Excavate: Recent Episodes
Jamie Donne + Heather Strong Moore
Excavate | Uncovering Our Place in God's Story Centuries of patriarchy have resulted in the presence of women in the Bible being suppressed and ignored. This podcast explores where women have always been evident in scripture so that things which have been long-buried may be newly discovered. We believe that God has always valued His daughters and our invitation is to celebrate where we are already seen and loved. We need not insert anything new, for we are already there.
We are continuing our series for the month of June called “What do I know her from?” We’re doing weekly episodes that each dig deeper into the back story of an important woman in scripture that you may have vaguely heard of but don’t know her full story. Today we’re talking about Huldah, a minor but crucial prophet for the kings of Israel. Her faithful worship of Yahweh allows her to lead a rare reform in Israel and to give the people a season of peace and union with God. Her story has so much to teach us about walking with integrity in our day, and that when we falter there is always a way back to the Lord.Read along with us:2 Kings 22:2, 8-202 Kings 23:21-25 To dig in to the other episodes referenced, check out: Ladies Who Lead | Season 8, Episode 15Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
We are excited to continue our series for the month of June called “What do I know her from?” We’ll be doing weekly episodes that each dig deeper into the back story of an important woman in scripture that you may have vaguely heard of but don’t know her full story. Today we’re digging into the story of Rahab. Rahab is often identified solely through her profession as a prostitute. We’ll look at the fullness of her story as a woman of audacious leadership who sacrifices much in her allegiance to the Lord. Read along with us:Josh. 2:1-14, 21Hebrews 11:31James 2:25To dig in to the other episodes referenced, check out: Jesus’ Family Tree | Season 1, Episode 15Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
We are very excited to start a new series today for the month of June called “What do I know her from?” We’ll be doing weekly episodes that each dig deeper into the back story of an important woman in scripture that you may have vaguely heard of but don’t know her full story. Today we’re starting with sisters Leah and Rachel. They are known for their rivalry, but that conflict arose from generation patterns of deceit and competition that got passed onto them. Their story is powerful and interesting, and is also a window into the things that women inherit and what it can look like for us to break generational patterns.
Read along with us:
Gen. 29
Gen. 30:1-22
Gen. 49:18
Gen. 48:7
1 Sam. 2:10
Jer. 31:15
Ruth 4:11
For further reading:
The story of Rachel stealing the household gods Gen. 31
The assault of Leah’s daughter Dinah (TW) Gen. 34
To dig in to the other episodes referenced, check out:
Building Up the Matriarchy | Season 1, Episode 4
Ruth || Squad Goals | Season 1, Episode 9
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcast
To support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
We are excited to announce a special series for the month of June called “What Do I Know Her From”? Each week we’ll be digging into the story of a woman in scripture that you may have vaguely heard of, or perhaps have heard her name a lot, but have never actually dug into her full story. For the next 4 weeks we’ll uncover the back stories of women that made big contributions to the history of God’s people and give them the flowers they deserve. We’ll be learning about Rahab, sisters Rachel and Leah, Huldah, and Priscilla. Each of these women have compelling and complex stories, some of which we’ve talked about in previous episodes but are all worth revisiting or discovering for the first time.Make sure to subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already so you get notifications for new episodes, follow us on Instagram or Facebook, and please share the episodes with people in your circle so we can all uncover our place in God’s story together.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
Today we’re synthesizing what we’ve been talking about in our last few episodes on the Babylonian exile and the rise of religious imagery and spirituality in pop culture, by discussing New Age spirituality. Things like astrology, manifesting, witchcraft and spells have become increasingly mainstream in the US, particularly among women. These type of practices are not new so we’ll be looking at some passages from the prophets that discuss these forms of spirituality and what drives them. We believe women are by nature highly spiritual, so stewarding our sensitivity to the spiritual realm is more important than ever. Read along with us:Jer. 44:11-26Psalm 19:1-4, translated by Calvin SeerveldGal 3:1Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
It’s an election year, which means culture wars are especially heightened. Women are often the target or the most impacted by reactionary rhetoric. Including most recently Taylor Swift with her new album release, so we’ll talk about what’s eliciting the controversy and some of our thoughts on interpreting The Tortured Poets Department. In a time when everything solicits a reaction, what does it look like to walk as faithful women? Read along with us:Rom. 12:14-21To dig in to the other episodes referenced, check out: Reconstructing Eve Part 1 | Season 1, episode 1Reconstructing Eve Part 2 | Season 1, episode 2Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
Today we’re continuing to dig into our themes from our last episode about what the period of the exiles in Babylon can teach us about breaking generational patterns and how they can speak to Gen Z and all of us. Last time we talked about the fiery furnace, today we’ll discuss a few more aspects of the time in Babylon, jump to Esther a generation later, and look at the lasting legacy that bore fruit in the time of Christ and beyond. These generations remind us that even in the midst of great darkness and societal collapse, God can be working in ways we could never imagine. So let’s allow their story to expand our imaginations!Read along with us:Dan. 2:10-19 Esther 4:13-17Esther 9:1-2Matt. 2:1-12 To dig in to the other episodes referenced, check out: Coming Out if Hiding | Season 1, episode 11Flip it and Reverse it | Season 1, episode 12Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
It’s a been a minute since we’ve had an episode that was solely scripture study, so today we want to dig into some specific passages about the generation in the Old Testament that lived through the Babylonian exile. They have a lot to teach the Church and Gen Z about what it looks like to inherit a society and a Church in ruin, and how to invite the Lord to join you to give you a future and a hope. Today we’re looking at the young exiles in the book of Daniel, and in our next episode we’ll be looking at Esther and her legacy among the diaspora. God did some amazing things in just two generations, so let’s dig in.Read along with us:Jeremiah 32:33-35Daniel 3:15-28Rev. 12:11Ps. 115:4-8Jer. 29:4-7Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
Today we’re talking about a timely topic of women in sports. Last episode we talked about stepping outside of rigid understanding of femininity and gender roles and the rise in popularity of women’s athletics is a great way to continue that conversation. Women’s sports have never been better so it's a great time to shine a light on them! We’ll talk about how we got here, the valuable leadership girls and women learn through sports, the cultural impact, and how we can join the revolution. Scripture references - the story of Deborah and Jael in Judges. See our episode “Ladies Who Lead” for their full story.Join our Women’s Tournament bracket challenge! Must be completed by 11:30am EST on 3/22 (before the tournament begins) The winner will receive a free copy of A’Ja Wilson’s new book Dear Black Girls: How to Be True to YouFollow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
Today we’re talking about a phenomenon seen most clearly in online content but reflecting a broader societal trend. We’re talking about the “soft girl era” and “tradwives” aka traditional wives. There’s something about it that’s appealing to younger women, in particular, and painting traditional gender roles in a new aesthetic and often deceptive light. We’ll talk about what paved the way for this trend, what good we can find in this, and the dangers of blindly accepting this as a harmless niche trend. To dig in to the other episodes referenced, check out: Ruth || Squad Goals | Season 1, Episode 9Biblical Marriage || “Biblical” Marriage | Season 1, Episode 21Financial Stewardship || One for the Money | Season 2, Episode 11Proverbs 31 || Proverbs 31 + Celebrating Women of Valor | Season 2, Episode 8Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
Last week we shared a very exciting recording with a live audience at the Jubilee Conference. We’re joined by Pastor Ashley Anderson, Missions Pastor at Church of the City, New York where she is part of the teaching team and leads ministries that partner in the spiritual, social, and cultural renewal of NYC. We’re also joined by Laura Leigh Turner who is a Broadway performer, podcast host of Living in the Light, and founder of a women’s ministry organization The Rise Collective serving women of faith in New York City.We had so much fun interacting with our listeners and having the opportunity to have live Q+A. It’s hard to capture the questions on microphones, but the conversation was so rich, we really wanted to share! It’s Leap Day so enjoy this bonus episode to celebrate our “extra” day! Connect with our guests:Pastor Ashley Anderson, Missions Pastor at Church of the City New York https://www.church.nyc/staff Laura Leigh Turner on Instagram @lauraleighturner her ministry The Rise Collective @risecollectivenyc and her podcast Living In The Light https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/living-in-the-light-with-laura-leigh/id1529355678 Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
This week we’re doing a very exciting recording with a live audience at the Jubilee Conference. We’re joined by Pastor Ashley Anderson, Missions Pastor at Church of the City, New York where she is part of the teaching team and leads ministries that partner in the spiritual, social, and cultural renewal of NYC. We’re also joined by Laura Leigh Turner who is a Broadway performer, podcast host of Living in the Light, and founder of a women’s ministry organization The Rise Collective serving women of faith in New York City. Today we’re looking at the women who were with Jesus at the cross and the empty tomb, who were the first to declare the Good News of the resurrection, and what they have to show us about women’s discipleship and the future of the Church. Read along with us:Matt 28:1-8John 20:13-18Connect with our guests:Pastor Ashley Anderson, Missions Pastor at Church of the City New York https://www.church.nyc/staff Laura Leigh Turner on Instagram @lauraleighturner her ministry The Rise Collective @risecollectivenyc and her podcast Living In The Light https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/living-in-the-light-with-laura-leigh/id1529355678 Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
February is Black History Month, an important and special season but one that can be viewed with suspicion or cynicism. Across racial lines, this month can have complicated perceptions. It is also often commodified by corporations and organizations in ways that can feel performative and hollow. So today we want to dig into the good intent of what Black History Month is about, the hard but powerful opportunity it creates for all of us, and the biblical basis for telling complicated stories with remembrance and hope.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastJoin us at our live recording at the Jubilee Conference. www.jubileeconference.comTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
When we talk about the role of women in the world and in the Church, for Western Christians many of us too often root that in our own experience. Today we’ll be talking about seeing God’s invitation for women from a global perspective. We’re joined by our friend Laura who works with MAPS Global. MAPS Global is a missional family that exists to pray, preach and sing in the most unreached regions of the earth until every nation sees and sings of the worth of Jesus Christ and the Great Commission is finished in our generation.Read along with us:Acts 16:11-15, 40Connect with the ministry of MAPS Global at mapsglobal.org Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
The patriarchs of our faith are often talked about but today we’re digging deeper into one of the matriarchs, Sarah. Sarah is often seen solely for who she is married to, but she is listed individually as a hero of the faith in Hebrews. We’ll look at the complexity and deep faithfulness that marked her life. Read along with us:Gen 17:15-22, 18:1-15, 21:1-7Hebrews 11:11-12Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
To ring in the new year we are so happy to be welcoming Desirae Endres, host of the podcast Minimal-ish to join us today! As we think about starting 2024 we may have goals for cleaning and decluttering our spaces, using our time more wisely, and generally being more intentional about how we use our resources. If we’re not careful, those goals can quickly pile up and become a burdensome new list of expectations. That’s why we’re so excited to hear from Desirae today, who is an expert at getting to the heart of how things like minimalism and decluttering can best serve each of our lifestyles and seasons we’re in. She helps guide people to live with intention so we can make room for what matters most. Read along with us:Luke 12:22-341 Timothy 2:9-10Connect with Desirae and the Minimal-ish podcast on Instagram @minimalish.desirae and check out her website for a wide range of great resources https://www.desiraeendres.com/ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
For our final episode of 2023, we’re compiling a “best of” books and movies by female storytellers from the year. Jamie is an avid reader and Heather is a film enthusiast, so we’re sharing some of our favorite content we read and watched. In light of our recent episodes about Taylor Swift and the value of storytelling and creating by women, we thought we’d give you some next steps for where else to look in elevating and celebrating what women make. It was a great year for women, we’ve got lots of wonderful recommendations!Films:Priscilla - available on VOD (video on demand)Polite Society - available on Prime Video and VODBottoms - available on MGM+ and VODThe Marvels - coming to VOD soon, Disney+ in FebruaryBarbie - available on Max and VODJudy Blume Forever – available on Prime Video and VODAre You There God? It’s Me, Margaret - available on Prime Video and VODPast Lives - available on VODBooks:The Woman They Wanted: Shattering the Illusion of the Good Christian Wife by Shannon HarrisAll My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir by Beth MooreHappy Place by Emily HenryThe work of Dr. Carmen Imes – Bearing God’s Name: Why Sinai Still Matters and also Being God’s Image: Why Creation Still Matters Order any books through our favorite independent bookseller, Hearts and Minds Bookstore! Send us a screenshot of your order/correspondence and you’ll be entered to win a copy of This Here Flesh by Cole Arthur Riley https://www.heartsandmindsbooks.com/ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcast…check there for our honorable mentions that we didn’t get to in this episode!To support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
For today’s episode we want to focus on the themes of Advent and Christmas by taking some time to look at the story of Mary. The incarnation gives dignity to the human body that God called very good and it also brings a particular honoring to the body of women. We’ll dig into the significance of an embodied spirituality as illustrated by Jesus’s coming, as well as the protections God puts in place for Mary to insure that she is believed and supported by her partner, Joseph. Dig into these important themes as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
This week there was just too much to cover in talking about Taylor Swift for only 1 episode, so this is a second release deluxe episode, bonus content, from the vault! In our first episode we didn’t get to dig into the significance of her re-recorded albums and the cultural impact they’ve had, or the phenomenon that has been the Eras Tour. So today we’re digging into all the extra material that didn’t make the first episode, and discussing what Taylor has to teach the Church about creating meaningful online engagement and communal experiences. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastWe are still in the midst of a 1989 TV giveaway! If you share an episode of Excavate and tag us, you can enter to win your own CD or vinyl. Winners will be announced On Taylor’s birthday, December 13th!To support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group. *Heather was having an unexpected issue with her mic on this recording, we apologize for the temporary drop in sound quality
Welcome to season 3! We’re starting back by discussing the topic that’s dominated the news cycle and frankly all our personal attention here at Excavate, the year of Taylor Swift. Over the course of the Eras Tour, 2 more re-recorded albums, of course a very high profile break-up and new relationship, Taylor Swift has never been bigger. We have both been fans of hers for a long time, which means a lot of years of identifying and dismantling our own internalized misogyny, having countless heated conversations defending her against the sexist attitudes of others, and loving and connecting with her music and public image. Even though Taylor is more popular than ever, she’s still a lightning rod for ridicule and misogyny. Today we’ll dig into the underlying patriarchy that’s embedded in the backlash against her, how our reactions to her can be an opportunity for curiosity and reflection, and why Taylor means so much to so many.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
This week we’re closing out our Summer Shorts series and Season 2 discussing a significant moment in the early Church that illustrates a profound care for widows. The apostles respond to marginalized women who speak up in a remarkable way that still provides a much-needed model to the modern Church. This story also illustrates the role that conflict and Godly resolution can play for church growth. Don’t miss this overlooked but powerful story in Acts!
Read along with us: Acts 6:1-7
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In this episode we’re taking on an infamous story about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the fate of Lot’s wife. This is a story that reveals the dangers of not obeying the commands of God and of being overly fixated on the past. Yet we also frequently malign Lot’s wife and reduce the event to her being disobedient and foolish. Today we want to dig into what they were all experiencing that day in Genesis, and what this story can tell us about the process of moving forward. Let’s dig in.
Read along with us: Gen. 19:15-26
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Today we’re continuing in our summer shorts and looking at an important matriarch you’ve probably never heard of. We know about Sarah, Leah and Rachel, but we rarely talk about Asenath, the wife of Joseph in the book of Genesis. Their two sons take on a big legacy in the history of Israel, yet her contribution to the people of God has been considered controversial. There’s a lot to uncover about this hidden matriarch, let’s dig in.
Read along with us: Gen. 41:45, 50-52 Gen. 48:5 (also 48:11-22)
For further research: https://jude3project.org/ Reading While Black by Dr. Esau McCaulley Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcast
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Today we’re continuing in our Summer Shorts series with Job’s daughters. We’ll take a second look at the book of Job overall and perhaps a perspective that puts Job’s daughters in a fuller picture. We’ll also look at how Job names his daughters and what that might say about his encounters with God, our experiences of loss and suffering, and the hope God can give us for new chapters.
Read along with us: Job 9:33-35 Job 19:25 Job 42:14-15
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Today we’re continuing in our Summer Shorts series and looking at the mention of the servant woman, Rhoda, in the book of Acts. She is mentioned within a bigger story and her role has often been laughed at and she is seen as silly or flighty. But when we take the time to look more closely, there is so much to uncover about equity and discipleship, belief and hope, and the power of overwhelming joy.
Read along with us: Acts 12:6-17
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We’re kicking off a summer series reflecting on the short phrases that might be easy for modern readers to miss. As all of our routines are changed a bit over the summer, we thought it would be a fun time to dig into a few short mentions of women in Scripture that didn’t make it into full length episodes. We’ll be taking some time to slow down and reflect on the way these women can speak to us even with minimal words. Today we’re going to look at two early leaders recognized by Paul in a list of greetings in the letter to the Romans, and what their names and the way he addresses them can tell us about the radical transformation of Christ.
Read along with us: Romans 16:12
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Today we’re so excited to welcome Katelyn Beaty to the podcast, author of Celebrities for Jesus: How Personas, Platforms, and Profits Are Hurting the Church. We’ll be discussing Abigail’s resistance to corrupt power in 1 Samuel 25, and the ways her example can inform the modern Church. Katelyn will help us look at how we can interrogate our own stewardship of power and look with curiosity and honesty at the structures around us. There’s a lot to uncover about the Christian life and ordinary acts of faithfulness.
For reference and further reading: 1 Samuel 25 John 10
Check out Katelyn’s work: Celebrities for Jesus: How Personas, Platforms, and Profits Are Hurting the Church A Woman’s Place https://www.katelynbeaty.com/ Her podcast: Saved By the City Follow her on Twitter @KatelynBeaty and Instagram @katelyn_beaty
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In today’s episode we are tackling a giant topic for women: style, fashion and clothing. Women experience immense pressures from all directions about how we dress and what we wear. We’re expected to keep up with fashion trends while also being modest, to dress professionally but also look cute. Style is such a moving target for women in society and can be a source of fun and creativity, and also anxiety and shame. Today we’ll dig into the way the Bible talks about clothing, how some Biblical women interact with it, and what it might look like for us to have a healthy relationship with our personal styles. Read along with us:Gen. 3:7, 21Prov. 31:13, 19-20, 22, 24-25Acts 16Acts 9:36-41Shop our Excavate merch store https://excavatepodcast.myshopify.com/ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
Today we’re in part 2 of our 2-part series on the Trinity. Last week we discussed the nature of and relationship between Jesus and God, and today we’re digging deeper into the nature of the Holy Spirit. This is the most mysterious and neglected part of the Trinity, and one that holds a lot of questions about femininity within the Triune God. We’re hoping to offer ideas, food for thought, and ultimately an exhortation for all believers to understand and seek the life of the Spirit.Read along with us:John 16:7-11Rom. 8:10-11Rom. 8:26-27Shop our Excavate merch store https://excavatepodcast.myshopify.com/ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
Today we’re digging into a topic that we’ve referenced quite a bit in Season 1 and it’s finally time! We’re talking about the Trinity and how understanding of God has informed a view of gender and submission. The Trinity and our theology of God being three-in-one is complex and full of mystery. But for some, a heretical understanding of God has led to a permission and support for subordination of women. We’ll discuss how Scripture and historical orthodoxy affirm equity within Godself. In this episode we’ll focus primarily on the nature of Jesus and God, next week we’ll dig into the nature of the Holy Spirit. Let’s dig in!Read along with us:John 10:17-18John 8:58-59John 18:6Col. 1:15-20Phil. 2:5-8Shop our Excavate merch store https://excavatepodcast.myshopify.com/ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
In today’s episode we’re uncovering an often ignored story about a wise and courageous woman in the Old Testament, Abigail. Abigail becomes a wife of King David, but their meet cute has higher stakes than most first encounters. Her story has a great deal to show us about the legacy of wise women in scripture, the character of David, and a Godly process for confronting those in authority. Read along with us:1 Sam. 25:2-42Shop our Excavate merch store https://excavatepodcast.myshopify.com/ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
Today we’re talking about a central woman of the church who was the first to declare the good news of the Risen Christ to the other disciples. We’re digging into the story of Mary Magdalene and her faithful devotion to Jesus. We’ll be living into our goal of excavating, brushing away what might have been added into the text by pop culture narratives, conspiracy theories, and early scholars. We’ll be encouraged by the true legacy of her deep faithfulness to Jesus as a pillar of the Church.Read along with us:Luke 8:1-3 Luke 7:37John 20:11-18John 11:27For further research:https://www.elizabethschrader.com/about-7 Shop our Excavate merch store https://excavatepodcast.myshopify.com/ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
On today’s episode we are so excited to have Sheila Gregoire join us. Sheila is the author of the upcoming book She Deserves Better: Raising girls to resist toxic teaching on sex, self & speaking up. In our episodes about purity culture we started a conversation about the way purity culture modesty codes created contempt of women’s bodies and harmful messages for young women and girls. This week we’re looking at what the Bible actually says about modesty and how we can raise girls with empowering messages.Read along with us:1 Timothy 2:8-101 Peter 3:3-4Connect with Sheila’s work:https://sheilawraygregoire.com/ Preorder her new book releasing on April 18th http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/she-deserves-better/404641 On Twitter and Instagram @sheilagregoire Shop our Excavate merch store https://excavatepodcast.myshopify.com/ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
We are recording this episode during Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter when the Church traditionally focuses on the events in the ministry of Jesus leading up to the cross in preparation for observing the crucifixion and celebrating the resurrection. So to honor the themes of this week in the Church calendar we’ll have a shorter episode discussion on the role of women surrounding the end of Christ’s earthly ministry, and a few things to meditate on in response to our previous episode about idolatry and violence. Read along with us:We referenced Jesus interacting with women in Mark 16, and Luke 8 and 24Esau McCaulley’s article on Palm Sundayhttps://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2023/march-web-only/palm-sunday-easter-holy-week-donkeys-not-branches.html Shop our Excavate merch store https://excavatepodcast.myshopify.com/ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
In this episode we’re talking about a complex and often controversial issue in American society, our culture’s relationship with guns. This is a conversation that has become so muddied by political ideology and Christian nationalism that it can be difficult to have any kind of healthy dialogue. But it remains an urgent concern for our country. So we are trying to step back from the rhetoric and look at how the Bible describes idolatry, what constitutes something being an idol, and how God invites us to respond. We will also look at a powerful passage in Jeremiah where God calls upon the women in the community to wail and lament on behalf of the nation. We hope to let scripture be our guide in this difficult but crucial conversation.Read along with us:Jeremiah 9:17-21Psalm 115: 4-9Jeremiah 19:4-5Psalm 20:7Daniel 3:16-18Further resources on idolatry in our lives and our society:“The Liturgy of Politics” by Kaitlyn Schiess“Playing God” and “Strong and Weak” by Andy CrouchWhat Will Become of the Church - article from Heather about the exiles in BabylonShop our Excavate merch store https://excavatepodcast.myshopify.com/ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
As we continue in women’s history month we want to highlight the area of women’s health advocacy. There is still a great need for growth in research, taking women’s concerns seriously, and women having the tools we need to advocate for our health and care. When we contrast the continued minimizing of women’s health concerns with the life of Jesus, we see how radical He really is in demystifying and joining with our experience of our bodies. Male listeners welcome in this conversation!Read along with us:Mark 5:24-34Research referenced in our discussion:Origins of gynecologyhttps://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/04/17/603163394/-father-of-gynecology-who-experimented-on-slaves-no-longer-on-pedestal-in-nycHistory of birth control pill testing in Puerto Ricohttps://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/pill-puerto-rico-pill-trials/“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” - book and movie (streaming on HBOMax)“Our Bodies, Ourselves” - bookhttps://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/about-us/our-history/ Maternal mortality ratehttps://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/03/16/1163786037/maternal-deaths-in-the-u-s-spiked-in-2021-cdc-reports Black Lactation Circlehttps://columbusunderground.com/community-group-gives-peer-support-to-breastfeeding-black-women-tm1/ Shop our Excavate merch store https://excavatepodcast.myshopify.com/ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
Today we’re digging into a topic that we are both passionate about personally. We’re talking about mental health, the unique ways this relates to the lived experience of women, and how to navigate this as people of faith. We recognize that for some people the Church may have minimized or even demonized mental health care. So our hope is to discuss that stigma and how God meets us in our seasons of sorrow and struggle. Read along with us:Ps. 56:8Luke 10:38-421 Kings 19:3-8Shop our Excavate merch store https://excavatepodcast.myshopify.com/ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
In this episode we’re doing our very first recording with a live audience at the Jubilee Conference! We’re joined by Dr. Carmen Imes, author of Bearing God’s Name: Why Sinai Still Matters and Associate Professor of Old Testament at Biola University. Dr. Imes is an expert on the book of Exodus so we are thrilled to hear her expertise on the many women who played a role in the story of deliverance in Exodus. This episode will give you inspiring new insights on the ways God raised up women and men to partner together in the work of liberation. Read along with us:Exodus 1:15-22Excerpts of Ex. 2Exodus 4:24-26Exodus 15:20-21To preorder Dr. Imes’s book, go to www.ivpress.com and use promo code IMES30 to get 30% off + free US shipping!Make sure to check out Carmen’s YouTube channel, Torah Tuesday for more great content https://www.youtube.com/@CarmenJoyImesPhD Follow her on Twitter: @carmenjoyimes Thank you to our friends at the Jubilee Conference for hosting our live podcast recording! Shop our Excavate merch store https://excavatepodcast.myshopify.com/ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
This episode is part 2 of digging into the impact of purity culture and God’s actual plan for human relationships. In episode 1 we discussed the shortcomings and harmful effects of the purity movement, as well as God’s call to fidelity and obedience that transcends misrepresentation and bad messaging. So we recommend that if you haven’t listened to part 1 yet, pause and go listen to that first. Now we’re following it up with digging deeper into what it means to follow God’s good commands for Christian relationship and how that can play out in practical ways. There’s so much kindness and flourishing to uncover, so please dig in with us.Read along with us:Luke 17:7-10Shop our Excavate merch store https://excavatepodcast.myshopify.com/ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
For the next 2 episodes we’re going to be digging into the topic of purity culture and sexuality. Anyone who grew up in the 90s and 2000s heard about purity culture in evangelicalism, and even pop culture with plenty of pop stars wearing purity rings. Adult Christians in the last few years have begun deconstructing and reexamining the motivations and impact of purity culture. Today we’ll begin sifting through what drove that movement in the church, what aspects might still line up with the Bible and what aspects are better left in the past. Then in our next episode we’ll dig deeper into how our lives can be shaped in practical ways by God’s intentions for sexual stewardship. Read along with us:Galatians 5:1-131 Corinthians 6:12-20Shop our Excavate merch store https://excavatepodcast.myshopify.com/ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
In this episode we are digging into the parables of Jesus that center the experiences of women. Part of what makes Jesus such a profound teacher is his ability to connect with every one of his listeners and to make us feel like the Word is for us. Jesus rejects the assumption that women are folded into narratives for men by teaching distinct parables that are about women and for everyone. Not only are women to see ourselves reflected in these teachings, but men are also to learn from the points Jesus was making. There’s so much to uncover about what the parables teach us about who was in Jesus’s audience and who discipleship is for!Read along with us:Matt. 25:1-12Mark 4:21-25Luke 11:24-28Luke 14:34-35Luke 11:29-32Luke 15:8-10Luke 18:1-8 To join us for our live recording in Pittsburgh February 18 https://jubileeconference.ticketspice.com/jubilee-saturday-passesShop our Excavate merch store https://excavatepodcast.myshopify.com/ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
This week we’re digging into an area of guidance and discipleship that is often overlooked for women. We’re talking about money, being a good steward, and the way that has uniquely impacted women. Christian women have often been socialized to depend on men in their lives to the detriment of our own financial literacy. We’ll look at women in Scripture that can inspire our stewardship journeys, including a seemingly hidden gem. Read along with us:1 Chronicles 7:20-24Luke 8:1-3Mark 12:41-44To join us for our live recording in Pittsburgh February 18 https://jubileeconference.ticketspice.com/jubilee-saturday-passesShop our Excavate merch store https://excavatepodcast.myshopify.com/ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
This week we’re talking about the overwhelming and often scary topic of aging. Western society tends to idolize youth and prize youthful beauty and agelessness. We also praise those who achieve great success at young ages which can create pressure to live up to unrealistic standards of age and achievement. It’s easy to feel inadequate and behind the curve in our modern society, which is why we think it’s so important to frame this topic through a Biblical lens. We’ll be exploring passages that discuss aging and life perspective, and a Kingdom vision of aging.Read along with us:Leviticus 19:32Job 12:12Prov. 16:31Psalm 901 Timothy 4:12Shop our Excavate merch store https://excavatepodcast.myshopify.com/ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
On today’s podcast we are so excited to welcome special guest Kaitlyn Schiess. Kaitlyn is the author of “The Liturgy of Politics” and the perfect person to help us dig into the story of Jezebel and her influence in Old Testament history. Jezebel has become a symbol for either maligning women as dangerous seductresses, or as a New Age feminist icon of women behaving badly. Her legacy is a complicated one which is why we’re eager to dig into her story to uncover what Jezebel has to teach us about power, idolatry, politics and faith.
Read along with us:
1 Kings 16:29-34
1 Kings 21:1-7
2 Kings 9:30-37
You can follow Kaitlyn on Twitter and IG @kaitlynsciess. Make sure to visit her website to find more of her work and her book! https://kaitlynschiess.com/
Shop our Excavate merch store https://excavatepodcast.myshopify.com/
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcast
To support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
Last week we talked about the overall themes of Proverbs as one of the wisdom books. This week we’re focusing on Proverbs 31, “the virtuous woman.” This passage has often been a place of pressure or tension for women so we’ll excavate those layers and see the strength and dignity of this passage and the invitation for women and men to celebrate the valor of women around them. Read along with us:Proverbs 31:10–31Shop our Excavate merch store! https://excavatepodcast.myshopify.com/ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
Today we’re beginning a discussion about wisdom literature in the Bible and this unique genre of scripture. Proverbs personifies Wisdom as a woman and contrasts Wisdom with Lady Folly. We’ll discuss how these are portrayed and how the proverbs discuss the roles of women in the home and world.Read along with us:Proverbs 9:1-7, 13-18Prov. 12:4, 5:18Prov. 19:13, 21:9, 21:19, 25:24, 27:15Prov. 15:25Excerpts of Prov. 7Shop our Excavate merch store! https://excavatepodcast.myshopify.com/ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
It's the week between Christmas and the New Year. This is the perfect time to reflect on the past year so we wanted to consider what it looks like to step into a new season as people of hope. We’ll look at two women in the Old Testament that may not be the first ones you’d consider at the new year, but who have much to teach us about courage and hope. Whatever time of year you’re listening, the Widow’s encounter with Elisha and a bold enslaved girl will encourage you to widen your prophetic imagination. Let’s dig in!Read along with us:2 Kings 4:1-72 Kings 5:1-3, 8-16Shop our Excavate merch store! https://excavatepodcast.myshopify.com/ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
It’s striking how little the men of the Christmas story speak and how much space is given to the women of this story. So this week we’re going to look at the women in and around the Advent story and the way that God elevates the voices of women surrounding Jesus’s birth. We’ll talk about the strength we can draw from their stories and the way these women may represent biblical types. This is a great episode as we move into Christmas week to prepare your heart in wonder at the wisdom and power of God. Read along with us:Discussion of women shepherds: Gen. 29:6,9, Exod. 2:16Matt 2:1Matt. 2:16-18, Jer. 31:22Shop our Excavate merch store! https://excavatepodcast.myshopify.com/ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
We are so excited and honored to be welcoming Whitney Trotter to the podcast this week! In our previous episode we talked about a biblical theology of food and the body, and this week we’ll be digging deeper into how disordered eating can impact us and the ways that generational trauma connect to dynamics around food. We’ll discuss the story of the Israelites coming out of captivity in Egypt and how that shaped their relationship with food, and how God helped them rewire those patterns during their time in the wilderness.Read along with us:Exodus 16:1-5 Deuteronomy 8:7-10Isa. 55:1-3Resources mentioned by Whitney:“Eating in the Light of the Moon” by Anita A. Johnston“Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus” by Lois Tverberg“Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome” by Joy a Degruy“The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin” (docu-series available on HBOMax)Follow Whitney on Instagram @whitneytrotter.rd and through her website https://whitneytrotter.com/bluff-city-health/ Shop our Excavate merch store! https://excavatepodcast.myshopify.com/ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast To support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
In today’s episode we are beginning a conversation about our relationship with food. We’re starting with a discussion on the biblical and theological aspects of food, then in our next episode we’re welcoming Registered Dietician Whitney Trotter to lead us in a conversation about the ways eating and our relationship with food can become disordered and how to address that in healthy ways. This is a very delicate topic but because this is something that impacts literally everyone because we need to eat to live, we’d rather take the risk to begin the conversation rather than avoiding it out of fear and keeping all of us in silence and isolation. Please dig in with us.Read along with us:Ps. 145:15-16, Ps. 36:7-9, Luke 1:53Prov. 23:1-3, 19-21Matt. 11:18-19Shop our Excavate merch store! https://excavatepodcast.myshopify.com/ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcastTo support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast
Welcome to Season 2, we’re so happy to be back! As we’re all navigating the holidays we know that can be very emotionally complex and bring up loss, trauma and grief. Today we’re going to talk about grief and gratitude and the way they pair together. It’s also something that we think women in particular navigate often and can be leaders in for our communities. We’ll look at models in Scripture and how we can learn from them in our own lives.
In Season 1 we really wanted to stick to the timeline of Scripture and what helped us understand the full story and the roles that women have always played in God’s story. In Season 2 we’ll continue to point back to those overarching themes while looking at some topical studies and some additional women that we didn’t have space to discuss in season 1. We’ll have more guests joining us this season and we’re excited to see what we uncover together!
Read along with us: 2 Sam 21:1-14 Esther 4:1-5 1 Samuel 2:1-11
To celebrate the new season we released Excavate merch! If you missed our Black Friday sale we’re offering a special promo for the next week (through Dec 7) to add a free sticker to your order using the discount code SEASON2. Shop now https://excavatepodcast.myshopify.com/
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In recent years there has been a rise in the popularity of witchcraft and feminist spirituality. This often goes hand in hand with other trends like astrology and manifesting. Things like Spooky Season and Halloween are also more popular than ever, especially among women. Today we want to dig into a few stories in the Bible about a witch and a ghost, and a fortune teller, and see how the Bible offers us guidance to navigate our culture.
Read along with us: Deuteronomy 18:9-12 1 Sam. 28:3-20 Acts 16:16-24
This week we wanted to spend time talking about themes that jumped out at us as we walked through this first season of the podcast. You know we love the Bible but one of the reasons we love it is because there’s always something new to glean and things to uncover. In season 1 we very intentionally stuck to what helped us understand the metanarrative of Scripture and the role of women in it. In season 2 we’ll be digging into some stories of women that didn’t make it into season 1, a few more topical episodes, some special guests, and your Q+A. So before we take a break and move into new content, we want to take a look back on where we’ve been and how God has moved and helped us uncover our places in God’s story.
We’ll be taking a little break for 6-8 weeks but we want to stay connected. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @excavatepodcast for new weekly content during the break
Please use the hiatus to share the show on your social media and with your friends so new people can dig in and have a good window to catch up on all of season 1 before new episodes come out.
To support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast Our patreon perks include new content, zoom calls, and the opportunity for our higher tier options to invite us to your small group.
We’re concluding our conversation about the book of Revelation and the very good ending of God’s story. The resurrection of the body is not something that is often discussed yet it has tremendous implications for how we navigate our current relationships with our bodies. Especially for women who are often socialized and conditioned to have very ambivalent perceptions of our bodies, so this is such an important perspective shift. Plus we’ll talk about the culmination of the biblical wedding metaphor and our global hope for resurrection and honor.
Read along with us: 1 Cor. 15:12-28 Rev 6:9-10
If you want to keep digging into restoration theology, check out Heather’s keynote at the Jubilee Conference where she digs deeper into this topic https://youtu.be/zbZF0iQqT8U
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We’ve been tracing the metanarrative of Scripture as we look at the consistent role of women and God’s heart for women. Like all of the best stories, the ending of God’s Story is very good. Jesus teaches us to pray “on earth as it is in heaven” so we should be consistently aligning our prayers and subsequently our lives with this reality! God’s endgame is to bring healing and wholeness to our experience of culture, work, emotions, and to ultimately expose the evil of patriarchy for what it truly is and to defeat it forever. Let’s dig into how our future hope can shape our current realities
Read along with us: Rev. 7:9-17 Rev. 21:1-7 Luke 12:2-3 Rev. 22:10-13 1 Cor. 13:12
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Today we are in part two of our episodes about women in the early Church. we’ll spend a little more time in Acts before shifting to Paul’s greetings at the end of his letter to the Romans. We’ll see a very clear picture of Paul regularly collaborating with and co-laboring with women in his ministry. These passages are such an important addition to his teachings on the role of women in the church and paint a much bigger picture of how his ministry played out and who was partnering with him. These are some iconic women in the faith and we can’t wait to uncover their stories together.
Read along with us: Acts 18:1-3, 18-19, 24-28 Romans 16:1-7, 12-13 (1Cor. 16:19, 2 Tim. 4:19) Col. 4:15
The article mentioned is “Junia, a Female Apostle: An Examination of the Historical Record” from the journal Priscilla Papers, Spring 2019
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It is imperative to pair Paul’s teachings about women in his letters with the way we see women integrated and highlighted in the early church in the book of Acts and beyond. This is the first of two episodes looking at the way women were a core part of the Church from the beginning. Today we’re in the book of Acts, next week we’ll also study Acts and Paul’s greetings in his letters. We’ll see the Apostles value and elevate women, and the ways that “brothers and sisters” worshiped and led side by side.
Read along with us:
Acts 9:32-43 Acts 16:11-15, 40 Acts 17:4, 34 Acts 21:5-9 Galatians 3:26-28
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In light of all the recent coverage of abuses in churches and pastors advising women to stay in abusive relationships, we wanted to devote an entire episode to passages that have often been used against victims in the Church. It is all too common for women to have the Bible quoted to them about why they should stay in unhealthy relationships or why their abuse is being covered up. We believe this is a severe injustice and misuse of scripture. Today we’ll be digging into some of these passages and trying to uncover their real intent for women and families.
This will touch on heavy topics but without graphic detail, so we’re offering a moderate trigger warning for the emotions that could come up in response to these topics. Also some words used regarding marriage relationships might not be suitable for young listeners. We hope you’ll ultimately find affirmation and healing from God’s Word, but make sure to pay attention to yourself and what you need as you dig in with us.
Read along with us: 1 Cor. 7:1-7, 15-16
Further resources: No Place for Abuse: Biblical Practical Resources to Counteract Domestic Violence by Catherine Clark Kroeger and Nancy Nason-Clark
Healing the Hurting: Giving Hope and Help to Abused Women by Catherine Clark Kroeger and James R. Beck
The IVP Women's Bible Commentary by Catherine Clark Kroeger and Mary J. Evans
The Allender Center resources on spiritual abuse
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Paul’s teachings have been a major basis for the belief that women should not have leadership roles in the Church. On the surface his writings can seem extremely harsh and dismissive, and have been a source of pain and confusion for many women (us included). In this episode we are digging deeper into the historical context and Greek translation of 1 Corinthians 14 and 1 Timothy 2-3, the main places where Paul seems to command women to be silent in church and not have positions of authority. We offer some compelling reasons why this isn’t the fullness of Paul’s teaching and brush back layers that have been added onto his words. Regardless of what you believe about women in leadership in the Church, this episode wrestles with important questions we should all consider.
Read along with us:
1 Cor. 14:29-40 1 Tim. 2:8-15 1 Tim. 3:1-11
Jamie mentions the Greek word for authority that Paul uses in 1 Tim. 2:12, the spelling is authentein if you want to dig into your own further research.
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We’re moving into the wider New Testament and looking at Paul’s letters. His teachings about women are most often used to reinforce patriarchal gender norms, and have been a source of pain and confusion for many of us. In today’s episode we’ll begin digging into those very entrenched biblical interpretations about male headship and gender roles in marriage. We believe that God was instilling great beauty in these metaphors but patriarchal readings have often twisted them to become oppressive to women and girls. This may be controversial for some, but our hope today is to put forth multiple options for interpretation and give women and men greater freedom in how we relate to one another.
Read along with us: 1 Cor. 11:1-16 Eph. 5:21-22
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Jesus empowers women during His ministry and also through His death and resurrection. In this week’s episode we dig into the crucial role women played in being present with Jesus during the crucifixion, and the ways Jesus reveals Himself to them at the resurrection and emboldens them for evangelism. We believe this was not just for the sake of creating an airtight apologetic for the validity of the resurrection, but was also a sign of the love and value Jesus places on women in the Church.
Read along with us: John 12 Luke 23:44-56 Luke 24:1-12 John 20:11-18 Mark 16:14
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We’re thrilled to welcome a very special guest to the podcast, New York Times Best Selling author, Cole Arthur Riley. Cole’s work in the last 2 years through her Instagram account @blackliturgies, her online writing, and her recent book “This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories that make us” have been such a powerful voice.
The three of us dig in to the story of the Woman at the Well. We look at Jesus’s invitation to belonging and question traditional narratives about this woman. We explore her storytelling as an act of liberation and how the narrative of her story continues in church history (did you know she has a name and a feast day?!).
If you’re new to Excavate, our typical format is to discuss one or more passages of the Bible and what it reveals about the story and role of women in Christianity and in the world. We hope today’s episode resonated with you and we invite you to keep digging in with us as we uncover our place in God’s story
To support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast
To see more from Cole Arthur Riley follow @blackliturgies on instagram or visit www.colearthurriley.com
Who do you picture when you hear the word, “disciple”? Most of us probably instinctively picture a man, but the Gospels show us that Jesus encouraged and empowered women disciples in his ministry. Today we’re looking at Jesus’s interactions with women from a grieving widow to a wealthy benefactress. Jesus has an inspiring track record of involving women in His life and ministry, and making a place of welcome for us in His presence. This episode also has some meaningful reflections from the story of Mary and Martha that can be for men as well as women, so (as always) all are welcome to dig in with us!
Read along with us: Luke 2:36-38 (Anna) Luke 7:11-17 (the grieving widow) Luke 8:1-3 // Luke 24:10 (women in Jesus’ ministry) Luke 10:38-42 (Mary and Martha) John 12:1-8 (Mary anoints Jesus)
Today we’re digging into the Magnificat (Mary’s song of praise), and her stories with Jesus after his birth. Patriarchy has so often assumed that Jesus takes a dismissive or irritated tone with Mary in their interactions, but we believe these stories reveal the depth to which Mary knew and understood her son, and partnered with his ministry. Perhaps more than any other human in his life, Mary exemplified what it meant to be attentive to him, to treasure their interactions, and to support the heart of Jesus.
Read along with us: Luke 1:46-55 Luke 2:41-52 Matt 12:46-50 John 2:1-5, 11-12
The Protestant evangelical church has historically been all too reluctant to elevate and honor the legacy of Mary the mother of Jesus. We think Mary is such an important woman in scripture that she deserves 2 episodes! Today we’re talking about her call by God and her yes to being part of the salvation story, and her crucial time with her cousin Elizabeth and what they teach us about encouragement and hope in community.
Read along with us: Luke 1:26-56
We’re moving into women in the New Testament! And to do that we’re going to dig back into the Old Testament. The Gospel of Matthew starts with the genealogy of Jesus which has some peculiarities that would have been surprising to its readers, namely that 5 women are included in what would normally be a list of men only. This was a deliberate choice by the author to teach us something about who shaped Jesus and who He came to save. They also show us that Jesus chose to join a family with generations of turmoil, trauma, beauty and tragedy. So today we’re going to look at their stories and discuss what they show us about the character of Christ and how Jesus joins our stories.
Follow along in your Bible: Matt. 1:3-6, 16 Tamar: Gen. 38:6-26 Rahab: Josh. 2:8-14, 21 (Check our episode “Squad Goals” for Ruth’s story) Bathsheba: 2 Sam. 11:2-5
Mary gets a whole episode to herself to come back for next week’s episode to dig into Mary’s story!
Last week we looked at some challenging feminine language and metaphors for Israel in the prophets. Today we’re going to look at some of the positive images and the way the feminine images are used to describe God. Most of us “know” that God is outside of gender but when it comes down to it, we haven’t really explored what that means or how that’s revealed and demonstrated in the word. So that’s where we’re heading today. And if there’s something that feels new, we encourage you to lean in with us and get curious!
We dig into a lot of scripture in this episode, follow along with us: Hosea 11:3-4 Hosea 13:8
Mother language Birth : Isaiah 42:14 Nursing : Isaiah 49:15 Comfort : Isaiah 66:13
Deut 32:11-12
Using feminine images in prayer Psalm 131:2 God as a Mother Psalm 123:2-3 God compared to a woman
Luke 15:8-10 Woman and the coin Luke 13:34 Lament over Jerusalem
In this episode we’re going to be talking about feminine imagery in the prophets. specifically metaphorical uses of female language to describe Israel. We have often conflated the metaphorical language with literal views of women so today we want to draw better distinctions in how God was talking to Israel and what he was trying to communicate in these metaphors. We’ll also dig into the way the movie Redeeming Love depicts the book of Hosea, what it gets right and what became some unhelpful misrepresentations.
Passages read in this episode: Ezekiel 16:15-21, 35-38 Hosea 1:2
Heather’s blog post if you’d like to dig in further on the differences between the book of Hosea and the novel/film “Redeeming Love” http://thecultureofmoore.com/2022/02/05/we-should-not-use-redeeming-love-to-teach-hosea/
If you were to make a list of Biblical stories about liberation, would Esther be on that list? As we discuss the second half of the book of Esther, you’ll see why it will make your list moving forward! Chapters 5-10 are packed with supernatural timing, ironic twists, profound reversals, and powerful victory over oppression. We also discuss how the story of Esther became a Jewish national holiday and continues to carry immense hope and celebration for the Jewish community in modern history.
Passages read in today’s episode: 6:13 8:9, 11-13, 15-17 9:1 9:20-23
We’re digging into the book of Esther! This is a book that has often been reduced to a story that’s only for women about winning a beauty pageant and becoming a queen. But there is so much depth to this book for both women and men. It’s a fantastic hero’s journey, there is one of the best male role models in scripture, it has a great deal to say about racial identity and the pressure to assimilate, and this is a book that’s had tremendous meaning for the Jewish people throughout history. There’s so much to excavate in this powerful book that we’ll be splitting it into 2 episodes. So today we want to start with chapters 1-4 as we uncover Esther’s themes of marginalization and assimilation, the struggle to maintain one’s identity in exile, and the cost of being our whole selves.
Passages read in this episode: Esther 2:1-22, 3:1-6, and 4:12-17
The story of Hannah has at times been used as a formula for women to get pregnant who struggle with infertility. That approach can become judgmental and overly simplistic, and does not honor the fullness of Hannah’s story and the pervasive instances of barren women in the Bible. In this episode we dig into the risky hope that Hannah expresses in her petition to God. Hope that requires vulnerability and boldness to be honest about our desires before the Lord. Hannah’s story provides a model for what it can look like to struggle with perpetual disappointment and shame and still bring our whole hearts to God. And her story and those of other barren women point us to the mystery of life and an invitation to humility.
Hannah’s story is found in 1 Samuel 1-2. We also reference the story of Anna in Luke 2:36-38
The book of Ruth is known for being a sweet love story and an important installment in the redemption story. But Ruth is also a book about the power of female friendship and community. David and Jonathan typically get all the attention for modeling biblical friendship, but David first learned about commitment and support from his great-grandmother. This is perhaps one of the most well known female figures we discuss this season but don’t think there’s nothing new to uncover in this story about grief, despair, courage and healing.
The book of Ruth is only 4 chapters so we encourage you to read it in its entirety. In the episode we read 1:15-21 (Heather accidentally misidentified the passage in the episode as being in chapter 2), 3:11, and 4:11-17.
We’re continuing our excavation as we move into the book of Judges and then the era of the kings, looking at the prophetess and judge Deborah (and her fellow warrior, Jael), and the prophetess Huldah. We’re discussing these powerful examples of women in leadership in Israel, and taking on the pervasive interpretation that their leadership was a last resort in the absence of other willing male leaders. These are some women who aren’t always paid their due so we are excited to dig into their stories!
Passages discussed in this episode: Judges 4:1-9, 17-22 Parts of Judges 5 (highly recommend reading this whole chapter) 2 Chronicles 34: 22-27, 35:18, 25
This week’s episode is delicate but so important for making sense of some passages that on the surface can feel harsh and unfair. We’re digging into Deut. 22:22-29 and discussing how this passage handles sexual violence, and the test for adultery in Num. 5:11-31 (cross referenced with John 8:1-11). We may not resolve every feeling of unease these passages can incite, but we believe that God cares very much about the struggles women face in these areas and ultimately desires our protection and wellbeing. God also invites our honesty and wrestling, so please dig in with us.
Trigger warning: We do not discuss sexual violence in a graphic way but the nature of the conversation has the potential to be emotionally intense and may not be appropriate for children if you normally listen with kids in the car.
Additional resources mentioned in the episode: The scholarship of Dr. Jo Vitale “Reading While Black: African-American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope” by Dr. Esau McCaulley
Did you know the Bible has a whole passage about periods and menstruation? Today we’re talking about Leviticus 15 and “bodily discharges”. Men, don’t skip this episode because it’s a topic we all need to understand better. We’re digging into how to interpret the way the Bible talks about male and female reproductive hygiene, and specifically the ways we think about being “unclean” and what God’s intention is for the way we view ourselves. This is a passage that on the surface can feel harsh and disgusted, but we believe contains compassionate guidance for life on earth and a glimpse into the sacred.
In this episode we dig into:
Leviticus 15:19-31 Leviticus 17: 11,14 Ezekiel 22:10 Luke 8:43-48
Jamie mentioned the ways women in developing nations navigate menstruation and we want to recommend a wonderful (and Oscar winning!) documentary short called Period. End of Sentence available on Netflix
Share this episode on your preferred social media platform, Facebook or Instagram, and tag our socials (@strongheather and @jamiedonne) will receive a promo code for a free book of your choice from Hearts and Minds Bookstore! We’ll send you all the details!
We’ve got a special bonus episode for International Women’s Day! As this day celebrates the contributions and leadership of women, we will dig into the story in Exodus 1 of the Hebrew midwives. Their story gives us a humorous and inspiring picture of Godly resistance and the ways women have acted with bravery and wit to advocate for their communities.
We read the following passage in the episode: Ex. 1:6-21 Ex. 15:20-21
We hear a lot about the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but what about the matriarchs? In this week's episode we dig into the narratives of Sarah, Hagar, Rebekah and Leah. Each of these women have their own personal encounters with God apart from and unmediated by their husbands. Let’s see how God relates to them intimately and proves Himself faithful in their lives. We read the following passages in the episode:
Gen. 12:10-20 Sarah Gen. 16:1-14 Hagar Gen. 25:19-23 Rebekah (also note Rebekah’s autonomy in Gen. 24) Gen. 29:31-35 Leah
Ps. 115:4-8 Ps. 2:4
We continue to dig into the history and perceptions of Eve and in this part 2 episode we discuss Satan’s strategy for why he would target Eve first rather than Adam. Heather poses 2 theories:
- Satan has a particular hatred of Eve and wanted to neutralize her from the beginning.
- Satan wanted to disrupt God’s created design for human connection and insert his own pattern of distrust and isolation into God’s world.
Listen in as we dialogue about the ways those strategies continue to play out in the lives of women and in our culture at large. This conversation got deeper and went longer than we expected. But as you’ll hear, we won’t apologize for taking up space!
For further reading: Dancing In The Streets: A History of Collective Joy by Barbara Ehrenreich
We’re digging in from the very beginning starting with our Matriarch, Eve. We’re uncovering some of the history and perceptions of Eve.
Jamie proposes that: 1. Eve as Adam’s “helper” is a powerful name 2. God is not prescribing but describing the impact of sin in Gen 3. 3. He’s not describing gender roles but rather some particularities of Eve’s work
Listen in as we dialogue about the we have at times added to the blame of Eve and realized the gift and power as the Mother of the Living.
We’re digging into Genesis 1-3 For further reading: Equal by Katia Adams
Start getting to know us in this brief episode as we introduce ourselves! We have a conversation about our backgrounds and our history with the topic of women in the Bible and in the Church. We also lay out our approach to this series and what to expect from upcoming episodes. There is also an invitation for men to listen in and join the conversation, Excavate is open to all listeners!