation time in Wales, where she stayed with the Rev. Dr. Mark Clavier, a vicar in Brecon who we’ve had on before to talk about Christian ecology and so-called “Celtic” Christianity, and his wife, Dr. Sarah Ward Clavier, who joined us for a Halloween episode a few years back to talk about the gruesome details of clergy wills.

    One of Amber's favorite Welsh adventures was getting to know the church Mark pastors, St Mary’s in Brecon. St Mary’s is very old parish, which after precipitous decline, has found new life. After dwindling to 16, it’s now a rapidly growing congregation of about 60, lively, warm, very active in their community, and very, very traditional in their worship. In a place where more evangelical styles tend to see the growth, this is intriguing.

    Today we tell their story, which reminds us of a certain Apple+ TV series: a British community at a low point; a cheerful, mustachioed American showing up, warming hearts, and launching unexpected tactics. Yes, we're talking about Ted Lasso, which is, in fact, Fr. Mark’s nickname among some of his parishioners. 

    Fr. Mark coming is not the end of the story— and it’s really not the beginning either. So pull up a chair, grab a Welsh cake. We hope you enjoy the conversations.

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  • Make a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land with the Living Church

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    Welcome to a special coffee hour edition of the podcast. As many of you will know we have a new executive director and publisher over here at the Living Church, the Rev. Dr. Matthew Olver. We took some time to talk about how he got to TLC. 

    Matthew is an Episcopal priest who has served widely in the Episcopal Church in diocesan, national, and international capacities. Like the eighth editor of The Living Church, H. Boone Porter, he is also a liturgical scholar who taught at Nashotah House Theological Seminary for nearly a decade (2014-23). He's currently also an assistant priest at Zion Episcopal Church in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. 

    If you keep listening, you will hear the following:

    How our new executive director stays caffeinated.The recognizability of the Church across the ages and why preservation is a dynamic thing.Why a seminary professor would want to run a magazine.Why we have a blog and what it's doing.What he likes about Living Church events.And why, when tourists are snapping photos of church architecture, Matthew stands there reading Augustine.

    From Matthew's office in Milwaukee to Wheaton to Rome to Ravenna to Oklahoma City and back, we hope you enjoy the conversation.

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    Why do we go on pilgrimage? And why do Christians go on pilgrimage to England? Today is Part 2 of an exploratory episode. Warm up your tea, study your map, and head out with us!

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    While working on Part 2 of the English Pilgrimage episode, TLC had a conversation we couldn't wait to share with you. Bonus episode!

    How do people in leadership, in high-performance vocations, get the spiritual and emotional care they need? Who do pastors go to for counsel, friendship, to confess, to get their most uncensored, hot off the press thoughts and feelings off their chests? Where do they go to get loving correction? And when no one is readily available, how can they care for their inner lives in the meantime? These are some of the questions we put to our guest today, the Rev. Dr. Matthew Hoskinson. 

    Matthew is an ordained minister, a cancer survivor, a marathon runner, and a certified coach. After 15 years of pastoral ministry mostly in NYC, he now works for Redeemer City to City as the director of the City Ministry Program, a transformative urban education for the next generation of Christian leaders. He provides coaching, spiritual direction, and mentoring for leaders and ministers across the country. (And he will be one of the speakers at our preaching conference in November in New York City!)

    We won't even bill your insurance for this. We hope you enjoy the conversation.

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  • Join our pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

    Why do we go on pilgrimage? For an educational vacation? To get in touch with the past? To walk barefoot to a shrine or encounter a saint? To ask for a miracle? And why, if Christians are going to go on pilgrimage anywhere, do they go on pilgrimage to England?

    Yes, it’s a magical land of meat pies, forests, fairies, and saints with a distinctly British flavor. How do our expectations of England, especially for Anglophiles, meet an answer in the actual place? 

    To go on a pilgrimage is about expectation. In the middle ages, when pilgrims would come from all over Europe to the shrine of St. Edward the Confessor in Westminster Abbey, they would kneel inside a cool cavity carved out of the brilliantly-decorated stone, to get as close to Edward’s bones as they could. Before leaving they’d chip off a tiny bit of mosaic. We go on pilgrimage to stand somewhere in the broken and colorful light of Christian history, and to take away souvenirs, be they answered prayers or vintage prayer books. And we certainly bring expectations.

    Today’s episode is a story about expectations and souvenirs – the hoped for, and the found – on an English pilgrimage with a diverse set of American Anglicans. Anglophiles beware. You may get more than you bargained for.

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    Youth group. Sunday school. Church camp. What's your reaction to these words? Do you get a nostaglic smile on your face? Do you have a mild cardiac infarction? Whether you've led a youth ministry or not, we've all been teens, and many, many of us have memories associated with teen formation in different Christian contexts. From pies in the face for Jesus, to inductive Bible studies, to folk music and popcorn prayer, there have been many ways to approach ministry to young people. Do we get really serious, down to the no-funny-business of Christian discipleship and life transformation? Or do we hang out with pizza and some games, and pray, with a lot of grace, and no pressure, that something happens, eventually, God-wise?  

    Turns out, ministry to teens is about sensing how to strike a wise balance, and it's a lot about our own security and maturity as a Christian adults. Today we'll talk about: the importance of the heart and feelings in teen catechesis; how to engage teens emotionally without making it all about feelings; how to invite questions that drive into the faith rather than away from it; how we can have confidence and clarity without harshness; and why we should love the Bible more than good behavior. 

    Taking us to this magical land of youth ministry is Melina Luna Smith. Melina is executive director of Storymakers, a not-for-profit creative studio that designs imaginative resources for kids and teens, including Bible- and creed-immersive zines. She is deep in lay ministry at the Parish of Calvary St. George’s in New York City, and loves working at the intersections of design, beauty, and imagination for the good of communities and the kingdom of God.

    If you like this conversation, join us at Calvary St. George's for our preaching conference in New York this November, for a refresher and refreshing course in communicating God's Word. You might even get to meet Melina. (She happens to be married to the rector.)

    Now put on your most normal-looking mom jeans and grab your Bible. It's time to be exactly yourself with young people and share the gospel in a real and lasting way. It's possible. Maybe not even that complicated. We hope you enjoy the conversation. 

    Check out Storymakers.

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  • Can you name the five senses? Now for all five of those senses, when's the last time an experience of worship full-throttle delighted you? Was it a special service, like Christmas, a special day, like your wedding day? Was it the first time you experienced the worship tradition you now call home? Has it been awhile?

    God loves our bodies, and God wants to engage us and delight us, every bit of us, in worship of him. How do we know God loves our bodies? And if Jesus' ministry was so concerned with bodies, why have Christians been so attracted to gnosticism? How can God's nonverbal communication skills help us with conflict? How do our bodies belong in worship, how do we know what to do with them? Where do we get the idea the quiet and stillness always mean reverence, and when might we need to shake that up?

    We welcome the Rev. Dr. W. David O. Taylor onto the show. David is associate professor of theology and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary, and has been an artist, a pastor, and a pastor to artists. As an Anglican priest, he has lectured on the arts, from Thailand to South Africa. In 2016 he produced a short film on the psalms with Bono and Eugene Peterson. You can find that film, his several books on theology, the arts, and worship, and collaborations with his artist wife, Phaedra, at wdavidotaylor.com. 

    Today we'll be riffing on his work represented in his latest book, A Body of Praise: Understanding the Role of Our Physical Bodies in Worship.

    And you can find a review of his book in our latest issue of the magazine, August 2023. Subscribe now at livingchurch.org to enjoy that issue digitally today. 

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    Today we are headed to the Republic of Texas to talk to the new rector of Church of the Incarnation in Dallas. He shared time with us from his new office to chat about inter-Anglican relationships and what he sees as signs of hope, how bread and butter daily ministry is both the past and future of the Church, and what gifts Anglican spirituality offers particularly to our moment. We also talk about how being influenced by other Christian traditions can shape the way we embrace our own and can help us be present as fruitful, non-anxious presences in the body of Christ.

    Before becoming rector of Incarnation, the Rev. Dr. Christopher Beeley served as the Director of the Anglican Episcopal House of Studies and the Jack and Barbara Bovender Professor of Theology, Anglican Studies and Ministry at Duke Divinity School. Before joining the Duke faculty, he taught for 16 years at Yale Divinity School. The author of several books, Christopher regularly consults on leadership and program development and speaks nationally and internationally on Christian theology, spirituality, and church leadership. 

    Now find your biggest cowboy hat, and your copy of Julian of Norwich or Jeremy Taylor, and settle in. We hope you enjoy the conversation.

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    Emails. To-do lists. Doughnuts and coffee. In ministry, there are so many details, ordinary details, to attend to. We know they matter. But when ordinary details pile up, it may be time to step back and say, Something's gotta give. In Acts we have this wonderful story of the apostles realizing there was too much on their plates, and re-organizing the church with a group of deacons. Moral of that story? Delegation, efficiency, and task management can let you do more of the right things in the right way. And they can let the Holy Spirit do more, too.

    Today's episode is part 2 of an episode we aired last year with Fr. Aaron Zimmerman of St. Alban's Episcopal Church on executive functioning as a pastor. One of our listeners wrote in with some follow-up questions that I thought were great, about emails, time management, delegation, and stress. So I invited Aaron back on the show, along with the Rev. Canon Kimberley Pfeiler, who also knows a lot about keeping it together, staying sane, and trusting God when you're the one in charge.

    Fr. Aaron Zimmerman is rector at St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Waco, Texas. He is past President of the Board of Directors of Mockingbird Ministries and is currently the Dean for the Northwest Convocation of the Diocese of Texas, and co-hosts the Same Old Song lectionary podcast with the Rev. Jacob Smith.

    The Rev. Canon Kimberley Pfeiler is a church planter at St. Luke Medical District in Dallas, Texas, and ombudsman for the Diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others, where she develops training and policies to prevent abuse in the church. She serves as the chairman of the board for the Matthew 25 Inititative for Justice and Mercy, and as a bi-vocational priest, she is also vice president at NowVertical Group, which provides advanced analytics for enterprise clients.

    Whether you're putting down your to-do list for a moment, kicking up your feet on your desk with a second cup of joe, or multitasking like a boss while you listen, we hope you enjoy the conversation.

    Explore the Superhuman email training program Explore CalendlyExplore Brenee Brown's work on leadershipExplore the Calm app, Headspace app, or Tapping app Check out The One Thing: Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results
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    It is a delight to be with you in the first week of Pentecost.

    Many of you are artists, musicians, writers, lovers of beauty, literature, good poetry, a good pint or pipe. The combination of art, beauty, and Christian life is a fascinating and life-giving one, and one that's closely related to the work of Pentecost: the renewal of creation, and the bringing of everything good into God's own eternity.

    Today's guest is poet, priest, musician and motocyclist, Malcolm Guite. Though we had him on to talk about the threads of relationship between poetry and Pentecost, our conversation took us to many unplanned places, while still returning, interestingly, to the themes of Pentecost: language and breath, moving from isolation to integration, and how the creation itself, "undersprung" with music, longs to be tuned back to the note that Jesus played perfectly, once for all. 

    The Rev. Dr. Malcolm Guite is an English poet, singer-songwriter, Anglican priest, and scholar. His research interests include the intersection of religion and the arts, the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Owen Barfield, and British poets such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He was a Bye-Fellow and chaplain of Girton College, Cambridge, and associate chaplain of St. Edward King and Martyr, Cambridge. 

    Please check out his books of poetry, they are rich mines of devotion and enjoyment, as well as his books on faith and theology (see the link below).

    As we go from the Tower of Babel to Beowulf, from Keats and Shelley to singing in tongues, we hope you enjoy the conversation.

    Check out books by Malcolm Guite

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