The Environmental Christian Podcast: Recent Episodes
The Environmental Christian
Podcasting from a small town in the Bible Belt you’re listening to The Environmental Christian podcast. (No, that’s not an oxymoron.) Email me at: environmentalchristian[at]gmail[dot]com
The story of Jesus’s last week of life is uncomfortable. A God who sends his son to die because humanity is evil is uncomfortable. And possibly wrong, at least with the emphasis that has been placed on it. Focusing on Jesus’s life this week will be uncomfortable. A king who rides a donkey. A king who dines with a hodgepodge of people. A king who washes feet as a slave. Take all the things that can make most of us uncomfortable and watch Jesus do them naturally. Jesus makes us uncomfortable because he calls to be in relationship with people unlike ourselves.
I asked to see God and was asked “in what form.” How many times do I ask for things? What about when I don’t ask? Recognizing God in the everyday is something I’ve moved away from, but it may be a practice to reintroduce.
Take that walk. Observe nature. When you tell yourself you don’t have the time to spend in nature or with God talk back and say you don’t have time not to.
God calls us to love and Jesus modeled loving. But, who are “those” people in your life that you’re finding hard to love?
Reflecting on the writings that help us understand the Bible better. Archeological findings, diverse voices and experiences can give us new perspectives on the Christian scriptures.
For 2025, The Environmental Christian is going to be scaled back so I can create content 2-4x a month. I’m tired… and honestly, a bit depressed by the state of our world, particularly Christianity in North America. A season of The Uncomfortable Christian will talk about how uncomfortable it is to be a Christian in a time of Christian Nationalism. We will look at Jesus and how to follow him is to be uncomfortable. We’ll also talk about the environment, science, and so many other things. I hope you will join this season called The Uncomfortable Christian.
Welcome to the Environmental Christian Walking podcast. This is a guided 30 minute walking podcast that includes scripture reading (lectio divina), silence, observation, and silent prayer and thanks. This is intended to be an intentional time with God while walking/ hiking and not an exercise podcast.
We want to remind you of the importance of being aware of your surroundings as you listen to this podcast.
I'm learning about myself, and this year, I finally admitted that I'm just not that person.
The ocean is not part of creation I get to experience very often. I’m taking time to ponder this creation and all it encompasses.
Stripped down, real conversation coming from the grief of a companion. This conversation will be divided into separate podcasts. The first podcast, rethinking dominion theology.
This world in which we live screams at us about earthly things. It’s overwhelming. And our brains are going to tell us we don’t have time to read the Bible and contemplate what it says or take a walk and experience God in nature or sit in silence to listen to God’s quiet voice. And to that, I say...
Why did Jesus go to the wilderness after his baptism?
What happens when wild places are deforested?
There are ships waiting to be unburdened at an L.A. port. Some are looking into what's causing the delay. But, let's ask ourselves, why are there so many?
I've invited some experts from The Center for Religion and the Environment at the University of the South in Sewanee to share with us for the next month or two. Host Jerry Cappel and Dr. Robin Gottfried lead us in a concept of Beauty by Design.
My favorite service of the year because it tells the history of the last supper. It connects the old testament to the new.
There are times in the Bible where it is mentioned that God hardened someone’s heart. King Saul particularly comes to mind. I always struggle when the Bible says something that God did that seems counterintuitive to the loving God I believe in.
What is compost? It’s the fifth R: rot. It’s taking your green matter: organic kitchen waste like veggie scraps and fruit peels and mixing them with brown matter: sawdust, cardboard, shredded paper and dry leaves to create a condition where the scraps can break down naturally and you end up with something you can put on your garden to enrich the soil.
For winter, use 68 degrees while you’re awake and at home. Lower it when you go to bed. As for summer, 78 degrees when you’re home and awake. The lower the difference between the inside and outside temps the lower your cooling bill.
Can you imagine a world where there is fighting in grocery stores for a product everyone easily has a replacement for in their homes?
We’re used to thinking about footprints like what we make in the sand going on a nice walk on the beach.
There are other footprints that leave a trail that have nothing to do with feet. Today, we’re going to talk about our environmental footprint, specifically auditing our household trash.
I believe everyone is familiar with the 10 commandments. Even if we ignore them. Or we believe and abide by Jesus’ fulfillment of the law with Love God and Love Neighbor.
It’s so easy to get caught up with what needs to be done that we miss opportunities for the really important stuff like time with our family.
Join my friend Joy and me as we talk about purchasing clothing. There are some tips of what we look for, she as a buyer for her store and me as a consumer.
Check out her store and mission: Iddy and Oscar's
We usually associate collateral damage with the death of unintended victims, mostly civilians. We don’t usually hear about it in terms of creation. But in Deuteronomy, we see specifics in waging war and one of those is to not destroy fruit trees. Why?
Interview with Whitney Simpson, founder of Exploring Peace Ministries and author of Holy Listening with Breath, Body and Spirit. We talk about spiritual direction, disciplines and breathing.
Meditation/ Lectio Divina practice at 18:57.
Exploring Peace Meditations
Why should we love trees? Oh, let us count the ways.
Want more info on American Heritage Trees?
Dr. Matthew Sleeth wrote an excellent book called Reforesting Faith: What Trees Teach Us About the Nature of God and His Love for Us. I want to share an unofficial study he did over the years regarding trees in the Bible.
It’s wonderful that we have nature all around us. Even in the city we can look to the sky, find plants growing in crevices, and see birds. (Or at least the evidence of birds.) You can also see evidence of humans.
Friends Gabby and Scott, author of The Year Without a Purchase, join me to talk about their year, what they learned and how they're proceeding.
(This podcast is about 18 minutes long.)
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay,[a] so that the surpassing greatness of the power may be from God and not from ourselves. 2 Cor. 4:7
Why, after such an announcement like “this is my son whom I am well pleased” did Jesus remove himself from company and spend 40 days alone without food?
There are five books of poetry and wisdom in the Bible: Job, a book about human suffering; Psalms, a book that can be used for prayers; Proverbs, a book of wisdom; Ecclesiastes, a book about living; and Song of Songs, a PG-13 book about love.
2020 was a hard news year. And we can access the news 24/7 from our fingertips. What can we do?
Christians don't just use excuses and platitudes about the environment. They use them for disasters and diseases as well.
I dashed through the crowded streets, ignored the man in tattered clothes rummaging through overflowing trash bins and made it to the meet in time. “I don’t have time to worry about the world’s problems. Ignorance is bliss.”
Bob Marley told us not to worry. About a thing. Yet, 45% of Americans felt worried a lot in 2019 according to Gallup. So, one less thing to worry about would be a good thing, right? Makes this next excuse seem footloose and fancy-free. “We don’t need to worry about nature; everything will be renewed after the rapture.”
Hey ya’ll. I wanted to take some time to talk about the “d” word in the Bible.
DOMINION.
Our first episode is a common argument used by Christians against taking care of the earth. “God gave us dominion over everything.”
Come back in two weeks for the next episode.
(Sorry for the sound; I will get better. And, did you hear the train!)